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St. Petersburg

  • 17-05-2007 1:13pm
    #1
    Grid.
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 68,401 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    Anyone been here?
    Was hoping to take a train from Helsinki when i'm there and spend a couple of days sightseeing, i've heard it can be quite dangerous there if you're on your own and it isn't easy to get budget accommodation, any info would be great.
    Also, any hassle getting a Russian visa?? Cheers


Comments

  • #2
    Lambsbread
    Closed Accounts Posts: 442 ✭✭Lambsbread


    I've just moved over to Moscow a month ago and plan on going there for a long bank holiday Weekend in June (8th -12th). Before i moved over here, people were warning me about how dangerous it is etc.. but i haven't found that at all (although i haven't ventured too far from the City Centre). I wouldn't mind hearing how people found St Petersburg though.

    Edit: Just on the visa, i got a one year business visa through work. But for Tourists you have to invited by a hotel or hostel to get your visa. Might be worthwhile sorting that out sooner rather than later.


  • #3
    Grid.
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 68,401 Mod ✭✭✭✭Grid.


    Thanks for that.


  • #4
    cailinoBAC
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,113 ✭✭✭cailinoBAC


    Hey, I was in St Petersburg 2 years ago. Planned on staying for 3 days but ended up staying for 6. I stayed for the first 3 nights in Zimmer Frei hostel. I can´t remember what website it was on bootsnall.com I think. Anyway, I hadn´t booked it, but I just had a look on the website to check if they had free rooms and arrived on their doorstep in the middle of August and it was fine. They registered my visa too, which I hadn´t expected. By the way, in order to get the visa I got a tourist voucher through www.waytorussia.com. They fax it to you within 24 hours and check the russian embassy website to see what else you need and prices etc. The more time you have the cheaper it will be.

    Actually if you´re lucky maybe the hostel will issue a tourist invitation. You´ll have to look into that yourself though. I was travelling around to a few different cities and not sure where I would be staying so it was easy to get one in this way.

    As for the other nights, well I stayed in somebody´s flat from hospitalityclub.org but I was alone so that was grand. As for being alone in general, I didn´t have any problem. I heard about pickpockets so I was just aware. I suppose actually I was never really alone in the evenings because I´d met people through HC so didn´t have to worry about walking around by myself. I wouldn´t say it´s any more dangerous than any other big city though.

    Try to master a couple of basic russian phrases or at least work out how to read the alphabet. Not everybody speaks English.

    Advice though - wear insect repellant.

    Edit to say - I took the ferry from Tallinn to St Petersburg. Was nice to arrive like that. Just another option, seeing as Tallinn is just across the water from Helsinki, and depending on how much time you have you can have a look around there too.


  • #5
    Grid.
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 68,401 Mod ✭✭✭✭Grid.


    Appreciate the info cailinoBAC, thanks alot;)


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