Travel Answers

Hi all!
My bf nd I are thinking of taking a cruise from Helsinki to St Petersburg, where we will spend arnd 8 hours. Im a bit overwhelmed as there seems to be so much to do in the city, thats why i want to know from the people that have been there, what is a MUST see and experience in order to get the whole St Petersburg vibe? I dont want the day to be fully packed and only being in museums; it would be nice to waalk arnd and maybe do some shopping.
Your thoughts would be highly appreciated! Thank you! 3

We will be visiting Peterhof on the 15th/16th May 2013, will the fountains be open? I read that the official opening date is the 18th May

Hi, My wife and myself are planning to stay in Saint Petersburg the all month of next September. I do not want to go through the usual very expensive holiday flat and therefore I am looking for a local family wanting to rent part of their property or for a really honest local agency.
Any suggestion is welcome. Caion Paion

Hi, Coming to St Petersburg with a cruise for one night. Can someone advice about getting a visa and costs please, also if you've had a visa with a cruise ship excursion, thanks

I am finding conflicting information - are the cultural sites of the city, Hermitage, etc closed in August?

thx

Our first time to StP will be in late August. any recommendations for delicious/interesting mid-priced food experiences?

We've visited St Petersburg before, marvelled at the Hermitage, the Peterhof and the usual sights. This time we'd like to do something different, rather less historical and that's not shopping-oriented. I'd most certainly appreciated any suggestions offered as to a doable itinerary.
TIA

Hi, I'll be going to St Petersburg this year, but will be travelling alone for the last three days of my trip. I'll be staying in a small hotel around the ulitsa Nakhimova area of Vasilyevsky Island. Could anyone who has lived or been there please advise me on (1) safety (is walking on the street at 10pm safe?), (2) the current crime rates, (3) any good places to eat/visit around there and (4) what mini-hotels like Freedom Hotel are like, and what I should expect? I know this is quite a lot but it would definitely be very helpful! Thanks so much (:

We're overnight in St. P. on June 8. As far as I can tell, the Mariinsky is closed from May to July and I can't find out about the Mikhailovsky Theatre. Are there any other theatres offering opera and/or ballet that night?

Hi pls advise good muslim / halal restaurant in St.Petersburg Thanks

Hi I am looking for a phonenumber or emailadress to a hotel called " Atmosphera na Bolshom 70", adress: Bolshoy Prospekt 70, 197136 Sankt Petersburg It feels like i have looked all over internet now and only find different travelagencys with this hotel, but no phonenumber or email. Anyone here who can help me? Magnus

Hello all Planning my first ever trip to St. P and am curious about how many monuments, museums and memorials to the Great Patriotic War, the Siege of Leningrad, Afghanistan etc that I may find there? I know there is a museum of artillery in the city but apart from that, i'm pretty clueless. If anyone could recommend unusual stuff like this, i'd love to hear about it. Thank you all! I'm going to be putting a similar post in the Veiliky Novgorod and Moscow sections so it might appear to be a trible post. Cheers guys! DG

My dad and i are going on a scandianivan cuirse this summer and will have 2 days in St. Petersburg Russia. I was to visit Chesme church. Does anyone know if it is far from the city center? There seems to be a main street, Moskovsky Prospekt, that runs south from the city center and the Church is a little ways south on the street.

Hello all I'm planning to make my Russia debut in 2013 and from Dublin, the best way to get near St Petesburg is to either fly to Helsinki or to Tallinn. From Helsinki there is the early morning fast train which would pass through some of the old Karelia territory and that could make that trip attractive? Would be nice to see some of that former Finnish territory. From Tallinn, I wouldnt mind getting to see Narva before crossing into Russia. Is this a viable option? I'm not sure what the transport system is like in Estonia. I guess the length of travel between destinations is going to be key to decision making here. If neither of these options make sense, due to time constraints I may just make a flight switch in London and fly direct to St P. But given the option, I'd prefer the Helsinki/Tallinn starting point Looking forward to hearing your suggestions! DG

Coming from Chicago on 10/6, spending Thursday/Fri/Sat in SPb. Two of my buddies will be with me as well. Any recommendations on good bars & clubs to hit? We are in our early 30s and not on a tight budget. Not really looking for bottle service stuff, but more to mingle with locals (guessing most everybody knows English over there)... Also, might be a stupid question, but are coat checks common over there and are they safe? It seems like it will be snowing and cold(prob common for u guys), so trying to figure out whether going out with the heavy coat is a good idea or not(would hate to carry the damn thing with me in the clubs).

Does anybody know if the old fire station at 73, Bolshoy prospect, VO (Vasilievskiy Ostrov), has been made into a fire museum ? I know that its no longer an operational fire station but i have read on another website that it is now a fire museum. If this is correct, does anybody have details of opening times and prices or possibly a website for the museum

Australian guy needs help in finding a scenic and romantic location in Saint Petersburg to propose to my partner of 25 years. Please suggest the best month to be in Saint Petersburg. Thanks

On my last visit to Spb i visited the 3 churches located near to the memorial to herioc defenders of leningrad. Can somebody tell me what they are called please. One of the churches is on a small island with the other two located close by. Try as i have on google to find out the names but i can not find anything for definate. One seems to be known as St.Georges and another as the Christmas Church but the correct names would be useful so i can write reviews and add the photo's i took of these lovely churches.

Has anybody arrived in St.Petersburg by cruiseship ? Please contact me per e-mail richard.griessler@chello.at

Has anybody been to this newish attraction ? Does anybody know how much it costs to go onboard ? Its located not far from the Icebreaker krasin

Hi, I will be travelling to St.Petersburg in July 2013. I have been before,and have done most of the usual tourist places in the city aswell as Kronstadt,Shlissel'burg,Zelenogorsk,Peterhof and Pushkin. Can anybody suggest some other places easily accessible from SPB by local transport or new attractions worth visiting.

hello, Can anybody advide me the best way to travel to Novgorod. I understand that trains go from Moscow station. If there is a public bus where does it go from and would i need to book it the day before ?

Are Borschevsk Caves easily accesible by public transport from SPB ? If they are, where do i catch the bus or train from ? Any help is most welcome.

On my next visit to St. Petersburg i am planning a visit to Sablinskiye caves nr Ulyanovka (Sablino). Can anybody advise how i can travel there by public transport from central SPB. I will be there in July

Is there a quota for the free tickets? Is that possible to get it in an hour queue?

I wonder if a St Petersburg VT-er could help with some questions before I arrive for my first ever visit on Thursday 1. Is there a travel car or special ticket that covers travel on metro, buses and trams for 5 days? If so what is it called in Russian - I speak a little albeit badly... 2. Where is the best place to buy a fur "Russian style" winter hat? And what are the approximate costs? 3. Can anyone recommend a good restaurant serving traditional Russian cuisine and any serving Caucausian cuisine? Many thanks in advance! Спасибо

I'm visiting St. Petersburg in a couple of weeks. I'm expecting this to be a very foreign experience for me. I dont know Russian but would love to see as much as possible of the city. Does anyone know an affordable and trust tour guide that could help get me around for a day or two? J

Could VTer advise how to get to the places within the same day? Thanks. Tsarskoye Selo: Moskovskaya Metro then bus #342/286/287/545/347 Pavlovsk: Moskovskaya Metro then bus #286/299/545/545A question: Can I take bus #286/545 from Tsarskoye Selo to Pavlovsk? How frequent is the buses? Peterhof: ABTOBO Metrothen then bus #224 or the ferry from the Hermitage Petro-Pavlovskaya Krepost: Gorkovskaya Metro Question: How to go from Peterhof to Petro-Pavlovskaya?

Just wondering if st. Petersburg is kid friendly, for a four year old and one and a half year old? By friendly I mean lots of parks, smooth streets ie minimal cobble stones, and restaurants ok with kids in them? We were in Budapest a few months ago a d found it extremely family friendly, so we are interested to see if st Petersburg is similar.

I have got some choices. I hope to find one with easy access location (ie choices of food, near metro, and even better if close to the central area). Could you give me some comments/advice? Thank you. 1. SPG International Hostel: http://www.ryh.ru/index.php Add: 28 3rd Sovetskaya street, St. Petersburg,191036, Russia 2. The Right Place: http://right-place.org/ Add: Zhukovskogo street 57 (5 minutes by foot from Pl. Vosstanija metro) 3. Mini Hotel: saint-petersburg-hotel.eu/co... Add: Griboedov Canal 40 4. Nevsky Hostel (no email): http://www.nevskyhostels.com/ They have many different hotels/hostels, not sure which one is better. 5. Hostel MARMALADE (no email): marmalade.hostel.com/links.p... Add: Malaya Morskaja str. # 8. We have three persons and would prefer to stay in one room instead of dorm. Our budget is up to 100EURO, breakfast included preferred.