Pierre&Cédric

I worked in Russia for three years and I do not really understand why anyone would like to go there for vacation purpose. As a gay man may be my views are biased but even St Petersburg -which is by far the best city in Russia- cannot compare with Europe big cities. Service is a disaster, weather is not very good (only acceptable period is May to September), prices are crazily high, safety/security is a major issue. Eastern Europe and cities like Prague or Budapest offer a much better experience and you don't have to bother with stupid administrative never ending rules to get a visa.

dsauch

i got the same argument from every indian whom I told I will be visiting India, and most of the americans would also prefer not to set a foot there.
I had to fill in forms, go to 3rd party outsourced visa issuing agency twice.
And I really enjoyed the country and adventure, despite falling violently ill with food poisoning.

Obviously your preference of big cities in Europe to St.Petersburg is your own opinion, others may disagree.

As for reciprocity - every country that wants to be in "big league" does it: Brasil, Russia, India, China.
Even Argentine charges US passport owners $160 reciprocity fee, which is why I used my RU passport to enter, upsetting my single passport friends.

meFIRST

You obviously never had a Russian lover, otherwise you would never say that .
I agree the authorities are crapo. VVP + the government are "the siloviki" are probably 5-10 million people strong, there are remaining 130 million people and shrinking, most of them decent, in my opinion.

I live mostly in New York, high prices are fact of life, safety and security is about being smart and careful. Those desiring low prices better head to Thailand or some place like that, which has its own set of problems. Nicer weather though.I fully expect with sanctions round 3, prices just got even higher, though prices at the nicest hotels as well as J class tickets to RU are the lowest I have ever seen, ever. They must be desperate! The last time I was there, in May 2014, right after Sanctions round 1 there were no business people at the hotel, and I was probably the only American to be seen.

The current shitstorm will pass, I believe. It may take many years. I am concerned however about what happens in the interim. I did not experience but only read what it was like in Russia the 1990s. I suspect the aftermath could be worse.

Pierre&Cédric

I visited India twice only and had a great time there. I was lucky enough to have absolutely no problem with food, actually I love Indian cuisine especially in the North. I am still quite surprised when you say that most Americans would not set a foot there. Why?

St. Petersburg is a beautiful city, don't get me wrong. My first time there was in the early 90's and they did a fantastic job to restore some old and beautiful buildings. Peterhof is a must at Summer time, l'Ermitage is a treasure in itself. But quite often visitors are expecting more, as the city is not so big and I do prefer diversity and options offered elsewhere. Shopping is poor and even hotel scene is limited. W is one of the best, so imagine the rest. Fortunately enough Four Seasons Lion Palace finally opened but it is nowhere as good as FS in Prague, Budapest, Milan, Florence, Paris, London or Lisbon.

Never had a Russian lover indeed May be I shall go back?!
NYC was not so expensive as Russia in my memory but I have to admit my last stay there was in 2008 when exchange rate was in favour of European tourists. Regarding safety you have to be careful in any major city in the world, but my experience witnessing crazy fights between drunk people in clubs or even in the street made me extra careful in Russia. There is a reason for businessmen to hire bodyguards with guns.

I would go back if I had the opportunity, and if some of you want to visit just take a plane ticket and go, it is worth it. But I would never say that this destination is 'underrated', word is too strong.

a7m

“Siloviki,” or members of various law enforcement agencies in Russia, are in many ways similar to CSI, FBI, TSA, and so on in the US. In general, they don’t bother common tourists. If I compare the US, EU, and Russia, I really don’t see how Russian law enforcement agencies can be a problem at all to most tourists. In any country, agents can stop you at any time for any reason under some pretext. In reality, it hardly ever happens. It is as likely to happen in the US and EU. Just a couple of months ago, I was verbally assaulted by some federal agents in southern Arizona, who stopped my car for a random search. I am not going to think about the constitutionality of their actions—the last thing you want is to discuss your constitutional rights with a bunch of beefy veterans-turn-federal agents on a shoulder of a desolate highway. In fact, their behavior reminded me of crude Russian law enforcement in the 1990s. The thing is, though, Russian police became more polite (to average citizens and tourists) in the two decades that followed. I can’t say the same about the US.

a7m

Don't want to argue, but my experiences are different in this regard. I constantly have to arrange hotel stays for relatives in NY or trips for myself to Europe (Paris & Amsterdam) and Russia. 4-star hotels in Russia are way cheaper (and larger!) than they are in other places I mentioned. Going to Amsterdam in September... looking at shoe-box rooms in walk up boutique hotels for $200 / night. Not the case in Russia, where I booked a huge room for $130 / night... actually the "room" has several rooms. In any case, every day I spend in Europe, I feel like I am bleeding money right and left. I don't have that feeling in Russia.

Pierre&Cédric

To go to the US (from France) you have to connect to the internet and seconds later ESTA confirms authorisation to travel to the US. Cost is $14.
To go to Russia (from France) you have to apply for a visa, last time my husband came it took more than one month to go through the whole process and cost was roughly 200 Eur. It could have been less, but for that he shall have waited hours and hours at least twice in front of the Embassy.

Russian police is still heavily corrupted and it is quite common to be requested to pay cash to avoid troubles even though you have not trespassed any law.

Interesting information. May be it depends on hotel categories.
In Amsterdam I stayed at the Conservatorium. Great place, large rooms/suites at decent price.

a7m

Is this based on your experience? I know in the 90s, when I spend much time in Russia, there were plenty of corrupt police. Not after middle of the last decade. In the last few years, I traveled to Russia many times (small and large cities), and I was never harassed for a bribe even when I found myself in the situation in which, from my memories of the 90s, police could easily ask for some money. They never did. Even when I wouldn’t mind giving bribes to speed, for example, some document processing. I also follow blogs of people who travel through Russia on bicycles (remote places), and they never mention bribes.

Your assertion that it is “quite common” for police to solicit bribes sounds more like a myth many foreigners still would like to believe. I am knocking on wood, of course. Who knows, maybe things will be different when I go to Russia again in a month, but I doubt it.

As far as visa fees are concerned, it is a different matter. Russians pay a lot with money and time to obtain Schengen visas. Sometimes needlessly so. Europeans are in the same situation, I know, but it is just reciprocity.

And hotel prices… surely, if you can pay for a room at Conservatorium, which is hovering around $1000 a night, I am not sure why you found Russia expensive. 5-star hotels there are cheaper than that.

mandolino

Russia is much more law-abiding these days. Rightly or wrongly, that is one of the things people credit Putin for, even if they don't like him.

I still wouldn't say Russia is cheap, but the exchange rate £ to RUR is good at the moment. I just had lunch, a set of sushi rolls, 2 x premium vodkas, a bottle of water and an espresso = 1000RUR = £16 = US$28 Certainly not cheap, but just about bearable. At least the quality was good. It would have been quite a bit cheaper in the UK at Yo! Sushi.

Pierre&Cédric

Yes. I was living in Samara oblast.
Fortunately enough I never experienced the same in cities like Moscow or St. Petersburg, but I was also not driving by myself there.

4-star hotels may be cheaper in Russia than other countries.
5-star hotels are still crazily expensive (especially in Moscow, may be the addition of the new Four Seasons will positively introduce more competition).
Imported goods are also quite expensive, but I guess nobody goes to Russia to buy souvenirs in high-end Italian or French boutiques.

dsauch

9th place - not too bad
http://unwto.einnews.com/article/218...F-ISVdT733NwUl

lsquare

AFAIK, China doesn't do this anymore. I travelled to the mainland between 2007 and 2009 and never saw anything like that.

lsquare

It is because the Metropolitan Museum in NYC charges more. The Uffizi in Florence is more. US$13 is indeed a steal.

lsquare

I think the recent depreciation of the rupee made it cheaper. It cost me more when I went to the Taj because the INR was in the low 40s.

Indonesia also have dual pricing. It sort of pissed me off because that was the first country that I went to which charged me more for being a foreigner.

lsquare

I agree. Have Russia made it any easier to apply for Americans to apply for visas? I hate travelling in groups and I prefer to travel independently. I'd love to pay Russia a visit despite West-Russia tension.