Planning a trip to any country can be stressful, but you can start relaxing ahead of time by setting your plans in stone while you are still at home. One way to do this is to find out more about the ability to send money to Russia before you even leave your house for your trip. This way, you will have money to spend the minute you land. If you are not comfortable with this idea, you should also find out about other forms of payment to take with you to this country. Along the way, you should plan where you will go in Russia.
Russia uses the ruble as its official currency, so you will need to get some of this before you spend money in this country. You can bring U.S. dollars with you to exchange when you land, and you should head to money changers to do this. Most will feature signs that tell you what their rates are so that you can compare before you exchange cash. One tip is to be sure to exchange large bills since the rate of exchange is usually better this way.
This country has several merchants that accept credit and debit cards, so feel free to bring yours. Visa and MasterCard are the best types to bring since they are most often accepted. In fact, you should consider bringing a prepaid debit card, which allows you a way to send money to Russia before you even land in this country. You can make a simple bank transfer to your prepaid debit card for $5 USD, and then withdraw cash in rubles in Russia. ATMs abound in this country, so this route is a good one to take if you do not want to bring tons of U.S. dollars into Russia to exchange.
Now that you have an idea of how to spend money in this country, you should get an idea of where to go. St. Petersburg and Moscow are the most popular places to visit since they are large cities, so there are plenty of stores, restaurants, bars, museums, and art galleries in these areas. However, if you prefer to go off the beaten tourist path, check out the seaport of Arkhangelsk, which was only recently opened to tourists. You can also head to Kaliningrad, which boasts the Amber Museum, Kant Museum, a zoo, and various picturesque gardens. If you enjoy history, you can head to Ulyanovsk, which is Lenin’s place of birth, or Novgorod, which was created about 1100 years ago. Clearly, there are many interesting areas to visit in this country, whether you decide to send money to Russia beforehand on a prepaid debit card or not.