By air. Kazan International Airport (KZN) lies 26 kilometres south of the city, with direct flights from Moscow (90 minutes), St Petersburg, and most of Russia's major cities, plus seasonal connections to a handful of international destinations. The Aeroexpress train runs every 60–90 minutes from the airport to the central railway station in 30 minutes; buses are slower but cheaper.
By train. Overnight sleeper trains from Moscow's Kazansky Station take 11–14 hours and arrive at Kazan-1 station on the western edge of the centre. The faster Strizh and Lastochka day trains do the same trip in 12 hours. Trains from St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and points east stop here too — Kazan is a major junction on the Trans-Siberian route.
By road. The M7 federal highway connects Kazan to Moscow (around 800 km, twelve hours). Long-distance buses from Moscow are cheaper than the train but slower and considerably less comfortable. River cruises down the Volga from Moscow and up from Saratov call at Kazan's river terminal in the summer; several local operators run two- to seven-day cruises.