Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
can dial the mobile number in full. If you hear nothing, hang up - you can't call
anywhere but local landlines from here.
Main mobile providers include Beeline, Megafon, MTS and Skylink. You can
buy a local SIM card at any mobile phone shop, which you can slot into your
home handset during your stay. SIM cards cost as little as R200, after which
you only pay to make calls, although prices are very low.
Time
St Petersburg is GMT +3 hours, the same as Moscow time. Therefore, when it
is midday in St Petersburg, it is 10am in Berlin, 9am in London and 4am in
New York. Russia employs daylight savings along with much of the rest of the
world.
Toilets
Around nearly all metro stations and tourist attractions there's at least one dis-
gusting blue Portakabin-type toilet manned by an attendant who will charge
around R25 for the honour of using it. There are also pay toilets in all main-
line train stations and free ones in museums. As a general rule, it's far better
to stop for a drink in a cafe or duck into a fancy hotel and use their cleaner fa-
cilities.
Tourist Information
Tourist information has finally got halfway decent in St Petersburg, and the
St
main office just of Nevsky pr as well as several kiosks around the city and
desks at both terminals of Pulkovo Airport and the brand-new Marine Façade
Terminal on Vasilyevsky Island. All branches have helpful English-speaking
staff and a variety of maps, leaflets and tours on offer. The other branches in-
