Change of plans.... going to Russia. I need some help though.

[Turboguy 6]

You have had a lot of good suggestions here. For sightseeing it is hard to beat St. Petersburg. There is an endless array of tourist spots. If you just want to kick back and relax and spend time together another consideration might be Sochi. I would never have believed palm trees in Russia if I had not gone to Sochi.

I do think the time of year you want to go might be a factor. I would not want to visit St. Petersburg in January or Feb. June is great. You might also consider Egypt or Thailand. We did both and loved them.

[visaveteran 1]

You could meet her in the Dominican Republic...no visas needed. You save the cost and hassle of getting a Russian visa and because Russian is so crazy expensive, you will do better booking a package to the DR. The resorts are all inclusive...so your flight (not hers), the hotel, food, drinks and tips are included. You will need to buy her airplane ticket separately. All in all, I'd bet you will spend about the same or less going that route then to Russia. And you can be assured the weather will be great. St. Petersburg is nice but noted for lots of rain in the spring and summer.

You will enjoy not dealing with a very long flight, jet lag and the fatigue of travel.

[SMR 368]

You could meet her in the Dominican Republic...no visas needed. You save the cost and hassle of getting a Russian visa and because Russian is so crazy expensive, you will do better booking a package to the DR. The resorts are all inclusive...so your flight (not hers), the hotel, food, drinks and tips are included. You will need to buy her airplane ticket separately. All in all, I'd bet you will spend about the same or less going that route then to Russia. And you can be assured the weather will be great. St. Petersburg is nice but noted for lots of rain in the spring and summer.

You will enjoy not dealing with a very long flight, jet lag and the fatigue of travel.

Well, if you want a Caribbean getaway, there are better destinations than the Dominican Republic, in my opinion. Prices are pretty uniform, depending, of course, on the quality of the hotel, the proximity of ocean and other attractions, and everything else. I recommend the Bahamas.

I suppose hotel rooms could get expensive in St. Petersburg. I stayed with my wife's family.

VV, your last comment says a lot about the way you see things. By going to the Caribbean, you ensure that you don't fight a long flight and jet lag and that your fiancee will. Kemerovo is exactly 12 hours different than the Dominican Republic. Then again, maybe the plan is to be up all night anyways.

Edited March 1, 2010 by SMR

[Turboguy 6]

There are a lot of places in the Caribbean that are easy for a Russian citizen to get into. D.R. is one as is Jamaca, Costa Rica, Barbados or Granada. Cuba is another that is easy for them but hard for us. I had the impression that the Bahamas are not quite so easy.

If you go that route one thing you need to be aware of is that she can't transit through the USA to get there. There are no transit visas anymore. There are flights to the Caribbean through Frankfurt. There are also flights through Paris, London and Madrid but Frankfurt is the best. My wife and I spent a few months in Grenada and Barbados as we waited and they were quite nice. Barbaodos has more to do.

[SMR 368]

There are a lot of places in the Caribbean that are easy for a Russian citizen to get into. D.R. is one as is Jamaca, Costa Rica, Barbados or Granada. Cuba is another that is easy for them but hard for us. I had the impression that the Bahamas are not quite so easy.

If you go that route one thing you need to be aware of is that she can't transit through the USA to get there. There are no transit visas anymore. There are flights to the Caribbean through Frankfurt. There are also flights through Paris, London and Madrid but Frankfurt is the best. My wife and I spent a few months in Grenada and Barbados as we waited and they were quite nice. Barbaodos has more to do.

You are correct about the Bahamas. I had some bad information about visa requirements. You make a good point about transit through the US.

[visaveteran 1]

Well, if you want a Caribbean getaway, there are better destinations than the Dominican Republic, in my opinion. Prices are pretty uniform, depending, of course, on the quality of the hotel, the proximity of ocean and other attractions, and everything else. I recommend the Bahamas.

I suppose hotel rooms could get expensive in St. Petersburg. I stayed with my wife's family.

VV, your last comment says a lot about the way you see things. By going to the Caribbean, you ensure that you don't fight a long flight and jet lag and that your fiancee will. Kemerovo is exactly 12 hours different than the Dominican Republic. Then again, maybe the plan is to be up all night anyways.

Well, flying to St. Petersburg is required for her also. Anyway, she would probably jump at the chance to visit an island paradise versus a Russian location.

[AKguy 1]

I liked Egypt. Visas were simple for both of us. I'm not sure how much the hotels are because Anna's parents got that as a gift for us. The hotel we were at was all inclusive and the side trips we took weren't that much money. (Safari in the desert and boat trip)

Egpytcian guys and their forwardness got a little old after awhile, but it's nothing that can't be dealt with.

[Chris M 1]

Sounds like the VISA application package she submitted to the French Embassy was not complete if they had to "call and ask her why she is going to Paris." If she had properly included the trip itinerary and copies of hotel reservations and round trip tickets etc. etc. perhaps she would not have been turned down for the VISA. Moscow is incredibly expensive, so is France. Why not try Poland ? Its still an EU country and if she does a better job on her application she might get the VISA ... supply proof of all places you plan to visit, if you are going then send in your flight information as well.

She did a great job!!!!! We did all of this and we had an agency help her. we had apartment reservations, pay stubs from work, plane ticket, letter from work stating how much she made, bank account info, everything. It was not her, trust me.

[Used to be broken 147]

She did a great job!!!!! We did all of this and we had an agency help her. we had apartment reservations, pay stubs from work, plane ticket, letter from work stating how much she made, bank account info, everything. It was not her, trust me.

Interesting, has she ever had an EU VISA in the past? We haven't had this problem but the first EU VISA my husband got was for a group sports event. We did not have any issues although we did not use an agency.

Again my advice is to try the Polish Embassy they seem to be very flexible with us (I think they are trying to attract as much tourism dollars as possible) and we also had good luck with Italy. We included copies of my passport page, our marriage certificate as well which may "prove" since he is married to US Citizen he has no reason to stay in EU.

Again Poland is an EU country now so if you still want to take the train to France you can. Also Poland is quite inexpensive and lots of touristy things to do there.

The other suggestions of Dominica are going to be wildly expensive and involve transit VISA's through the EU and possibly other countries depending on where the flight lands.

Good luck I know travel is a hassle and expensive with all this VISA stuff involved. We have decided though that no Soviet or former Soviet countries for vacations. :0

[Used to be broken 147]

Just for fun I went to the French embassy website and looked at what they require for a VISA which includes police certificates etc and translations... not so much hassle for Italy or Poland VISA

[slim 1,514]

You could meet her in the Dominican Republic...no visas needed. You save the cost and hassle of getting a Russian visa and because Russian is so crazy expensive, you will do better booking a package to the DR. The resorts are all inclusive...so your flight (not hers), the hotel, food, drinks and tips are included. You will need to buy her airplane ticket separately. All in all, I'd bet you will spend about the same or less going that route then to Russia. And you can be assured the weather will be great.

DR is awesome! All-inclusive is the way to go.

However, I caution against going on a "vacation" for anyone taking a "fact-finding" trip to get to know their sweetheart better. 3rd, 4th meeting, maybe, but if this is your first or second time seeing each other and you don't really know each other very well yet, take the time to do "normal" stuff together. It's very easy to have fun for a week or two and be compatible with someone while you're on holiday in paradise. Not so much when you're trying to navigate the subway system at rush hour or make it to a museum before they close or something of that nature.

Don't trick yourselves into being "perfect for each other" by going on a perfect vacation together. Hell, I could fall in love with anyone who pays my way to the Dominican Republic for a week.

Yes, the crude, aggressive, sexual behavior of the men in Turkey and Egypt is notorious. These men especially "like" Russia women whom they universally call "Natasha."

Egypt is cheap so it's a consideration based on budget. The crude men would be tough for me to tolerate.

The men in DR were very polite and even the more forward guys, who spoke Russian (and English, French, German, etc. as well) avoided physical advances.

Do you know why they are called Natashas?

What's the real reason?

[Turboguy 6]

The other suggestions of Dominica are going to be wildly expensive and involve transit VISA's through the EU and possibly other countries depending on where the flight lands.

If she were to go through Frankfurt, CDG or Madrid there is not transit visa required. If she goes through London there is.

It is more expensive for her trip but far less for ours and a big time savings for us.

I will agree with the comments about how much the men in Egypt and Turkey hastle you. It was probably our biggest complaint. Still we enjoyed the trip and it was cool to see things like the Pyramids and Sphinx. There are a lot of people trying to scam you. You can end up paying $ 100.00 for a camel ride or $ 5.00 for the same ride.

Thialand was also great. We did Phuket and had our own cottage with a flower garden/forest setting adjusant to the beach for right around $ 100 a night. Very romantic and very affordable. You need to watch the sun there. Even avoiding it we both got bad sunburns.

Edited March 2, 2010 by Turboguy

[visaveteran 1]

There's another side benefit to going to the DR (or other islands)...at least for us American guys...everyone speaks English in the DR at the resorts. And I found out that the Dominican people like Americans...and it's because of baseball! I had more locals wanting to talk baseball with me.

I enjoyed Paris but if you don't speak French fluently, the locals can be jerks. We've all heard the stories of the rude Parisians.

[kharkovpoacher 4]

KLM airlines flies from Amsterdam to Punta Cana, DR. No transit visa needed for Amsterdam. 11 hour flight from Amsterdam. My Veka was tired. She quickly rebounded once she saw the resort. If you go to DR tell her to have $20 US for their tourist visa upon entering. They do not take rubbles or hgrivna. They might take euros. I just made sure she had US dollars. (it might only be $10, but err on the side of caution).

NATASHA. That is a term for a working girl.

[Used to be broken 147]

KLM airlines flies from Amsterdam to Punta Cana, DR. No transit visa needed for Amsterdam. 11 hour flight from Amsterdam. My Veka was tired. She quickly rebounded once she saw the resort. If you go to DR tell her to have $20 US for their tourist visa upon entering. They do not take rubbles or hgrivna. They might take euros. I just made sure she had US dollars. (it might only be $10, but err on the side of caution).

NATASHA. That is a term for a working girl.

I think Russian Federation Nationals need a transit VISA for Netherlands.