chutch

Is it better to fly Aeroflot or take a train between Moscow and St. Petersburg? Is it safe to book an Aeroflot flight on their website? Is it possible to prebook a train? We booked flights on Finn Air from JFK to SVO on 09/02/07 and from LED to JFK on 09/12/07. I am looking for recommendations and warnings on my options. Thanks. And thanks to the suggestion to move my post to this forum.

maart80

Just got back from 10 days in Russia. Travelled from MOW to LED by plane but all the locals told me I should have travelled by train, it only takes 4 hours, city centre to city centre. You will avoid all the hassle getting to airport and back. Trains are modern and comfortable. Enjoy your time in Russia.

slawecki

Did the overnight train. Tickets can be purchased at the train station, or your hotel will purchase them for you. there are a lot(5?) overnight trains. they are very inexpensive. buy your tickets in advance. unlike the prior poster, we bought 3 days in advance, and many of the trains were already booked.

apoivre

4 hours city center to city center only applies to ER200 trains (2 a day, IIRC). Otherwise one should take an overnight train (these runs in the dozens) so you don't waste hours of sightseeing opportunities during the day and save on your hotel bill. Some overnight trains are really good in 1st class (e.g., the Nikolayevsky express)

chutch

thank you for the info. Are porters available to lift the luggage onto the train? Are the trains safe?

slawecki

First class is very safe. our door was 1" thick, and had a throw latch that was one of the best and most beautiful I have ever seen.

one must pay for sheets. tea is served in the morning prior to arrival.

for a tip, luggage will be loaded.

first class compartment was twice as big as first class in france or italy.

Russia is very safe compared to usa. I'm certain one can find a few seedy spots if one tries, but Russia does not have crime like USA. Not many guns.

WHBM

If you've not been to Russia before (and it sounds like this) then the overnight train is an enjoyable experience. There are a dozen or more each direction each night, and although the cars all look standardised they vary surprisingly in their interior fittings and in the price of the train. They have a nice restaurant car, open all night, where you can go for coffee and a cognac at 2.00 am if you wish. There are all sorts of little elegant Russian touches like flowers in the compartment, and the attendant will serve Russian tea in silvered glasses in your compartment.

There are First Class compartments with two berths, but it is much cheaper, and you end up with the same product, to buy two standard train tickets and then reserve a whole 4-person compartment just for the two of you. This is the sort of non-standard arrangement which you need a knowledgeable Russian speaker to book for you.

Do indeed watch your belongings in the train. The lower bed on each side lifts up, do this, put your luggage under the bed, and then sleep on top of it. The door latches can be released with a conductors key, and there seem to be rather a lot of these about. Never leave any baggage out of sight. Other than that, you will be fine. There are no porters as such but if you get your hotel to provide transfer cars to/from the station (a common service in Russia) they will assist you for a gratuity.

Although there has been no investment in new rolling stock on the Russian railways since Soviet times it is all kept in good condition, as is the track (far better than in the US). Timekeeping is normally to the second. When the main trains leave either terminal martial music is played over the station PA for the last 60 seconds, a nice touch.

apoivre

Nice summary, WHBM. A couple of corrections, though. There are indeed porters at major railways stations and rolling stock has been renovated a couple of times since 1991. The very ER200 trains discussed above are 3 or 4 years old and Oktyabrskaya Railway (the company that operates between Moscow and StPete) says we'll have Siemens rolling stock that will shave off another 30 minutes on the route.

chutch

We will be gone 10 days and will have two large and two medium to small bags. My husband has had two back surgeries that have made it impossible for him to lift our bags on or off the train. I am short and don't have a lot of strength myself. Hence, I suspect that we would be better off flying between Moscow and St Pete rather than try to maneuver our luggage on the train. Any advise on getting to and through the airport in Moscow. I plan to have the hotel in Moscow arrange for a car to get us to the airport and the hotel in St Pete to arrange for a car to pick us up. We have done 5-15 days each in London, Paris, Rome, and Brussels, but have not been to Russia. Thanks in advance!

slawecki

with hotels so expensive and train travel so inexpensie, on our next trip, my wife and I will transit nightly between petersburg and moscow. do they have showers in the train stations?

timenprayer

I lived in Russia for just under two years, and I'd be pretty desparate before I would use any shower facilities in the train stations, if they even exist.

HLS2002

Apart from the toilet, I really liked the ER200 experience from St. Petersburg to Moscow back in the summer. My Blackberry worked for the whole route, so I could use e-mail. The whole trip was very comfortable, and there were even free bottles of water and decent snack boxes. You could also buy additional beverages if you wanted. It seems it wouldn't be hard to find help with luggage as long as you arrived at the station a bit early.

apoivre

Well, it is OK but you could have been on an overnight train at half the cost. (Now this might be important for people who'll have to pay the exorbitant hotel rates in Russia). I just bought an ER-200 ticket for my wife and it was R2500 one way. Flying SU would be R4850 return for the same dates (my wife is pregnant so we opted for the train anyway).

Xyzzy

The train is great. I recommend first class on the Red Arrow. The Communist-era music and feel of the train are not to be missed!

WindFlyer

There are a number of overnight trains, and they vary widely in price and quality—from high luxury to barely passable (even in first). I find the "Dve Stotlitsy" (Two Capitals) to be a decent compromise in price and quality...

The staff at your hotel should be able to help you sort thru the choices