Originally Posted by
jpmcdonough
Hi, we've just booked a trip with Rick Steves which begins in Tallinn, then goes to Helsinki, and ends up in St Petersburg. It's a 9 day trip, August 17-25. We'll have 4 or 5 days to spend after the tour ends. The last 3 or 4 days are in St Petersburg.
Here is the tour description.
Questions: Is there enough to do in and around St Petersburg to occupy us for another 4 or 5 days? Is it a big deal to get to Moscow from there, and what would you do in Moscow assuming you'd never been there and speak exactly one word of Russian? I see excellent air connections from Moscow.
I reviewed the US State Dept page on Russia and, frankly, it scared the poop out of me. Is it really scary going there? How does the money thing work? Will they hassle you if you have $ on you.
We're experienced European travelers, but this looks like a tougher league.
Do you mean to spent an additional 4 or 5 days in Pete's beyond the tour? I think SP is a 4-5 day city at most, but that's just me.
Getting to Moscow from St. Pete's is easy, and as you discovered, there are plenty of flights to choose from. Changing money is easy. Unlike my first visit in the late 90's, almost everyone takes credit cards now. Do not, however, rely on traveler's cheques. I've found them them to be maddening to try to cash in Russia. Your ATM card will work in most machines as well.
Now, for the scary stuff. For the average tourist, there's really not much to be concerned about. Keep your nose out of dark alleys and streets in the middle of night, and avoid groups of drunks, especially teens. Don't talk politics if you can help it. There's a lot of paranoia over the whole Georgia thing right now. Putin convinced a lot of sheep that "American spies" instigated the whole thing, and my girlfriend advised me it was a topic that was best avoided during my last visit.
Russia is a different league for the average traveler. That being said, you can handle it. I speak about 20 words of polite Russian, and about 10 words of mat (Russian cursing), and I survive just fine.
