Moscow is one of the biggest air-traffic hubs in Europe and by far the biggest one in Russia. It is served by three international airports and one smaller airport for domestic travel (Bykovo). International flights connect Moscow to all major destinations in world, and thanks to the powerful companies like Aeroflot (one of the oldest and most profitable airlines in the world, formerly, during the Soviet years, it was also the world's biggest airline company), S7, Transaero and other Russian airliners, Moscow is expecting further grow in sense of both capacity and international importance. For example Sheremetyevo and Vnkovo airports are planing large development by adding new terminals to the existing ones, and Domodedovo airport will expand it's terminal space by more than double. Besides big international services, Moscow is also reachable by numerous cheap, charter flights like Germanwings and others. Foreign visitors must have visa prepared in advance (with some notable exceptions like citizens of Commonwealth of Independent States, Croatia, Serbia, Cuba and Thailand), because of the strict Russian visa regime. Also, upon arrival you will be given a migration card (sometimes only in Cyrillic alphabet) which you must keep safe until depature, as a loss of it could cause serious problems and even possible detention.
Sheremeteyvo International Airport is located north from the Moscow's city centre. It is the home base of the giant Aeroflot airliner. To get to the airport one can take a ride with AeroExpress train from Savyolvsky or Belarussky Station. It takes around 35 minutes to reach the airport and it costs 250 rubles in one way. You can also take a metro from Rechnoi Vokzal (the River Station) or Planernaya. Of course, there are also abundant of public buses and taxis available. However, it should be noted that main route to the airport, the Leningradskoye Shosse is very often jammed by the heavy traffic for the better part of the day. Normally, ride in a bus would take around 40 minutes without traffic jams and it costs between 10 and 40 rubles, depending on the company you choose and amount of your luggage. The Sheremeteyvo airport is actually divided into two airports called Sheremetyevo I and Sheremetyevo II, although they will soon be renamed to Terminal B and Terminal C respectively, while new Terminal A is currently under construction and planned to be finished in 2009. Sheremetyevo II is terminal for international flights, built in 1980 for the Summer Olympics. Sheremetyevo I handles domestic flights which also includes destinations in Belarus. You should bear this in mind when taking the marshrutka or a bus ride, because some of them are serving both airports, sometimes in different order.
Domodedovo became major Moscow airport in recent years, because many international companies like Lufthansa and British Airways relocated there from Sheremetyevo, together with Russian Transaero and S7 airliners. It is located south form the Moscow city center and has better connections than Sheremetyevo. It takes around forty minutes to reach it if you take AeroExpress train directly from Paveletsky Train Station which is (conveniently) located near the Paveletsky metro station, and ticket cost 150 rubles. Train also serves the Belorusskaya station and several times a day goes to the Kurskaya metro station. Besides train, there is also a regular bus service, as well as marshrutkas and taxi service. Bear in mind that price of the taxi ride can be somewhat expensive because Domodedovo is the furthers airport from the city center. Buses and marshrutkas do not operate at night. There is also a bus line that directly connects Domodedovo with Vnukovo airport and runs every 90 minutes.
Vnukovo airport is reachable from Yugo-Zapadnaya metro station and is located in the southwest of the city. Train service is available by express train from Kievsky Train Station. Bus connections are frequent and regular, the trip takes half an hour and buses leave every fifteen minutes. There is also a bus line that directly connects Domodedovo with Vnukovo airport and runs every 90 minutes.
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That what goes to Moscow for being the one of the major European air-traffic hubs, especially goes for it's train service. The city is one of the largest railway hubs in the world with regular services to the most destination in Europe and Asia. Traveling by train is the cheapest and safest way of travel in Russia. For Russians it's not only the way of going from one point to the other, it is a way of living. All Russian trains aredivided according to speed and class into one of this four categories: spalny (first class with two berth cabin), kupe (first and second class with 4 berth cabins), platskartny (a third class with open bunk-berths shared in one large common space) and common seats on the local trains (elektrichka). Importance and popularity of the Russian railways for Russia and with Russians is evident in the sheer numbers which company operates with. It is one of the biggest and most industrious railway companies in the whole world. It operates more then 7200 locomotives, 600000 cars of various purpose (both passenger and cargo cars) over 85500 kilometers of tracks. It carries billion and half people annually, as well as billion and a half tonnes of freight, with plans to extend those numbers in every aspect in the near future. Besides operating trains, tracks and stations, company also has it's own network of hotels, schools, universities, construction and telecommunication businesses, thus earning a righteous nick-name for itself - "a state within a state". Although Russian trains are far from being fastest and most modern ones in the world, they are among most comfortable means of transport available today.
Besides being one of the major European railway hubs, Moscow also serves numerous lines and trains coming from whole of Asia, particularly the Trans-Siberian, Trans-Manchurian and Trans-Mongolian trains. Also, it is a start point for Central Asian ex-Soviet states like Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgistan. Further branches enter Pakistan and India, and branches trough Iran connects Moscow with Turkey, Syria and other destinations in the Middle East, like Jordan and Iraq. Moscow rail stations (similar to other Russian and European rail terminals) are organized according to it's principal geographical direction and destinations they serve. There are nine main rail stations (and many smaller ones), all located near the center of the city:
The major European international bus service provider - the Eurolines company, connects Moscow with lines to Latvia, Poland, Belorus and further as far as London (typical fare for UK destinations is around 78 euros). There are numerous bus stations scattered around in Moscow, located near Shelkovskaya metro station, Komsomolskaya, Tushinskaya, Yugo-Zapadnaya, Vykhino and Domodedovskaya metro stations. All those stations serve various cities and towns of the ex-Soviet Union countries.
When it comes to traveling by car, there are three principal directions for arriving to Moscow by car: from Belorus and Latvia via E30 and E22 roads; from Finland trough St.Petersburg and Novgorod via E18 road and M-10 Russian Federal Highway; and from direction of Kiev and other Ukrainian cities. The difficulty for arrival via Belorus is presented in form of neccesarry transport visa and other documents. Also, paper work for driving trough Russia can be sometimes complicated to do for some Western countries residents.
There are two principle passenger terminals for river boats in Moscow: the South River Terminal and North River terminal. They are mainly used for river cruising and tourist sightseeing. The North River Terminal, known also as the "Richny Vokzal" in Russian also serves long distance boat lines along Volga river. It is possible to arrive to the Moscow from St.Petersburg via Volga-Baltic Waterway system. To the south, ships can go as far as to the Caspian Sea and Black Sea via Volga-Don canal.
