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Personal Observations, Saint Petersburg
See all Saint Petersburg Warnings or Dangers
Someone is waiting for your trash - Saint Petersburg
Someone is waiting for your trash
by sennaya
Saint Petersburg Warnings or Dangers: Personal Observations tips posted by real travelers and Saint Petersburg locals.
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Personal Observations: Visas
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  • Updated By emilienoelle on October 4, 2005
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  • If you are coming from the US or most places in Western Europe you will need a visa to be allowed into Russia. The visa application process is relatively complicated because you need a hotel or other "host" to sponsor you. There are many agencies that specialize in helping people to get visas, but be aware that many of these are exorbitantly expensive. Russian visas have both entry and exit dates, and you can be arrested if you are not out of the country by your exit date. There are also special rules for people traveling with children. An alternative to the traditional visa is the tourist visa which is given on a 24 hour basis to travelers who are visiting in organized groups. There are special rules that apply to this also, such as the group must be led by a Russian guide and travelers in the group are not allowed to stray from it for any reason. It is more restrictive, but in many ways safer for most people who can't speak Russian. This was the option that I ended up taking because I was traveling with my 6 year old daughter and I was pretty nervous about something going wrong. In the end, it worked out well though, and we were still able to see and do many things.

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    Personal Observations: Money & Exchanges
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  • Updated By Oksana-StPetersburg on January 18, 2004
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  • This is four parts: 1) Perhaps obvious, but never exchange with people who stand outside exchange offices offering you a better exchange rate. Your attempt to get an extra 1% of your money may result in your losing 100% at the hands of a con artist. (sadly, it happened to me once) 2) In the Center there are many exchanges. But at 8 p.m. about 80% of them close when the stores they are in close. The ones that remain open all lower their rates about 5%. So to make your money go further, be sure to exchange during the day 3) Do not bring damaged or marked up dollars or euros. They may not be accepted at exchanges, or you may only be able to exchange for 85% of the value. 4) If the lady behind counter asks if you need a receipt, say NO. Foreigners receive a lower exchange rate to pay some city tax if the exchange office needs to file who exchanged the money.

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  • Website: www.oksanas.net

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    Personal Observations: Group tours
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  • By Dabs on September 11, 2003
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  • After seeing a steady stream of buses pulling up to every major attractions, it seemed to me that the majority of travelers to Russia still opt for a tour group instead of independent travel. We opted for a tour for convenience (not enough time to plan) but are normally independent travelers and I found the group tour had lots of frustrating aspects. I would encourage anyone who is a seasoned traveler to try to plan an independent trip instead. Here's what I feel are the pros and cons: PROS -meeting nice people -no hassling with train/plane/bus/hotel reservations -at least in our case we had an excellent guide (but you can always hire a private one with independent travel) -bypassing the lines (once again with a good private guide this is also possible) CONS -Waiting for other members, on our tour someone was late for virtually everything we did -all those bathroom stops! -noncentrally located hotels, the tourist class ones tend to be located on the edge of the city -included meals tend to be what is easy to do for a group (ie buffets, mostly with cold food that should have been hot, stops at food courts and grocery stores) -often inconvenient flight arrangements -often not enough time to see the attractions so you can stick to the schedule

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    Personal Observations: Different admission prices for tourists
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  • Updated By Dabs on September 11, 2003
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  • Russians pay only a fraction of the admission cost tourists pay to get into museums, palaces, churches, etc. At some places there are different lines to stand in for Russian vs. non Russian admission (St. Issac's is an example, the tourist entrance is inside the cathedral). For those who complain about this practice, take a look around at the grandeur of the palace or church and remember that many of these places were restored after WWII, think of the cost and where the money came from to restore them and the $10 admission fee to the Hermitage won't seem so bad :-)

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    Personal Observations: Passport & other documents
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  • By Incubus30 on October 21, 2003
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  • Due to some old law in Russia, one should always have documentation on him. Hence, I give you an advice to always carry the passport and other important documents with you. You could be stopped in the street by police and asked for it. I had some problems entering back the hotel on various occassions since I was not carrying the passport. To avoid loosing the passport, you should carry a photocopy of the document

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    Personal Observations: the visa marathon
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  • Updated By Michael_D on December 6, 2004
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  • USA passport - Saint Petersburg
    USA passport
    by Michael_D
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    DONT DO what the locals are "aware of" and INSIST you do....dont expect Russians to be aware of anything but what existed in the old regime. Under that antiquated system, the INVITATION letter(before the visa process even starts!) requires a trip to the OVIR , $15 and takes almost 3+ months. Only then THEN do you have the privilege to START the visa marathon, which costs $100+ and may take another month....or more!!!!!! A former Rf friend INSISTED we do the OVIR process. I humored her, but did the process in the USA and I had the entire visa(including invitation letter) at my home in 6 days while she waited in line for hours, made phone calls to the OVIR and was still waiting for the invitation letter FOUR MONTHS LATER!!!! THE SOLUTION?The easy way is to use the Briggs Agency in Washington DC. They supply an invitation letter for $24 and the cost is $100 to RF and $30 to Briggs Inc. It will tale 6-10 days at the most.

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  • Website: www.Briggs.com
  • Other Contact: dont bother with OVIR

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    Personal Observations: Learn the Language
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  • Updated By Canadienne on June 19, 2003
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  • Metro Station Sign (Moscow) - Saint Petersburg
    Metro Station Sign (Moscow)
    by Canadienne
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    Unless you are with a guide or a tour group, getting around without some Russian (language) and Cyrillic (alphabet) knowledge would be very, very difficult in Russia. English is not commonly spoken, nor is it found in Metro stations, street signs, shops nor in many restaurants. Make the trip much easier on yourself ~ learning the alphabet was a huge help to us and made us very mobile and independent. Having a couple dozen phrases and words also engendered a good reaction from the people we met. I used a Berlitz tape and book for the spoken portion and this website for the alphabet:

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  • Website: www.catcode.com/rintro/

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    Personal Observations: street crime in general
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  • Updated By Michael_D on June 22, 2005
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  • no danger at all - Saint Petersburg
    no danger at all
    by Michael_D
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    One hears reports constantly about crime in Moscow and to a lesser degree in St Petersburg. I have to say I saw nothing that alerted me there was a problem. Then again I wasnt out night clubbing, getting drunk or buying drugs. You look hard enough and trouble WILL find you in any city. The average tourist will not be a victim of anything worse than a surley bus driver or a bogus SPB DVD(that didnt work when I got home)purchased at the kiosks near the Aurora Cruiser.;-) IN FACT this deserves a note. Despite the many people that had a beer in hand almost everywhere in SPB and despite it is a bustling city of 5 MILLION people...I dont recall a single arguement or confrontation my entire time in SPB. The people are very curtious and respectfull in my opinion. I felt safe 100% of the time.(something I CANT say for my hometown New York City;-)

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    Personal Observations: Traffic in Russia
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  • Updated By HORSCHECK on August 19, 2005
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  • Traffic in Russia - Saint Petersburg
    Traffic in Russia
    by HORSCHECK
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    Traffic in Russia is a nightmare. It looks like nobody really cares about speed limits or traffic rules. Cars drive at almost full speed in the city centre, especially on the multi-lane prospekts. For pedestrians it is sometimes very difficult and dangerous to cross these large roads. It might be better to consider taking another route, it could save your life!

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    Personal Observations: Cyrillic alphabet
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  • By Incubus30 on October 16, 2003
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  • This is more of a warning. It would help if one could learn some basics of the cryllic alphabet. One will be able to go around the city with more confidence. I was a bit sceprical about this,when I saw similar warning on VT however, once there, I had to do this and it was very helpful.

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