St. Petersburg - On Our Own!

Yes You Can Do It! St Petersburg on your own!

So in spite of the litany of posts on here and other travel message boards that it’s “too hard to get a visa” and “too hard to get around St. Petersburg on your own” we decided to attempt it. We consists of my long term boyfriend, hereafter R, and myself. We are both in our early 50s. I have traveled to Europe a lot, but this was his second trip in the 20 plus years we have been together.

Step one was the visa. Yes, it’s not cheap. I think by the time it was done we spent about $300 each on the visa. Yes, I do feel like the Russian government knows more about me then my mother, but really it was not that hard with ONE exception. If you are doing a two day stay in the city and want to return to the ship, do NOT get the one entry visa like I did. You will need to go for the multiple year, multiple entry visa R had. Apparently in the past the one entry worked, but now one entry gets you off the ship ONCE! That meant that we had to stay overnight in the city. But… if I had to do it over again even with the multiple entry visa I would recommend the overnight in the city. I will explain why as I report.

So the ship docks. (RCCL, Serenade of the Seas) Since we did not have tours and knew most sights didn’t open until 10 we did not race off the ship to the mad lines. So I have no idea how bad it really got. We had probably been in port for about 45 minutes when we got off with our little backpacks filled with our overnight gear. Took us about 20 minutes or so to clear immigration. And the agent was very clear that I could come only come in to the country once.

Now this is where we hit our first roadbump. There are two ATMs in the port building, one was out of order, the other either was out of order or only spoke Russian. Who knows? Since we don’t speak Russian we sure don’t. But don’t panic the Taxi woman takes dollars. For $30 she got us a paid taxi into our hotel The W St. Petersburg.

I would recommend this hotel with one caveat. Get a room NOT on the 8th floor directly under the all night party bar. (At midnight I made them move me to another room! ) The hotel is very nice, beds are comfy and the concierge is GREAT While I checked in she calmed R down by telling him exactly where to go and telling him the ATM in the basement spoke English. They gave us a great room on the 8th floor. Room was ready so we dropped off the backpacks, got some rubles (probably $100 worth) and headed out.

We were in port on Tuesday and Wednesday. Since some of the sights were closed on Wednesday this drove our sightseeing plan. First stop was St. Issac’s. It doesn’t open until 10:30 so we were early and stood in line for about half an hour but quickly got tickets when it opened. We climbed the colonnade first for the great views. This also helped out with our orientation since we could see where things were. Then we toured the church. HUGE place, very beautiful and kin d of overwhelming.

Out of there we headed on to Church of the Spilled Blood. We navigated well using just the tourist map, but I did have a better map In my bag if we needed it. I loved this church, R not so much. IT’s over the top covered with mosaics and he swears they were looking at him, but it’s an amazingly beautiful church. (NOTE: At both churchs I did wear a scarf over my head but most tourists did not. )

Behind the church are some souvenir stands, we shopped but didn’t actually buy anything. I saw my first UT Vols nesting doll and probably should have purchased it, but really didn’t want to either carry things or take the time to go back to the hotel.

Lunch was at Stolle. There were tour groups there and locals. R’s friend had told us what to order so we got two small meat pies, one cherry and one lingonberry. We both really liked this!

Now on to Peterhof. This was a trade off. The palace was closed today, but we decided that we would be more worried about getting back from our “out of the city” excursion on Wednesday when we had to worry about missing the boat. The Fountains are amazing and the boat ride over was fun. We spent a lot of time in the fountains and gardens before catching the boat back.

(Note: For all admissions so far we had used my chip and pin Mastercard. But the boat to Peterhof was only taking cash so we were glad we had some)

Back in the city, we dropped by the hotel and took advantage of the free drink coupons to plan our evening.

Next stop Fabrage Museum If you go after 6 PM you don’t have to take the tour which is often in Russian. We did not spend a huge amount of time here but I really enjoyed seeing the eggs! And there were basically no crowds when we got there around 7.

While I was buying tickets to the museum R had a chat with one of the employees and got some recommendations for ‘local food’ where they could help English speakers. We had dinner at a Georgian restaurant very close to the museum.

Now this did mess up one of our other plans, We wanted to take the evening canal tour, but the last one we could find in English was at 8:30 or so. So we took it in Russian. We understood nothing but enjoyed navigating using our maps and just seeing the sights. This was the only time we were cold, but they gave us blankets and we had our jackets so we survived!

Next was what we thought would be nice walk up Nevesky Prospect…. We were wrong. Apparently it’s drag racing strip around 11 pm. Cars peeling out at every lights, souped up hotrods with no mufflers… YIKES! Do NOT jaywalk here

We had planned to stay up to see the bridges go up, but reality set in. We had been going non stop for hours and we staggered back to the W only to be met with ‘boom, boom, boom” from the bar. After the front desk told me the music stopped at 2 AM I made them move me. The new room was not as fancy but was QUIET and we were asleep shortly after midnight.

DAY TWO

We got up and went downstairs, checked out and arranged for the hotel to get us a cab back to the port. We wound up eating breakfast at Subway (and it was HORRIBLE!)

But then we hiked over to the Peter and Paul Fortress and spent some time looking at it and the great views. We walked back by the ballet theater and got some other great views of the Hermitage.

And now it’s time for the biggie. Hermitage. When we got there the ticket line was VERY long, but I got in line for the kiosks while R scoped the place out. Kiosk line took about 10 minutes. They take Rubles and chip/pin credit cards. Plus it’s fast. We could not figure out why all those people were waiting in the LONG line, but we waltzed right in with our kiosk ticket. (Note: They did make us throw out our water bottles) We spent HOURS here and there’s no way I can describe everything we saw. The best thing we did was get lost at the beginning. We wound up in the “apartments” and other rooms that were beautiful and basically empty! So the first few hours of our visit it was very quiet and peaceful. Then we figured out where the “biggies” were and headed to the Italian /French/German blockbuster section. That was wall to wall tour groups LOL! But we did see stuff just not as well as the lesser known things. We finished up in the Egypt/ Greece areas which once again were pretty deserted. We had a great time. My personal favorites were the rooms we saw early including one with “gold” on the walls and the chapel But you could spend a lifetime here. When we left the ticket line was all the way through the courtyard and there was no one at the kiosks. Use the kiosks folks!

We then headed to a pub for a beer. Yes, we had British beer, but we needed a breather.

And it’s time to shop. We found a “grocery” and bought some Vodka, hit up some shops and got some little dolls, postcards etc… The W mailed our postcards for us for 60 rubles which was more than the post office, but considerably easier!

Back to the W for the return to the port. We had a pick up of 3:30 and the cab was there on time. Very nice cab and it cost 600 rubles or $10 R wanted to go yell at the Taxi woman for the earlier trip charge!

We spent our last amount of Rubles in the shops at the port and I did find the UT Vols nesting dolls again and they are in my home (had to charge those, we didn’t have that many rubles left)

So in summary…

Would I do it again? YES! We were exhausted but we had a great time and we saw what we wanted to.

It helps to be outgoing. R talked to everyone. We got a wonderful restaurant suggestion from the staff at a museum. We got great directions and everyone was very helpful.

My suggestions

1. Stay in the city if you are in port overnight. That port is way out there and since it doesn’t get dark until very late you can still do stuff in the city!

2. If you stay in the city, get a hotel with a good staff. The W is a little pricy, but there are some other options (We stayed here using my Starwood points so all we paid was some small Russian registration fee) I also might see about getting the hotel to arrange a pick up at the port... it's probably cheaper LOL!

3. Go with an open mind and realize it’s not going to be like home!

Sorry this is so long, but ... I hope it helps someone!

Awesome! We are going next summer for 3 days/2 nights on Celebrity. We weren't considering doing SPb on our own until we decided to go to Moscow pre-cruise (so we will have visas already - and we will make sure to get the 3 year visas!). I suppose the one place you can't really get to without a tour is Pushkin/Catherine's Palace, but the idea of having free reign to do what we want might be worth it. Sounds like you saw a lot of the main sights. I think its actually possible to get from the port to the main tourist area via public transit (bus & metro).

Did you find that you missed the context of what you were seeing in the Hermitage or was the audioguide sufficient? Also, was there anything you missed that you regretted?

we had some good guidebooks with us And we did a lot of research in advance. I think that really helped us understand what we were seeing.

We did consider public transportation into the city, but you would need rubles Also while once in the city the signs are bilingual out by the port it is Russian only. R was not adventurous enough to do public transport there

We had already decided not to do Catherine's palace, due to the amount of time it takes on a short two day visit so that was part of our decision process.however I did do some research and discovered there were tour operators that will sell you just the tour from the city to the palace

we had some good guidebooks with us And we did a lot of research in advance. I think that really helped us understand what we were seeing.

 

We did consider public transportation into the city, but you would need rubles Also while once in the city the signs are bilingual out by the port it is Russian only. R was not adventurous enough to do public transport there

 

We had already decided not to do Catherine's palace, due to the amount of time it takes on a short two day visit so that was part of our decision process.however I did do some research and discovered there were tour operators that will sell you just the tour from the city to the palace

We will have rubles from Moscow so I suppose we could try it (and see the subway as part of our trip in from the port). Having three days gives us even more flexibility. We really are interested in the ethnography museum and a few other sites that aren't on the standard tours. Thanks for sharing your report.

One other thing I thought of on the public transport. I think it's a long walk, through what R refer erred to as the DMZ, to get to the bus and I expect you might get some strange looks. I saw no one from our ship walking anywhere. Of course, I also saw no one else standing out waiting on the taxi (after you pay Taxi woman she gives you the number of your cab, you stand at the curb and he shows up and delivers you where you told Taxi woman)

Doing it on your own will make you the exception, we met no one else on our ship who did this.

One other thing I thought of on the public transport. I think it's a long walk, through what R refer erred to as the DMZ, to get to the bus and I expect you might get some strange looks. I saw no one from our ship walking anywhere. Of course, I also saw no one else standing out waiting on the taxi (after you pay Taxi woman she gives you the number of your cab, you stand at the curb and he shows up and delivers you where you told Taxi woman)

 

Doing it on your own will make you the exception, we met no one else on our ship who did this.

Thanks for the report , and kudos to you for having the courage to DIY ! It sounds like you really enjoyed it . We made our 5th visit to St. Pete in May for Victory Day and spent 12 days there and had a side trip/overnight to Moscow on the Sapsan . We had a great time ! We also have a thread that has lots of photos of where you were and of other places that you may care to see , perhaps at a future date . For those considering the DIY from the ship , or staying in an apartment , we would recommend the SPB card . It has tickets for the majority of the places , a transit card for the bus and Metro , and a ticket for the hydrofoil to Peterhof ( 1 way only ) . It didn't have tickets for the Hermitage , but we bought our online , $ 25 for a 2 day pass . Our SPB card was good for 5 days and cost about $ 50 . We visited the Hermitage after our 5 day pass had expired . Some people may want to consider a flight on the helicopter that leaves from the Peter and Paul Fortress on weekends and holidays .

It was $ 60 p.p. , and offers some amazing views like this one of the Smolny Cathedral and the Neva River .

Thanks again , and we would be glad to answer questions if there are any . The part about the SPB card is post # 171 on our thread , found here :

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1775172&page=9

:) :D

For those considering the DIY from the ship , or staying in an apartment , we would recommend the SPB card . It has tickets for the majority of the places , a transit card for the bus and Metro , and a ticket for the hydrofoil to Peterhof ( 1 way only ) . It didn't have tickets for the Hermitage , but we bought our online , $ 25 for a 2 day pass . Our SPB card was good for 5 days and cost about $ 50.

 

I looked at that, but the only complication is that you cannot order it online and have it delivered to the USA (or some other place like our pre-cruise hotel in Moscow). We would have to make our way into the city first and then pick it up. There is actually a bus from Terminal 1 at the port that goes to the Metro station, but to be honest, it probably just makes sense to take a cab on that first trip in to the city. The card does look like a good deal though if you visit several museums and take a boat tour, etc.

Also looks like you can now take the hydrofoil both ways for free per their website: You can use a free hydrofoil on your way back as well - that is, travel from Peterhof to Saint Petersburg. In this case, due to a limited number of tickets, we recommend getting yours on the pier immediately upon arrival - before taking a walk around the Lower Gardens.

I looked at that, but the only complication is that you cannot order it online and have it delivered to the USA (or some other place like our pre-cruise hotel in Moscow). We would have to make our way into the city first and then pick it up. There is actually a bus from Terminal 1 at the port that goes to the Metro station, but to be honest, it probably just makes sense to take a cab on that first trip in to the city. The card does look like a good deal though if you visit several museums and take a boat tour, etc.

 

Also looks like you can now take the hydrofoil both ways for free per their website: You can use a free hydrofoil on your way back as well - that is, travel from Peterhof to Saint Petersburg. In this case, due to a limited number of tickets, we recommend getting yours on the pier immediately upon arrival - before taking a walk around the Lower Gardens.

We picked our card up ( pre purchased) at the information building on Palace Square , by the Hermitage . It's the central location for the tourist area . If we went on a cruise ship , we would probably take a taxi to the Primorskaya Metro station where they sell tokens or cards . We bought a separate metro card , and saved the SPB card for the bus . We also used the HoHo bus , included in the SPB card .

One other thing I thought of on the public transport. I think it's a long walk, through what R refer erred to as the DMZ, to get to the bus and I expect you might get some strange looks. I saw no one from our ship walking anywhere. Of course, I also saw no one else standing out waiting on the taxi (after you pay Taxi woman she gives you the number of your cab, you stand at the curb and he shows up and delivers you where you told Taxi woman)

 

Doing it on your own will make you the exception, we met no one else on our ship who did this.

Carol, what would you say was your average cost per day (excluding visas, which we have anyway from our Moscow trip, and hotel, which we likely will not do)?

BTW, it must be an Atlanta thing to do SPb on your own as we are from Metro Atlanta as well.

Thx

Carol, what would you say was your average cost per day (excluding visas, which we have anyway from our Moscow trip, and hotel, which we likely will not do)?

 

BTW, it must be an Atlanta thing to do SPb on your own as we are from Metro Atlanta as well.

 

Thx

Randy actually kept up with the finances, but if you take those things out it was pretty cheap We have not done the reconciliation yet, that's probably this weekend!

I would guess we spent about $35 to $40 total per person on admissions. Seems like it was around $25 roundtrip on the hydrofoil to Peterhof (each person) . $40 roundtrip to the port (for both of us) . Meals were not that high, but we did not have wine etc.. with meals. My bet is we probably spent about $40 each. You could spend more or less, but if you stay on the ship you do get breakfast etc...

The Ruble is pretty low against the dollar right now which helped a lot.

Again, kudos to you for having the nerve! We're fairly adventurous and almost always do our own excursions but for us, this one was worth the cost of a tour. I can't remember exactly, but I don't think it was even $300 each for the 2 days and it was a spectacular tour which included everything you listed and more. This was the one time I enjoyed being carted about from location to location. :p

Again, kudos to you for having the nerve! We're fairly adventurous and almost always do our own excursions but for us, this one was worth the cost of a tour. I can't remember exactly, but I don't think it was even $300 each for the 2 days and it was a spectacular tour which included everything you listed and more. This was the one time I enjoyed being carted about from location to location. :p

I agree that if you are comfortable being in a tour with other people it is probably cheaper to do that

Our decision was not based on finances, but on what we wanted to do. We have no regrets and really enjoyed ourselves

Pjs...some other ideas for Moscow

We loved the Fallen Heroes park (it goes by different names) and this convent

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g298484-d300347-Reviews-Novodevichy_New_Maiden_Convent_and_Cemetery-Moscow_Central_Russia.html. The convent is easily reached via subway.

Also make sure you take the old circle subway line and get off at most of the stops...most guide books will tell you which ones are best, but easily 2/3 of them are worth a look.

For simple lunches we really liked Mu-Mu. It's a chain of cafeterias (Panera type grade). Not expensive, Russian and pretty decent food...you just have to point to what you want. Look for the cows out front, there is one in the Kremlin area and one on Arbat.

Bravo and thanks for your detailed report.

Every report I read on doing St. Petersburg on your own makes me that much more excited to do the same when I re-visit.

(Also from Atlanta area....:))

Pjs...some other ideas for Moscow

 

We loved the Fallen Heroes park (it goes by different names) and this convent

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g298484-d300347-Reviews-Novodevichy_New_Maiden_Convent_and_Cemetery-Moscow_Central_Russia.html. The convent is easily reached via subway.

 

Also make sure you take the old circle subway line and get off at most of the stops...most guide books will tell you which ones are best, but easily 2/3 of them are worth a look.

 

For simple lunches we really liked Mu-Mu. It's a chain of cafeterias (Panera type grade). Not expensive, Russian and pretty decent food...you just have to point to what you want. Look for the cows out front, there is one in the Kremlin area and one on Arbat.

Thanks! We have almost a year to plan so plenty of time to work up a good itinerary.