The most fascinating river cruises in Moscow – pick your route!
River cruises along the Moscow River are a great leisure activity that is very popular with Muscovites and guests of the capital in the warm weather. The main navigation in Moscow opens in the middle of April and lasts until early November. In addition, there are winter river cruises in the capital, so the yachts of the Radisson Royal fleet cruise along the Moscow river all year round, and in winter there are also boat cruises on Maestro and Rio.
The routes of river cruises along the Moscow River are interesting and diverse. Five or seven years ago there was only the central line from the Kiev railway station to the Novospassky bridge, as well as trips from the River station to the Moscow region and trips to Kolomenskoye and Strogino. In recent years dozens of new routes for boats have appeared and a small or long cruise can be made from almost every pier in Moscow.
In the north, on the Khimki reservoir the cruises start from the Northern River Station. There are both long cruises to the beaches of the Moscow reservoirs (Klyazminsky and Pestovo) and short hour trips. You can also go on a cruise from the pier of Northern Tushino, which is located on the opposite shore of the River station. Passenger boats named Moscow operate on the routes, and until 2015 on the Moscow Canal operated the famous Raketa boats, high-speed hydrofoil boats developed by Rostislav Alekseev back in the 1950s. Unfortunately, nowadays tours on Raketa boats are no longer available.
In the water area between the eighth and ninth locks of the Moscow Canal, several lines are operating from the piers of Trinity-Lykovo, Strogino (Isakovsky Street) and Serebryany Bor-2. These are the most picturesque lines within the city limits. The main routes are the World Cruise around Serebryany Bor, the route from Troitsa-Lykovo to Strogino and back, and the three-hour Scenic North-West route, which covers the entire water area from the 9th lock to the beginning of the Moscow river navigation passage in Myakinino district. On these routes comfortable Moskvich motor boats operate under the direct control of our shipping company Rivertickets.
Below the eighth lock of the Moscow Canal, the central water area of the city begins. The first pier where the trips start is the Fili pier from where trips to the Moscow International Business Center Moscow City and the bridge Bagration take place at the weekends. Trips are conducted on a comfortable motor boat such as Moskvich, the famous river tram. Upstream there are two more piers, Kuntsevo and Krylatskoye, but they have not been used for regular tours since the beginning of the 1990s because the riverbed of the Moscow River in this place does not undergo cleaning and shipping in this area is difficult.
In the center of Moscow, cruisers depart from almost every pier.
From numerous piers located on the Krasnopresnenskaya quay near the complex of Moscow-City skyscrapers (Moskva-City pier, Bagration Bridge, International Exhibition), boats of various shipping companies go to the center of Moscow, to Gorky Park and the Kremlin, for almost all the trips of these companies you can purchase electronic tickets with lunch or dinner included in the cost of a trip. In 2017, opposite the Krasnopresnenskaya quay, the Quay of Taras Shevchenko pier was put into operation, from where the boats Maestro and Riviera leave for long trips.
The yachts-restaurants of the Radisson Royal fleet depart from the Hotel Ukraina pier all year round. The second route of this company starts at the Park of Culture and goes all the way to the Moscow International Business Center Moscow-City.
A number of cruise boats depart from the Kievsky Station pier: the central line of the Capital Shipping Company to the Novospassky Bridge, the boats-restaurants River Palace and the River Lounge, the yacht Palma De Sochi.
From the pier Vorobyovy Gory to the pier Novospassky Bridge lies the main line of the capital, Central route of Moscow. The boats of this line run with an interval of 15-20 minutes and make short stops at the passing piers: Gorky Central Recreation and Leisure Park, Crimean Bridge, Big Stone Bridge, Great Ustyinsky Bridge.
There are also tours of different duration from the following central piers: Andreevsky Monastery, Patriarchal, Tretyakovsky.
From the Andreevsky (or Andreevsky Monastery) pier new boats-catamarans Snegiri depart for river cruises in the center of Moscow. These vessels were built specifically at Russian shipbuilding plants in 2016-2017 for sightseeing tours along the Moscow River. The boats are distinguished by high comfort for guests, panoramic windows of the passenger compartment, and a smooth and noiseless course along the river.
It is worth noting a one-hour tour around the center of the capital from the Patriarshy pier on the famous river trams such as the Moskvich, as well as trips on boats such as Moika and Fontanka along the Vodootvodnoy Canal inaccessible to other types of vessels. The boats depart from the piers Park Kultury and Tretyakovsky.
Downstream from the Novospassky Bridge, from the Klenovy Boulevard pier, on Saturdays and Sundays, boats go on a weekend cruise along the Moscow River with a tour to the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery.
From the Pechatniki, which is located in the namesake district of Moscow, boats such as the Moskvich depart on hourlong river cruises.
In the central water area, there are no regular lines from the piers: Krasnopresnenskaya Naberezhnaya, Setun, Severnye Luzhniki, Central Luzhniki, South Luzhniki, Frunzenskaya Naberezhnaya, Southern River Station, and the Cretaceous pier in Nagatino.
Below the 10th lock, in the south of Moscow, you can go on a river cruise from the piers Kolomenskoye, Marino and Brateevo. The boats of the Capital Shipping Company and the Moscow Banquet Fleet operate here.
One of the most interesting river cruises is a boat tour, in this case, a cruise along the Moscow River which is accompanied by travel information about the history of the city and the sights of the capital that guests can see from the boat.
Sightseeing river cruises are available on the Central route of Moscow, in the center of Moscow on the Snegiri boats, during hour-long cruises from the Patriarshy and Tretyakovsky piers. In addition, there are exclusive cruises along the unique routes, for example, an exciting many hours long tour which is called "How the lock works".
Another extraordinary trip is a boat trip with dinner or lunch along the Moscow River. And if initially such cruises were offered by the Radisson Royal Moscow and River Palace, operating from the Hotel Ukraine, Park Kultury and Kievsky Station piers, now many other companies operating from the majority of central piers of Moscow have the same cruises. As well as on cruise routes, this segment also offers a wide variety of used river fleet, routes, and a wide choice of dishes in the dinner menu.
Tickets for many of the above trips can be purchased on our website Rivertickers. You can buy a boat ticket online. Most tickets for river cruises come with a discount, as compared to the cost of tickets at the quay or directly on the boat itself when boarding.
It is necessary to say about the safety of inland transport, which includes passenger boats used for river cruises in Moscow. All the boats that are presented on our website are subject to regular maintenance under the supervision of state authorities: all components of the vessel as well as communications and navigation devices are monitored (all boats are equipped with GLONASS), and the thickness of the boat 's hull is checked. Even the ladder that is used when boarding the boat passes mandatory strength tests.
All the boats are fully equipped with individual and collective rescue equipment and instruments that are regularly inspected, the crew has all the necessary diplomas and permits, and regularly conducts training alerts and special activities to improve water safety. The existing system of supervision and control by numerous state authorities completely excludes setting out on a voyage of a boat having any problems that threaten the safety of passengers, regardless of the age of the vessel. Licenses for the carriage of passengers by inland transport, as well as attachments to them with a fleet list, will be sent to you on your request. While on board the boat, it is necessary to follow safety requirements and apply common sense: to embark and disembark only through the boarding areas, not to be in prohibited places on board the boat, not to climb over the sides, not to jump from the boat into the water, to follow the instructions of the captain and the crew. Then you will have nothing but positive emotions and good memories left from this river cruise on a boat across Moscow.
See you on board!