Today we’d like to share how our regular Moscow–Saint Petersburg–Moscow tour went this year.
We run this tour every summer, once or twice a year, and we lovingly call it the «Never-ending Classic tour». Two capitals, countless landmarks in Moscow and St. Petersburg - and of course, riding a motorcycle between them is a classic in its own right. Over the years we’ve discovered and added some incredibly fascinating places to this route, spots many people don’t even know exist. And all of this - right between Moscow and St. Petersburg. Everything so close, yet so full of surprises. So, we decided to tell you more, hoping that you too will want to join us on this wonderful journey.
This time our team was truly international: Ksenia from Slovenia, Anu from India, and Serhat from Turkey. A few more participants were supposed to join, but their plans changed shortly before the start, so the four of us set off - our three guests and our guide, Alexey Bulgach.
The tour runs for 10 days with a total distance of 2 300 km. For this trip, the guests chose our junior GS bikes from the fleet: BMW 850GS for Anu and Serhat, and a 750GS for Ksenia.
As always, we begin with a pre-tour briefing and then head out for dinner - which is traditionally on us for this tour. We treat our guests to national dishes that we genuinely love ourselves. A cozy little restaurant in the very heart of the city and the first shared emotions.
Day Two was dedicated to exploring Moscow with our wonderful guide, Liza. We listened to captivating stories about the city, its history and culture, walked an interesting route through the historic center, and of course took stunning photos at world-famous spots. A beautiful city with equally beautiful stories behind it.
And yes, we visited a couple of secret places too:) It was a real surprise for the group.
That evening, over dinner, we celebrated Serhat’s birthday and wished him an unforgettable experience and an amazing tour. And now we know for sure that the wishes of RMT guides always come true! :)
But we couldn’t stay up too late - tomorrow we ride.
Our first riding day begins with a symbolic departure through the very heart of Moscow - the Red Square. And how could we not take photos right there on the bikes?! It is a mototour after all. Plenty of people have photos on Red Square, but this - on motorcycles - is something not everyone gets to boast about.
Once out of the city, we ride along scenic secondary roads of the Moscow region, heading toward Tver. We stop to rest by a lake with a sandy beach. A pity the weather was cool - otherwise we would’ve definitely gone for a swim. At least Alex and Ksenia would have..:)
Just talking about swimming made Anu and Serhat visibly shiver :) For Anu, Russian summer feels like winter back home.
We have lunch in Zavidovo - by the way, they’ve built a completely new complex there with hotels, beaches, and restaurants. A great place.
Tver greets us, as always, with charm and hospitality. We walk along the Volga river embankment, explore the old city center, and have dinner in a small restaurant serving traditional Russian cuisine.
Not only was the interior absolutely unique, but the food was also fantastic. Pozharsky cutlet! Mmm… We won’t spoil the surprise, but we’ll share a couple of photos.
The next day our route takes us to Veliky Novgorod. Along the way we stop at the open-air architectural and ethnographic museum Vasilyovo. The weather is perfect, making the walk even more enjoyable.
The Vasilyovo estate is a truly unique open-air museum where wooden architectural monuments from all over the Tver region have been brought together - authentic 18th century wooden houses. You can step inside and see what life looked like back then. The atmosphere is so immersive that our guests instantly froze and said: “Give us a minute! We must send these photos right now!” :)
Next, we visit the Iversky Monastery on Lake Valdai. After that, we hurry to lunch in a restaurant overlooking the monastery - dark storm clouds were gathering fast. And right after we ate, we saw something magical: a rainbow arching directly over it.
With spirits high, we ride on… even through the heavy rain that finally caught us. But soon enough we reach Veliky Novgorod. Soaked yet happy, we check into the hotel. We truly experienced every type of weather today.
Perfect! And we rewarded ourselves a little upon arrival.
The next morning brings sunshine again, and we stroll through the city. The Novgorod Kremlin is magnificent. After breakfast, we continue our journey - today we ride to Saint Petersburg.
On the way, we stop at the newly restored “Stationmaster’s House,” a museum recreated in 1972 based on Pushkin’s story and archival documents. It has just reopened after full renovation - truly impressive.
And then… St. Petersburg! Today we take a little walk through the evening city center, enjoy dinner, and go to bed early.
Take a look at how the dishes are presented. Oh yes - this is St. Petersburg!
Tomorrow is a big, eventful day. We stay in the city and enjoy it in the company of our wonderful guide and true Petersburger, our colleague Anton Aleshanov. He’ll show us around - and he even promised a surprise.
St. Petersburg is magnificent. And in good weather, especially so. It is an incredible pleasure not just to walk around, but to do it with a professional local guide like Anton - everything around you suddenly comes alive.
If you plan to visit St. Petersburg in summer - write to us, we’ll share Anton’s contact. If he’s in town, he’ll happily guide you as well. You won’t regret it. Though truth be told, he gives 100% only on RMT tours ;)
And then came the promised surprise - a boat ride through the city’s canals. Venice? Never heard of it :) This is something you must do in St. Petersburg. Stunning.
Everyone was glowing with smiles - perfect.
At dinner we received an unexpected proposal from our guest from India, Anu.
It turns out that today is India’s Independence Day - so why not celebrate it in St. Petersburg?! Of course, yes! We book an Indian restaurant for the evening, and Anu, like a true host at home, treats everyone to traditional dishes of his choice. Everyone feared it would be spicy, but no - Anu “conducted” the kitchen like an orchestra, explaining exactly how everything should be prepared. Luckily, the staff were his compatriots.
A wonderful, warm, delicious ending to the day.
The next morning it’s time to head back. Our route today leads to Pskov. We leave the city early and ride southwest.
Our first stop is Koporye Fortress - a monument of medieval Russian fortification architecture, founded back in 1237.
We instantly find ourselves at a local folk festival. “Oh, a giant balalaika!” someone exclaims :)
There’s also a small market with souvenirs and handmade crafts. Anu stocked up well - including a passport cover made of birch bark. A real treasure!
Lunch is in a hunters-style restaurant.
In the evening we try beer brewed at a local craft brewery. Pleased with its quality, we head out for an evening walk in Pskov. Another great day!
The next morning we ride toward the Tver region again. But first we visit the Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery - one of the largest and most renowned men’s monasteries in Russia, with centuries of history. It’s located almost on the Estonian border - we even had to enter the border zone.
The place is charming, and right by the entrance there’s an amazing bakery. We try sweet pastries with jam - unbelievably delicious.
Our lodge for the night sits in a quiet forest by a lake - new cozy private houses, a sauna, and nature all around. Perfect relaxation after bustling cities.
And finally - the last day of our journey. We stop in Istra, the cheese capital of Russia, and visit a local farm. Cheeses of every kind - of course we bought some to take home. And had lunch there as well.
Then we visit the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery - a beautiful and ancient architectural complex founded in the late 14th century. By this point, Moscow is very close.
A magnificent final chord for our tour. From there - back to the hotel.
In the evening, we gather for dinner at a cute Moscow pub in the city center. Lots of laughter, jokes, stories, and funny memories. And as usual, we're raffling off our traditional freebie: the tour map. An amazing tour from start to finish.
We truly hope that through this story we managed to convey at least a bit of the wonderful atmosphere of this journey - and that you’ll feel inspired to join us on this route.
Here it is the link to: Moscow -St.Petersburg tour description and 2026 dates
See you on the road with RMT