Travel june/july 2026

NV1

Hello
We are currently in Georgia and we want to cross the border to Russia. We would like to visit the provinces of Chechnya and Dagestan, and the cities of Volgograd, Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, and Olmsk…
Is anyone traveling in Russia currently?
Does anyone have recent experience with the Georgia-Russia border crossing?
We are hesitant to travel with concerns about safety.

Thank you!
Kind regards, Nele

phoebe

NV1 I'm currently in Georgia and have travelled several times between Russia and Georgia. My tip with much less stress is flying from Batumi to Sochi, cheap flight then you can travel from there. Crossing the Georgia Russia border is time consuming and more stressful.

NV1

Hi, thank you for the tip!
And do you have an idea of the safety in the region Chechnya and Dagestan? And the cities of Volgograd, Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, and Olmsk, are these cities accessible to tourists in June/july 2026?

KO______

NV1 I just did many of your listed cities. There are many flights and several airlines to get you around. Once youre inside Russia it will become easier to understand.

I assume you are aware of the bigger issue which is preparing yourself for no credit cards and no ATM access unless you have a Russian bank account. (You dont mention your country of citizenship.)

Everything is possible but dont underestimate the need to pre-plan. Safety is always a concern in a country at war.

NV1

Thank you for your respons and yes, I am aware of that.

We are from Belgium, so we pay with euro. We wanted to take everything in cash (euro), is it also convenient to exchange euro to rubles in the above-mentioned cities?

KO______

NV1 I traveled several months with cash only and no SIM card for my phone. As long as your EUR bills are pristine you wont have any issues with conversion anywhere. Keep in mind they are very strict on bill quality. Even a tiny ink spot or tiny tear and they wont take it.

If you have a VODAFONE sim card (Belgium has them?) you will be able to roam most likely, at least a few months ago you could. It will be hit or miss on data but just plan for not having it and you'll be fine. Hotel wifi is all I really needed.

Also, keep in mind tourism is alive and well in Russia. Many groups of Chinese tourists are everywhere.

I can't speak for Dagistan or Chechnya but I'd be curious to learn about them for next trip.

NorseVictory

NV1

This sounds like you're planning on going to Russia on a whim. "Since we are in Georgia, we might as well check off some Russian as well".

Just make sure you have proper documents, visas, etc etc