Travel To Russia In 2026: Mighty Red Square, Dacha Life & Heaps Of Food

Back in Russia After Nine Years

After nine long years away, we are finally back in Russia.

With Western Europe blocking direct flights, we had to take an arduous, eye‑watering route via Turkey in the middle of the night. Luckily, the plane to Moscow was only a third full, giving us space to spread out and grab a few precious minutes of sleep.

After hearing horror stories of Westerners and Russian passport holders being held at immigration for hours, we braced ourselves. Instead, we breezed through an empty Vnukovo airport, collected our bags instantly, and walked into arrivals in what was quite possibly the fastest airport experience of my several hundred flights.

And just like that, we were back in Moscow. It felt great.

Understanding Russia (Sort Of)

I often get asked, “What’s Russia like?”

An expat friend of mine, who’s lived here since the mid‑90s, wrote a book called Why Russians Don’t Smile. It’s aimed at first‑timers, new expats, and business travellers – basically anyone who doesn’t have thirty years to figure out Russian culture the hard way.

The title is provocative, but there’s truth in it. Russians don’t smile much – at least not on the surface.

Scratch beneath that surface, though, and you find an incredibly hospitable, warm, fiercely proud culture. They genuinely want visitors to feel welcome and to show off their motherland.

Once you’re inside a Russian home, the kitchen becomes like a place of worship. Endless plates of food appear, the smell of fresh dill wafts through the air, and the living room, usually full of old ornaments and dusty photo frames, is abandoned. The kitchen table is where life happens, with hours of conversation, constant nibbling, and traditionally at least one bottle of vodka. These days, in our borderline teetotal era, the table stayed dry… apart from the messy kids spilling their soon everywhere.

It’s a part of Russia I love – slowing down, enjoying company, conversation, and copious amounts of hearty food. Even if I can barely understand a word.

And speaking of food: Russian cuisine is wholesome, filling, and dangerously tasty. Every meal comes with a tower of bread that practically touches the ceiling. It’s always gone by the end. If there were a competition for brick‑pooing, the Russkies would win by a landslide.

Moscow: A Colossal, 24 Hour Beast

Moscow is enormous – a greater metropolitan area of 21 million people and it truly is a 24‑hour city. You can get anything you want, at any time of day or night.

Red Square and its surroundings must be one of the most architecturally dazzling areas in Europe. Built over 500 years ago, it has witnessed famous speeches, mighty military parades, riots, demonstrations, uprisings – all on the doorstep of the Kremlin.

At the other end of the cobblestoned sqaure, St Basil’s Cathedral never fails to take my breath away. Its spectacular, colourful onion domes look like something straight out of a fairytale.

Behind the Kremlin, the Moskva River flows past the impressive Christ the Saviour Church, the world’s third‑largest Orthodox Christian church. Built in the 19th century, destroyed by the Soviets, and rebuilt in the 90s, its golden domes glisten across the city in the summer sun.

A few hundred yards further along stands the giant statue of Peter the Great – clearly a better name than Ivan the Terrible. Peter, Tsar of Russia in the late 1600s, is celebrated for his sweeping reforms and obsession with modernising the country. He travelled Europe extensively, learning from other nations, and ultimately founded the beautiful city of St Petersburg.

Gorky Park & Suburban Life

A short walk further along the river brings you to Gorky Park – Moscow’s number‑one playground. A vast 120‑hectare, century‑old park filled with cafés, playgrounds, boating lakes, kids’ rides, and even a swimming pool. On a sunny day, it’s unbeatable. Even our kids enjoyed it… until they spotted the ice‑cream stand, which ended the peace immediately.

We’re already a few weeks into our time here, and it’s flown by.

Out in the suburbs, amongst the high‑rise landscape, robots deliver food to apartments and kids run freely across dozens of playgrounds. It’s safe, clean, and our two have been loving it – even making friends speaking Russlish, a hybrid of Russian and English.

A Changing Moscow

I’m finding Moscow incredibly vibrant, with development happening on every corner. The city feels like it’s changing at a rapid pace. Maybe it’s just summer – trust me, this place is very different in the depths of a bleak winter but there’s definitely more buzz than before.

Customer service remains as miserable as ever, but the general population seems more upbeat. The youth are bringing change: colourful clothes, punk‑ish styles (whatever the modern word for that is), and more tattoos than I’ve ever seen on Russians.

Weekends at the Dacha

Many Russians escape to their dacha at weekends – a holiday home (or bach, to us Kiwis) usually 1–2 hours outside the city. They range from rickety wooden shacks with no electricity and a long drop, to purpose‑built mansions. Most have a decent plot of land where families grow vegetables and fruit, tending their crops at weekends and bringing the bounty back to Moscow for the week.

Once again, being back in nature, our kids loved it. Sofia galloping around like a wild horse, Alex dangerously climbing trees. We feasted on delicious shashlik (Russian coal BBQ), fresh veggies from the garden, and the obligatory tower of bread.

Given Moscow is over 600km from the nearest beach, this is the closest thing to relaxing in paradise. We certainly made the most of slowing down for a couple of days.

With fuel at just USD $0.75 per litre, it’s no wonder they head back weekend after weekend.