Experience Russia's only five-star riverboat

 




Tranquil and scenic, the Volga River links Russia's two great cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, but since Communist times cruising this great river has been limited to older Soviet ships. A luxurious voyage was simply not possible until the inauguration of the Volga Dream in 2007.

Academic Arrangements Abroad was the first charter client of the Volga Dream, which remains the only five-star riverboat in Russia. The vessel's hotel operations are managed by a European company, including a massage therapist, hair dresser, doctor and even a French pastry chef. From barbecues on deck to six-course gala dinners, meals are a delight (and include complimentary beer and wine).

Guests traveling with Academic Arrangements Abroad, a primary charterer of the Volga Dream, also enjoy private onboard classical concerts as well as enrichment lectures about Russian art, politics and culture by experts from the sponsoring institution. Lecturers on upcoming programs include Harvard Professor Marshall Goldman, a specialist on Soviet economics, and William Crow, Associate Museum Educator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Our exclusive itineraries, which leverage our intimate knowledge of Russia to minimize time spent driving or waiting in lines, include seven nights aboard the Volga Dream, with shore excursions to the less-visited Valaam, a holy site in Russian Orthodoxy, as well as more traditional sites such as the Golden Ring city of Yaroslavl and the small island of Kizhy, with the beautiful wooden Church of the Transfiguration. During a three-night stay in Moscow, featuring a before-hours visit to the Kremlin and a performance by the legendary Bolshoi company, accommodations are arranged at the downtown Marriott Aurora in order to avoid numerous bus trips between the river terminal and city. During three nights in St. Petersburg, staying the Grand Hotel Europa, highlights include a specially arranged visit to the Hermitage and a performance at the famed Mariinsky Theater.

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