Saint Petersburg Travel Forum

Hello,

I will be in St Petersburg in Aug and plan to take either the train or plane to Moscow. So, which one is convenient and cheaper?? Thanks in advance.

Edith

Hi,
is there a public transportation from Pulkovo Airport (Terminal2) to the city ?
I found something like a bus #13 but that info on VT is from 2005, so maybe it is outdated ?
thanks a lot !

I am interested in finding a church in Russia with an altarpiece that was painted in 1897 by a young Finnish artist Olga Gummerus. The altarpiece was send to Russia, to some lutheran church. The topic of the piece is "Jesus talks to children".

This is a rather strange question, but hopefully someone can guide me atleast to a discussion forum somewhere else. Where could I ask about altarpieces in lutheran churces (in English as I don't speak any Russian)?
My guess is that it's in St Petersburg area because of Gummerus' contacts there.

And yes, I'm aware there are rather many churces.. but I'm not going to find it unless I try.. :)

The cost of Finnish train in comparison to bus is so much more expensive.

Aparently there is a Finnish train and a Russian train that leaves Helsinki to St. Petersburg. Is the Russian train less expensive and where is the site to purchase tickets. I would imagine the Russian train would have more culture. Does the train stop anywhere along the way and can one get off to take photos? Is English spoken and does one bring one's own food on board?

What is the cost?

Thanks

Don
Peterborough, Canada

Together with 3 friends I'll visit Saint Petersburg next summer. I wonder where to stay. Although I'd appreciate concrete hotel tips too, I am especially intrested in hints about the quarter, where the chosen hotel should be situated. Safety, the possibility to go out at night and vicinity to top-sights (or at least effortless reachability to the sights) are important for us...

I haven't been able to obtain accurate information about trains from Petersburg to Helsinki. I will be going on June 24. Firstly, is it the Finland station or Ladozhsky?

It seems that there are no overnight trains, and trains leave at either 7:15 or 16:30 (not counting Tolstoy). How long is the trip? I have seen travel times ranging from 5 hours to 6.5.


-Renaud
New York

1. We will be on the Azumara on a Balatic cruise in June. Ship's tours seem interesting but very expensive. However, if on the ship's tours we won't have to get our own visas. Has anyone been on these tours and are they better than going on our own?

2. I believe we will have 2-3 days in port. We would like to take the 8.5 hour tour of "Best of St. Petersburg" tour for $179. Which sites should we not miss and which ones should we skip for the other times?

We are a group of 15+ people exploring the option of taking a private tour of our own instead of going for the one arranged by the cruiseship.
Someone suggests the following tour companies: Alla tours, Anastasia company and DenRus.

Can someone share their experience with us about these companies ? Which one would you recommend ?

Anything to look out for when booking such a tour ? Thanks.

i asked this in the moscow forum - so youre not seeing double
sorry but i thought id ask here too

where do i go to get good quality ( good detail) nesting dolls - traditional rather than humorous/ thematic

do i really need to shop around?
as mentioned in the other thread i searched online and there were some nice ones for 145 aud ( 15 pieces)
thats ok
if it is good quality
nice craftmanship
you have to be careful
from past experience
some of the dolls dont fit back together very well so you have to make sure of that before purchase and make sure the hands etc match up properly
i have some from yesteryears that are ill mateched and it's an eyesore!
thanks for any ideas!

Hi all.

Firstly, thankyou for taking the time to read this post.
Ok, i have just booked a last minute trip to St Petersburg, and am wondering where to visit while there. I will be there from the 6th - 9th March although the first and last days will mainly be taken up by travelling. So i shall have 2 days to fill up, and was just curious to know where some of you would recommend going to see. I dare say the Hermitage will take quite a while.
This will be my first trip to Russia, so i have been learning a bit of the Russian language. Wow it is hard!!! Are the locals forgiving if you pronounce things incorrectly? I am at least trying:)
Which is the best and safest way to get from the airport to the centre?

Many thanks,
Simon.

There has been a change of plan with the result that I have just added St Petersburg and Moscow to this year's itinerary. As for planning, this puts me way out of my comfort zone so I need some help please.

1. What are the best sites for reasonably priced hotels (must have shower/WC).

2. I can't seem to find an internal airline to fly between St Petersburg and Moscow. I find it hard to believe that this can't be done so I could do with some advice about this. www.harefares comes up blank.

3. Do the trains in the Russian Federation work in a similar fashion to the rest of Europe. For example can you just turn up and get on a train or should you book? If so, what is the best way to do this?

4. Do restaurants open late in both places? (I mean like till midnight or so).

5. Are taxis very expensive and can the drivers be trusted not rip one off?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give. In the meantime, I'm off to the Destination box above to see what I can glean from the pages of those VTers who have been to Russia.

Hi all, I'm in a little bit of a complicated situation. There are two couples (husband and I and husband's parents) who are taking a cruise in the Baltics over the summer and want to do our own thing in St. Petersburg. Naturally this requires visas all around. The catch is that my husband and I are in the UK and so can apply for the visa in person, but the in-laws are in the states and will need to do theirs through an agency. A google search turns up tons of agencies that claim to do this, however, some look quite dodgy. Are there any that are tried and true? I've seen Way to Russia mentioned, but their webpage is out of date. Any agencies I should definitely stay clear of?

The last time I went to Russia was as a student so the visa was taken care of for me. . .Thanks in advance!

I will be visiting Saint Petersburg at Easter with my four-year-old daughter. She needs a place to blow off steam now and again. Are there any parks or playgrounds in the area of Bolshaja Morskaja, where we will be staying? Or any parks elsewhere in the city easily accessible by metro? Thank you.

Hello there.
I wonder how difficult and time consuming for a non Russian speaking, to make the visa registration in St Petersburg. Where to go and if I do it by my self how much it cost?

Thanks

Francisco

Next summer I want to visit both cities during one trip to Russia. So I wonder, what is the best way to get from St. Petersburg to Moscow... Would you recommend to go by plane? Or is the high-speed-rail more recommendable? Is there anything to consider?

It is important to save time, so the length of the travel is important, so I am afraid that going by ship is not really an alternative (despite it would take only the same time).

Does anybody know the exact date for observing white nights in 2009?

Hello.
We are a group of 6 trying to arrive to Tallinn from St Petersburg in August 2009.
Searching the internet I found this information:
1. The overnight train is no longer in service
2. Many reviews from other travelers talk about direct bus service, about 8 hours of travel.
3. The Russian web site of eurolines bus, is only in Russian
4. In the Estonian eurolines page they show 6 buses daily, but when I try to book a ticket they show only two options to reach Tallinn via Riga and around 20hours of travel.

My questions are:
Do the direct buses be available by august?
Should I have to book in advance this trip by internet and where?
Or is easy to find and buy the tickets 1 or 2 days in advance in St Petersburg and where?

Thanks

We will be in St Petersburg on a cruise 23/24 May and have 2 days to see some sights. We want the tour to be very casual and flexible . we have researched what we want to see and would require visas to be arranged for us,and a driver / guide to take us around the city.. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

My wife and I will be in St. Petersburg 12 March for several days. I am looking for an informal guide to see some of the main sites again. (I was there in the fall of 2007) We will be traveling by train from Vilnius.
Also it would be a bonus if the guide had a car and did a possible day trip outside of St. Petersburg or could meet us at the train and take us to our hotel.
We are easly going, good walkers and want to visit a few cafes, the Hermitage, Peter and Paul fortress, etc.
You don't have to be a professional guide.
Thanks for any help you might suggest.

My wife & I are flying to St. Petersburg to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary, the first week of September 2009. We enjoy nature and photography, and would like to spend a few days outside the city, possibly in the Karelian (sp?) peninsula. Several questions: a) will the leaves and shrubs be in autumn color at that time? b)is it possible to hire a guide for the purpose of hunting mushrooms? I know that's a great Russian tradition, and would like to see what all the fuss is about. c) where are the best places to see birds, mainly waterfowl, in migration?

Hello all
Is it possible to hire a car in St Petersburg which can be driven as far as Moscow before leaving it off in Moscow?
Even better, if anyone knows if it is possible to hire a car in Helsinki which could be driven as far as Moscow? (I'll ask in the Helsinki forum too)
Is this a reasonable idea to drive between these cities? Are the roads reasonable for this sort of drive or is there every chance we will get lost? :)

Thanks

DG

I'll will be in St Petersburg at the end of this month with my 2 friends. We have 3 days in the city; so prefer to stay in the center. Beside location, safety is also important for us. However we couldn't decide which one is the best. Can someone help us? Comfort Hotel, Nevksy Hotel Grand or Herzen House Hotel ?

Thanks a lot!
Semiha

Can someone help me find out the bus or trolly system map and whether I can catch a bus from the pier for cruise ships into town?

Privet,
does anyone know a decent B&B in Sankt P.?
I look forward to going up there for Christmas but haven't found anything good yet.
po-ka

Is it true that only members of the supportersclub of ZEnith can visit a training of the team of Dick Advocaat?

Hello Everyone,
I will be in St. Petersburg in a couple of weeks. On the top of my list to visit are the Hermitage, Catherine the Great Palace, and Peterhoff Palace but I can only choose two out of the three to visit. Which two would you suggest? Thanks in advance for your help.

I plan to go to St.Petersburg late Sept. The tour includes taking the overnight train from Petersburg to Moscow.Is the train clean and comfortable?thanks.

Hi there
Im getting a eurolines overnight bus from Tallinn to St Petersburg soon and I was wondering if it is safe for me to do this? Im a 24 year old female travelling by myself and I'm having second thoughts on my money saving tactic!!
Should I just suck it up and book the train? Flights are crazy expensive!

Howdy all,

can anyone advise me on the most efficient way to get from Berlin to St. Petersburg please also on a
tight budget if that narrows it down a wee bit........ thanks..xx

I am doing some initial research to travel to Russia fall 2009 ...

Have looked at individual land tours, but it is so stressful to cope with the risk of having to cancel, not to mention the expense, that I have determined it is best (and cheaper!) to stay in a nice hotel and work with the concierge.

1. Is it necessary - advisable for a woman alone to have a guide to keep company (I have read all the warnings about police scams and passports)

2. Is a concierge the best way to book the Grand Express into St. Petersburg? [with the price of the tour, even staying at the Royal Meridian will be a bargain). The Grand Express showed a single (entire cabin) Grand Class for around $900 USD ... is this more or less what I can expect to pay via a concierge?

3. As far as airport distance and departure hassles ... is it best to start in Moscow or in St. Petersburg? Do the trains travel overnight in either direction? In other words, what would be the best airport to arrive, and the best to leave - St. Pete or Moscow (I know there are three airports in Moscow!)

4. Would it be a good idea to originate and return to an interim country other than the US (I was thinking about Helsinki as I have not been there).

5. Exactly *what* do you need to carry with you - the *actual* passport or a copy? A copy of the hotel's registration? What else? I would *hate* to hand my passport over to any of those police guys.

Thanks ...