EUROPE BASICS - Moscow and St Petersburg - page 62

Getting there
From Britain and Ireland
From the US
From Canada
From Australia and New Zealand
From South Africa
Europecanbeeasilyreachedbyairfromjustaboutanywhereintheworld,withflights
toallmajorEuropeancities. It'salsopossible toarrive byferry fromacrosstheMedi-
terranean or Black Sea, or on the Trans-Siberian railway from East Asia.
Air fares will always depend on the season; they're usually highest in the summer and over
the Christmas period, as well as over public holidays. Note also that flying on weekends or
requiringanonstopjourneysometimesaddsquiteabittotheround-tripfare.Barringspecial
offers, the cheapest published fares usually require advance purchase of two to three weeks,
and impose certain restrictions, such as heavy penalties if you change your schedule. Most
cheap fares will only give a partial refund, if any, should you cancel or alter your journey,
socheck the restrictions carefully before buying.Youcan often cut costs bygoingthrougha
youth or student travel specialist (see “Agents” ) , which may offer low-cost or special youth
or student fares, as well as travel-related services such as travel insurance, rail passes and
tours.
If Europe is only one stop on a longer journey, and especially if you are based in Australia
or New Zealand, you might consider a Round-the-World (RTW) air ticket. Prices increase
with the number of stops - figure on around £750-1200/US$1750-3000/Aus$1750-2500/
NZ$2200-4000 for a RTW ticket including one or two European stopovers.