How much does a holiday abroad cost for the May holiday?

Europe: in a roundabout way

There is good news for Russians who dream of vacations in European countries: the most popular Spain, Italy, France, Greece and many other EU countries have resumed issuing visas. But even after obtaining a visa, entering the EU will not be easy. We’ll have to fly around – over third countries.

“It is most convenient to go to Greece with a visa via Istanbul,” said socialbites.ca in one of the travel companies specializing in the Greek direction.

You can also reach other European countries via Istanbul – for example Spain or Italy. “After getting a Schengen visa, you can fly to Spain or Italy via Istanbul, Serbia, Hungary or Armenia. So, in a roundabout way, agreed Artur Muradyan, vice president for foreign tourism of the Russian Association of Tour Operators (ATOR) and CEO of the Space Travel tour operator.

According to aggregator Aviasales.ru, the cheapest ticket to Barcelona on April 30 costs 89,000 rubles. Departure is carried out from the airport “Zvartnots” (Yerevan). However, the flight will take 29 hours. Return ticket for May 8 (with arrival in Moscow in the morning of May 9) – from Chisinau airport. Travel time – 19 hours.

The fastest round-trip flight option to Spain on the same dates is via Istanbul. Travel time is two to three times longer than usual – from 8 to 12 hours, the cost is 250 thousand rubles.

There are also connecting flights from Moscow to Paris. From the end of April, two local low-cost airlines will fly via Yerevan.

Muradyan noted that roundabout flight options to Europe led to increased cost and time. According to him, there is another difficulty: the border guard at any of the European airports has to ask you if there are return tickets and hotel reservations.

“Global accommodation search services Booking and Airbnb have suspended their operations in Russia. It is impossible to book a hotel in Europe from Russia. The return option is to take cash euros or dollars with you and book a hotel on arrival. Or ask your friends living in the EU to book a room for you in advance,” Muradyan advised.

Asian aspect: meeting the needs of Russians

The direction of rest, which can be conditionally called “Asian”, is now the richest in offerings. Beach holidays are available in Turkey, Egypt, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Sri Lanka, Thailand.

Turkey is launching charter flights to the Asian side – Antalya, especially for the Russians. Turkish airline Southwind plans to open its own flights to Russia from May and carry up to 1 million Russians per season.

“A five-star hotel in Turkey will cost at least 65,000 rubles per person for a week,” said Fun&Sun tour operator (former TUI Russia).

Participants in the travel services market now recommend buying tours rather than booking flights and hotels on their own. “When restrictions were introduced, tourists were barely able to return to their homeland. Cards did not work, buying a new ticket was problematic. And tour operators still removed and relocated their tourists at their own expense, ”explained in one of the travel companies.

Prices for Beach Egypt (hotels on the Sinai Peninsula) have increased, but there are still options for a vacation in May. “A tour to Egypt from May 1 for seven nights (two, four-star hotel for all-inclusive meals) costs 62,900 rubles per person. For comparison, under the same conditions, Turkey will cost several thousand cheaper, ”says Anna Filatovskaya, representative of the Russian Express tour operator.

In addition, Fun&Sun is launching a flight schedule from Moscow to Egypt on EgyptAir’s regular direct flights from April 28. Airbus-330 flights will be daily. A week with meals in Sharm el-Sheikh according to the “breakfast-dinner” system will cost 67.3 thousand rubles per person. They said that in Hurghada – 5 thousand rubles more expensive in the travel company.

Seven nights (three-star hotel, half board) in Israel in May will cost 138,800 rubles per person. And since June, when the weather warms up in Israel, a tour with a meal will cost 97 thousand rubles per person. “Moreover, in June tour operators took back seats on planes, which made it possible to lower prices,” said the Russian Express.

There is another option to go to Egypt – from Minsk. Belavia Airlines flies from the capital of Belarus to Cairo. “Egypt is actively developing proposals for summer holidays in the Red and Mediterranean Seas. These are the resorts of El Alamein, Marsa Matruh. Filatovskaya stated that there is no sweltering heat in the summer.

From April 30, a tour to the UAE (three-star hotel with three meals a day) for 7 nights starts from 107,100 rubles per person. For June – from 59,700 rubles.

There are holiday options in Qatar you may not know. Qatar Airways has halved the fares of flights from Russia. A ticket to Doha (beach vacation) on April 30 will cost 114 thousand rubles, and in the first days of May – 60-70 thousand, but ready-made tours are sold at a price of 220 thousand rubles for two for six nights.

Sri Lanka has relaxed entry requirements for unvaccinated tourists. For this, a PCR test carried out at the latest 72 hours before departure from 19 April is sufficient. A visa can be issued on the spot for $40.

And vaccinated tourists will no longer need to own People’s Insurance PLC, which covers COVID-19 treatment costs. From April 30, a week-long tour to Sri Lanka for two in a two-star hotel will cost at least 400,000 rubles.

The Maldives is still exotic both geographically and financially: a seven-night tour to the islands on April 30 in a five-star hotel will cost 1.3 million rubles. After the May holidays, the price tag was reduced to 700 thousand rubles.

Another Asian exotic – Thailand – 2.5 times cheaper even during the May holidays. From April 30 to a three-star hotel with breakfast for seven nights – 248,900 rubles per person. Russian Express stated that in the first half of June, the cost of the same tour was 95,800 rubles per person.

Latin America: expensive and angry

Latin America has become even more inaccessible. The popular resort of Cancun in Mexico will cost 1.3 million rubles for a standard all-inclusive four-star hotel room. “Due to the complex logistics and high cost, air travel and Latin American tours are not very popular at the moment. “If Russian tourists want something exotic, they mostly go to Asian countries,” he said.

The problem is that it is impossible to fly to Cuba, the Dominican Republic and other countries on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean without refueling in domestic superjets or Tu planes. Boeings and Airbuses leased by Russian airlines have been out of the legal field since February 24. “In countries controlled by the EU and the US, such as Cuba, airlines are afraid to fly if they need to be refueled. ATOR Vice President for Outbound Tourism, Muradyan, said, “Leasered planes can only be arrested at airports where they are refueled.”

What to do with rubles

Participants of the tourist market warned of the problems of payment in rubles in almost all directions. According to Muradyan, not only the European Union, but even Russia-friendly countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Turkey, are skeptical of payments in local currency.

“Tours paid by the tour operator typically stay on hotel bills for between five and seven days. They carefully check the Russian lists, looking for the names of those on the “black lists” of the EU, the USA and the UK. Usually they want more information. They often fear secondary sanctions against themselves. “After February 24, refunds become more frequent,” he said.

But Russian tour operators gradually began to solve the problem of converting rubles to dollars and euros. “While you are in Russia, you can deposit the amount you need on vacation with our company, and when you arrive in the same Europe or Turkey, you can pay for purchases in foreign currency through our partners,” said Filatovskaya, the representative of the company. Russian Express tour operator.