The end of August has resulted in a transport collapse for tourists.
Returning from vacation on time has become a significant challenge, even for those with return tickets in hand. Whether travelers are coming back from international or domestic resorts, they face flight and train delays, along with severe road traffic. We`ve compiled strategies from those who successfully made it home from their holidays.
The end of August, unfortunately, has established itself as a period prone to passenger transport incidents, ranging from minor traffic accidents to major disruptions. This is a peak time for travel: everyone associated with the start of September – which includes the majority who choose August for their vacations – is rushing home. This isn`t just parents with school-aged children, but also school and university teachers whose July was occupied with exams, students, and employees of numerous education-related organizations – essentially, a diverse group. All are equally eager to return home before the Knowledge Day (September 1st) to prepare. Meanwhile, on the highways heading south and on return flights or trains, another diverse group is traveling – those who could only secure a vacation at the end of August. Flight delays and traffic jams, crumbling transport schedules like a house of cards, unite them all into one team of waiting travelers. Some wait at home airports and train stations, while others are at resorts, dreaming of getting home on time. On resort-bound highways, they often find themselves bumper-to-bumper, sometimes exchanging a few words, as our interviewee from the capital experienced:
“An hour before reaching the Crimean Bridge, someone from the oncoming traffic at a traffic light advised me to turn around before it was too late and go through Novorossiya,” shares Alexander, a Muscovite heading to Crimea in his personal car. “It’s a considerable detour, of course. But it’s better to drive a bit extra than to stand for several hours. Those who had left the peninsula said there was a collapse on the bridge.”
While Alexander was able to turn back, tourists on delayed trains have no such option. As of the morning of August 21st, 20 trains heading from the southern region to both capitals (Moscow and St. Petersburg) were delayed, including those from Anapa, Adler, Novorossiysk, Kislovodsk, and other southern Russian cities. Consequently, those just starting their holidays are waiting for these trains at Moscow and St. Petersburg stations. Trains to and from Crimea are also significantly delayed, affecting services to Simferopol, Sevastopol, and Feodosia from Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as return journeys. Railway passengers have no choice but to wait patiently, even if they are running late, as abandoning a hard-earned and costly ticket is not an option.
By the end of August, train tickets to and from the south were virtually nonexistent. On August 21st, an aggregator showed only one lower berth in a shared carriage from Adler to Moscow, suitable perhaps for a solo seasonal worker or student. From Moscow to Adler, even this wasn`t available; the only option was a luxury compartment for 104,000 rubles one-way. For some dates at the end of August, reaching St. Petersburg by train involved 2-3 transfers, with a «single» ticket costing from 120,000 rubles.
“It`s only `single` in name,” explains Vera from Tula, who experienced returning home via multiple transfers. “In reality, you pay for all segments at once, but running from one train to another is the passenger`s own responsibility. If you miss a connection, it’s your problem. And the connections seem to be chosen by artificial intelligence, without considering human capabilities: sometimes it’s an 8-hour wait at a small station with nowhere to lie down, other times it`s 8 minutes in a large city where you need to transfer between different train stations.”
Train tickets from Crimea to Moscow only reappear from September 5th, and even then, only for upper berths in shared compartments, priced at 14,000–15,000 rubles per seat (from Simferopol to Moscow). After September 10th, they disappear again in both directions, as all tickets for the «velvet season» (early autumn) are already sold out.
Relatively affordable travel from Russia`s southern regions, without the need for constant ticket hunting on aggregators, is only possible deep into autumn. So, the main question for domestic resort enthusiasts right now is what to do if they need to return immediately. For delays on international flights, the situation is slightly different: can one claim compensation if a tour is extended or return to work is delayed due to the delay?
“You can’t just drive through Novorossiya from Dubai; you have to wait for your ticketed flight, there’s no getting around it,” shares a woman from Yekaterinburg, whose flight was first delayed and then canceled due to the Israeli-Iranian conflict. Ultimately, her family’s return home cost an additional 150,000 rubles, which they hope to recover from their tour operator, who, in turn, will seek reimbursement from the airline. However, according to lawyers, it’s not guaranteed, as a closed airspace is considered a force majeure event, not the fault of the tour operator or carrier.
Those who successfully returned home from vacation are now offering surprisingly useful advice to fellow travelers in thematic chats. For example, a couple from the capital, who initially had no return tickets, managed to fly from Adler to Moscow at a price comparable to a train compartment: 15,000 rubles per ticket. They advise anyone still at the seaside, eager to get home, to check online ticket services at least three times a day, as tickets to the capital for the nearest days are «thrown out» – though they disappear quickly. But if you act fast, direct flights from Adler to Moscow with hand luggage can be found for 15,300 rubles on August 22-23. The last days of summer are more expensive: August 29-30, 21,000 rubles with luggage and 17,300 without. On August 31st, flying with hand luggage costs 16,500 rubles, and with a suitcase, it`s 3,000 rubles more.
St. Petersburg residents advise their compatriots to look at August 29th, when a ticket from Adler is available for 20,000 rubles, though luggage will cost an additional 6,500. On August 30th, one can fly to St. Petersburg for 22,300, plus 2,500 for a large suitcase. On August 31st, it`s 20,200 for hand luggage and 24,000 with checked baggage.
Siberians also recommend flying back from the south. In the last days of August, one can fly to Krasnoyarsk for 22,000 rubles, Novosibirsk for 18,000, Yekaterinburg for 20,000, and Chelyabinsk for 14,000 (all prices are for hand luggage only; checked luggage is extra).
The most challenging situation is for residents of Murmansk: by the end of August, there are no train tickets available for their city at all – neither unreasonably expensive, nor terribly inconvenient, nor with complex connections. However, there is one direct flight from Adler for over 92,000 rubles. Murmansk residents advise flying with transfers through other cities, which can bring the cost down to around 20,000 rubles. Which specific cities to transfer through can be found using online aggregators. The idea is that flights from Adler to less popular southern, non-resort cities might have available seats at affordable prices. From there, flights to Murmansk are infrequent, so the second leg of the journey won`t be prohibitively expensive for a Murmansk resident.
As for motorists, in their thematic chats, those traveling to and from Crimea are strongly advised to «avoid» the Crimean Bridge and instead use the Novorossiya route. The road surface there is new, speed limits are not below 90 km/h, inspections are quick, and there`s no need to unload belongings – you drive through the X-ray with your car and luggage. For those returning by car from the Krasnodar and Stavropol regions, the advice is simple: don`t rush. It`s better to be late than to be stuck for a long time due to a road incident, especially as the «unlucky» end of August for transport is still in full swing.
