Coronavirus - Advice for Customers
Travel News in Russia, ex USSR, Mongolia & China
Reviewed 05 October 2020. Applies to any tours provided by GR Travel Group Ltd.
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Dear Travellers,
Please see up-to-date details on the FCO website:
For full information relating to the coronavirus, please visit the government website for more information on risks and advice on precautionary measures as mentioned above.
We are very sorry that we unable to provide holidays as initially planned and we fully appreciate your frustration. We also understand that many of you have booked a package holiday that offers more protection in terms of our liability to you. However, following the coronavirus crisis, there were some recent updates in the European Package Travel Regulations 2018 dated 20 March 2020 allowing a tour organiser to offer a credit note (voucher) towards a new booking. We follow the regulatory policies and have updated our booking conditions to adapt to the constantly evolving nature of this pandemic. Please see below for details.
If you initially planned to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg we suggest you review our Special New Year Tour to Russia departing 26 December 2020. This eight-day holiday is a very special city break offering you the chance to join the Russians for their unrivalled New Year celebrations. Combining elegant, romantic St Petersburg with modern, vibrant Moscow, you’ll enjoy the festive spirit in two of the country’s most enthrallling cities. The program includes all major landmarks plus troika ride, folk show, ballet, 4 star premium central accommodation.
Why should you consider this option? You can still visit Russia this year - you can exchange your current air tickets at no extra cost as majority of airlines are giving more flexibility on tickets exchange with initial departure date planned before 31 May 2020. You get a 10% discount on tour price excluding flights. You get a chance to experience the Russian winter and enjoy ballet performance and a troika ride. View tour presentation video.
From only £1.695 including flights and Russian visa. You will also get a 10% discount from tour price excluding flights.
Please note, if you are travelling later, they situation may drastically change and many travel restrictions may be removed. So we suggest to wait and not to cancel your travel plans. If you decide to cancel, all cancellations will be subject to our booking conditions. However, to make planning more favourable to you, we have modified our cancellation conditions. You can cancel the trip up to one month before departure and lose only your deposit and the cost of the services that have already been provided to you (visas, travel insurance - which cannot be refunded). You can also postpone the final payment until one month before your departure. Please also check with your travel insurance, they may cover your cancellation costs. Our best advice here is to wait and do not start panicking.
Russia closes borders for foreign visitors from 18 March till further notice. There are some exclusions but they are not related to tourists. The consular departments will not accept any visa applications from 18 March 2020. When the service will resume is not specified.
Update: Russia has reopened its bordes with the UK and Switzerland in August. Residents of those countries can now travel to Russia without any quarantine requirements, visa services and flights are now also operating. A mandatory covid-19 test taken not earlier than 72 hours before arrival in Russia will be required. More details...
Quick navigation -
- Russia opened its borders with the UK & Switzerland in August 2020. We are resuming tours to Russia from the UK starting from 01 September 2020 - https://www.justgorussia.co.uk/newsletter/0820/
- Health & document requirements for international travel, including COVID-19 tests, get an instant confirmation
- Rebooking options, what to do, etc. - Tours cancelled due to covid-19 - travel date up to 31 august 2020
- Update on our response to Covid-19 & how we deal with the situation. - How Go Russia responds to Covid-19
Dear Travellers,
GENERAL
We know that many of you are concerned with the recent developments following the outbreak of the new coronavirus disease. Many countries have recently introduced enhanced health screening procedures or even limited travel to prevent the spread of the virus. It is also very important that travellers follow the public health advice and the general hygienic rules.YOUR SAFETY
Your safety is our highest priority and is central to the preparation and arrangement of all our tours. All travellers are advised to read the FCO travel advice for the country they are travelling to. There are also special guidance notes published on the FCO website regarding the coronavirus, latest information and advice - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-publicPlease see up-to-date details on the FCO website:
- Russia - https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/russia
- Mongolia - https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/mongolia
- Ukraine - https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ukraine
- China - https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/china
TRAVELLING WITH MEDICAL SYMPTOMS
If you have any medical symptoms – cough, sneeze, fever (even light), headache, body weakness, or others – we strongly advise to seek medical advice before your travel. When travelling, you may be screened and your temperature measured at airports, railway stations and other public places. If there are any suspicions regarding your medical condition you may be medically tested.For full information relating to the coronavirus, please visit the government website for more information on risks and advice on precautionary measures as mentioned above.
HOLIDAYS CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19 - TRAVEL DATE UP TO 31 AUGUST 2020
Please note these new rules apply only to customers whose holidays have been cancelled due to reasons of force majeure.We are very sorry that we unable to provide holidays as initially planned and we fully appreciate your frustration. We also understand that many of you have booked a package holiday that offers more protection in terms of our liability to you. However, following the coronavirus crisis, there were some recent updates in the European Package Travel Regulations 2018 dated 20 March 2020 allowing a tour organiser to offer a credit note (voucher) towards a new booking. We follow the regulatory policies and have updated our booking conditions to adapt to the constantly evolving nature of this pandemic. Please see below for details.
- Services that have already been provided. We will not be able to offer any refunds for services that have actually been provided to you – issued visas (standard processing cost - £125 in the UK, $250 in the USA), travel insurance (actual cost depends on the policy). We understand, you will not be able to use those services, however it is not possible to recover the costs from the consulates or insurance providers.
- Travel voucher for land-only service. You will receive a credit of 100% of your paid tour price excluding flights and any unrecoverable costs detailed above. The voucher can be used as payment for an alternative tour with a departure date before 30 April 2022.
- Discount. We will also add the following discounts to your modified booking: city-breaks and visa visa free trips - £100, river cruises - £150, trans-siberian tours - £200 per per person.
- Flights. Different airlines use different approach to process refunds. Many allow to rebook to an alternative date without any fees or provide a voucher that can be used for a future flight with the same airline to any destination they fly to. We will contact you with options offered by the airlines.
- Special offers. If there are any special offers available at the time you want to rebook your holiday, we will be happy to match any current discounts. For example, if we have any offers with a 15% reduction at the time your decide to rebook, we will be happy to apply this 15% discount to your future booking. Please note, only special offers available at the time you rebook will be taken into account. Please also note, we can only confirm one special offer per reservation. If your reservation already contains a reduction, we will confirm the highest discount available at the time of your rebooking and the previous offer will be deleted for the new reservation. For example: you had an early booking discount of £150 per person, at the time of rebooking we have a special offer that entitles you to a £250 discount per person. So, your new reservation will show a discount of £250 per person.
- Financial protection. Your credit note has full financial protection as we hold a deposit in the trustee account that covers all future bookings. In the unlikely event of our insolvency our trustees will make sure the moneys paid are refunded to you. Flight-inclusive holidays starting from the UK are ATOL protected. Please read more about financial protection.
- Transfer vouchers (credit) to another person. We are happy to offer more flexibility. Land only services - the voucher is transferrable; you can offer it to your friends. Flights - unfortunately, the flight vouchers are not transferrable, name changes are not allowed.
REBOOKING OPTIONS
Option 1
You can now rebook to any tour departing in 2020 and 2021, all departure dates have been published on our website. Find your tour.
Option 2
If you initially planned to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg we suggest you review our Special New Year Tour to Russia departing 26 December 2020. This eight-day holiday is a very special city break offering you the chance to join the Russians for their unrivalled New Year celebrations. Combining elegant, romantic St Petersburg with modern, vibrant Moscow, you’ll enjoy the festive spirit in two of the country’s most enthrallling cities. The program includes all major landmarks plus troika ride, folk show, ballet, 4 star premium central accommodation. Why should you consider this option? You can still visit Russia this year - you can exchange your current air tickets at no extra cost as majority of airlines are giving more flexibility on tickets exchange with initial departure date planned before 31 May 2020. You get a 10% discount on tour price excluding flights. You get a chance to experience the Russian winter and enjoy ballet performance and a troika ride. View tour presentation video.
From only £1.695 including flights and Russian visa. You will also get a 10% discount from tour price excluding flights.
TRAVELLING AFTER 31 AUGUST 2020
Russia has opened its borders with the UK from 01 August 2020. We have resumed tours to Russia from the UK starting from 01 September 2020. Visa services have been also resumed. More details about travelling to Russia after 31 August 2020 - https://www.justgorussia.co.uk/newsletter/0820/Please note, if you are travelling later, they situation may drastically change and many travel restrictions may be removed. So we suggest to wait and not to cancel your travel plans. If you decide to cancel, all cancellations will be subject to our booking conditions. However, to make planning more favourable to you, we have modified our cancellation conditions. You can cancel the trip up to one month before departure and lose only your deposit and the cost of the services that have already been provided to you (visas, travel insurance - which cannot be refunded). You can also postpone the final payment until one month before your departure. Please also check with your travel insurance, they may cover your cancellation costs. Our best advice here is to wait and do not start panicking.
OTHER INFORMATION RELATED TO COVID-19
How Go Russia responds to Covid-19
As many of you are concerned with future travel plans, we would like to give you some update on our response to those unprecedented times and how we deal with the situation, our financial stability, etc. Read more...
Russia closes borders on 18 March 2020
Russia closes borders for foreign visitors from 18 March till further notice. There are some exclusions but they are not related to tourists. The consular departments will not accept any visa applications from 18 March 2020. When the service will resume is not specified.Update: Russia has reopened its bordes with the UK and Switzerland in August. Residents of those countries can now travel to Russia without any quarantine requirements, visa services and flights are now also operating. A mandatory covid-19 test taken not earlier than 72 hours before arrival in Russia will be required. More details...
Life is back to normal in Russia. Are you ready to go to Russia?
October 05, 2020