As you know, after the start of the special operation, European countries have already introduced six packages of sanctions against Russia. Some of these measures have radically affected the freedom of movement that has become familiar to many Russians. From our country it is now almost impossible to fly to Europe on a direct flight, but only with a transfer either in Kazakhstan or Turkey. It is almost impossible to pay for a ticket or book a hotel… However, as you know, “need to make up your mind is cunning”, and our compatriots are looking for and finding relatively convenient and inexpensive ways to solve these problems. One of these was described in the popular public "It's time to blame - everything about emigration" Gulnara Galeyeva:
"Hi all. I’ll tell you how I got from Moscow to Nice for 20 thousand rubles and without a border guard. A ticket through Istanbul without a night transfer costs 80 thousand rubles, and with a night transfer 60 thousand, plus a taxi to the airport in Moscow, plus a hotel and a taxi in Istanbul. In a word, I was sorry to pay 1000 euros for a one-way ticket also on an indirect flight. Instead of Nice, we substitute any other city where Baltic Air flies and use the recipe.
I was taught by our autovolunteers, I will pass the good in a circle.
Morning train "Lastochka" Moscow-Minsk. Departs from the Belorussky railway station, costs a little less than 2 thousand rubles. in a seated car without meals. This is generally a song: clean, spacious chair, plenty of legroom, a cooler, a normal toilet, departs and arrives on time. I bought a ticket at TUTU, on the Russian Railways website for another 300 rubles. Cheaper, but I'm not comfortable there. Checking documents at the border of the Russian Federation / Belarus in Smolensk looks like - a border guard runs along the car and looks at open passports from afar. Politely, quickly, to my “thank you” he answered “good luck”.
We cross 100 meters from the railway station in Minsk to the bus station and wait for the Minsk-Vilnius bus, a bus ticket is bought in advance at TUTU, and paid in rubles. It also costs a little less than 2 thousand. I took a Lithuanian carrier, a Belarusian one is another 3 kopecks cheaper.
The bus is not a "Swallow" for you, but it's normal. The trip to Vilnius took me 5.5 hours, of which the passage of the Belarusian border 1 hour, the Lithuanian 2 hours. Buses at the Belarusian post pass without a queue, which is a plus. A terminal is being built at the Lithuanian checkpoint, so passing through border control and quickly checking suitcases is carried out simply on the street under a canopy - which, of course, is not super-comfortable. But they pass easily and politely. Those who were late for the plane and had tickets at the same time, the driver took them to the front of the line and they were let through faster, then people just got into other people's cars and got there faster than the bus.
I love myself, but I don't like being late for a plane. Therefore, I guessed my arrival in Vilnius in the evening, and the plane - in the early morning and took an inexpensive hotel in the center (50 euros per night). the room is tiny, there is no reception, but there was hot water and a clean bed. I booked a room at Booking and my friend paid with a European card, and I paid him his ruble payment. This is a bottleneck, yes, who does not have such a friend, you need to look for accommodation with cash payment on the spot. I still managed to take a walk in the city center while I was looking for (and found) food and tea for myself.
The plane Vilnius-Riga-Nice starts from Vilnius at 5.35. As we all know, 3 months ago, Uber rested for holders of only Russian cards. When I saw that there was no reception at the hotel, and they wouldn’t call me a taxi, wi-fi didn’t work and it was already 10 pm, I was upset, but it turned out that the first link on Google was an excellent taxi service called by phone. Be sure to put more money on your mobile and turn on roaming, so as not to be suddenly left without a connection. When you leave and get a local SIM card, call the operator's support service and make a voluntary block for 30 rubles. per month. The excellent taxi dispatcher took the order at 3.30 am without any problems and the car was on time and good. A taxi from Vilnius to the airport costs as much as 5 euros.
A Vilnius-Riga-Nice ticket costs (surprise) the same as Riga-Nice, as much as 8 thousand rubles. There are also such offers for other destinations, we are looking for them in any aggregator, I looked at Aviasales. The same faithful friend with a German card bought me a ticket on the Air Baltic website, and I paid his ruble expenses, if there is no such friend, they say there are intermediary sites where you can pay in rubles, but I have not tried this method.
Total spent 2 + 2 + 8 + 5 = 19 thousand, 2 more pies and tea in a bakery in Vilnius for 5 euros, and 10 euros for tea and fresh juice at Vilnius and Riga airports. It turns out 1 day and 4 hours from boarding the "Swallow" to the exit from the airport in Nice and 20 thousand, which in peacetime was a good offer to get from Moscow to the south of France, the comfort on the plane, of course, is different, but you can be patient, taking into account general situation. Only a part of the route on the bus from Minsk was difficult for me, it was inconvenient to sit for a long time, and a long border crossing..."