# Russia...St. Petersburg & Moscow



## IngridN (Aug 7, 2009)

DH and I are off to Russia next month. This is our first time there and I'm hoping there are some Tuggers out there who can provide guidance.  Going on our own, 7 nights in St. P and 5 in Moscow.  Hotel is centrally located within walking distance of the Hermitage (St. P) and Kremlin (Moscow).

Is it easy to navigate the subways?  Are there lots of not to miss sights that would be difficult to get to on our own?  If so, should we hire a guide & car & driver and if so, through hotel (staying at Marriotts) or other ways? Are taxis plentiful and recommended?  How do you deal with the language barriers as well as cryllic (sp?). Are signs, etc. also in English?

Best way to get from St. P to Moscow?  Assume train?  Buy tix here or once we arrive?

Are ATMs plentiful?  Are credit cards accepted......

Any and all suggestions are welcome.  Thank you.

Ingrid


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## hibbeln (Aug 8, 2009)

Please post a trip report when you get back!  Our family has been thinking about this trip for a year or so, but I must say this is the one country I find to be rather daunting to plan a trip to (and I'm not sure the feeling is deserved).  So I want to hear what you think!
My two sons (now 14 & 12) are pushing to go in the next year or so.  They are very interested in Soviet era and WWII era history.  There seems to be SO much to see there.  I'm just wondering how hard the "travelling" part is.

I have heard to never drive.
Subways are cheap and easy.
A central hotel is key.
Eating out is expensive.
Get a tour guide for at least one day in each city.
Do the overnight train from Moscow to St. Pete.


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## Carolinian (Aug 8, 2009)

The train is the best way to travel between the two.  I have done the overnight express ''Red Arrow'' several times.  Get a first class compartment for two.  On a couple of trips, we had three people along and bought the fourth place in a 2nd class compartment for 4, just so we would have privacy. The schedule is great, leaving in the evening, travelling all night and arriving first thing in the morning.  I have always bought tickets on arrival.

Much of St. Petersburg you can easily see on your own and is walkable though some points a longish walk.  There are a couple of splendid palaces just outside the city that can be reached by suburban train, but doing that without someone who speaks a bit of Russian might be dicey.

Most of the tourist sites in Moscow can also be reached either on foot or by public transportation.  The metro can be challenging as no signs are in English, and even the color coding is often in Russian script rather than displaying the appropriate color.  Nonetheless, with a good map, some knowledge of what Cyrillic letters correspond to which Latin letters, and common sense, it is not that hard to get around.  I have even taken a public bus from the airport, connected to the metro and gotten to my hotel in the northern part of the city without a hitch.

Traffic in Moscow can be bad, so I tend to prefer the metro to a taxi.  I have used a taxi a time or two without a problem, however.

Credit cards and ATM's are both becoming more common, but it is still not like a western European city.  Most restaurants and hotels that cater to tourists will take them.

Often in the nicer restaurants you can get essentially the same food and atmosphere eating in the bar at a significantly cheaper price.

For St. Petersburg, I would download the St. Petersburg guide at www.inyourpocket.com  That is a great series of city guidebooks and most of the content can be downloaded free.  I have not used their Moscow guidebook, but I have used In Your Pocket for many cities, so I am certain if is also great.  When you arrive, it is good to pick up a print copy for its maps, etc. that are easy to carry around.




IngridN said:


> DH and I are off to Russia next month. This is our first time there and I'm hoping there are some Tuggers out there who can provide guidance.  Going on our own, 7 nights in St. P and 5 in Moscow.  Hotel is centrally located within walking distance of the Hermitage (St. P) and Kremlin (Moscow).
> 
> Is it easy to navigate the subways?  Are there lots of not to miss sights that would be difficult to get to on our own?  If so, should we hire a guide & car & driver and if so, through hotel (staying at Marriotts) or other ways? Are taxis plentiful and recommended?  How do you deal with the language barriers as well as cryllic (sp?). Are signs, etc. also in English?
> 
> ...


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## hibbeln (Aug 10, 2009)

Thanks!  This is great info and give me a lot more confidence that it is not THAT hard.


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## Conan (Aug 10, 2009)

A friend just returned from St. Petersburg.  He said you'll want to buy tickets for the Hermitage Museum in advance.  If you arrive without advance tickets you'll find literally a thousand people on line ahead of you....


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## MULTIZ321 (Aug 10, 2009)

Hermitage Tickets Website


Richard


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## IngridN (Aug 11, 2009)

Thank you all.  Great info.  

We will definitely purchase the Hermitage tix here.  I checked out the website and was disappointed to find only multi-day tickets for 2 consecutive days.  I can only tolerate museums for 1/2 day at a time, so love to go on multiple days.  It is my understanding that the Hermitage is so large, you need several days to see it.

Carolinian, the overnight train sounds perfect and the first class compartment for two is what we would want. I was afraid of the no signs in English, but we're adventurous and will make do.  DH has been on his own several times in Japan and Korea, sightseeing on his own while on business trips...talk about difficulty in pattern matching!

Ingrid


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## judys19058 (Aug 13, 2009)

We were in Moscow and St. Petersburg last year on business.  I suggest hiring a guide from the hotel in Moscow and going to see Sergei Posad.  It was a wonderful trip about 1 hour out of town.  While in St. Petersburg, travel to Tsarskoye Selo (Catherine Palace) to see the Amber Room.  Besides the Hermitage and The Kremlin, these were wonderful, must see sites.


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## MULTIZ321 (Aug 13, 2009)

Sergiev Posad and the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergii 

http://www.musobl.divo.ru/archit_e.html

Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin)

Encyclopedia overview of Tsarskoe Selo


Richard


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## IngridN (Aug 14, 2009)

judys19058 said:


> We were in Moscow and St. Petersburg last year on business.  I suggest hiring a guide from the hotel in Moscow and going to see Sergei Posad.  It was a wonderful trip about 1 hour out of town.  While in St. Petersburg, travel to Tsarskoye Selo (Catherine Palace) to see the Amber Room.  Besides the Hermitage and The Kremlin, these were wonderful, must see sites.



DH, who's my travel planner :whoopie: , also says we'll hire guide to see the sights outside the city. We've located ourselves very centrally, so most of the sights within the cities are walkable.

Q...in perusing a couple of the guidebooks, I'm having difficulty with figuring out how to get from St. Pete airport to the hotel.  The hotel does not offer transfer service and the only mention of airport taxis I could find, was that they were mostly located at the domestic airport and we are, of course, flying into the international airport.  Assuming no flight delays, we also arrive at 12:30 in the morning  .  Any suggestions or is the guide wrong?

Ingrid


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## IngridN (Aug 14, 2009)

MULTIZ321 said:


> Sergiev Posad and the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergii
> 
> http://www.musobl.divo.ru/archit_e.html
> 
> ...



Thank you!


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## MULTIZ321 (Aug 14, 2009)

IngridN said:


> DH, who's my travel planner :whoopie: , also says we'll hire guide to see the sights outside the city. We've located ourselves very centrally, so most of the sights within the cities are walkable.
> 
> Q...in perusing a couple of the guidebooks, I'm having difficulty with figuring out how to get from St. Pete airport to the hotel.  The hotel does not offer transfer service and the only mention of airport taxis I could find, was that they were mostly located at the domestic airport and we are, of course, flying into the international airport.  Assuming no flight delays, we also arrive at 12:30 in the morning  .  Any suggestions or is the guide wrong?
> 
> Ingrid



Ingrid,

See this St. Petersburg Travel Guide from WikiTravel - scroll down to see the info about taking a taxi from the international airport to your hotel. Read farther for other options too.

St. Petersburg Airport Pulkovo 2 with Airport Terminal Map

Here's some info about St. Petersburg Taxi's

Richard


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## IngridN (Aug 14, 2009)

Thank you Richard...you are great!  I've spent the last hour or so looking at your sites and there's great info there.  It appears the guidebooks are somewhat out of date!

Ingrid


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## Carolinian (Aug 15, 2009)

IngridN said:


> DH, who's my travel planner :whoopie: , also says we'll hire guide to see the sights outside the city. We've located ourselves very centrally, so most of the sights within the cities are walkable.
> 
> Q...in perusing a couple of the guidebooks, I'm having difficulty with figuring out how to get from St. Pete airport to the hotel.  The hotel does not offer transfer service and the only mention of airport taxis I could find, was that they were mostly located at the domestic airport and we are, of course, flying into the international airport.  Assuming no flight delays, we also arrive at 12:30 in the morning  .  Any suggestions or is the guide wrong?
> 
> Ingrid



Taxes FROM the airport to hotel in Moscow can be pricey.  $100 is not uncommon, at least a couple of years ago.  Taxes TO the airport are easier to find at a reasonsble price.

There is a site for airport transportation internationally that often is great for such information, www.toandfromtheairport.com

As to guidebooks, the In Your Pocket series, referenced earlier is the best bet as 1) they are written by locally-based staff rather than outside travel writers, and 2) they are updated far more frequently, often monthly.


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## IngridN (Aug 16, 2009)

Thanks, C...I'll take a look at the website later. We're flying into St. Pete so will need taxi or car from airport to hotel. And to make matters worse, our flight lands at 12:30 in the morning! We may just bite the bullet and hire a transfer service...my concern being, will they show especially if the flight is late. I downloaded the inyourpocket guides and didn't see any specific info on transportation to/from the airport but may have missed it. I'll check again later and probably pick up a copy of the guidebook for the maps. As you indicated in your earlier post, good maps are crucial. DH and I love to explore on our own and also find good maps indispensible.

Ingrid


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