St. Petersburg on our own

[SaylorGirl]

For those of you who haven't taken any ships excursions and/or private tour companies how did you get your visa's? Any particular advice on what to do or not to do. We are not fans of tours and would rather explore on our own. We will be on the Star Princess next summer.

 

Thanks

[Kiwi Kruzer]

You may find this thread helpful.......

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=58495

[cannonball]

Having done St. Petersburg, both with a ship's tour and on my own, I would strongly recommend to do it on your own. However, the one issue that you will run into is that the Star Princess will dock about 30 minutes away from the points of interest and there virtually no taxis at the port. I contacted Palladium tours before we left but did not have time to get the visa before we left so we just ended up on the Princess tour. I would recommend that you contact Palladium as they will provide you with the necessary invitation needed to get your visa and they can arrange just transportation to/from the ship if that is what you decide to do. I cannot emphasize how disappointed I was with the ship's tour basically because there were too many people, many of the people were rude, and the tour guide was not accomodating to the wishes of the group.

[stanj]

Generally speaking, St Petersburg ought to be seen with the help of a guide at first, just because it is so concentrated with historical and cultural points of interest plus the difficulty reading signs and understanding spoken Russian. Getting a good overview of the area, particularly in the city center, will prepare a first time visitor to explore alone with confidence after that first guided introduction. That is my recommendation to visitors from home who come to St Petersburg. The city is really easy to explore on your own if you have the time and a good orientation. Remember the signs are in Cyrillic and not easily understood by English speaking visitors.

 

The biggest problem with exploring on your own, while visiting via a cruise ship is there is too much to see and too little time. Den Rus packs a lot into 2 days, which would be difficult for even me to duplicate for my friends who visit me in St Petersburg and I know St Petersburg about as well as any American.

 

Visa are required and must be applied for outside the country if anyone wants to explore on their own without prior reservations with an authorized tour company such as Den Rus or Red October. You can get a tourist voucher/invitation faxed or emailed to you from Den Rus or others tourist services. With that invitation, a form 95 visa application if you are other than American and a form 95 American Citizen Suppliment if you are, your passport, passport type photo and your application/consular visa fees are submitted to your nearest Russian Consulate. The fee is determined by the processing time allowed, from very expensive for 1 day service to not bad for more than 7 days( usually exactly working 7 days). When your visa/passport are returned to you, you have the visa permanently attached to a full page of your passport. When the ship reaches port you can disembark on your own without a tour operator if you wish after getting a passport control entry stamp. For visits of longer than 72 hours, your visa would need to be registered but port calls are less than that so you do not have to worry about that process. You can stay in the center for the entire time if you wish since you have a legal authorization for being alone in Russia. The port is within walking distance from the main sights in the city center that is if you are a fit and energetic walker. If you wish a taxi, make arangements with your host agency which supplied your visa invitation. Taxis are easy to deal with after you understand a little of how things work here but at first you will not even have any Rubles to pay for services or the slightest idea of how to do anything. At first you will feel helpless. Public transportation is easy and cheap but confusing as anything if you are not shown exactly how to use the services.

 

If you are visiting during White Nights, visiting on your own after a regular tour hours has some advantages, the city is full of life until very early in the mornings due to the long daylight hours in late spring and summer, the sun setting at well after midnight and getting dark only briefly at 3:30-4:30 a.m. The museums still close too early..5p.m. but all clubs, restaurants, boat trips (both river cruises and canal curises) and about anything you can think of, will be open and hopping.

So in summary, it is a shame to miss 95% of what you can see in St Petersburg by being in our beautiful city for only 3 days, but using a guide can give you a real advantage over casual visitors with only a guide book in hand in seeing as much as possible. The answer is to make plans to return for 10days to 2 weeks, at least, after a first overview during your cruise.

Have a good visit, I am sure it will be the highlight of your trip. It is the most beautiful and romantic city in the world.

Stan

[SaylorGirl]

Stan - thank you for such a detailed answer. We are looking forward to being in your beautiful city. I agree it will be the highlight of our trip. I appreciate your response. We will start working on getting the visa's after the first of the year.

 

Cannonball - I have to agree with what you said about ships tours.

[Jane110]

Saylor Girl,

 

I agree with Stanj's points. We're also a couple who have traveled the world independently and have no nervousness about being on our own. I spent 2 weeks on my own in Moscow during the daytime while my husband was working there. We spent our evenings together going to restaurants, ballets and concerts. We never took a tour, though we did hire a guide for our first day there who gave us a great orientation of the city and took us to some key spots.

 

That said, I highly recommend having a guide for St. Petersburg. You'll only have two days to cover a lot of ground. The drive to Peterhoff is over an hour, how will you get there? If you think you're going to negotiate reasonable rates with a taxi at the pier, I tend to disagree and I think you'll end up paying "through the nose". Also, on your second day, you'll have the additional burden of getting back to your ship on time. Additionally, when we arrived at the Hermitage, the line to get in was over an hour's wait. However, Red October has an arrangement with them and we walked right in a side door. We were able to get into Catherine's Palace a half hour before it officially opened giving us the place practically to ourselves for a while. Those benefits alone were worth the money of a guide!

 

If I did it over again, the only thing I would change is getting a visa. Red October takes care of the visa's because we are with them but it means we can't leave the ship at night on our own. On the first night, when we're docked in port, we would have liked to have left the ship and gone to dinner at a restaurant and a nightclub in St. Petersburg and would have arranged for a driver to pick us up and bring us back. We were there for the white nights and would have preferred to be in the city and not aboard the ship.

 

Jane

[Boreus]

Saylor Girl,

 

The drive to Peterhoff is over an hour, how will you get there?

Jane

 

I'm glad you asked. I think the best way is by hydrofoil from a dock a short walk from the Admiralty. More details are at http://www.peterhof.org/info.html. I would not dismiss what Saylor Girl writes. Touring St. Petersburg without a guide is not for the faint of heart and requires careful planning, but if you have experience in solo travel I think you will find St. Petersburg on your own to be rewarding.

[stanj]

Hello Jane

The Hydrofoil is fast and very convienent but more expensive that taking the electric train after the Metro. The last few times I've been to Peterhof I took the boat, it was about 45 minutes and just running along in a round hulled spaceship looking hydrofoil is worth the price of admission. The best part is the two companies that use the high speed boats are both located right in front of the Hermitage across Dvortsovaya embankment and the other is 100 meters away across the street from the Admiralty closest to the Heritage(north east side of the Admiralty)

Moscow is easy to get around because there are fewer attractions for tourist, but more for locals, meaning any taxi can take you anywhere you want with little planning. St Petersburg is different. Although it is smaller and easy to go on foot to most places, the sheer number of "must-sees" means a guide will at least double your effective use of time. By the time you find your bearings, traveling solo, even though it is easy to do, you will have wasted half your port call. Once you are familar with how things work, such as exchanges, metro, private taxis, landmarks for navigating, St Petersburg is one of the truly great walking cities full accessable to visitors with good walking shoes and sense of adventure. The number of museums and points of architectural or historical interest is in a different league than anything you have seen before. I've "done" many cities in a short time by hitting the high points but I simply can't do that in St Petersburg, it is too interesting and too exciting to miss anything. After 25 years of visiting several times a year and eventually moving to the city, I still have not seen everything of interest. So the problem is what to see and what to pass up. With a guide, you'll get to see twice as much as on your own for at least the first 4-5 days.

One of the previous posters suggested that food in some restaurant was the cause of one woman visiting the hospital. I suspect it was simply a case of unfamilar, as opposed to unhealthy, food. Restaurants have quite stringent food safety requirements with inspections by the city more often then we had back in the US. If anything, the ingredients will be fresher and tastier than on the ship which stocked up in advance of the cruise. The first thing you will notice if you go to one of the open air markets is the intense flavors of the vegetables that reminded me of my childhood when tomotoes for example were acid, full flavored and rich in taste. That is one of my many fond memories of visits to Ukraine, great tasting raw foods. Any cuisine you might want is available in a large international city such as St Petersburg from European, to Asian, the Americas...even a great , real hand ground, hamburger or bowl of chili( at City Bar on Millionnaya Street north east of the hermitage, owned by an American woman who knows her way around a kitchen)

 

Have a good visit.

Stan

[cadreamer]

Hi Stan - We are starting to put together our ideas for places to see in SPb and reading our DK Guide book. I saw your reference to Lomonosov and Gatchina and would appreciate your elaborating some more on those sights. We have been to Oranienbaum but only to the Chinese Palace and Peter's small palace. Are you recommending the Great Palace and what about the sliding hill Pavilion? We have been to the Naval Museum and had an English speaking guide who worked there arranged by Denrus and she was terrirfc. Also, we saw the Artillery Museum but I we missed Lenin's car. Am I right that we should have no trouble returning there on our own. Also, Ilya gave us a very quick tour of the Russian Art Museum and we really want to go back. Do you know if there are any English speaking guides there or should we arrange for a guide?

Thanks again for all your help. We are in the process of getting a multiple entry visa so we can explore on our own.

[stanj]

Hi CA Dreamer

Lomonosov is another name for Oranienbaum which was created by Duke Menshikov. The main palace is the Grand Palace which is the highlight of the area along with the Chinese Palace. Unless you have a lot of time I would recommend seeing some of the other suburban palace estates before returning to Oranienbaum. The Lomonova name is attached to almost anything that has been given names: street, bridges, universitities, buildings and companies. Mikhael Lomonosva was Russia's frist amd most versatile scholar/artist/visionary, sort of like Ben Franklin on steriods or Leonardo Di Vinci. Very interesting life of accomplishment in many fields. Let me know if you would like to know more.

You went the Stock Excange turned Naval Museum with an English with good results so I would suggest contacting Den Rus again about hiring a guide this next time also. At least for a day or two because you will learn a lot more than by yourself. Although I know many of the same stories and histories the guides relate, I always learn a lot when I do use a guide to new areas. One of my interests is military history and agree that the Artillery Museum is a gold mine of interesting artifacts and displays being the largest military museum in the world. You asked if you could find it on your own. Yes with ease. Once you feel comfortable exploring on your own, and if you are up for a long walk start off from the Hermitage or Palace Embankment and head east long the Neva River on Dvortspvaya embankment and cross the famous Troitsky bridge which offers great views of both sides of the river. To your left will be Peter & Paul Fortress( worth a long visit with lots of different museums within its walls including a air and space museum with the original liquid rocket engines from the beginning of the science), walk along the moat with P&P Fortress on the left and a large park on the right side by bearing left. Directly north(behind) the Fortress across the moat(Kronverksky Poliv on your map) is the military museum. After exploring that for a few hours retrace your steps back towards the main street that the Troitsky Bridge supports and turn left instead of back towards the Palace Embankment. Right away you will find yourself the edge of a large lush deep green park with many meandering walkways. This is Alexandrinsky park. In it beside nice woodsy walkways you will find a science museum for children, the zoo, the planitarium, Gorkovskaya Metro station and summer only amusement park. There are cafes and kiosks for food and drink and the ever present ice cream vendors. I find one of the true pleasure in this world it finding ice cream vendors at least every block offering very good ice cream bars and packaged sundaes for 10-20 Rubles. To leave either take the metro from the park south one stop to Nevsky pr or hop any south going bus trolley or tram that goes back over the bridge. As your return to an area you recognize you will suddenly realize the city center is very easy to navigate and seems familar at all times because all along your long walk you were able to see unmistakable landmarks that told you where you were and the direction you are going. .

 

Ilya's introduction to the Russian Museum was a good start in appreciating Russian art and the beautiful buildings that make up the museum. Once you are back in the very center, on Nevsky pr, finding the Russian Museum is very easy. Using the gigantic 18th century shopping center, Gostiny Dvor as a starting point head north east from the north end of the shopping center, using the pedestrian underpass to cross Nevsky pr and you are standing at the corner of Nevsky pr and Milkhailovskaya street with the Grand Hotel Europe on the left and the concert hall on the right side, walk straight along the front of the hotel and across the next narrow street to Italianskaya Street, a lovely strolling street parellel to Nevsky pr but much les busy, and before you is Arts Square. the little park with yet another statue of Pushkin at its center is surrounded by concert halls, drama theaters, the Theater of Musical Comedy and others. Directly through the park is the entrance to the main building of th Russian Museum. Again you will see how easy it is to see where you are at all times because of the unmistakable landmarks. If you leave the museum and turn north, one block away is the Griboedova Canal. From the Canal look to your right and one block away is the familar sight of The Church of the Resurrection better known as the Church on Spilt Blood and to the left 2 blocks away is the unmistakble sight of Kazan Cathedral on Nevsky pr. By exploring any direction and any distance of where you are at that moment will be interesting and worth the walk. Behind the Russian Museum is the whole array of parks starting with the Mikhaylovsky park, the Field of Mars, the Summer Gardens and the fabulas Mikhailovsky Castle which has recently been reopened after a long term restoration.Sometimes the castle is called the Engineers Castle. On the righ(southern side of that is the lovely Fontanka Canal that leads right towards Nevsky pr and left to the Summer Gardens to the Neva River again. Explore and have fun. Arrange for a guide for the Russian Museum if you want the most from it but you can get by without one despite few placards being in English. Hiring one through Den Rus will be cheaper than finding one at the museum during busy times. Unless you are particulated interested in hundred of historic religious icons bypass most of the first floor of the Russian Museum and head to the second floor where the art of Russia is displayed. It is well worth 4-5 hours.

 

For other out of town destinations visit Pavlovsk and Gatchina. Pavlovsk is much quieter than the other parks except for other Russians who find it very relaxing and peaceful. The grounds and gardens are WONDERFUL, where everyone would love to live.

If history is your thing...it is mine....visit Kronshtadt, a small navel base/town out in the middle of the Gulf of Finland accessable by two long bridges to the mainland. As with everywhere in the area, there is easy public transportation.

I am tired of writing and you are probalbly tired of reading so I will end this now.

Have a great visit

Stan

[cadreamer]

Thanks again. You are amazing and so generous with your help. We are truly appreciative and you will hear from us again. You are giving us confidence to strike out on our own but we will get a guide for a few days also.

[SaylorGirl]

Stan - you constantly amaze me with your wealth of information. I have purchased my guide books and maps and I even bought a lanuage tape so I am ready to start my planning. I do have a question what will be the closest metro station in relation to the cruise ship dock area? Thanks.

[stanj]

Stan - you constantly amaze me with your wealth of information. I have purchased my guide books and maps and I even bought a lanuage tape so I am ready to start my planning. I do have a question what will be the closest metro station in relation to the cruise ship dock area? Thanks.

 

The passenger terminal dock...there are two...but the most likely to be used if there are not too many ships in port is on the Neva Rivea directly west of the Palace Embankment (where the Hermitage/Winter Palace, General Staff and Admiralty are) to the Gulf side of the Leytenanta Shmidta Most (bridge). In the summer it is a nice walk along the river for the 1/3 mile to the famous Bronze Horseman statue facing the river on Decembrists' Square and lovely park. Follow the sidewalks or the street further east and you pass the Admiralty. Still further accoss the next street is the large parade ground of the Winter Palace and the Hermitage. From there, walking south east through the arched tunnel throught the semi-circular General Staff building and follow the street to the first intersection which is Nevsky Prospekt. Now you are in the heart of the city. stroll along Nevsky pr for fun, shopping, sights and people of all types and all classes. It is the one street that defines St Petersburg. Heading south east along Nevsky pr you will come across canals( the first one, about 1/2 block is the interesting Moika canal), Stroganovsky Palace, Kazan Cathedral, Canal Griboedova and much much more on each block. At the corner of Griboedova Canal and Nevsky pr. is the first metro you will come across. All told it is a mile from the ship. This entrance is a little seedy and very crowded. It seems every young person in the city is right outside waiting for their friend from the suburbs to emerge...dense with teens.

This metro is called Nevslky prospekt Metro but it is confusing because it is just one of three entrances to the same underground station. The other two main entrances are across the street and quite a ways down Nevsky Prospekt under either end of the famous Gostiny Dvor shopping center. These entrances desend 250 feet down on escalators to two levels of trains. Each level is a differnt line, the top one is Green Line running east and west and the line downstairs is the Blue line running north and south. From here you can get to anywhere in the city, it is the main change hub of the entire 4 line system. As you can imagine it is crowded during morning and evening commute times. The large plaza in front of the shopping center is a popular meeting place so there will be hundreds of people most young, milling around waiting for their friends to emerge from the metro. There are 6 change over stations, those that allow switching lines, 4 of them in the city center and all within walking distance between them. Unfortunately, the area near the passenger terminal is a long ways to he nerest metro. You will notice all these routes are covered by buses, trolleys and tracked trams. Trams do not run on Nevsky pr because of the congestion it would cause but it is very easy to find a bus going your direction, about every 30 seconds. The other two forms of popular transportation will both be a little intimidating at first, Route Taxis and private taxis. Route taxis are a fairly new form of public transportation, dating from only 1992 or so, are vans with small seat filling them, 12. They cost more than buses and a lot harfer to gracefulll enter or exit but they run continously over fixed routes that are numbered. Just get on the right numbered mini-bus and when you get to an intersection you wany fo get out, just tell the driver by speaking up loadly that thiat is your stop coming up. Whatever language you use they will turn around and give you a puzzled look as if to ask "you want me to stop?" but it works with English;>) The other popular form is private taxis which are any older car you see coming your way. It is a popular ad safe from of hitchhiking but with an agreed payment at the end. Just stand at the curb with an arm stretched out parellel with the ground and the first driver wants to earn gas money will stop. Open the front passenger door and tell the driver where you want to go and ask "skolka"(how much) and they willl respond, usually with foreigners using fingers to represent 10s of Rubles, It has gotten more expensive so now it averages about $0.60 for each mile. They will take you directly to your door and probaly offer some interesting conversation. Commercial taxis should be avoided if parked in front of hotels, they will not have theit meters on and will quote high priices. There are dispatchers who you can call day or night for a taxi which you will pay a much more reasonable rate based on the meter. Other than the Nevsky pr Metro, the remaining metro stations are are often beautiful and each unique.

I hope that gives you a better understanding where you will be and how to get around.

Gook luck and have a great trip.

Stan

[M&T]

SaylorGirl, On what date will you be on the Star in the Baltic. I'm on the July 14th sailing. There is a roll call for it. Not many have shown up yet.

[SaylorGirl]

Stan - once again thank you for your information. I think we will find our way around very well.

 

M & T - we are on the September 12th sailing. I hope you have a wonderful time on yours you can let me know everthing when you get back.

[Tatka]

Hi CA Dreamer

Lomonosov is another name for Oranienbaum which was created by Duke Menshikov. The main palace is the Grand Palace which is the highlight of the area along with the Chinese Palace. Unless you have a lot of time I would recommend seeing some of the other suburban palace estates before returning to Oranienbaum. The Lomonova name is attached to almost anything that has been given names: street, bridges, universitities, buildings and companies. Mikhael Lomonosva was Russia's frist amd most versatile scholar/artist/visionary, sort of like Ben Franklin on steriods or Leonardo Di Vinci. Very interesting life of accomplishment in many fields. Let me know if you would like to know more.

 

I secon this..while I loved Oranienbaum(Lomonosov) and respect Mikhail Lomonosov;) If I had 2 days I would visit Peterhof and Pushkino( Catherine palace) before oranienbaum.

[Princess Di]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. :D

I am enthralled with the Fountains at Petergolf. I realize that the grounds are extensive. I am wondering how much of the Fountains areas is possible to see while there, as well as the Great Palace and Palace of Peter the Great.

Upper Gardens, Lower Gardens, Alexandria Park, Flower (Podlipsky) Garden with a Large Stone Greenhouse, the Aviary, the Track Meadow, the Konstantin Grove, His Majesty's Own Garden, the Children's Garden and the English Park. :cool:

 

Will seeing all these take all day? If I walk real fast, can I see most in a few hours? How long will the Palaces take to view? :confused:

 

Thank you for your help. :)

[stanj]

Di

The fountains,as we understand are big interests for you, you will be happy to find are all accessable and really are spectacular. The main Grotto is like nothing else anywhere....well Viena is not too bad either. How much you can see depends on your group and if you can get permission to wander around yourself. If you can....no one is going to ask for your visa or documents there....wander as much as you can because all that is reachable in an hour. The colorful photos in the books are really tame impersonations of the real beauty. At to think all this was distroyed during WWII and rebuilt exactly as the original architecs designed. The restoration is a facinating story in itself.

The palace can take an 1hour for the fast tour or wandering on your own would probably take 2 hours or more. It takes me that long because I look at everything and walk around with my jaw slack impersonating Gomer Pyle's "Galleee"

 

If gardens are your thing, for a more relaxed but wonderfully less formal garden retreat try looking up Pavlovsk;>)

Stan

[cadreamer]

Hi Stan- If you don't mind I would lke to refer back to two questions which may have slipped by you. The first was about going to Valaam and the second was about how to dress when wandering around on our own in SPb. You said you had some suggestions. If you are responding as I type I will check the other post.I appreciate the info on the fountains also since we are planning to spend a day at Peterhof going by hydrofoil. Sounds like fun. Thanks. Carole

[Princess Di]

That is Good News, Gomer. :cool:

I don't want to miss a thing at Peterhof. ;) I, like you, will look like Ms. Pyle. :eek:

spaSIba :D

[stanj]

Hi Stan- If you don't mind I would lke to refer back to two questions which may have slipped by you. The first was about going to Valaam and the second was about how to dress when wandering around on our own in SPb. You said you had some suggestions. If you are responding as I type I will check the other post.I appreciate the info on the fountains also since we are planning to spend a day at Peterhof going by hydrofoil. Sounds like fun. Thanks. Carole

 

Hi Carole

Sorry about the slip up, I was planning to write on those topics but forgot when I got involved with another thread.

I think the entire Karelia Republic is facinating and well worth the effort to get there. Valaam is an island at the northern end of the famous lake Ladoga, a very large fresh water lake not far from St Petersburg. Karelia, in which Valaam sits is a Republic within Russia. Valaam has an interesting and long history well worth visiting. The question is whether you have time to visit that area if you come on a cruise ship due to its short stay in port. It takes a while to travel to the lake to the east and then catching the boat to Valaam. If you were planning on a week or more, spending 1.5 or 2 days visiting Valaam would be more a reasonable use of your time. During the summer, boat passage is often difficult to get because it is a favorite destination for Russian tourists and most boats stop running in the second half of August. Karelia has enough reason to visit it for an extended period, say, a week or more. That is often the least recommended because of the length of tiime needed to get from destination to destination. If you do want to go and spend longer, let me know because I know a good guide who lives in that area. But if you are arriving and departing on a cruise ship, you really do not have enough time to visit Valaam.

 

Dress in St Petersburg is a lively topic which generates arguements from two camps: those who want casual comfort despite local standards for more serious dress and those who think dressing well is a sign of respect for their hosts. Personally, I always fell into the latter camp because I knew how much it was appreciated by locals when sweatshirts, jogging suits, bright colored logo T-shirts, baseball caps and even soft shoes were left behind. That was up until the last 2 years or so. Now, it seems that suddenly urban casual is perfectly accepted as never before. Four years ago, a man or woman appearing on the street wearing tennis shoes was thought to be either of low class or mentally challenged. Atheletic shoes were for sports but not for walking in the city, children were tolerated wearing them however. Tailored clothing of good quality was the norm, and always looked well cared for and perfectly fitted was expected for anyone not on a workman like job. I remember visiting many times and never seeing a woman over 16 and under 45 who was NOT wearing high heels even just to buy groceries in an open air market. Park paths and weekend strolls were not exempt. I have photos of female friends and and myself visiting a park for a picnic with her wearing 10 cm heels and leather mini with very feminine silk blouse,l or a good quality pant suit with high heels as typical recreation dress. That is pretty formal. I never wore jeans or anything but nice wool slacks, sport coat or nice Italian sweater until recently and it paid off by being treated very well as a result.

But that argument is now moot, The customs have changed in just two years. Now it is perfect accepted to wear nice soft walking shoes, layered looser clothing, casual dress on both men and women is commonly seen on locals as well as tourists. Tourist were not regarded with high esteem because of the casual style of dress they displayed and some Russians considered it rude to show up at events or venues wearing the typical super casual western style dress. Now the dress style is pretty much ignored and being casual is NOT an automatic negative. Now the most telling trait that signals a good tourist from a bad tourist is their level of arrogance. Western visitors often have a hard time concealing their assumptions of superiority and it is greatly resented. But Russians are typically too polite to object or even be anything but gracious. Many older Russians are mistaken for surly or unfriendly be first time visitors because many do not smile or engage in small talk with strangers. It is a passive neutral trait with nothing meant personally but a directness unexpected by many visitors. but once you make contact and engage them in conversation, the wall crumbles quickly and they can become very hospitable and warm suddenly. This acceptance always seemed to be easier to get if a visitor dressed and acted like a gentleman or lady in the 1940-50s sort we remember as being the standard in the US at that time. The demonstration of respect towards community dress and manners standards used to be well rewarded in this regard but now that about 50% of the locals will be dressed more casually and be acting more independently, dress and behvior has become less of determining factor in how a visitor is accepted.

 

So this is a long answer to a short question: what to wear. Layers of light easy care cottons, bright summer colors, comfortable walking shoes, a foldable light hat or mini-umbrella for the expected unexpected rain, and for women nice summer weight dress or sun dress, light slacks or even fitted jeans or shorts are fine and practical. For men, a knit s.s. shirt, light weight slacks or Docker type pants are fine, but shorts in the northern parts of Russia are still a bit too much to expect to be accepted on men. Visitors often commented on how stylish and sexy Russian women dress, with lots of tanned skin showing in the summer. In Russia dressing in revealing or super tight clothing is not considered low class but cute and feminine instead. Tourists are not expected to match locals in that regard, they would not feel comfortable dressing that way. Men as often as not dress in dark clothing, black being the primary man's color and in the winter it is rare to see men wear anything except black leather jacket, black slacks and black leather shoes.

In very recent times, low cost imported Asian clothing has finally been accepted where before it was not. In the west we became used to buying low quality cothing at low prices but not expecting them to be of long life because we bought lots of it and our closets are full. In Russia it was traditional to have very few items but they would be of very high quality expected to look good and servicable being worn every other day for years. Just recently cheap Asian manufactured clothing is filling up typical Russian closets as they have for years in the west. So Russians have become more westernized in their clothing selections unless they can afford to shop exclusively in the many high end designer shops in St Petersburg. It is amazing to see how many young women can somehow afford to wear very stylish outfits with perfect selections of accessories and shoes even if the percentage of those who do dress this way is now less than 50%. It is something just not seen in the US regardless of income. The remainder have adopted the same style of dress found on college campuses throughout Europe and the US.

 

On a practical side, avoid backpacks and fanny pack, they are easy to have pickpocketed if you find yourself in overly crowded situations such as the metro at Nevsky prospekt during rush hour. Also avoid money belts and other inconvenienent places for valuables. With layers, passport and credit cards can go in interior pockets. Do not use a rear pocket for a wallet. All you need to carry is your passport or a photocopy, tour document, a little money and an ATM card so a wallet is unnecessary. If a man wants to carry a wallet, do so in the front pants pocket, a hard place for a pick pocket to strike.

 

Hope this does not confuse the issue too much

 

Good Cruising

Stan

[SteveS]

We toured with Red October last summer. I was amazed at much we saw! I can't immagine seeing half as much one your own. If you have a group of 6 the price isn't bad.

[shoshona2]

I agree with Steve that using a group like Red October will cover so much more if you use them instead of doing it yourself. We got into Catherine's Palace and Peter's Palace before even the ship's tours. We had a party of six and it was wonderful. I heard from some people who went to St. Petersburg last summer hat the crime problem in St. Petersburg is worse than just pickpockets. Some tourists carry umbrellas to hit wouldbe muggers. We have been to St. Petersburg twice and almost around the world on our travels, and wouldn't hesitate to use Red October again. We were docked right in St. Petersburg in 2003 and people were able to walk right off while we were in port if they had a visa. If you are berthed one half hour out of town and there aren't any taxis, why would you want to do it yourself?

 

Sheila

[stanj]

I agree with Steve that using a group like Red October will cover so much more if you use them instead of doing it yourself....... I heard from some people who went to St. Petersburg last summer hat the crime problem in St. Petersburg is worse than just pickpockets. Some tourists carry umbrellas to hit wouldbe muggers. ........ If you are berthed one half hour out of town and there aren't any taxis, why would you want to do it yourself?

 

Sheila

 

Hello Sheila

I think you and Steve misunderstood the posts by Carole. They want to get more into the culture and experience which only spending more time in an area allows so they have decided to use several short stays in St Petersburg over a few weeks, for a total of 8 days if I remember correctly. The city reveals itself differently for sight seers than for visitors so they will have a quite different experience than any guide could provide over 18 hours but that is to be expected. Unlike a lot of tourist destination, the city of St Peterburg is much more interesting the longer you stay and the deeper you delve into its character and spirit.

 

I am curious what specific information your advisor his opinion about street crime in the city that was not available to me or other residents who stay on top of the statistics and incidents. How many people in your group were mugged? Would I be wrong in guessing "none"? I've spent a lot of "street time" all over the world, 86 countries by last count,vwithout guides and tours normally and I would have a hard time thinking of a city of any size which had a lower crime rate towards tourists. Maybe Singapore, certainly none in the Americas or Europe.

Was the recommendation to carry unbrellas to fight off muggers a joke? I assume it is because it would be ineffective for that pupose but there was a recommendation to carry one last summer solely because there were a lot of unexpected and sudden rain showers last summer. I got wet a lot more than I can ever remember in St Petersburg last summer and hardly went to the beach due to the cooler and wetter than normal weather

Next time you come to St Petersburg if you plan for longer stay in the city so as to see in a different light, you might find yourself in agreement with what I've written.

 

There are two passenger terminal sea ports, both in the city center. One, the most commonly used, is within walking distance from the Palace Embankment with buses, trams, trolleys, and private taxis on every block so a visitor doing it on their own would not be out of the question particularly if they spent 2 hours memorizing the Cyrillic alphebet beforehand.

Stan

[SaylorGirl]

Steve & Sheila - we are not choosing to "be on our own" to save money over a tour group. By the time we purchase the Visa's and invitation letter I'm sure it will add up considerably. We just like to explore on our own and find our own discoveries. We are not afraid of pick pockets as we are always vigalant but we do enjoy walking through a city and wandering about and Saint Petersburg will be like a jewel. As far as the distance from the port we don't mind walking and we intend to use the Metro system, and we can always hail a private taxi. As Stan has suggested we are studing the Cyrillic alphabet and listening to some language tapes. We are talking to Stan's friend at DenRus and we may use them for a four hour city tour by car just to get the "lay of the land" and then be off and running on our own. Tickets for the Hermitage and many other places can be ordered ahead on the internet. And we plan to use the Hydrofoil to get to Peterhof.