Tour expert named top visa-free destinations for Russians in summer

In the summer of 2026, Russian tourists have a fairly wide range of visa-free destinations. Anastasia Goncharova, a tourism expert and founder of the Travel Addiction travel agency, told about this on Friday, April 17. She named the most popular and convenient countries for traveling from Russia.

The expert noted that Turkey remains a constant leader in terms of price and quality. Among the advantages of the destination, she attributed a huge selection of hotels, direct flights, a comfortable climate and a well-developed infrastructure.

"A budget alternative to Turkey, especially if the sea and all—inclusive hotels are important, is Egypt, but the air temperature is higher here <...> and the service is sometimes lame," Goncharova said in an interview with Lenta.Ru .

She added that Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are convenient for short trips, gastronomic tourism and recreation without complicated logistics.

The travel expert also called Morocco and Tunisia undeservedly forgotten destinations.

Among the most comfortable Asian countries for the summer, the expert singled out Vietnam, which accepts Russians without a visa. There are direct flights. China, Thailand and Sri Lanka are also visa-free countries, but there is a high probability of spending half a vacation under an umbrella.

Goncharova added that summer is the optimal season for holidays on the island of Bali. There are both direct and connecting flights here. In the Maldives, the season is lower in summer, which makes it possible to catch good deals, she noted.

As for the countries of the Middle East, due to the situation in the region, it is better to refrain from traveling at least until autumn, the expert warned.

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Earlier in the day, the Russian Embassy in Zimbabwe announced that they were considering an agreement on visa-free travel with the republic, IA Regnum reports.

In turn, the general director of the Center for Tourism and Recreation, Lucine Kodyakova, said that it is convenient to travel to Turkey, Abkhazia or Georgia for the May holidays. 360.ru .

Pavel Belov, an expert at the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT), noted on April 8 that the visa—free regime between Russia and China has noticeably revived mutual tourism: the Chinese are actively traveling to Russia, and the Russians to China, RT reports.