Russia - Moscow in 20 hours?

Hi! I will have a layover in SVO for about 20 hours, arrival is at 4pm. I will land and start in terminal D.
Is it a good choice to get in the city for this time? I wasn't in moscow before and I don't speak any russian. But I think it can be nice to see the red square and something of this city.
Is the time to short? Is it save to be there, alone, in the evening/night? Is it hard to find the right train/metro? And are they most of the time on schedule?

Hi! I will have a layover in SVO for about 20 hours, arrival is at 4pm. I will land and start in terminal D.
Is it a good choice to get in the city for this time? I wasn't in moscow before and I don't speak any russian. But I think it can be nice to see the red square and something of this city.
Is the time to short? Is it save to be there, alone, in the evening/night? Is it hard to find the right train/metro? And are they most of the time on schedule?

20 hours is plenty. Take the AeroExpress Train from just beside Terminal D/E and you'll be at Belorussakya Train Station in about 35 minutes. From there Red Square is an easy 20 minute walk down Tverskaya. There's a Starbucks and cafes/restaurants a plenty to grab a bite/sip at as well. After an hour or two of walking around you can head back to Belorusskaya to go back to SVO. You can find a sleeping pod on the top floor of the AeroExpress Train Station for anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Wake up, grab a coffee and breakfast at Starbucks on the main floor of the AeroExpress terminal and head back to SVO (a 5 minute walk) for your flight.

Head back to SVO by 10 p.m. or so and you'll be fine. Smart is safe so move with purpose and know where you're going. I did this with my wife, in laws and 4 kids two weeks ago. No problems at all.

PM me if you need any additional details. Always ready to help!

Hi! I will have a layover in SVO for about 20 hours, arrival is at 4pm. I will land and start in terminal D.
Is it a good choice to get in the city for this time? I wasn't in moscow before and I don't speak any russian. But I think it can be nice to see the red square and something of this city.
Is the time to short? Is it save to be there, alone, in the evening/night? Is it hard to find the right train/metro? And are they most of the time on schedule?

Lots of time... could even fit in a bit of nap too. My wife runs a travel business in Moscow and has done a lot of day/night tours for folks who are just stopping over in Moscow. Take advantage of the time you have and see a special piece of world history.

First, be sure you have a russian visa. It cannot be issued just at the airport upon arrival. You should care about ahead.
Second, Starbucks is not the best thing to see in Moscow. I have nothing agains Starbucks it is just rediculous to come to Moscow for the first time and try searhing for Starbucks either in the city center or airport.
I would recommend you to see the Kremlin. The best way to navigate around the city is us Metro - it is fast and reliable.
Here is the Metro map:
http://www.wtr.ru/moscow/eng/metro/metro.html
All what is inside the brown circle is the center.
Okhotny ryad (Red) Teatralnaya(green)Ploshad Revolucii(blue) is just near the Kremlin and the Red Square.

Aeroexpress (don't take any other transfer like bus or taxi beacause of the permanent traffic jams) will bring you to Belorusskaya Metro station. Take a green line and get off at teatralnaya. You will be just in a few steps from the Red Square. For a cup of coffee I would recommend you "Шоколадница" (Shokoladnitsa), a famous russian coffee chain . Their coffee is a waaaay better that in Starbucks.

Have fun!

Thank you! I'm not sure about staying the night at the airport. I planed to sleep in the Ibis Moscow and drive back to the airport in the morning. the flight will depart at 10:30, is it enough time when I start at 7am from the hotel (with metro/train)?

For a cup of coffee I would recommend you "Шоколадница" (Shokoladnitsa), a famous russian coffee chain . Their coffee is a waaaay better that in Starbucks.

Have fun!

Most of ladyfirst's advice is good but not this! Shokoladnitsa is serviceable but quite mediocre (and actually their hot chocolate, which is what the chain is named after, is better). The best coffee chain by far is KofeManiya although it's not cheap (EUR 6.50 and up for a capuccino or latte). A respectable if more distant second is Coffee Bean.

The train takes 35 minutes, generally leaves every half hour and is quite reliable. A full schedule is here: http://www.aeroexpress.ru/en/index.htm#. 7am would be plenty of time.

Thank you! I'm not sure about staying the night at the airport. I planed to sleep in the Ibis Moscow and drive back to the airport in the morning. the flight will depart at 10:30, is it enough time when I start at 7am from the hotel (with metro/train)?

If you plan on using a car, you better leave at 5am. Otherwise get up later and use the train to shoot into the airport

Most of ladyfirst's advice is good but not this! Shokoladnitsa is serviceable but quite mediocre (and actually their hot chocolate, which is what the chain is named after, is better). The best coffee chain by far is KofeManiya although it's not cheap (EUR 6.50 and up for a capuccino or latte). A respectable if more distant second is Coffee Bean.

The train takes 35 minutes, generally leaves every half hour and is quite reliable. A full schedule is here: http://www.aeroexpress.ru/en/index.htm#. 7am would be plenty of time.

Or, since I am a Novosibirsk homer, let me suggest Traveler's Coffee on Tverskaya. It is a Novosibirsk chain owned by friends of mine. His first store in Moscow opened up this spring and I enjoyed a wonderful breakfast and round of coffee there just 4 Sundays ago. On the south side of Tverskaya between the Sheraton Palace and Red Square (can't remember exactly but you can't really miss it).

Why not sleep at the AeroExpress station in front of the airport in one of the hotel/sleeping pods there? It's really safe, quiet, comfortable and all you need for some serious sleep and a shower the next a.m. 10 minute walk to check in for your flight too. I mean...if easy is what you want.

I don't drink coffee, but thank you for the information :p


Why not sleep at the AeroExpress station in front of the airport in one of the hotel/sleeping pods there? It's really safe, quiet, comfortable and all you need for some serious sleep and a shower the next a.m. 10 minute walk to check in for your flight too. I mean...if easy is what you want.

Are there cheap hotels at this station? I searched for hotels in the near of SVO and could only find hotels for more than 100EUR.

Are there cheap hotels at this station?
See http://www.eng.v-exp.ru/

See http://www.eng.v-exp.ru/

That's the place. Very comfy, very, very convenient, and oh so quiet for some good REM sleep.

www.atlantahotel.ru is another nice place with great service (24 hour free pick up and drop off at all SVO terminals as well as free pick up drop off at the AeroExpress terminal itself) though it is about 10 minutes from the terminal. Super nice staff though and restaurant on site. Free wifi, English speaking staff, etc. etc.

TC is more than coffee. It has great tea too! Same for meals. I'm a fan...can you tell?

Tea would be nice, but I'm in china before my stay in moscow, i don't think that they can top the tea from there :cool:

Can you tell me how the registration in russia works? I'm there for only one day and i got invitation from the hotel. If I go back to the airport same day and sleep there, what will the hotel do? Will I get problems without a registration?

Can you tell me how the registration in russia works? I'm there for only one day and i got invitation from the hotel. If I go back to the airport same day and sleep there, what will the hotel do? Will I get problems without a registration?
Don't worry about the registration too much in this case. You need to register within 3 working days. As you are not going to be there that long, nobody is going to bother you about it! I've taken short trips to Russia (and Belarus) without registering with no problems.

Thank you. Will the supplier of the invitation get an information, that I used his one?