Helsinki Travel Forum

My wife and I plan to visit Helsinki next Spring. Is it possible to arrange a one or two day tour from Helsinki to St Petersburg and back to Helsinki? Can someone suggest a reliable tour operator?

Thanks in advance.

It is well possible and you do not need any tour: will cost much more.
Look at www.waytorussia.com how to get visa and arrange hotel stay. All you would need to do is to buy train ticket 1-2 days before the date.

There are comfortable night trains with sleepers between Helsinki and St Petersburg, they're also good for meeting local people. You need to fill in a form in Russian as you cross the boarder, but it's just basic (name, address, nationality) and the guards are very helpful.

The tricky bit is getting the visa for Russia, it's possible to do in Helsinki but might be easier to do at home. I did it by getting a tourist 'invitation' from a company on the web (loads of companies offer these for a small fee) which was emailed to me. I printed it off and took in to the Russian embassy in Helsinki (be prepared to queue), where I paid my fee and left my passport for (I think) 5 days, then went back to collect it.

Enjoy your trip!

Hi,

You find more information also here:

http://www.tte.ch/russia/travelling/

http://www.tte.ch/russia/travelling/#37

:) Finlandia