Lower Volga Voyage

Upon arrival in Moscow, transfer to the deluxe Ararat Park Hyatt Hotel in the historic city centre near the Bolshoi Theatre and Moscow Kremlin. Spend the rest of the day relaxing after your flight.

Accommodation

Begin your day with orientation tour of Moscow followed by a ride in the ornate Moscow metro. After lunch in a local restaurant proceed to the Old Tretyakov gallery to view its extraordinary collection of Russian art, ranging from 12th century icons to 20th century paintings.

City tour includes: Tverskaya Street, Lubyanka Square, Kremlin embankment, Cathedral of Christ the Savior (entrance if time and availability allows), Novodevichy Cemetery (entrance), Novodevichy convent (photo stop).

Meals

This morning enter the Kremlin for a visit to the Armory Museum, with its collection of tsarist thrones, ceremonial crowns, coaches and gifts of state. Continue to the beautifully frescoed 15th-century Assumption and Archangel Cathedrals. After lunch transfer to the MS Volga Dream and begin your sailing along the Russian Waterways.

Gather for Captain's welcome reception and dinner as we begin our cruise. Volga Dream Experience: Bread, Salt & Vodka Welcome Aboard Ceremony

Meals

Accommodation

We arrive this afternoon in Uglich, dating back to the 10th century. A walking tour of this Golden Ring city includes the Chapel of Dmitry on a Spilled Blood, a 17th-century treasure built on the site where Ivan the Terrible’s son met his death. After, attend a concert of choral music performed at St. John's Church.

Volga Dream Experience: Russian Cooking Class

Meals

Accommodation

This morning visit the oldest city on the Volga River, Yaroslavl, a World Heritage site. In the Spassky Monastery see the Transfiguration of the Savior, adorned with murals depicting St. John's apocalyptic visions, and the richly frescoed Church of St. Elijah the Prophet. Enjoy a costumed reception at the Governor’s House, and then reboard the Volga Dream in time for lunch.

Volga Dream Experience: Costumed Russian Tea Ceremony

Meals

Accommodation

A relaxing day of leisure as the Volga Dream continues its gentle voyage along the picturesque Volga. The Sun Deck provides a glorious and ever-changing view as we pass small villages, provincial towns, churches, and monasteries. This is an area that flourished for centuries thanks to the volume of trade along the Volga.

Our guest speaker presents an entertaining and informative lecture on the history and traditions of the places we pass.

Meals

Nizhniy Novgorod (formerly Gorkiy), once a wealthy commercial centre poised on the traderoutes to the East, became a closed city due to military activity during the Soviet era. Learn about the city’s history as a place of exile for political prisoners. Walk the ramparts of the 16th-century Kremlin with its spectacular views, and visit elaborately painted churches.

Tonight, attend a concert by a local children folk group. Volga Dream Experience: Russian Dinner with Vodka Testing

Meals

Accommodation

Today, you will notice that the now familiar Russian Orthodox Churches no longer dominate the banks of the River Volga. Instead, beautiful Muslim mosques begin to appear as you cruise across the border into the Republic of Tatarstan.

We will leave the Volga Dream for a while to explore Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan and very center of Russia’s Tatar culture. The white-walled Kazan Kremlin or citadel is where the famous Kul-Sherif mosque stands side by side with the old Peter and Paul Cathedral. Later in the day, a local ensemble will delight us with a concert of traditional Tatar music.

Volga Dream Experience: Piano Concert – pieces by Tchaikovsky and Rakhmaninov.

Meals

Accommodation

A great opportunity to relax on the Sun Deck as we sail past the Zhigulevskie mountains towards the city of Samara.

We begin with a city tour, which includes a visit to the space museum, then stroll along the Volga esplanade to the Samara State Art Museum.

Volga Dream Experience: Barbeque on the open deck

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Accommodation

Once home to a large German community, today Saratov is known for its connection to Russia’s first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, who lived and studied here. Take a city tour, and visit Radishev State Art Museum - the first Russian picture gallery outside of St. Petersburg and Moscow.

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Accommodation

Originally called Tsaritsyn, this remarkable city has had three name changes in its tumultuous history. The site of epic battles during the Russian Revolution, it was known as Stalingrad from 1925 until 1961. The city’s heroic defense by the Russian people during World War II became the decisive battle of the eastern front. Visit the memorial on Mamayev Hill, where the struggle saw its bloodiest fighting, and Stalingrad battle panorama museum.

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Accommodation

The Volga Dream arrives in the city of Astrakhan in the evening. This is the world capital of caviar, also the centre of the fishing industry in Western Russia. This is where the mighty Volga flows out into the Caspian Sea.

Meals

The morning begins with a tour of a local fortress built during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. After lunch an optional and fascinating lecture on the famed and much coveted black caviar, followed by a private tasting of this most precious delicacy.

Meals

Transfers to the airport for your return flight.

Meals