Sviyazhsk Railway Station

The closest railway station is located in the settlement of Nizhnie Vyazovye (Нижние Вязовые), but it is called Sviyazhsk (Свияжск). Sviyazhsk Railway Station in Nizhnie Vyazovye is situated 13km from the island of Sviyazhsk.

Sviyazhsk River Port

Sviyazhsk River Port is located in the north of the island, but ferries only come here from May to November.

Getting to/from Sviyazhsk

Most people travel to Sviyazhsk either by ferry in the summer months, in their own car or on an organised coach excursion. The closest railway station is located in the settlement of Nizhnie Vyazovye (Нижние Вязовые), but it is called Sviyazhsk (Свияжск). From Nizhnie Vyazovye you need to go an additional 13km to get to the island.

From Kazan

From Kazan suburban trains heading to Albaba (Албаба), Bua (Буа), Kanash-1 (Канаш-1), Pilna (Пильна) and Sviyazhsk (Свияжск) stop at Sviyazhsk. It takes been 1 and 1½ hours.  There are usually around 14 trains a day in both directions.  However this is just the first stage as the island of Sviyazhsk is located 13km from Sviyazhsk Railway Station.  Normally during the tourist season you can take a taxi from next to the station to the island. If there is no taxi you could walk in the hope of stopping a car en route, but be prepared for a long walk in case nobody decides to stop - you could be in for a 26km trek there and back. Most of the walk is along the side of the road, but the approach on the dam does give you great views of the whole island. This option is probably not possible in winter.

The much easier way to get to Sviyazhsk is to get a ferry from Kazan River Port right to Sviyazhsk River Port which is located on the island itself.  The ferry leaves Kazan in the morning and arives just over 2 hours later.  You will have 6 hours to explore the island before the ferry heads back to Kazan.  However the ferry only operates between 1 May and 30 September.