Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Currency Confusion
Many hotels, restaurants, and chic shops list their prices in “monetary units”
(abbreviated Y.E. in Russian). The unit was essentially another way of saying
“dollars” while adhering to the Russian law that forbids businesses from trad-
ing in any currency other than the ruble. Today the monetary unit is either
pegged to the dollar, the euro, or somewhere in between. Restaurants and
hotels will have a note at the front desk and on the menus or price lists indi-
cating the current “monetary unit exchange rate” (for example: 28 rubles = 1
Y.E.). It's a good idea to have a small calculator handy for times like this. Even
if the price is listed in dollar-pegged “units,” however, you have to pay your bill
in rubles.
1990s. If you're not queasy about carrying cash from home, change it at currency
exchange booths. Booths in town offer more competitive rates than do hotels and air-
ports and do not charge commissions, though most buy only U.S. dollars and euros.
Be sure to have crisp, new bills, as exchange booths often refuse well-worn notes or
those printed pre-1995.
The easiest way to get
cash
in Moscow and St. Petersburg is from an ATM. The
Cirrus
(
&
800/424-7787;
www.mastercard.com) and
PLUS
(
&
800/843-7587;
www.visa.com) networks span the globe. Most Russian ATMs accept both.
Credit cards
are welcome in nearly all Russian hotels and many restaurants, but
many museums and train stations take only cash. Cards most commonly accepted in
Russia are American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and Eurocard.
Few places in Russia accept
traveler's checks
outside major hotels and restaurants,
and those that do usually only accept American Express.
Current exchange rates
are around 28 rubles to the U.S. dollar and 50 rubles to
the British pound.
WHEN TO GO
Frost-tinged, wind-whipped, ice-glazed. Snow blankets much of Russia for most of the
year, and Moscow and St. Petersburg usually see flurries in May and September.
Understandably, prices are lower September through May and tourist sites less
crowded. Hotel and airline rates spike around the New Year's holiday.
Most visitors favor
summer,
both in Moscow and subarctic St. Petersburg, with
sunsets that linger until sunrise, balmy temperatures, and all-night activity that makes
you forget it's 3am and you haven't slept. Summer weather in both cities can be unpre-
dictable, though, with spells of heavy heat (and rare air-conditioning) or drizzly cold.
Bring layers and an umbrella no matter when you go.
Autumn is a few idyllic weeks in late September and early October when the
poplars and oaks shed their leaves and the afternoon sun warms you enough to help
you through the cooling nights. Spring, a few weeks in April, is slushy and succinct.
If a
winter wonderland
is your fantasy, Russia in December won't disappoint you.
The northern sun shines softly low on the horizon, and snow masks garbage-strewn
courtyards. Cross-country skiing fans can wind through forests within Moscow city
limits or skate-ski along the frozen Gulf of Finland in St. Petersburg. However, many
country palaces and other outdoor sites close in winter.
