ST. PETERSBURG - St. Petersburg, Helsinki and Tallinn - page 104

By Plane
A new international terminal at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport (airport code: LED,
www.pulkovoairport.ru ) is scheduled for completion at the end of 2013. Until then,
Pulkovo-1 handles domestic flights and Pulkovo-2 handles international flights. To reach
either from downtown St. Petersburg, first take the Metro to the Moskovskaya station, exit
on the outbound end of the station, and go all the way through the underground tunnel.
You'll emerge by the stops for bus #13 (which goes to Pulkovo-2) and bus #39 (which goes
to Pulkovo-1). Both buses run every 15-20 minutes and take up to 30 minutes to reach the
airport. You can also ask your hotel to order a taxi. Leave lots of time for traffic and to pass
through airport security.
If you need a hotel at the airport (for example, for one night before an early-morning
flight), a good, decently priced option is the Crowne Plaza St. Petersburg Airport, a
couple minutes' walk from Pulkovo-2 (Startovaya Ulitsa 6, tel. [phone],
www.ichotelsgroup.com ) .
By Cruise Ship
Most cruises arriving in St. Petersburg use the enormous, U-shaped, custom-built Marine
(Morskoy)Facade. Built on reclaimed land at the western tip of the giant Vasilyevsky Is-
land (facing the Gulf of Finland), it can accommodate a staggering seven ships at once,
feeding into four separate terminal buildings ( www.ppspbmf.ru ) . Each of the four Marine
Facade terminals has roughly the same services, including ATMs, basic TI kiosks, and ex-
tensive gift shops (a good place to burn off leftover rubles before boarding your ship out).
Taxis line up out front, charging 600-800 R for a ride downtown (figure 1,400 R one-way
to Peterhof, or 1,200 R to Tsarskoye Selo; if no taxis are standing by, look for someone
with a TAXI clipboard). But it's easy, cheap (less than $2), and very local to ride public
transportation from the Marine Facade into downtown: At the curb in front of the ter-
minal, look for the stop for bus #158 (25 R, pay conductor, 2/hour, stops at all Marine
Facade terminals); after leaving the port and driving past apartment blocks, the bus turns
left onto a big boulevard with tram tracks, with several shops on the right—get off here, at
the Primorskaya Metro station. Exiting the bus, walk straight ahead and look for the Metro
sign (it looks like an “M” that's bulging on the sides). Head into the Metro station, turn
right to find the ticket window, and buy a token (28 R), insert the token in the turnstile,
ride down the escalator, and ride the train two stops to Gostiny Dvor. You'll pop out right
downtown, in the middle of Nevsky Prospekt.
A lucky few ships—generally smaller, luxury vessels—dock along the NevaRiverem-
bankment. There are two cruise terminals here: the Lieutenant Schmidt (Leytenanta Sh-
midta) embankment, on the north bank; and the English (Angliyskaya) embankment, on
the south bank. From either one, you can walk along the riverfront into town.
For more in-depth cruising information, pick up my Rick Steves' Northern European
Cruise Ports guidebook.
By Passenger Ferry
St. Peter Line ferries arrive at St. Petersburg's Sea Station (Morskoy Vokzal) terminal
building, which sits at the far end of Vasilyevsky Island. From in front of the terminal,