Russia - Kaliningrad, Saint Petersburg or Moscow?

R0C

We have 5 to 7 days worth of holidays to take in mid August, and I'm very keen on visiting Russia.

We will be travelling as a couple and have travelled across Ukraine and some of the other former Soviet Bloc countries previously. We don't speak Russian but managed fine previously.

I did a search but previous threads here seem to be quite old.

We're interested in visiting one of the following cities: Kaliningrad, Saint Petersburg or Moscow. I'm a little concerned about the current political environment in Moscow so would be more keen on visiting either Kaliningrad or Saint Petersburg for our first trip to Russia.

I don't have time to do as much research as probably required due to very hectic job schedule, so I'm looking for the lowdown on Visas, hotel advice or recommendations for one of those cities, and any other general important info.

If you could only visit one, which would you pick? I'm sure someone here has been to one of them.

My understanding of the Visa is that you have to visit the embassy in person in Dublin to apply for it? This is the most offputting part as our only chance to get to Dublin would be enroute for the airport, without using up/wasting another day of our holidays. Perhaps applying for it hours before taking a flight is a bit risky?

And I recall that it's necessary to get a letter from the hotel, inviting you into the country also?

Any tips or advice much appreciated.

spurious

Haven't been to Kaliningrad, but have been to the other two.
Saint Petersburg would be my choice.

Any hotel you book will give you the letter of invitation. I'd be concerned about leaving the visa til the last minute. You can post in your documents but it will take a few days, even on 'express'. Usually they take about a week or so - that was with collection in person - might take longer by post.

R0C

Thanks for the quick response!

I'm just trying to do a little reading up on the Visa now and I'm not seeing anywhere that it says you have to apply in person, so I guess my understanding of that was incorrect. Looks like it is possible to do it all by post?

It does warn that it may take 20 working days to turn around, but I guess if I applied in the next few days I should be okay.

Looks like my best bet would be to book a hotel first, in order to get the letter invitation, and leave the flights until last in case anything would go wrong with the application?

Looking over the application, [from what I can see] they don't ask for flight details, just hotel info.

Is there much to do/see in Saint Petersburg? We're happy to wander and explore on foot, enjoy architecture and history.

Was it easy to order food, etc without Russian? Is it tourist friendly or did you find it intimidating?

spurious

Yes that sounds like a good plan, though if you tell them the date you need it by, they will generally have it in time. Of course they will scowl and make a face but that's part of the charms of Russians.

LOADS of things to do in St. Petersburg - you would easily fill a week. There is the Hermitage museum, all the palaces and just walking around is a feast for the eyes. There are many organised tours at relatively cheap prices (of course they are cheaper if you can speak Russian and can order them in Russian, but again, it's part of the experience). The old foreigner and local rates are a hangover from the Soviet days.

I particularly enjoyed a night tour that took in the raising of the bridges. It was pretty cool. Their summer nights are very long and we were taking photos without flash at 4am.
British site for night tours - you will get them much cheaper when you're there.

All restaurants will do their best to understand what you want. Of course they have the global chains there too (and priced for the tourists) and their staff will speak English, but even in the old Soviet-style canteens (the stolovaya) pointing and sign language will usually get what you want.
Here's an example of a stolovaya. Cheap and cheerful nosh.

R0C

Appreciate all of the info, the sights/acitivities you list there are all very appealing.

A couple more questions for you: the only flights I'm seeing into the city seem to land at 00.40 at night. I'd prefer a day time flight, but I guess it'll be pretty bright at that time anyway. Is it easy to get into the city from the airport, or how did you do it?
The airport is quite a bit out of town.

We've previously travelled in Ukraine and that was the most difficult part, getting into the city from the airport - very intimidating.

The Saint Petersburg airport website mentions various buses, but I'm not sure they run at that hour.



And did you have a DSLR camera with you, and if so, did you feel safe with it? I've found in other former Soviet countries that my Nikon D90 drew a lot of attention/suspicion and I'd have been better off with a cheaper point and shoot. I'm a keen photographer though, so I wouldn't make that sacrifice unless my DSLR is likely to be stolen/bring hassle on me.

spurious

We got a taxi in from the airport - it wasn't that expensive (about 1000 rubles). Late at night you shouldn't hit any traffic and should be in town in about half an hour. Watch out for taxi conmen - they are as plentiful as they are in most Eastern/Central European places.

Going back to the airport we got a bus - it was very cheap.

I didn't have any sort of a fancy camera. Saint Petersburg is like most cities in terms of safety. Yes, tourists can be a target but sensible precautions should ward off trouble.

I think tourists are more likely to fall victim to scams and overcharging than assaults or robberies. Almost anyone under thirty will speak some English if you need help.

R0C

Thanks for your help, appreciate the advice. It's good to hear from someone who has actually been there.

Sounds similar to Ukraine, where overcharging and scams were everywhere, but it felt a lot safer than the likes of Paris or Barcelona when it came to mugging/crime.

The Buster

Also been to Moscow and St. Petes. Moscow loads of times but to be honest once you see red square and kremlin which I think are amazing to see there isn't much to do. You can discover metro stations (architecture is unreal) and walk out to Gorky Park but that's it. Lots more to do in st Petersburg as per other post

Visa usually takes about 2 weeks-the embassy is a strange place! I always had one but something tells me if you go for less than 3 days you didn't need one. You might want to check h this out

R0C

Thanks for the info. I'm definitely swayed to Saint Petersburg now. I e-mailed the Russian embassy in Dublin seeking info [how long to get Visa via post] but they haven't replied to me yet. I don't want to book a flight if I've left it too late to get a Visa.

I read that if you arrive by ship and only stay a maximum of 3 days, you do not require a Visa to enter Russia but from what I can see, you always need one if you fly in, and we will be there for probably 5 or 6 days.

Can either of you recommend a hotel in Saint Petersburg?

Lots of options in all price ranges, but a personal recommendation is always helpful.

spurious

We were there a week and booked an apartment through this site: http://saint-petersburg-apartments.com/en/all/index.html

Zimmerframe

I was in St Petersburg for a couple of days last week. Can't really comment about accommodation, buses hotels etc. as all that was arranged for us.
Re. the camera, I had a decent camera and all the usual iPad/ iPhone etc etc in a camera bag. Rightly or wrongly I felt perfectly safe wandering about. Nobody said boo to me other than dudes trying to flog "Faberge" eggs or matryoshka dolls.

Gatica

Haven't been to Kaliningrad, but out of the other two I'd also pick St. Petersburg. It's a wonderful city with soooo much to see.
As far as visas, personally I would never get a flight without first getting a visa. They are very bureaucratic in Russia and the embassy can be nit-picky about the forms being exactly right. No spelling mistakes or corrections allowed. You can send them in by post with your accompanying documentation, payment, passport and don't forget to include the registered self-addressed envelope, without it you'll have to go in to pick it up.
Get your hotel invitation first. Don't know how long that takes but personal invitations can take up to a month to process.
Russians love their technology and bling, so you really won't feel very out of place or conspicuous with high tech camera or jewellery. Have you wits about the same as you would anywhere.

Fred Swanson

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