Just done St Petersburg by ourselves - tips and advice

[idonthaveahobby]

This is a really great thread. I am going to SPB in May on the Constellation and would prefer to do it on my own, but it looks like the visa application for U.S. Citizen is about the same price as a deluxe tour ($250+ for those of us that don't live in D.C.). Is that what others have concluded? Also, our ship is docked on a Saturday and Sunday. Will there be additional crowds on the weekend that make it harder to do it on our own?

 

Thanks,

 

Elizabeth

[bellabell]

Hi

I am doing 2 days independantly in St Petersberg, did you require a double entry visa or just a single to to both days of your trip ?

Thanks in advance

[AlexDolinski]

Great experience! Thank you for sharing it! I believe that freedom is worth the money you have to pay for the visa and all the efforts to fill in the application form for the consulate. One question concerning lines for the Hermitage, Peterhof, hydrofoil and other places. I've heardt it could be a problem. Question for someone who recently was in St.Petersburg - are the lines awful? What is approximate time to wait for the main attraction? Thank you for help!

[jadahl]

Hello,

 

Thank you for the posting. My daughter and I are visiting in mid July and plan to do a self tour for the most part. Your post answered a couple of open questions for me (e.g., location of the hydrofoil for Peterhof, transit from ship docks to main area).

 

Did you consider Catherine's summer palace in your planning. My impression is that a taxi or car will be needed. But did you find a metro station in the general direction of Pushkin?

 

Thanks,

 

Joseph

[Ashland]

Hi

I am doing 2 days independantly in St Petersberg, did you require a double entry visa or just a single to to both days of your trip ?

Thanks in advance

Your cruise ship enters port once, so you only need a single entry for your 2 day visit..

[scubacruiserx2]

Great experience! Thank you for sharing it! I believe that freedom is worth the money you have to pay for the visa and all the efforts to fill in the application form for the consulate. One question concerning lines for the Hermitage, Peterhof, hydrofoil and other places. I've heardt it could be a problem. Question for someone who recently was in St.Petersburg - are the lines awful? What is approximate time to wait for the main attraction? Thank you for help!

 

We agree, we cruised St. Petersburg once and liked it so much that we

returned and stayed - twice. It's very liberating to go where and when

you want. To circumvent lines and help us, we employed an a la carte

strategy to pick and choose mini tours and help us learn the transport

system. Get a good travel guide. I like Rough guides and DK Eyewitness

travel. We found a good guide who only charges us $25/hour to drive,

guide and translate.

[jadahl]

This is directed to scubacruiserx2,

 

Have you contact information for the person you used in St Petersburg who did it all: guide/driver/interpreter. Would like to communicate with him.

 

Thanks,

[anechka051676]

We will have limited time in St. Pete in May, apart from our river cruise tours. My question is: is it possible to walk to Peter & Paul Fortress from Hermitage? A long walk?

 

Thanks to those of you who have explored the city on your own.

. I'm from SP.Walk to Winter Palace to P&P. about 20 мin. Very easy! Have great time!

[scubacruiserx2]

This is directed to scubacruiserx2,

 

Have you contact information for the person you used in St Petersburg who did it all: guide/driver/interpreter. Would like to communicate with him.

 

Thanks,

 

Yes, his name is Gennadiy. www.guide-petersburg.com. We were there

on Victory Day 2009 and last October. The first picture is Gennadiy and

my wife going into the Hermitage. The rocket launcher was parked under

our apt. Please tell Gennadiy that Pat and Joe said hello. We really

enjoyed the visit to Lenin's office, the helicopter ride over P&P Fortress

and dinner with a Russian family (another story). We loved moving on our

own with no handlers.

[AlexDolinski]

We really

enjoyed the visit to Lenin's office, the helicopter ride over P&P Fortress

and dinner with a Russian family (another story). We loved moving on our

own with no handlers.

 

What do you mean by Lenin's office in "Smolny"? Would be great to see it...Read about it so much-but is it possible?As far as I understand it doesn't work as a regular museum.Have you been there?Is it really worth seeing-considering we have only two days in St.P? Thank you!

[scubacruiserx2]

What do you mean by Lenin's office in "Smolny"? Would be great to see it...Read about it so much-but is it possible?As far as I understand it doesn't work as a regular museum.Have you been there?Is it really worth seeing-considering we have only two days in St.P? Thank you!

I think it depends where your interest lie. We saw Spilled Blood interior,Smolny and had Lunch with a Russian couple in the morning.

In Czarist times the convent was a finishing school. The Soviet government was headed by V.I. Lenin here. It is currently the St. Petersburg Government. Our guide retired from Security there and

wisked us past the armed guards like we were VIP's. We met another

guide who gave a detailed account in Russian (translated by our guide).

It was a very infomative and unique experence. The Smolny Cathedral

is next door.

[mustgo]

This is a great thread but last entry was in 2014. Has anyone done a diy since and can add their experiences. We plan to do a couple of days in St Petersburg and take the ferry back and forth from Helsinki as that is also visa free. I don't care for the all day tours or their prices. I do think we will need a tour for the summer palace but not some of the central sites in the city.

[scubacruiserx2]

This is a great thread but last entry was in 2014. Has anyone done a diy since and can add their experiences. We plan to do a couple of days in St Petersburg and take the ferry back and forth from Helsinki as that is also visa free. I don't care for the all day tours or their prices. I do think we will need a tour for the summer palace but not some of the central sites in the city.

 

We have and we're going again in May . Check out our thread for pictures and tips on visiting St. Petersburg and Diy .

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1775172

[John Bull]

For those intending to go-it-alone by getting a visa, one significant update for Brits (but not Americans & probably no other nationals) is that a visa application now requires attendance in person by everyone travelling because biometrics are required. This can only be done in London or Edinburgh. One of the tit-for-tat games that countries play on each-other :rolleyes:

An extra reason for those Brits living out in the sticks to book a local operator's or ship's tour.

 

JB :)

Edited January 27, 2016 by John Bull