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 2020
Rostov-on-Don—Moscow
Moscow—Rostov-on-Don
Sightseeing
Nizhny Novgorod
Some call Nizhny Novgorod a ‘third Russian capital’; but the city of Kazan claims this title as well. Nizhny Novgorod has a great picturesque location at the confluence of the Volga and the Oka Rivers. The local Kremlin is among its most fabulous sites. This impregnable fortress is now just a historical monument, but one of the surrounding streets still strongly resembles a fortification moat. A well-known fact is that the Kremlin of Nizhny Novgorod has never been taken by an enemy army. Indeed, city’s smart and favorable location at the confluence of two navigable rivers has turned it into a well-developed center of merchandize. Eventually at the beginning of the 19th century the city has become the main market place of the Russian Empire: the Emperor Alexander I has even postponed the reconstruction of the Winter Palace (now holds the Hermitage) in St. Petersburg in favor of building a huge structure due to moving the Makarievskaya Fair to Nizhny Novgorod. The Revolution of 1917 put an end to the reputation of Nizhny Novgorod as the commercial capital of the country, but gave impetus to its industrial development: the Soviet Era has brought automobile, shipping and aircraft industries into the city and its population grew far over a million.
Rostov-on-Don
The population of over a million makes Rostov-on-Don the 10th city in Russia and the 30th in Europe. It is also a modern industrial hub of Southern Russia; a cultural center with a large number of universities, colleges, architectural monuments and museums; an agricultural center; an important river port in closest vicinity to the Sea of Azov and the “Gateway to the Caucasus.” In fact, several cities in Southern Russia describe themselves as the “gateway”, but Rostov-on-Don can probably lay the greatest claim: departures' board of its Main Bus Station lists numerous destinations of the Caucasus and the Transcaucasia. Until the late USSR Rostov-on-Don had a fame of the “second capital” of so called “thieves in law” - these criminals called it the “Father Rostov”. Today the city is hospitable and absolutely safe for tourists. The place has the largest number of fish markets in Russia, because it stands on the Don River with the Sea of Azov just some 23 miles / 36 kilometers away from it. Interesting fact about Rostov-on-Don is that it has one of the largest cemeteries in Europe: over 500,000 graves are covering about 990 acres. Rostov-on-Don was a Cossack outpost in the 18th century. Today it is nice and green city with magnificent parks and beaches.