Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
62
Don't Drink the Water
Most hotels have their own clean water supply, or use filtered water, because of
St. Petersburg's often bacteria-infected groundwater. It's a good idea to ask
before brushing your teeth with tap water. Numerous brands of locally bottled
spring water are good cheap sources of clean water. Some safe brands are Saint
Springs (Svyatoi Istochnik) and Natalia. Make sure you ask for
voda bez gaza
—lit-
erally, water without gas—unless you want the carbonated kind.
also be crowded at any time of day, and
you can find yourself in a waddling mass
squeezing onto the fast, steep escalators.
Most platforms are enclosed and resemble
a long hall full of elevator-like doors. You
can't see the train as it approaches, but you
hear a tone and suddenly the doors
open—and there's a train on the other
side.
One ride costs the same no matter how
far you're going. The city is phasing out
metro tokens, replacing them with paper
cards using a magnetic strip. For the time
being, every metro station sells tokens,
which cost 20 rubles, or they sell cards for
5, 10, or more trips that get cheaper the
more you buy.
The blue plastic tokens are dropped
into machines with marked slots. The
cards are slid into machines with slots on
the side and pulled out on the other end
before you can cross.
Trams
are a pleasant way to see the city,
but only a few lines are convenient for
hotels and tourist sights. Two lines worth
trying are the no. 14, which runs from the
Mariinsky Theater up through the center
of town and across the Neva, and the no.
1, which runs through Vasilevsky Island,
including a stop just outside the Vasileo-
strovskaya metro station.
Trolley buses
run along Nevsky Prospekt and some
other large avenues.
Tickets for trams and trolley buses
cost 18 rubles and are available from a
conductor in a yellow vest who roams
the vehicle selling them. Maps are posted
inside the vehicles, and routes are often
listed at the stops, but in Russian only.
By Taxi
Reliable companies to try are the official
Petersburg Taxi
(
&
068
—that's right,
just 3 digits) or Taxi Park (
&
812/265-
1333
), or Khoroshee Taxi (
&
812/700-
0000
) or New Yellow Taxi (Novoye
Zholtoye Taxi;
&
812/600-8888
). All
work 24 hours.
By Car
Some rental companies to try are these:
Hertz/Travel Rent:
Pulkovo Airport-1
and 2, arrivals halls.
&
812/326-4505
,
326-4501. www.hertz.com. Rents cars
with or without drivers.
Europcar:
Pulkovo-2, arrivals halls.
&
812/703-7733.
www.europcar.com.
Rents with or without drivers.
Rolf-Neva:
17/10 Vitebsky Prospekt.
&
812/320-0010.
Rents with or without
drivers.
3
By Bus
Several European tour companies offer bus
trips to Moscow, usually from Germany;
or to St. Petersburg, usually from Finland.
The journey from Berlin to Moscow is
long, about 2 days, and involves poorly
maintained Russian highways and long
waits at the borders. You will need transit
visas if you travel through Belarus, as most
Moscow-bound routes go. The Helsinki-
to-St. Petersburg journey takes about 7
hours and is often included on Scandina-
vian-based tours.
