11 of 20 largest cities of Russia, including Moscow, are located in the Volga's drainage basin... Take a lengthy Russian Volga River Cruise for a profound cultural experience! From $3,300
This is the grand Volga River Cruise that covers 90% of the superb Volga River. The cruise ship sails some of the Upper Volga, the Middle Volga, the Lower Volda and reaches the Volga River Delta most of the times - in case there is Astrakhan city in the itinerary. Our Russian river cruise ‘Great Mother Volga’ covers vast territories of the Central and the Southern Russia between Moscow and Rostov-on-Don. Some of these stunning Volga River cruises also stop at Russian ‘Caviar Capital’ Astrakhan, offering great opportunities to explore the Volga River Delta. The Volga is one of the greatest rivers in the world and is the longest one in Europe. The Volga River appears to be one of the fundamental cores of Russian culture: consciously and subconsciously this river is frequently perceived as a living being by Russians - that is why she is commonly addressed as ‘Great Mother Volga.’ Songs and legends personify Volga with the best human features an ideal Russian should match. She is identified with the Motherland, and she is a symbol of freedom, breadth and strength of the Russian Spirit. Nevertheless, the Volga Region is very multinational: Tatars, Bashkirs, Chuvashs, Mordovians, Udmurts, Mari, Ukrainians, Kazakhs, Armenians, Komi-Permyaks, Azerbaijanis, Germans, Cossacks and several other nationalities have their homeland there. Some of these people originate from the ancient states of the Golden Horde or the Volga Bulgaria. So, get ready to listen to exciting legends and informative stories while cruising the Great Mother Volga!
Russian cities that are normally visited on our 'Great Mother Volga' River Cruise: Moscow, Uglitch, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Plyos, Gorodets, Nizhny Novgorod, Cheboksary, Kazan, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Saratov, Volgograd (Stalingrad), Astrakhan, Rostov-on-Don. City sightseeing tours are included in every port - enjoy great cultural experience! Please, contact our Russian River Cruise Experts for information on the prices and on the actual itinerary of a Volga River Cruise of your Deams.
4 Our Best Volga River Cruises | 3 Voyages are rated 'Black Caviar Cruises'
Cruises 2021
Rostov-on-Don—Moscow
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Moscow—Rostov-on-Don
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Astrakhan—Moscow
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Saratov
Saratov was founded in the 16th century as a fortress to protect southern districts of the Russian Empire. Later on it became the heart of one of the largest Russian provinces, and also a city of merchants, gold miners and first Russian manufacturers. In the 19th century Saratov became a major commercial center, especially after the railway to Moscow was built in the 1870s. The modern city has become a large industrial complex that sprawls for many miles along the river. The city’s 2.8-km / 1.7-mi highway bridge across the Volga opened in 1965 is one of the longest river bridges of the kind in Europe. Saratov’s varied and large-scale industries are headed by the production of heavy equipment and chemicals. Petroleum and natural gas occur in the locality and thus contribute to Saratov’s chemical plants, which produce synthetic alcohol, synthetic fibers, acetone, and ammonium sulfate. All through the 16th and up to the 19th century local population of the entire area was also formed by Cossacks, Tatars, Orthodox fringe groups (as opposed to church reforms), German colonists and even the captured Frenchmen that once were the soldiers of Napoleon. Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, began his career in Saratov and did his first air flight there.
Kazan
Kazan, one of the seven largest cities in Russia, is located in a picturesque area at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka Rivers. “This city, no doubt, is the first in Russia after Moscow, - wrote the Russian Empress Catherine the Great in 1763, - clearly, Kazan is the capital of a big kingdom”. Modern Kazan is the capital of Tatarstan Republic, it is very diverse, modern and ancient city at the same time: Islam and Orthodoxy, East and West, old and modern are mixed well in this “cocktail-city”. The minarets of the most beautiful Kul-Sharif Mosque rise right next to the onion domes of the Annunciation Cathedral inside the famous Kazan Kremlin. For many years already Kazan is being included in the international top list of the most popular travel destinations in Russia. People come to this place to enjoy a stunning architectural variety, to ride a steamer to the ancient island of Sviyazhsk, to buy great local souvenirs, and to taste the delicious ech-pochmak and chak-chak. In 2005 Kazan has turned 1000 years old: originally a fortress of the Volga Bulgaria state (the first Muslim state in Eastern Europe) it became a part of the Golden Horde in the 15th century; about a century after it was conquered by Ivan the Terrible and appeared on the map of the Russian State.