Volga Area Excitement
 

I will be in Samara and Toliyatti in just over a week's time and I have purchased the Lonely Planet guide for that region, the Volga region. There's a not negligible risk that my visit there might go pear shaped, meaning I have to take off and explore the region by myself. Anyone got any suggestions? I would think renting a car would be a recipe for disaster, as driving in Russia without a full command of the language must be quite scary. But it could be interesting to move around using trains and bus services and experience a part of the world that not a huge number of people go to. It would be helpful to know what general costs are like, although as a foreigner there I will stick out like a sore thumb and get charged different prices to locals, no doubt.

The yandex taxi app works great in most Russian cities. Avoids having to negotiate or explain where you're going in Russian.

I'd second using Yandex Taxi.

Great suggestion, I’ve used the yandex taxi app a few times now. Works really well! I suggest not trying to drive, anyone coming to this region, it’s real scary.

Further to that, if you do have to drive watch out for pedestrian crossings and bumpy level crossings over train lines. I guess the cold temperatures in winter and warmth in Summer account for the huge gaps between the tar mac and rail lines.

If you go to some museums in Samara, you will be asked to pay more than local Russians. This annoyed my host, because it’s not openly shown anywhere. But I would just embrace it, the museums desperately need the money, and 70-80 Rubles extra are pennies for us, about 1 Euro. You can go to the Samara Opera and hear everything from Rigoletto to Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk - a good seat cost me less than 3 Euros and the orchestra and singers are excellent. The staging and direction was not good, but you can see they are lacking money with the flimsy limited sets.