Originally Posted by
DoctorORD
Have an upcoming trip planned to Helsinki, which I will probably extend, to try to visit Russia. Planning to take ferry to St Petersburg to take advantage of the 72 hour visa-free policy, but I see that there's a 4 hour train to from St Petersburg to Moscow. Apart from the fact that I'm only "supposed" to visit St Petersburg, what are the pitfalls of trying to take this train to Moscow for the day? Will the conductor try to check for some kind of Russian visa, etc.?
This, from the official St Petersburg website.
The 72-hour exemption for cruise ship passengers does not mean that visitors have three days free in St. Petersburg. Not only will you have to sleep on the ship (not a problem for most cruise passengers), you will also have to be accompanied at all times on shore by a licensed tour guide. In other words, from the moment you leave the ship in the morning to the moment you step back on board in the evening, you will have to follow a pre-arranged schedule and will not have the opportunity to explore the city under your own steam.
I don't know how strictly those rules are enforced but it sounds like you may have a hard time splitting away from the group. Overall, I think this is much more hassle than it's worth to be honest. If you really want to visit Moscow, I would get a visa.