There are five different ways to get from each of Moscow’s airports (Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo) to the city center and back, including rental cars, a bus or taxi. But the Aeroexpress train is the fastest and most secure way.
How to buy a ticket:
You can buy tickets right at the station, there are special tickets machines that use English and several other languages. But if you want to save a little and avoid lines - it’s better to buy tickets online in advance. There are several options and tariffs:
- Standart one-way ticket costs 450 rubles ($7.22)if you buy online in advance (from 4 to 90 days before your ride) and 500 rubles ($8) within 3 days before the journey and on the journey date.
- Round-trip ticket for a single traveller costs 900 rubles ($14)
- Duo ticket for two people travelling together costs 900 rubles ($14) one-way and 1500 rub ($24) for roundtrip option.
- Group ticket for no more than four persons costs 1100 rub ($17.5), and group round trip ticket costs 1800 rub ($29)
- Business class ticket costs 1500 rub ($24).
All the tickets can be bought no earlier than 90 days before your trip and are valid within 30 days after the chosen date. Only business class has the option to select seats.
How to pay:
If you buy tickets online, you pay via credit card.
If you buy tickets in special machine on stations, you can use both cash (rubles) and card.
There is an option of contactless payment right at the turnstile passes of Aeroexpress. You just need to place your credit card or mobile device next to the scanner reader. (Credit cards of MasterCard, Maestro, Мир, Union Pay or Visa system work there, as well as Samsung Pay and Apple Pay)
From Sheremetyevo (SVO) to Moscow and back
Probably the most popular airport for international flights. Aeroexpress from SVO is departing every 30 minutes daily. The first train leaves the airport at 4:45, and the last one at 00:42.
The train has several stops in central Moscow, all interlinking with metro stations:
- Okruzhnaya station (35 min), which can transfer you to the Moscow metro’s (Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya line N10, colored in light green), as well as on Moscow Central Circle and to Moscow Central Diameter #1 which is a new train line going to Moscow’s commutes (Odintsovo).
- Savelovskaya station (42 min), which is next to the Moscow metro’s Savelovskaya station and its three lines: Large Circle Line N 11A (turquoise), Serpukhovsko–Timiryazevskaya line N 9 (grey), Solntsevskaya Line N 8A (yellow), and stations of the two Moscow Central Diameters
- Belorusskaya station (52 min), which is next to the Moscow metro’s Belorusskaya station, on the Circle Line N 5 (brown), Zamoskvoretskaya line N 2 (green) and Moscow Central Diameter #1.
- Begovaya station (56 min), which is next to the Moscow metro’s Begovaya station on Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya line N 7 (purple) and Moscow Central Diameter #1
After that the train continues with the same stops as Moscow Central Diameter #1 via Skolkovo and up to Odintsovo station.
Sheremetyevo airport has also introduced a new option - traveling with Aeroexpress bus (N 1195) from Khovrino metro station (Zamoskvoretskaya line N 2 - green). Its duration is about 20 minutes, and costs 150 rub ($2.4)
From Domodedovo (DME) to Moscow and back
Things get a little less complicated than they are with Sheremetyevo. The Aeroexpress from Domodedovo just has one stop at the end of the line - Paveletskaya train station,(where you can switch to the Moscow metro’s Paveletskaya station, which sits on two lines: Zamoskvoretskaya line N 2 (green) and Circle Line N 5 (brown.
It departs every half-hour and takes 35-40 minutes. The first train from Domodedovo departs at 05:14 and the last one at 00:00. While the first train from Paveletskaya departs at 05:30 and the last one at 00:30.
From Vnukovo (VKO) to Moscow and back
Aeroexpress to Vnukovo airport is probably the fastest - taking only 30-35 minutes. But it departs once an hour from 06:00 to 23:56 from Vnukovo, and 06:00 to 00:01 from Moscow’s Kievskaya station, which is connected with Moscow metro’s Kievskaya station and its three lines: Circle Line N 5 (brown), Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line N 3 (blue), and Filyovskaya line N 4(light blue... don’t mix up the last two!).
For more details and tickets, go to aeroexpress.ru or download the app on the App Store or Google Play