In this blog post, you’ll find everything that you need to know to plan a fun-filled evening slow-boating on the Moscow river cruise including details on the cost and a first-hand experience of sailing on a Rivertickets.ru cruise, the most popular fleet in Moscow!

What is a Moskva River Cruise like?

The Moskva River flows through the cosmopolitan city of Moscow, just as did for centuries, being the lifeline of the Russian capital. But it also happens to be one of the funnest entertainment spots in town as well!

Every evening, if you stand by the riverine embankments, you will easily notice a dozen boats cruising up and down the Moskva. Most of these cruises are the good old stand-or-sit kind where you can watch the sunset while you buy some snacks. But then, there are a few cruises that do a lot more!

How to pick the right River Cruise

Although the cheaper cruises start at about RUB 600 (INR 680, or USD 10), they only offer a seat. That means you don’t get snacks or drinks and the duration is also quite short. If you have plans of having dinner on board (which might turn out to be a better idea), its worth picking a more premium cruise.

After careful research, we found a cruise run by Rivertickets called The Solaris. Its a 35 metre double decker yacht with an onboard restaurant and observation deck. We opted for the 7:30 pm dinner cruise (with a seven course dinner served on board) since we wanted to enjoy the late sunset and dine at our usual hour. Guests were even allowed to bring onboard their own alcoholic beverages. 

Tip: Although there are different cruise timings, choose something that begins about 30 minutes before the sunset time.

What to expect onboard a River Cruise in Moscow

• An evening cruise on The Solaris takes about 3.5 to 4 hours
• Operates between April and November
• Two cruises operate at 4 pm and 7:30 pm every evening as per the schedule here
• The cruise starts at the Pier at this spot (well, as of May 2019), but check the ticket for the relevant boarding point
• Slow boating from West to East, the cruise sails by some of the most amazing architectural marvels and Moscow’s historic monuments. These include the St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Red Square, the Kremlin, The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and even the Floating Bridge. See the complete list here

Fine Dining on a Moskva River Cruise

Dinner starts about 30 minutes into the cruise and the serving continues for an hour. You can freely move about inside the restaurant and the open deck as well while dining.

The service is quite good and the waiters are considerate of bringing in vegetarian food as well as noting down allergens (a first that we noticed in Russia). We absolutely loved the Risotto, the little finger food and those incredibly delicious Profiteroles!

The crew also hosts an amazing karaoke session a little while after desserts – a perfect way to top off an already pleasant evening.

Cost of the Solaris River Cruise experience

Based on all that you ready above, you probably thought its a few thousand Rubles, right? We thought so too! But the cruise cost far lesser at about RUB 1,490 (INR 1,600 or USD 23) for a full 4 hour experience!

Occasional discounts are listed on the official site. For more details on the cruise, you can even mail their team at [email protected] and call them on +7-495-256-36-06.

Tip: Save more money by taking a premium River Cruise (explained)

This means that you could save atleast RUB 1,400 (INR 1,600 or USD 22) by avoiding a DIY cruise!

What to do after the Moscow River Cruise?

There’s a lot of buzz in most parts of Moscow even in the late evenings. So you could head downtown and maybe go the Red Square, or go down to one of the clubs in the younger parts of the city like Pravda, Night Flight, or Propaganda.

Do you have more questions on exploring Moscow? We’d be happy to help!