Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
58
arrange a taxi in advance from Pulkovo-2
by calling the
official airport cab com-
pany
at
&
812/312-0022.
Otherwise,
you can negotiate a ride upon arrival.
Official cabs are often scarce, and charge
about 800 to 1,000 rubles to Nevsky Pros-
pekt. Official cabs are either yellow or
have TAXI written in big letters in English
and Russian. The ubiquitous independent
cabbies rarely go below 1,300 rubles for
the same trip. Public bus no. 13 takes you
to the Moskovskaya metro station, south
of the city center. Tickets are just 18
rubles, purchased aboard. No trains serve
the airport.
Domestic flights into St. Petersburg,
from Moscow for example, come into the
neighboring
Pulkovo-1 Airport
(
&
812/
704-3822
). The facilities are similar to
those of Pulkovo-2, though more basic.
Taxi service is the same as at Pulkovo-1,
and public bus no. 39 takes you to the
Moskovskaya metro station. To book your
transfer by Internet, go to www.saint-
petersburg.com/transfers/index.asp.
To find out which airlines travel to St.
Petersburg, please see “Toll-Free Numbers
& Websites,” p. 310.
about 600 rubles. Three daily trains run to
and from the Finnish capital, both stop-
ping in Vyborg to clear Customs.
From Poland, Germany, and the Baltic
states, trains arrive at Vitebsky Terminal
(Vitebsky Vokzal), metro station Pushkin-
skaya, 52 Zagorodny Prospekt. If you are
entering Russia from a European Union
member country, you will need only a
Russian visa. But if you enter through
Belarus or Ukraine, you will need transit
visas for those countries. Be aware, too,
that rail passes that serve the rest of Europe
do
not
include Russia.
By Bus
A few tour companies offer bus tours to St.
Petersburg from Scandinavia on top-class
Finnish coaches. From Helsinki the ride
takes about 6 hours, including the long
stop to clear Customs. Ordinary, nontour
buses, which are cheaper than the train,
are also available to and from Helsinki. If
you travel on your own, you must take
care of your Russian visa yourself. The
road from Helsinki is relatively well main-
tained, unlike many others in the region.
Buses arrive at
St. Petersburg Bus Station
(Avtobusny Vokzal; 36 Naberezhnaya
Obvodonovo Kanala;
&
812/766-5777
).
By Boat
Many Scandinavian cruises include a stop
in St. Petersburg, at the major commercial
port 20 minutes north of the city center, at
1 Morskoy Slavy Sq. (
&
812/322-6052;
metro: Primorskaya and Vasileostrovs-
kaya). Minibuses to the metro (K-47,
K-128, K-129, K-183, K-273, K-310,
K-349, K-359, and K-690) run frequently
and cost around 25 rubles.
Most cruises include an organized bus
trip to the center. This is the most conve-
nient option, since the metro is a long
walk and the minibuses are often over-
crowded. The official taxis serving the port
charge more than elsewhere; expect to pay
about 500 rubles to Nevsky Prospekt in
the city center.
3
By Train
It's worth mentioning again, entering St.
Petersburg by overnight train from Mos-
cow is one of the most romantic things
you can do in Russia. The Moscow-based
trains arrive at, appropriately,
Moskovsky
(Moscow) Station,
right on Nevsky Pros-
pekt, within walking distance of several
major hotels and adjacent to the Ploshchad
Vostanniya and Mayakovskaya metro sta-
tions. The official taxis in front of the sta-
tion set their own prices, which are
invariably higher at the train station than
elsewhere in town.
Another easy train connection is from
Helsinki, 5
1
⁄
2
hours away (plus a 1-hr. time
difference). The trip ends at St. Peters-
burg's
Ladoga Station
(Ladozhsky Vokzal,
Zanevsky Prospekt 73;
&
812/436-5310
).
Taxis from there to Nevsky Prospekt cost
