Way to Russia Community and Forum

Tris · Just Starting Joined: 21 Jul 2009 Posts: 5 Location: Kent

HI Les,

Thanks for your message and information. Um are you driving or using a train/coach to cross the border? If Car do you know a polish travel agent? I will be stopping in Braniewo near the border and hopefully there will be someone there who will know.

Thanks again

Tristan

DITTRICH · Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 2:28 pm Post subject:

I'm not going to Kaliningrad, but to Russia.
Poland is directly connected to Lithuania so I don't need to go to Kaliningrad.
I don't know any Polish Travel Agents.
As I said, google and the telephone are your best bets.
If you are indeed staying at a Polish Hotel close to the border ring them up right now and ask the question.
I have my own research to do!
Les

Tris · Just Starting Joined: 21 Jul 2009 Posts: 5 Location: Kent

Hi

Thanks will do,

Good luck with your trip. Will post up what I find!

Thanks again

Tris

Tris · Just Starting Joined: 21 Jul 2009 Posts: 5 Location: Kent

Well I have returned from my 3870miles roadtrip!!! to Kaliningrad, crossing the border at Braniewo

So Insurance - If you drive through the town Braniewo and as you leave there is a Lidl on your right hand side and a Petrol Station blue&yellow think it was called UK. On the side of the garage there is a small office with 'Kantor' written on it. This is where you can get Car Insurance for Russia. 50 zolty for 15 days so about £10. Need V5 car certificate and your passport.
You get a A4 greeny blue piece of paper with your name on it. They don't speak very good English so you have to point at the Reg. No. of the car and the VIN number.

So at the Polish border - You drive up to the polish border and they will raise the barrier, proceed to next point and they will look over the car and want the passport for the car which is our V5 document again point at the Reg. No.

Russian Border - the next point you are stopped you will be given a migration card to fill out prior to reaching the border. Once filled out they will let you through to the border. Follow the signs for EU cars and when you get seen you need to show them your passport and visa and they will give you a form to fill out for the car. Also have your insurance and V5 to hand. They have two offices one for visas and one for dealing with the car details.

There will generally always be someone who speaks English so don't worry. I had to fill the form out 4 times as I did it wrong. They are quite friendly.
They give you a A5 piece of paper also blue in colour with all all your details of car on etc which you would need to show if you got stopped by police. They'll look over the car and in the boot. Took me about 1h30 mins to cross the border into Kaliningrad.

Driving in Russia was great, had no problems. Took my 2006 Mazda 6 and was fine, took to the Russia roads like a duck to water. Had no problems with Police, got quite a few looks though as they don't see UK cars very often!!! But would recommend having a Russian speaker in the car.

Coming back 6 days later took 4 hours to get into Poland!! So allow plenty of time. We got there at 9 am and didnt get on our way until 1pm!
Russian border had big Queues, and they only see a couple of cars a time. Make sure you get in the EU line unless in a Russian Car. Again you have to fill out a form for the car so they can process it on their computer. Take all your documents and car documents with you when you see anyone.

Once through you then have to Queue at the Polish border!! which took awhile there are 2 lines of traffic so we just picked one and waited. They let only a few cars from each line through at a time and even hold these cars until space at the border. Once you get through the first barrier (its in half so one covers each line of traffic and there is someone there directing), you can skip the queue of maybe 1 or 2 cars and go up to the barrier which is clear this will raise!!! allowing you through to border control. as we got closer a Russian was pointing us down an empty Queue so we went and someone came out and processed us and went over the car and finally we got into Poland!! But it was quite frustrating. Next time when I approach the polish border I will drive down the hard shoulder sort of thing and go up to barrier which will go up and get to the border alot faster!!

Well I think that is about it. Any Qs then please ask.

DITTRICH · Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 2:37 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the great report.
I just came back to the UK from my trip.
Already planning next year's little journey.
Les

Tris · Just Starting Joined: 21 Jul 2009 Posts: 5 Location: Kent

No problem. Yes I think I'll be driving over again next summer as well!

All good fun. It is cheaper to fly but not as much fun! The Autobahns were great but did have to stop alot at Fuel stations quite abit as the Mazda 6 drunk petrol at 130+ Smile

DITTRICH · Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 2:02 pm Post subject:

The C230K drank around 60 litres over 377 miles on the autobahns - around 28mpg (normally 33mpg) equivalent to 6.3 mpl or 10 kmpl.
I didn't manage 130+ only around 110 - 120. My trip computer maximum said 198 kmph which is quite fast enough for me - 55 m/s.
But it was fun!
I agree with your sentiments entirely.
Les

Ane · Just Starting Joined: 21 Mar 2010 Posts: 6

Hi,
I am going to St.Petersburg and I'm taking my car. I am actually leaving home on sunday, planning on taking the ferry from Stockholm til Helsinki, arriving Helsinki the 20th of January and then going straight to St.Petersburg.

I have a green card, and it says "RUS" on it, so I hope that should be fine.

But I read something about an extra stamp in your passport or at your visa? Can someone help me out with this question?

I have insurance (for myself), green card, passport and visa, fire extinguisher, first-aid box, papers of the car (which says that I'm the owner etc) BUT do I also need som additional stamp??

AND do I need some additional insurance for the car?

Would you recommend to bring some cash at the border as well? Dollars? How much?

Smile

Ane · Just Starting Joined: 21 Mar 2010 Posts: 6

Hi,
I crossed the border from Finland to Russia (the main border) a Wednesday in January. No queues, but ofcourse the paper-work takes some time. Some told me (at the border) that you can download the papers from internet (!) and fill them out in advanced (recommended!). You should avoud border-crossing Fridays (from Russia)/Sundays (from Helsinki) and during Holidays... I got a paper for my card which was valid for 3 month, and I have now prolongued it (I'm still in Russia). It wasn't so difficult (with help from my russian friend), but it took some time (but I did everything within ine day Wink

).

Here are some relevant articles from St.Peterburg Times (from approx Feb. 2010):
"City’s Ferry Connection To Helsinki Set to Be Restored
A ferry connection between St. Petersburg and Helsinki is once again being launched after an 18-month gap. From April this year, the St. Peter Line company will operate the Princess Maria passenger ferry. The ferry, which will have a passenger capacity of 1,638, will depart from St. Petersburg every other day, said Mushkarev. The journey time will be 11 hours. The Princess Maria has 606 cabins and a car deck for 395 vehicles, and the minimum cost of a ticket will be 30 euros per person, he added." Read more here: http://www.sptimesrussia.com/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=30734

”Finnish Border Hit By Long Lines:
The total number of Russian driving to Finland in their own cars each year increases. The journey to Helsinki can take from five to six hours, although in the event of queues at the border it is more likely to take eight to 10 hours. During holidays the situation at the border dramatically worsens.27,7 % of drivers spent less than an hour going through both the Russian and Finnish checkpoints, 17,7 % spent two hours in lines, 16,1 % queued for up to four hours, and 12 % spent more than six hours crossing the border. Custom Service representatives advise travellers to print off blank declaration forms from the Internet in advance. Another option for those wishing to travel to Finland by car will be a ferry service between St.Petersburg and Helsinki that will begin operating in April.”

Ane · Just Starting Joined: 21 Mar 2010 Posts: 6

And some other useful tip:

- (Wintertime:) Be aware where you park your car. Sometimes they announce (i.e. put a paper on the wall or on your car, written in russian) that they will be cleaning the road for snow and that you have to move the car (if not, they will take your car away). They also regularly clean roof for snow and ice, and you really don't want your car to be parked at these places then..

- (Wintertime:) Don't expect that the roads will be clean for snow. It will also be more difficult to find places to park your car, and 4WD is recommended.

- Don't pay to much attention to the number of lanes. It's usual 4 if it's supposed to be 3 etc (and expect a lot of lane shifts all the time, use your mirrors Wink

).

- Don't stop for yellow light (but red!), because if you do, you wil probably be hit from behind (they don't expect you to stop)

- The drivers don't often stop to let pedestrians cross the street.. but according to my russian friends, the situation much more better now (it used to be worse).

- If you plan on other driving then in the city, I will highly recommand a jeep and 4WD (at least winter time). I went from St.Petersburg to the White Sea (not by my car luckily), about 1050km, and I saw something like 5 accidents...

DITTRICH-2010 · Frequent Guest Joined: 18 Mar 2010 Posts: 25

Tris & Ane
Many thanks for the information.
If the green card has RUS on it that is all you need.
Nothing needs to go into your visa or passport about the car.
Note that the entry and exit stamps will be a little picture of a car with the date and name of the entry point. The little car faces different directions for entry / exit !
Les

ReneUAZ · Just Starting Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 2

Hi everybody,
I plan to drive an UAZ 452 from Western Europe to Siberia this summer. So we went to Poland to buy one (an ex army vehicle), we brought it to Belgium, and we went to the painful process of refitting and registrating.

The issue is the following: due to the age of the car and the kind of registration we can get for the vehicle in Belgium, we will be unable to subscribe in Belgium an insurance that covers us for Russia as well. The insurance policies offered in Belgium for this kind of vehicle cover the UE countries and some other places, but not Russia. According to my information, this has to do with the fact that green cards can cover Russia but do not have to.

So I am considering the option of buying a third party insurance at the Russian border. In this respect, I was wondering whether somebody could let me know if this is still possible (considering the fact that most green card now cover Russia). We plan to reach the Russia border via Ukraine (the easiest, given the abundance of spare parts for or vehicle along the way) or alternatively via the Baltic States? Has anybody any recent information on this?

Thx!
Rene

subaru360sd · Frequent Guest Joined: 25 Mar 2010 Posts: 15

Hi Rene,

Starting this July, I will drive a 42 years old car from the other side of the country, Sakhalin to Ukraine and further.
Are you heading for some old car meeting, or just having fun?
I try to find retro car events on the way, but not much luck yet.

My car is registered in Japan, and Japanese insurances are not cover anything outside of Japan Sad

(
I hope that the insurance I will buy in Sakhalin (from ingosstrakh) will be acepted in Europe.

Does anyone know if the green card, purchased in RUS has any English on it? It is hard to believe that they will have a form with English on it on Sakhalin Island, so If I pull out a Cyrillic written piece of paper in Europe, is that OK?

Have a great trip.
Subaru360

ReneUAZ · Just Starting Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 2

Hi Subaru,

Happy to see that other people had the same idea as us ... We do not try to join old timer meetings on the way; our aim is "just" to cross Siberia with our old car Wink

As to your question: Russian companies can since 1 January 2009 issue car insurance polices covering UE as wel (as Russia is now member of the green card system). You can find more info on the website of the cobx (the organization that manages the green card system). So I guess you will be able to buy such an insurance upon arrival in Russia. Green card is a standard document, so I would not worry too much (a Russian green card will be accepted in all countries that are part to the green card system and that are mentionned on the card).

I had a special question for you: I understand you will be shipping your car into Russian (as Japan and Sakhalin are both islands). Could you please provide me with more information on this? On the end of our trip, we will have to repatriate our car to Europe via Vladivostok, and I am urgently looking for some information ...

thx!

René

subaru360sd · Frequent Guest Joined: 25 Mar 2010 Posts: 15

Hi René,

It is the same with me too, "just" drive for the fun, but after looking so many Russian and other sites, I was wondering if there are any events on the way...
I don't think that I will alter/delay my route much for any event, but there are not to many chances to see old Russian cars. (In Japan no Russian car at all)
I will leave Japan mid-July, we might cross our ways Smile

Your UAZ might be better fit to the Russian roads, especially that you should be able to get parts:)
My little car has a 0,36liter two stroke engine...
(put the w's before the links)
subaru360 dot blogspot dot com

From Vladivostok, there are many ferries, except to Japan Sad

Check this site, for shipping to Europe:
fesco dot ru/en/clients/schedule/

The Ferry that used to sail from Vladivostok to Fushiki/Toyama Japan:
bisintour dot com/line.php

has been sold, that is why I have to go trough Sakhalin...

I live in Tokyo so I need to take a ferry to Hokkaido, drive across it, take another ferry from Wakkanai/Japan to Korsakov/Sakhalin drive to Khomlsk and take a ferry to Vanino.

I will have to go the long way around, because the Vladivostok ferry is out.
Not to many travel with car from Japan into Russia...
Cheers.[/i]

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