I'm sure this won't appeal to many but it's a trip I'm hoping to do myself next year. It is a 5 night trip visiting both St Petersburg and Moscow. You will need to add visa costs onto this trip.
After spending a final day in St Petersburg you will board the overnight sleeper train to Moscow at 23:55. You get your own sleeper cabin and arrive into Moscow the following day. It also saves on hotel costs.
Dont bother to pack your "Human Rights" on this trip
daskapital
16 Jul 172#2
Prepare for a nice long visa application too..
But Moscow is great, be sure to visit VDNKh and see Buran and when you go to St P go and see Peterhof palace, magnificent.
Also , get yourself a mobile phone chip at any train station, it cost me like £8 for 30GB of data on beeline as I had to work out there and needed mobile data. You have to register but so what. If anyone would like any tips please ask.
rachelandgromit
16 Jul 171#3
I wish I'd of gone a few years back when Easyjet use to fly to Russia. I remember you could get return flights for sub £60.
OpineDevine
16 Jul 17#4
Спасибо Оп
archer1204
16 Jul 17#5
If you want to goto just st petersburg there is a way that you dont have to get a visa
rachelandgromit to archer1204
16 Jul 17#6
Port - boat!
eslick
16 Jul 17#7
Make sure you check the visa costs before buying, used to be cheap but not any more.
mb1
16 Jul 17#8
If you get a cruise from Helsinki to St Petersburg you don't need a visa I believe.
Bertz99
16 Jul 17#9
If going for only 5 days think my advise would be to stay in St Petersburg and enjoy your time there.
As daskapitalhas said do visit Peterhof - although make sure it is when the fountains are on (start in April if I remember correctly) and I would recommend going by the fast boats which make it a grand entrance. Catherine's Palace is then another days visit out, Hermitage will take you a day to go through and then that leaves you a day to tour Nevsky Prospect to see the other most famous sites/churches/canals.
The overnight train is a nice way to travel (did it the other direction) but can see no way of doing justice to Moscow in 1.5 days running about - in comparison to St Petersburg there is just so much more to see and do that you would never scratch the surface without being there for longer - in your time span it would be a couple of metro stations (I got metro tickets for some friends visiting and met them 2 days later and all they had done was stop at every metro station in complete awe). Red square, Kremlin, Tomb of the unknown soldier, Lenin's tomb, and St Basils at best and whilst daskapitalhas gives another option (one I will go and see next visit) there are more Church's, Numerous Parks (just don't mention the great war dates not matching ours), Museum's, Moscow Zoo, Bolshoi, river cruises, a rather famous circus and even then I am only scratching the surface. Have been to Moscow more than once and do not think I have seen all it has to offer other than being truly immense.
rachelandgromit
16 Jul 171#10
If you aren't interested in Moscow, then there is a visa free option if you travel by boat from Helsinki, Tallin or Stockholm.
I guess the thing to bear in mind is you only get 72 hrs and you need to arrive and depart by boat too and flights can be quite expensive to and from Helsinki too, as well as accommodation there so it may be cheaper (and more convenient) to just get a visa!
To avoid the expensive flight to Helsinki you could fly into Tallinn (or Riga at a push) and then get the boat from Tallinn to Helsinki. Tallinn is an amazing city as well.
Immoraliste
16 Jul 171#11
Nice itinerary. The sleeper trains, as long as you're not on one of the luxury tourist only specials, are always a great window onto the culture of a country.
For anyone who happens to have a stash of Avios (via Amex, Tesco, BA / Iberia flights, car rentals etc), flights to / from Russia are just about the furthest you can fly while still being within Reward Flight Saver destinations (taxes / fees capped at £17.50 one way or £35 return).
An off-peak one way to St. Petersburg is 8,500 Avios + £17.50 RFS (peak 10,000 + £17.50). If the alternative was paying the £237.94 quoted by OP, you'd be getting a value of 2.59p per Avios, which is outstanding. (EDIT: for even better value, part pay with Avios at 4,500 Avios + £35 + £17.50 RFS and compared to the £237.94 cash ticket you're getting 4.35p value per Avios).
rachelandgromit
17 Jul 171#12
Lol, that's exactly what I'm saving my Avios for! Same price/reward saver for flying Manchester to London which doesn't make any sense!
Only other option when Avios have worked well is South America domestic flights with LAN. Since they changed over from Airmiles really not good for us outside of London.
dreamager
17 Jul 17#13
Plus price of a visa
MEGAONE
17 Jul 17#14
Anyone tell me rough price of visa
phatbear
17 Jul 17#16
Russia is on my bucket list but its such a faff getting a visa. You have to visit london/manchester or edinburgh to apply in the first instance and then, if you are travelling is a couple and want your passport sent back to you, its £199.60 for the honour of having a russian visa/s.
rachelandgromit to phatbear
17 Jul 17#17
Sounds similar process for getting one to China, who have also increased their prices since I went. The process at Manchester wasn't too bad, they were more interested in making sure we had accommodation booked for every night and wanted to see all hotel bookings.
If it wasn't for the fact I do want to go to Moscow and other parts of Russia, I'd deffo do the Tallinn/Helsinki route.
g8ryj
17 Jul 171#18
Traveled the world many times (including St Petersburg) and still have yet to visit Moscow - This is on my to-do list within the next 12 months.
Learning the Cyrillic alphabet has come in useful many times :smile:
flyingalan
17 Jul 17#19
Visa cost approx £95 including courier return of passport. You will need to visit London or Edinburgh for biometric fingerprints to be recorded. Straightforward process, fill form in on line.
Return flights to St.P with BA vary in price depending on time of year but convenient. You can look at Air Baltic through Riga, sometimes a deal. Fly Helsinki then high speed train to St.P is not a bad option. Contrary to comments on here, Helsinki flights can be quite economical, look at Norwegian out of Gatwick if BA/Finnair not offering a deal. Of course as usual holiday time fares are inflated !! St.P well worth a visit, lots to do and see, Faberge egg museum now a "must see". Easy to get around, English spoken in most places and street/metro signs/names in both Cyrillic and Roman script. Great shopping centre with well known stores from all of Europe there, but not cheap ! Great choice of eating from McDonalds upward. Don't be afraid of Georgian Ukranian, Russian etc food, you can always find something to like on the menu and many have menus in English if you ask.
flyingalan
17 Jul 17#20
Forgot to add, you need an "invitation" for visa application. If you book hotel they will almost all send you one by e-mail. Also if you stay more than 7 working days you have to register with authorities, again hotel will do this (for a charge around 20 euros). If you cannot get invitation from your accomodation then use a web invite from someone like; http://realrussia.co.uk/Visas/Russian/Invitations/Tourist £15.
blurr
17 Jul 17#21
If I have already been to Moscow with a visa, is it a simpler process the second time round? thanks.
wildecat
19 Jul 17#22
St Pete is beautiful, never been to Moscow.
My (female) friend was basically forced into a cabin on the St Pete to Moscow train, luckily she wasn't travelling alone.
Will be fine if your male or travelling with others but beware if female & travelling solo.
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Opening post
All comments (22)
But Moscow is great, be sure to visit VDNKh and see Buran and when you go to St P go and see Peterhof palace, magnificent.
Also , get yourself a mobile phone chip at any train station, it cost me like £8 for 30GB of data on beeline as I had to work out there and needed mobile data. You have to register but so what. If anyone would like any tips please ask.
As daskapitalhas said do visit Peterhof - although make sure it is when the fountains are on (start in April if I remember correctly) and I would recommend going by the fast boats which make it a grand entrance. Catherine's Palace is then another days visit out, Hermitage will take you a day to go through and then that leaves you a day to tour Nevsky Prospect to see the other most famous sites/churches/canals.
The overnight train is a nice way to travel (did it the other direction) but can see no way of doing justice to Moscow in 1.5 days running about - in comparison to St Petersburg there is just so much more to see and do that you would never scratch the surface without being there for longer - in your time span it would be a couple of metro stations (I got metro tickets for some friends visiting and met them 2 days later and all they had done was stop at every metro station in complete awe). Red square, Kremlin, Tomb of the unknown soldier, Lenin's tomb, and St Basils at best and whilst daskapitalhas gives another option (one I will go and see next visit) there are more Church's, Numerous Parks (just don't mention the great war dates not matching ours), Museum's, Moscow Zoo, Bolshoi, river cruises, a rather famous circus and even then I am only scratching the surface. Have been to Moscow more than once and do not think I have seen all it has to offer other than being truly immense.
I guess the thing to bear in mind is you only get 72 hrs and you need to arrive and depart by boat too and flights can be quite expensive to and from Helsinki too, as well as accommodation there so it may be cheaper (and more convenient) to just get a visa!
There is some useful info on this link https://stpeterline.com/-/visa-free-rule
For anyone who happens to have a stash of Avios (via Amex, Tesco, BA / Iberia flights, car rentals etc), flights to / from Russia are just about the furthest you can fly while still being within Reward Flight Saver destinations (taxes / fees capped at £17.50 one way or £35 return).
An off-peak one way to St. Petersburg is 8,500 Avios + £17.50 RFS (peak 10,000 + £17.50). If the alternative was paying the £237.94 quoted by OP, you'd be getting a value of 2.59p per Avios, which is outstanding. (EDIT: for even better value, part pay with Avios at 4,500 Avios + £35 + £17.50 RFS and compared to the £237.94 cash ticket you're getting 4.35p value per Avios).
Only other option when Avios have worked well is South America domestic flights with LAN. Since they changed over from Airmiles really not good for us outside of London.
If it wasn't for the fact I do want to go to Moscow and other parts of Russia, I'd deffo do the Tallinn/Helsinki route.
Learning the Cyrillic alphabet has come in useful many times :smile:
Return flights to St.P with BA vary in price depending on time of year but convenient. You can look at Air Baltic through Riga, sometimes a deal. Fly Helsinki then high speed train to St.P is not a bad option. Contrary to comments on here, Helsinki flights can be quite economical, look at Norwegian out of Gatwick if BA/Finnair not offering a deal. Of course as usual holiday time fares are inflated !! St.P well worth a visit, lots to do and see, Faberge egg museum now a "must see". Easy to get around, English spoken in most places and street/metro signs/names in both Cyrillic and Roman script. Great shopping centre with well known stores from all of Europe there, but not cheap ! Great choice of eating from McDonalds upward. Don't be afraid of Georgian Ukranian, Russian etc food, you can always find something to like on the menu and many have menus in English if you ask.
My (female) friend was basically forced into a cabin on the St Pete to Moscow train, luckily she wasn't travelling alone.
Will be fine if your male or travelling with others but beware if female & travelling solo.