Getting to and from Vologda

To get to Vologda you’ll need to go 450 km to the north

from Moscow through Yaroslavl or about 670 km to the east from St.-Petersburg. There is surely plenty of transport communication between Vologda and other cities: railways, automobile roads and airways. To get around Vologda you can use either city buses and trolleybuses - 8 rubles (~$0.3) for a ride, or a taxi. There are also a great many of so-called marshrutkas -- small private buses that offer approximately the same price (9-10 rubles) as usual buses and often follow the ordinary routes. Bicycles and motor cycles are not very widespread in Vologda; they are rarely seen in the streets. Besides, the streets are simply not adapted to it. Rolling and skating seem to be more popular among youths.

Train Station.
The Vologda Train Station is a typical train station with everything you might need before/after or during a trip. It is situated at Babushkina Square just in 10-15 minutes’ walk from the centre.

The ticket office and the waiting hall are 24 hours open. There is an ATM, pharmacy, restaurant (open from 10.00 till 3.00, a break from 15.00 till 16.00), snack bar, toilets, information service and shops. You can make a call: one minute with Moscow or St.-Petersburg costs 2,60 rubles (~$0,1), with a local Vologodian number – as twice as less. Next to the main building there is a luggage department and a post office, where you can, among other things, buy a detailed map of Vologda (120 rubles). Near the station there are three bus stops. Take a number 4 trolleybus to get to the centre. It stops right in front of the main building of the station (at the photo).

As Vologda is situated on the crossroad of ways from north to south and from west to east, nearly all the trains are through. For example, Arkhangelsk-Moscow or St.-Petersburg-Yekaterinburg. There are trains to Severodvinsk, Vorkuta, Labytnangi, and Chelyabinsk, Tumen, Astana (KZ), Adler, St.-Petersburg and many other cities.

Daily trains to Moscow depart at 0.52, 1.45, 6.22, 7.34 and 20.08 (9 hours’ way); St.-Petersburg – at 6.00, 19.07 and 21.29 (12 hours’ way); Arkhangelsk – at 21.10 (13 hours’ way). The cost of one way ticket is around 650 rubles (~$25) to Moscow and St-Petersburg and 470 rubles (~$18) to Arkhangelsk. Here are also daily local trains to Cherepovets – 8.08, 17.29, 20.05; Babaevo – 7.05; Konosha (Arkhangelsk region) – 8.21, 18.14; Bui (Kostroma region) – 7.15, 17.10.
Address: Babushkina Square, #5
Tel: (8172) 79-21-36 (information).

Bus Station.
The bus station is situated on the same Babushkina square as the train station. It has its own waiting hall, cafeteria, toilets, shops and ticket offices. There is a very convenient time-table where you check out the time of arrival/departure, distance and the duration of the trip to every destination. You can take a bus to any town in the region – Vytegra (departs at 10.00, 10 hours’ way), Ustyuzhna (departs at 9.00 and 16.15, 5 hours’ way), Cherepovets (from 6.15 till 18.50 nearly every hour, less than 3 hours’ way), Belozersk (daily bus departs at 16.45, 4 hours’ way),

Kirillov (from 7.00 till 19.20 nearly every hour, 3 hours’ way), Totma (daily bus departs at 15.05 and 17.30, 4,5 hours’ way), Velikiy Ustyug (daily bus departs at 9.15, 10 hours’ way). There are also buses to the neighboring regions – Petrozavodsk in Karelia (departs at 8.10 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays), Velsk (departs at 16.00 on Mondays) and Kotlas (departs at 7.00 on Saturdays) in the Arkhangelsk region, Yaroslavl (departs at 14.20 daily) and Rybinsk (departs at 15.30 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays) in the Yaroslavl region. The buses that go far are very comfortable and modern – once I even happened to watch a movie on DVD in the bus on the way from Cherepovets to Vologda. Those that go to the suburbs or in the vicinity are simpler and less comfortable but nonetheless good enough. You can buy a ticket in advance but not earlier than 10 days before departure.
Address: Babushkina Square, #10
Tel: (8172) 75-04-52 (I tried it, it’s hard to reach it!).

Taxi in Vologda.
Of all taxi companies in Vologda the most comfortable is considered to be the taxi “Komfort”, the prices are a little higher but they drive only import cars that are usually much more comfortable

than Russian ones. One of the cheapest is the taxi “Leader” – it will cost you 50 rubles (~$1,9) to get to the centre from the train station, to another more remote part of the city – from 60 to 90 rubles (~$2,3 - $3,5), to/from the airport – 150 rubles (~$5,8). If you a going to the suburbs you pay 9 rubles (~$0,35) per kilometer. Finally, you can avail yourself of by the hour payment – 160 rubles (~$6,2) per hour within the city limits. Actually, all the taxi companies try to stick to approximately the same prices. I wouldn’t recommend taking a taxi straight at the train station because the driver will most probably cheat and ask for a double or triple price, especially from a foreigner. Better to walk a bit farther from the station or to order a taxi by phone:
Leader – (8172) 71-60-60 (or just 056)
Komfort – (8172) 72-00-00.

Vologda Airport.
The airport is in 30 minutes’ way (12 km) from Vologda if you go by bus. Buses depart from the bus station at 8:15, 10:25, 12:05, 13:55, 15:15 and 16:55 daily. You can also take a taxi to get there faster. On Tuesdays and Thursdays there are flights to Moscow at 8:05 (arrives in Moscow at 9:15) and from Moscow to Vologda at 20:25 (arrives in Vologda at 21:30). Tickets are possible to order in any tour agency in town. There is one on the second floor of the bus station, “Aviatur”, open from 8:00 till 19:00 daily without breaks. Their phone number: (8172) 79-32-32.