Expensive, however: the most luxurious tour abroad was bought for 35 million rubles
In 2025, one of the most expensive tours sold in Russia was a trip to the Maldives for 36 million rubles, industry representatives told Izvestia. On average, wealthy Russians spend 2-6 million rubles on travel. Tour organizers have to satisfy their various quirks: to look for hotels near the filming locations of TV series, with a certain air purification system, to organize weddings for Pomeranians. About the most expensive tours, popular destinations and unusual requests of VIP tourists - in the material of Izvestia.
What are the most expensive tours ordered by Russians
Among the most expensive trips Russians bought from tour operators in 2025 were trips to the Maldives and the United Arab Emirates, Izvestia found out.
So, in March 2025, for 28 days in the Maldives, eight tourists paid $466 thousand, or 36 million rubles, representatives of the tour operator Pac Group said. The price included air tickets and accommodation.
Another tour operator had the most expensive tour for the May holidays in the UAE. The trip was organized for four adults who were vacationing in a five-star hotel on the first line of Dubai city, in a presidential suite room.
"The cost for nine nights was 30 million rubles," the company said. — In addition, tourists also used the individual rapid escort service at the airport. They were provided with a personal butler, a terrace of 257 sq. m. m with a deep pool and other services."
Another expensive trip was a month—long tour to Kemer, Turkey, which cost 18 million rubles for four people, including two children. The travelers chose a two-storey villa on the first line.
The destinations with the highest check are, as a rule, the UAE and Maldives, said Lyubov Voronina, Managing director of the Let's Fly tour operator.
— However, our most expensive tour, worth $140 thousand (about 11 million rubles), was booked to Thailand with accommodation in a villa. There was also an application for a trip to the United Arab Emirates for $50,000 (about 4 million rubles)," she said.
On average, Russians spend from 2 million to 6 million rubles on expensive tours. According to the Tourvisor system, which collects offers from all key tour operators, the most expensive was a May trip to Turkey for 18 days to one of the five-star hotels, costing 3.8 million rubles, excluding air tickets.
"The indicator is significantly higher than in previous years. In 2024, the most expensive tour was sold to the Maldives, at a cost of 2.2 million rubles," the service said.
Among the trips sold by the Spectrum tour operator, the most expensive was an individual tour to India for a married couple — it cost about $50,000 (about 4 million rubles) in two weeks. The tour included the best hotels and visits to national parks where a unique tiger population lives.
"We also had a business class flight tour for the family. It cost about 5 million rubles per week," the company said.
According to "Fly.<url>", in 2025, the most expensive trip to a villa in Turkey cost 6.1 million rubles for ten nights.
The expedition to Antarctica for 1.2 million rubles has become one of the most expensive author tours on the marketplace YouTravel.me . The cost of the trip included a visit to the Russian polar station Bellingshausen, observation of penguin colonies, flocks of cormorants and seal rookeries.
— The tour included photo shoots with penguins, landing on an active volcano, crossing the picturesque Lemaire Strait and kayaking among seals, — said Valery Britaus, commercial director of the marketplace. — The second most expensive tour is a yacht cruise along the Lycian Trail in Turkey for 1.1 million rubles.
What are the requests of rich tourists
In 2025, the ranking of the most expensive tours in Russia includes trips to the North Pole, to the heart of the Putorana Plateau, to the icy landscapes of Chukotka and the Kuril volcanoes. Exclusive trips to Taimyr, cruises to the Commander Islands and the Shantar Islands were popular, the Bolshaya Strana community of tour operators told Izvestia.
For example, a trip to the North Pole on the nuclear icebreaker 50 Years of Victory or on the luxury icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot costs from 3.2 million rubles for 13 days.
"The tour includes boarding and disembarking at the geographical North Pole, exploring Svalbard, and helicopter tours. On board there are lectures with polar explorers, a Michelin—starred chef and helicopter rides over Arctic ice floes," the company said.
A tour to Taimyr will cost from 750 thousand rubles, and expedition cruises from Kamchatka to Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands or the Commander Islands — from 662 thousand.
"Among the expensive destinations that are actively growing in popularity this year, we can single out, for example, the Putorana Plateau in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, where hiking tours start from 122 thousand rubles, and with a helicopter drop — up to 470 thousand. The Shantar Islands are also popular — one of the best places in the world to observe bowhead whales, killer whales, bears, seals, the price starts from 220 thousand rubles for seven days," they added.
An individual trip should be made up on request, it is necessary to fully organize the client's leisure time on the trip, said the head of the online B2C department "Fly.<url>" by Elena Kalinina.
"One of the interesting requests we've come across is a corporate trip to Turkey with training from a Michelin chef," she said. — Another client needed a hotel near the filming location of the series "Kingfisher". I wanted to see the process from the outside, the tourist only knew the filming dates. Or it was necessary to help find a hotel for a Pomeranian wedding, the groom was a famous thoroughbred Pomeranian from Russia, the bride was from Germany.
The Spectrum highlighted the tourist's request to find a hotel with a specific ventilation system.
According to Valery Britaus, among the latest and most original requests are tours of the filming locations of Indian films, where guests wanted not only to see the famous pavilions of Mumbai, but also to participate in dance workshops.
—Tours of the locations of Turkish TV series were also very popular — fans of The Magnificent Century and Knock on My Door ordered photo shoots in historical costumes and filming locations of their favorite telenovelas, as well as TV series—themed quests," he added.
At the same time, the average cost of a regular tour sold in 2025 is currently 146 thousand rubles, the Tourvisor added. Turkey is currently the key sales destination. It accounts for 36% of all sales. 13% falls on domestic Russian destinations, primarily Sochi. Egypt has another 13%.
Who buys expensive tours
Unusual and expensive trips are in demand primarily among businessmen, as well as their family members, explained Aleksan Mkrtchyan, Vice President of the Alliance of Travel Agencies Association.
— People who can afford very expensive tours? There are only a few hundred in Russia," he explained. — At the same time, the flight is additionally paid for by business jet.
Bizarre requests, whether it's the wedding of the Shpits or the neighborhood of the filming location of the series, are not just a desire for comfort, but a much deeper human need, said family psychologist Maria Todorova.
"Such desires often reflect emotional deficits rather than material ones," she explained. — As a rule, behind the external brilliance and exoticism lies the desire to make up for the lack of a basic sense of security, acceptance, and attention, which should have been laid down in childhood.
In her opinion, those who choose such tours are, as a rule, adults who in childhood did not receive sufficient emotional response from significant adults. If a child is ignored in moments of joy or sorrow, if his desires are ignored or ridiculed, he grows up with the feeling that in order to be important, loved, and valuable, you need to do something extraordinary.
— An adult with such internal settings will unconsciously try to buy what he lacked in childhood: care, acceptance, delight in the eyes of others, — the psychologist explained. — It is important to understand: It's not about "craziness" or eccentricity. It's about the pain that has been unheard for too long.
In addition, such requests may have another function — internal voltage compensation. If a person lives in constant anxiety, if he does not know how to calm down from the inside, he will seek control and comfort from the outside.
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