About Drive to Russia

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About Drive to Russia

Drive to Russia is a brand created for the people who want to travel across Russia behind the wheel of a Russian SUV (UAZ Patriot).

That’s when we came up with the idea of establishing a travel company that will be able to realize a dream of car travelers to visit Russia behind the wheel of a legendary UAZ.

Our idea was immediately supported by our acting partners - foreign companies specialize in road trips around the world.

At the moment Drive to Russia is a company that organizes unique car trips in Russia and CIS countries. Our team develops interesting routes and designs them on a turnkey basis. Our team includes the best managers, guides and instructors, and we provide a high level of service so that our travelers could get unforgettable experience of the adventure.

Drive to Russia is the only company in Russia that offers Fly and Drive tours. We run our fleet own of UAZ Patriots – the best Russian 4x4, both robust and comfortable.

Who we are

We have been designing fascinating journeys in Russia and the republics of the former USSR for almost 20 years, meeting the high requirements and expectations of our customers.

Our success is based on a strong team of real professionals and like-minded team members, who put all of their knowledge and experience in arranging unique routes across enormous distances. Ready to resolve any problem our convoys might face along the way - 24/7.

We own a fleet of the best Russian 4WDs - the amazing UAZ Patriot - totally renewed every two years.

Our guides will tell you thousands of interesting facts about the tiniest bits of the places you visit, all the while aiming for an unforgettable atmosphere of comfort and reliability.

In short, we are able to surmount any obstacles. Our professional instructors will teach you how to drive off-road; mud, snow or ice, you name it. Thus you get new cars prepared for your trip, VIP service, a unique route and a lot of pleasant surprises during the tour, as well as reliable support in the face of our team.

What we do

Unique driving trips and expeditions: our experts develop routes not only to famous tourist spots, but also to places where tourists never set foot – since those locations are difficult to reach, and the trip is cumbersome to organize, not because they are not interesting!

It is not just about driving the cars, but also about getting acquainted with local culture and ethnic peculiarities. We help you experience unique nature marvels and phenomena.

Plan an overland route with your own vehicle

We'd be happy to offer you reliable logistics in Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Mongolia. We have branch offices and an extensive experience in carrying out tours throughout these countries.

Drive to Russia will help you to develop your route, provide support and logistics. Our team accompanies groups of self-driving tourists or participants of international Rallies every year. In our portfolio you can find such unique projects as “Road to London”. The route starts every year from Delhi and finishes in London, passing through 18 countries of Eurasia continent, in four countries (Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia), we provide all the logistics and road traffic safety.

Unknown Russia

Drive to Russia is your guide to Unknown Russia. Traveling with us opens the great world of Russia to you: immerse yourself in Russian winter, feel the beauty and cold of the Russian North, as well as the warmth of the Russian soul. Enjoy the unique purity of Baikal Lake, travel through the most beautiful gorges of the Caucasus and see the highest mountain in Europe-Elbrus peak. Start your trip to the White Sea or try to find the mysterious Shambala in the Altai. Get to the most remote corner of Russia - Yakutia, or make the longest trip within one country and drive from Ocean to Ocean (Murmansk – Vladivostok, with a distance of more than 12000 km).

Travel with us! Discover Russia with us!

Why to work with us?

We are a company that has been creating road trips from scratch for a long time. We are the people who have not only travelled extensively all over Russia, but also covered a good deal of the whole globe.

Working with many travel companies, we do learn from the experience of our successful partners as well as from each and every participant of our trips. And we sincerely hope we can share that knowledge and help people explore the unknown!

Cooperation

If you are interested in cooperation, we will be happy to answer any of your questions and cater to the most incredible requests by your groups!

Our team

Elena Dudashvili (SEO, founder)

Hi! My friends call me Aljona, and I want us to become friends!

What is travel for me? It is my way of life, my passion. Everyone in my family travels, even my small children got used to different kinds of journeys since birth. I got my first experience working with foreign tourists when I was still at school, my father organized speleo-expeditions for foreign speleological clubs then. 20 years ago, I took the helm of the Asia Mountains travel company, which is localized in Kyrgyzstan and conducts Adventure tours throughout Central Asia. I manage the company to this day. I like to implement complex projects. Overland expeditions has always been among top destinations for me, but since 2005, this direction has become favorite one for me. Taking a part in overland tours, I traveled from Murmansk to Vladivostok, from Western Tibet to Eastern Tibet; China, Australia, Georgia, Mongolia, and Iceland- my favorite country from this list. I invest my traveling experience in Drive to Russia. Russia is huge and my colleagues and like-minded people have something to show you!

Andrey Tsyganov (Co-founder, Technical Director)

Let’s drive together!

I like life being in its motion, I like being a part of interesting and new projects. For many years I have been designing overland expeditions, developing routes, and exploring new directions. I like everything new and complex. So, driving a car, I get to know the world and my native Russia. My favorite overland projects are the unique expedition to Tibet, the TRANS-Asian expedition on Amorok "The way of the Wolf", the Expedition to Chukotka " Discovering Russia " and legendary "Expedition Trophy" race from Murmansk to Vladivostok. Yakutia, the Kola Peninsula, and the BAM are also among my favorites in this list.

The Drive to Russia project became a logical continuation of my love for road trips. I like to prepare cars for travel and develop new routes. Let's come up with something interesting together.

Pavel Pitchugin (Key Account Manager)

Hi. I was born in Russia, Moscow. Getting used to the noise, the lights and the whole buzz of the big city life, I was fascinated by the nature that has retained its charm and absolutely pristine wilderness. . When you’re travelling: you can do anything, you can go anywhere and I am so willing to try new stuff and push my own boundaries because I am in a new place. Having worked and travelled many places from Norway to Hong Kong, I am now taking care of Drive to Russia’s key partners.

I became a die-hard promoter of adventure and leisure tours in Russia. Exploring regions from the Kola Peninsula in the Arctic to the warm Black Sea, I am ever eager to share the most exquisite corners with the guests. I like to be in touch and negotiate with them, delve into their idea and create the reality that makes their dream come true.

Traveling is extremely eye-opening. I love to meet people, coming to us, work with them and learn about their traditions and life style and even making friends with them. It might give you a new perspective on life and make you value the life you have.

Arina Gubaeva (Chief Operating Manager)

Hello. I got the ‘travel bug’ very early on. I blame my constant itchy feet on my parents, especially my father, who took me to my first trip in Kyrgyzstan for the school holidays during my teens. My Dad was a founder of a travel company so it was a great opportunity for us kids to experience new places. And it was amazing. And what a surprise for me it was when I was invited to my dream job- Chief Operating Manager. I have been involved with Drive to Russia since Day one and my role has evolved every year.

I’m still going and plan on visiting many beautiful places and gaining many more experiences in the future. And, you know what? You, participants of our tours and partners are the first to expend my horizons. Thanks to You, I learn new cultures, new cuisines, and this empowers my opportunities and improves my knowledge even more... And the experience I have accumulated will come back to You during our tours.

Vasily Berezhnoi (Guide, photographer)

Do you know why I love travelling as a guide? Because a shared experience will bring you closer together with your team. It doesn’t matter if you are travelling with your close family or a group of friends- travel will deepen your connection. It is also a great way to build new relationships, doesn’t matter if they are fellow travellers or locals. One more amazing thing is that you have to let go of your own way of living and adapt to the lifestyle of the destination.

Adventure is the credo of my life. While at school, I started climbing and mountaineering, and later it turned into my way of life, my profession and my passion.

During the trips I like to combine many different things , for example, I am pro like to take photos, and do it quite good, which means you will always have awesome memories in the form of professional photos. And I am fond of discovering more and more information about Russia and CIS and then share it with the guests.

Portfolio

Some of the prominent self-drive trips and expeditions supported by our back office and field team.

From route drafting and recce trips to processing insurance and cross-border handling – we provide support to car travelers on a regular basis.

Our esteemed partners running great overland expeditions rely on us for logistics, permits and road traffic safety in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Every year, our team helps to outline routes, arrange travel documents and visa applications for numerous individual self-driving tourists, including acclaimed travel bloggers:

Our guides and tour leaders often accompany the clients during the trips as well. Get in touch for any assistance in Russia!

2007 - “The Tibetan Ring” Expedition (route: Kazakhstan - Kyrgyzstan - Kazakhstan).
2008 - to present time: Assistance in the organization of the Kyrgyzstan part of the international "Great Silk Road" rally in partnership with the AAST Group. In 2018, in both Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
2009 - to present time: Annual “Unknown Kyrgyzstan” expeditions to remote areas of Kyrgyzstan
2011 - Organization of the "Trans China" automobile expedition (Moscow - Kazakhstan - Kyrgyzstan - China - Tibet - Yellow Sea - Gobi Desert - Kyrgyzstan).
2011 - Assistance in the organization of the “Chevrolet NIVA on-road and off-road from Irkutsk to Shanghai” car race for Avtorazum (route design and logistics in China).
2011 - Assistance in the organization of a rally from Novosibirsk to Malaysia (route planning and logistics).
2012 - Organization of the Australian Saga automobile expedition (Australia).
2013 - Participation in the “Expedition Trophy 2013” car race.
2013 - "The Golden Ring of Russia” self-drive trip (route design and services).
2013 - Assistance in the organization of the Beijing-Paris rally for a group of caravaners from France (Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan legs).
2014 - "Ice and Fire" road expedition (Iceland).
2014 - The Pamir Highway road expedition (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan).
2015 - Assistance in the organization of the "Q7new - # Q7Testdrive" promotional road trip from Munich to Mumbai for Autocar India (Russia, Mongolia)
2015 - Self-drive trip in Armenia and Georgia for a private customer. Route design on turnkey basis.
2015 - Assistance in the organization of the "Expedition Sunrise" road trip from Moscow to Bali - Expedition Voskhod (Kyrgyzstan and China legs).
2015 - Assistance in the organization of the TransAsia rally: Russia-Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan-China-Laos- Thailand-Myanmar-India-Pakistan-Iran
2016 - Assistance in the organization and run of the Toyota EverTest rally from Mongolia to Everest base camp together with “7 Summits” company and “RD Studio by Valdis Pelsh” (Mongolia, China - route design, all services).
2016 - Organization of the "Amarok - Wolf Way" Trans-Asian Automobile Expedition. Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Mongolia, Russia (route design, all services) Together with Avtorazum.
2016 - Assistance in the organization of the Moscow - Singapore motor rally (Kyrgyzstan and China legs).
2016 - The Kyrgyzstan - Kazakhstan - Russia part of the Mumbai - Prague rally. (Turnkey logistics)
2016 - Launch of the Drive to Russia project
2017 - Roads of the Caucasus self-drive trip (route design, recce trip) for Drive to Russia.
2017 - 2018 - 2019 - Key logistics for Kyrgyzstan - Uzbekistan - Kazakhstan - Russia parts of the “Road to London” (Delhi - London) tour.
2017 - A series of "Amarok" road expeditions in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan. (Route design, logistics, all services for Avtorazum).
2018 - A series of LandRover road expeditions in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan. (Route design, logistics, all services for Avtorazum).
2018 - Altai - Mongolia expedition (route design, recce trip) for Drive to Russia.
2018 - Around the world expedition with Sergey Dolya. Assistance in China, Laos, Thailand.
2019 - Crimea self-drive trip (route design, recce trip) for Drive to Russia