Few travelers ever have the chance to explore the truly Russian towns that line the waterways from Moscow south to the enchanting city of Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea. This is truly the real Russia, filled with historic towns and cities that we have all heard and read about, Stalingrad (now Volgograd) not the least among them. Set far away from the typical tourist routes, the Lower Volga will take you back in time and show you a part of Russia that she rarely shows to foreigners. Only recently have these cities been linked in all-encompassing comfort aboard a luxurious riverboat and we are very proud to bring this experience to our well-traveled guests. Here not only can you experience true Russian towns with all their history, but also grasslands, coastal forests and dense thickets of reeds, which provide habitat to wildlife seen nowhere else in Russia.

The journey starts in Moscow and then includes such exotic ports of call as one thousand year old Kazan where the ancient kremlin is a UNESCO World Heritage site and Samara with its picturesque waterfront. Visit Saratov, the home of Yuri Gagarin and a vital link in the Russian space program and Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), the site of the bloodiest battle in modern warfare and overseen by Motherland Calls, one of the tallest sculptures in the world. Where the river flows into the Caspian sits the capital of caviar, Astrakhan. Here flamingoes and pelicans parade on the riverbank and lotus flowers fill the landscape.

Click here for a detailed itinerary.