Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Day 3
Add more time in the Hermitage or the Russian Museum; visit Piskaryovskoye Memorial
Cemetery; or go to Peterhof or Tsarskoye Selo for the day.
Getting to St. Petersburg
If connecting to St. Petersburg via Helsinki or Tallinn, bear in mind that St. Petersburg's
time zone is one hour later than those cities.
BySea:
The only way to visit St. Petersburg without the bother of getting a Russian visa
is to arrive by sea.
One option is to take a
cruise:
Many lines include a two-day stop in St. Petersburg on
their Baltic itineraries. If you join an excursion into St. Petersburg with your cruise line, no
The other sea option is the
St. Peter Line ferry,
which departs from Helsinki every
other night, year-round (and also has a once-weekly connection via Tallinn, plus two-day
journeys all the way to Stockholm). Passengers sleep while the boat travels overnight from
Helsinki to St. Petersburg; they then have a day to explore the city before sailing back to
Helsinki (again overnight). As of early 2013, paying €25 for the St. Peter Line “shuttle ser-
vice” from the port to downtown St. Petersburg allows you to see the city without a guide
or a visa. However, requirements are constantly in flux, so confirm this is still possible be-
fore you make your plans. You can buy a one-way ticket on the St. Peter Line only if you
have a Russian visa.
By Air:
Many airlines serve St. Petersburg directly. Flying in and/or out of Helsinki
rather than St. Petersburg itself is a viable option, as the Finlyandsky train station in St.
Petersburg (where trains from Helsinki arrive and depart) is much easier to reach from the
center than St. Petersburg's airport.
By Train from Helsinki:
The 3.5-hour Allegro train trip through birch forests and past
the old fortress city of Vyborg costs about €75-100 (price varies with demand). There are
four trains per day, with the last leaving Helsinki around 19:00. Border formalities are car-
ried out efficiently at your seat en route, and on-board currency exchange means you can
hit the ground with cash in your pocket. Trains arrive at the Finlyandsky train station in St.
Petersburg, which is right at the Ploshchad Lenina Metro stop (with an iconic Lenin statue
out front).
Russian Visa Requirements
Note:
The following information was accurate as of early 2013, but Russian visa reg-
ulations are notoriously changeable. Confirm everything stated here before you make
your plans. For the latest requirements, see
www.ricksteves.com/russianvisa
.
Do I Need a Visa?
To enter Russia, residents of most countries, including the US and Canada, are re-
quired to obtain a visa in advance. The only exception is for travelers arriving by sea
