Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the city where demand for rooms is highest. On the downside, they are by their very
nature rather small places, so rooms book up quickly.
Hostels
Once a city with just a handful of very average, far-flung and depressing hostels, St
Petersburg now positively spoils budget travellers with a wide range of places to sleep
for under R1000 a night. Central, well run, safe, clean and with free wireless, this new
generation of hostels will be a very welcome surprise to anyone coming to Russia for
the first time. Hostels here tend to be run by enthusiastic staff who themselves have
travelled widely and are passionate about backpacking. More than almost anywhere
else though, you do really need to book ahead to ensure you get a place at the hostel
you want.
Apartments
As hotels for individual travellers tend to be fairly expensive even in midrange cat-
egories, renting an apartment is a great option and St Petersburg is full of large apart-
ments that are regularly rented out to tourists. Like mini-hotels, they tend to be right
in the city centre, and in general come equipped with wireless internet, washing ma-
chines and kitchens. Security is generally very good, with multiple locks on doors,
entry phones and well-lit corridors - a far cry from how renting apartments used to
NEED TO KNOW
Price Ranges
In our listings we've used the following price codes to represent the price of the
cheapest room available during the high season (usually May to July):
€ less than R3000
€€ R3000-8000
