Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Many visitors use Helsinki as a launch pad for a visit to St. Petersburg, Rus-
sia—just 240 miles east. For more details on St. Petersburg, consider my
Rick
Steves' Snapshot St. Petersburg, Helsinki & Tallinn
.
Visa Requirements:
American and Canadian travelers to Russia need a
visa, which must be arranged weeks in advance. You'll need to secure an offi-
cial“invitation”inSt.PetersburgandmailyourpassporttotheRussianconsu-
late (for details, US citizens should see
www.russianembassy.org
;
Canadians
can consult
www.rusembassy.ca
). Given the logistical headaches, it's smart to
enlist an agency to help obtain an invitation and process your paperwork (I've
had a good experience with
www.passportvisasexpress.com
)
. It's not cheap:
Plan on $180 for the visa, around a $55 fee for the processing agency, plus
around $55 to securely mail your passport to the embassy and back.
Visa Exceptions:
If you arrive in St. Petersburg
on a cruise,
the visa re-
quirement is waived provided you contract with a local tour operator (or join
one of your cruise line's excursions) for a guided visit around the city—you'll
have no free time. But there is an exception that gives you time on your own:
If you go to St. Petersburg on a St. Peter Line ship (see below), then pay
for a “shuttle service” from the dock into the city (typically €25 round-trip),
you can technically stay up to 72 hours before returning with a St. Peter Line
shuttle and boat. Although this is not a guided visit, it's treated as the “cruise
exception”explainedabove—atleast,itisasofthiswriting(inlate2012).
Im-
portant:
As this loophole may well be closed in the future—and all aspects
of the Russian visa situation (especially how far ahead you'll need to apply)
change frequently—carefully confirm these details before planning your trip.
By Land:
You have two options. The
bus
is slower and cheaper (3/
day—departing at 9:00, 12:00, and 23:00; 8-9 hours, €40, less for students,
www.matkahuolto.fi
)
; the Allegro
train,
operated by Finnish Railways, is
much faster (4/day, 3.5 hours, €76-97 depending on demand, no student dis-
count,
www.vr.fi
, book ahead by email at
international.tickets@vr.fi
)
. There's
also a daily overnight train to
Moscow.
By Sea:
Many Baltic Sea
cruises
include a stop in St. Petersburg. But if
you're on your own, a relatively new service called
St. Peter Line
can take
