St.Petersburg currency

[Mr Piano]

Been doing my research, for currencies for up and coming Baltic cruise. I'm getting conflicting answers about St.Petersburg. A Russian visitors site says foreign currency cannot be used and many smaller outlets don't accept cards. The the tour company I'm using say all tourist shops accept euros or dollars and cards, even street traders. Little concerned about getting too much or too little Rubles. Do I need them at all?

 

 

I would appreciate some advice, from those who have done it.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Mr Piano

[John Bull]

On a tour you can get by without roubles. But perhaps not if you shop along the main street, Nevski Prospekt.

 

Street traders certainly accept euros, and I have very little doubt that others will say the same about USD.

 

You'll be taken to a souvenir shop which accepts cards, euros & probably dollars.

If it's the one we went to with Alla, they even use price stickers in euros. Prices will doubtless be higher than in the street, but you can browse without being pestered & they have a wide range of qualities & prices from tourist tat to very good stuff. Clean bathroom too. Alla uses the place as her office, she deals with tour payments while folk are browsing and that saves time.

 

We like to have some local jingle in our pockets, so we took enough roubles for the guide/driver tips.

Came in handy at lunch-times. The meals were included in the tour price but the restaurants accepted only roubles, no foreign or cards. Others had to drink water, we had beers. :)

We made up the tip shortfall in euros.

That's a good way to have roubles but without fear of left-over currency. :)

 

JB :)

[mskaufman]

On our tour we did not need rubles. Any store they took us to took credit cards. Some took euros and dollars. We brought along some rubles and used them to tip the guide.

[wheezedr]

Did not use rubles at all, even with street vendors. Always keep a few ones at hand for simple things. Still have the 10 ruble note I got as change from the bathroom lady at the palace after I gave her a dollar. Cheap souvenir lol

[GradUT]

We didn't exchange our dollars for rubles and we sure didn't need them last summer during our 2-day visit. For the few souvenirs we bought, we used euros and we paid for our tour (and tipped our guide) in U.S. dollars.

 

You just have to decide whether the hassle and cost of obtaining rubles is worth the few times you might use them (e.g. buying a beer).

[Pet Nit Noy]

Been doing my research, for currencies for up and coming Baltic cruise. I'm getting conflicting answers about St.Petersburg. A Russian visitors site says foreign currency cannot be used and many smaller outlets don't accept cards. The the tour company I'm using say all tourist shops accept euros or dollars and cards, even street traders. Little concerned about getting too much or too little Rubles. Do I need them at all?

 

 

I would appreciate some advice, from those who have done it.

 

Since you'll be touring with a company, follow their guidance. They know how to make life easy for their clients. That means they'll be taking you to stores and vendors who accept Euros, dollars, and credit cards. They'll even know the street merchants who will do the same. While the advice of the Russian site isn't technically wrong, it's providing the most conservative answer for a traveler who will be wholly independent and must be prepared for all eventualities.

 

Last summer, we did a two-day tour with White Nights Travel. Our credit cards and the crisp USD we had brought with us covered all our needs. We had no rubles -- not from a US bank bought in preparation or from an ATM used in SPB. Admittedly, we weren't doing any souvenir shopping since we had our fill of Russian souvenirs from earlier visits, but the main point is that a talented guide will make your time informative and pleasant. There's no need to buy from a shop that will only take rubles.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Pet Nit Noy

[dogs4fun]

Pet Nit Noy has provided you with excellent information. Local tour companies take you to tourist shops where credit cards and US$/Euros are accepted (the exchange rate will not be favorable though). You will only need rubles if you plan on shopping where the locals shop.

[angeleyes27]

Prices we saw were always listed in rubles, Euros and USD

Edited April 26, 2016 by angeleyes27

[CrazyJess]

We also didn’t exchange our dollars for rubles. The only one place where they didn’t accept credit cards was a pie shop. Our guide paid for us in rubles and we returned her in US $. For souvenirs we used US $. We tipped our guide and driver in US $ as well and they were obviously happy with it.

 

Jess :)