Russians were given ways to save money on travel in 2026

To save money during the winter holidays, it is better to choose cities with a developed tourist infrastructure and a large number of rooms, such as Moscow, St. Petersburg or Sochi, where you can find budget accommodation at the last moment. For example, in St. Petersburg, hotels starting from 14,250 rubles are available for two for three nights with breakfast. Analysts of the National Tour Operator Alean told Izvestia about this on January 3.

Also, according to them, it is more profitable to plan a trip for Christmas, rather than for the New Year: flights on January 6 can cost almost twice as much as on December 30.

"Another way to save money is to choose a sanatorium instead of a park hotel: for the New Year holidays, accommodation at rates without treatment will cost 15% cheaper than in a comparable country hotel. It is also worth considering group sightseeing tours, which often include accommodation, meals, transportation and excursions at a price comparable or even lower than self—booking," the company noted.

An operational find: Russians have started booking tours right before their trips

This is most often the way to travel to Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.

Short bus tours around the Golden Ring are relevant for residents of the capital region, for example, a two-day trip to Vladimir and Suzdal can cost from 28 180 rubles for two. Additionally, you can reduce transportation costs by staying in the same location and making trips around the region, or share the cost of renting a cottage with friends.

For the whole of 2026, experts recommend tracking early booking promotions, especially for summer tours to Black Sea resorts, which allows you to save up to 20%. Apartment accommodation is on average 20% cheaper than hotels and convenient for families or companies. Off—season travel — from October to December and from January to April - also significantly reduces the cost of accommodation and flights. For example, an excursion tour to St. Petersburg in April may be 30% cheaper than for the May holidays.

"You should pay attention to special airline fares, such as the Aeroflot flat fare, which offers fixed prices for tickets to Kaliningrad and cities in the Far East. Autotourism is growing in popularity, especially in the nearest regions, which makes it possible to save on transport," the experts added.

In addition, you can choose non-obvious destinations that are not yet in popular demand, but offer interesting facilities and affordable prices for accommodation — for example, Elista, Yoshkar-Ola, Izhevsk or the Penza region.

Alexander Osaulenko, Vice President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, said on July 23 that new destinations for tourists, including international trends, are opening up in Russia. At the same time, there is an increase in demand for travel to the Middle East. He recalled that new destinations are opening in Russia this year, for example, the countries of the Middle East — Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia.

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