Europe By Camper - Travelling Europe By Motorhome: Russia

St Petersburg - Russia!

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<span lang="EN-GB">We’ve
been to St Petersburg!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">If you
know us personally then you’ll know that we’ve been talking about going to
Russia for some time. It was originally our intention to take in Moscow and St
Petersburg on this trip by road but after some initial difficulties on
obtaining fully comprehensive insurance for our van wrote that idea off.
When we did find a willing Dutch insurer we were already on the road and hadn’t
done any of the necessary research that such a journey would require so decided
to save it for another time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Looking
at the map it was frustrating seeing just how close St Petersburg was and the
number of Russian registered vehicles on the roads here in Finland made it even more
frustrating, so we began re-investigating Visa’s, ferrys and trains only to
discover that it is actually possible to visit St Petersburg for up to 72hours
without requiring one.... So what the hell, we booked it! Due to other
constraints we only booked the one night, it is possible to have two and if you
get the opportunity to do so I recommend that you take it – there is just so
much to take in!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">It was
exactly the mix of spectacular buildings, insane traffic, prices both end of
the spectrum that we had envisaged – we loved every minute of it!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB">Apologies
for the unusual level of detail here, I try to keep our blog posts punchy but
there was just so much to take in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">There
are two parts to this article, this post focuses on our time in St Petersburg
and the other focuses on the practical information if you wanted to replicate
something similar yourselves. To see the latter, <a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/06/helsinki-to-st-petersburg-visa-free.html">click here</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Monday<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Having
left the van in a secure parking garage we boarded the boat in Helsinki at 6pm.
I’m unsure at this point whether to call it a ferry or a cruise ship as to us
it was just a reasonably priced method of transport – it could be either
depending on your inclination and budget. We had a comfortable en-suite twin cabin with a great shower and one of
those marine toilets that threaten to eat you alive if you haven’t already run
20 paces after you’ve flushed it. We had eaten beforehand in anticipating the
prices onboard and rounded off our evening with some duty free wine and beer.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Tuesday</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The next
morning we opted for a breakfast buffet onboard to set us up for the day at 7am
(now GMT+3!), I don’t know what anyone else thinks’ when they see a continental
breakfast but I see ham and cheese sandwiches slipped into the backpack for
lunch! Before we knew it we had docked in the brand new Marine Facade located
just outside the city centre to make St Petersburg more accessible to larger
cruise ships then the crowded Neva that runs through the city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Once
outside the comfort of the guarded port we were greeted with a mixture of
soviet tile-clad tower blocks in various states of disrepair rubbing shoulders
with recently constructed trendy apartments made out of glass and bricks. This
contrast mirrored the cars on the road - Lada’s, communist trucks and vehicles
in various states of disrepair being overtaken at breakneck speed by brand new BMW
X5’s with black tinted windscreens! More on cars, roads and driving a bit
later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The shuttle
bus dropped us off at St Isaac’s Cathedral and this was a perfect opportunity
to climb to the top (£3.40 each) and get our bearings as to where the major
sights are located. However, we had to learn how to cross the road first and we
were of no help to the American tourists who asked us if new knew how to “hail
a cab”! For a brief time it was like being dropped on Mars until we worked out
that you sort of cross the road and as if by magic the traffic parts or goes
around you and those that have lights count down the seconds before they change.
From the top of St Isaac’s we worked out or plan of action and took a few of
the obligatory city backdrop photo’s.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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The next
stop was the Church of Spilled Blood which has those magnificent ice cream
coned spires which is the first thing that pops into your head when you think about
Moscow. The inside (£5 each) was just as lavishly decorated in gilded gold leaf.<br />
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At this
point we were still trying to take it all in, the guide book had failed to
prepare us for the scale of the place and the pictures by no means did it
justice. We walked over to Peter and Paul’s Fortress stopping to get one of the
Smoked Salmon Crepes we’d read about in the book  (£1.50 each) and looking on in awe at the
show of force by the Russian Artilary Museum – “and this is the stuff we don’t
use anymore!”. We were looking at the Jewish Synagogue with a mixture of
beautiful blue tiles and dull grey concrete when at which point the heaven’s
opened and we hid in a doorway until the worst of it passed.<br />
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<br />
We
passed back over the Rostral Column’s and
couldn’t believe the length of the queue’s we saw waiting to get inside the
Winter Palace, easily 2-300 people so some tactical thinking needed to be
employed in order to maximise the following day.<br />
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<br />
 We made
our way down Nevskiy Prospekt which is the main thoroughfare and shopping
district en-route to the hotel, while there was the usual stalls selling
‘tourist tat’ – Russian dolls, soviet memorabilia and the likes some were
selling gold and silver jewellery. Our one regret from our visit is that we did
not get much time to get into the shops and markets which could easily take two
or more days on their own, instead we tried to stick to the main tourist areas.<br />
<br />
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<br />
We chose
‘Sky Hotel’ which is one of the cheapest in St Petersburg, you enter it via a
sort of back alley and as you walk up the stairs you can see into the adjacent
buildings where people appeared to be living despite squalid rooms and broken
windows. The hotel, on the sixth floor, is very clean and modern and prices
start at €50 for a double room with shared facilities which are what we opted
for since it was for one night and we had our own en-suite on the boat.</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">We dried
our jeans from the shower and set off to find somewhere to have our tea, we
spent some time looking down the side streets of Nevsky. We settled on one Restaurant
with a large outside terrace, since smoking is rife in every restaurant
(because cigarettes are 34p a packet, yes 34p!). However once we got the menu’s
it was clear the prices were 40% more than the one outside – so we left! I’m
sorry to say at this point we ended up in an Indian we had seen online called
Tandoor. The service was typical Russian – terrible! - but the food was good
and the beer was one of my favourite German wheat beers so all was forgiven. It
was still light and warm when we left 11pm as we made our way back to the
hotel, calling in at 24 hour cake shop for two delicious slices of cake and two
bottles of water (£3).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Wednesday</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">We got
up at 7am which is 6am Helsinki time, could have been any time you like by that
point as we’ve been through 3 time zones in as many weeks. Breakfast is
included in our room rate but it’s down the road in a sister hotel which is no
big deal so we checked out and had some breakfast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Our
tactical plane was to get to the Hermitage for 9am (£8 each) so we could be
first in the queue, which we virtually were. I may have read somewhere that the
Hermitage is the largest art collection in the world, the scale of the place
once inside is breath taking. We deliberately didn’t take our camera inside
since we took the opportunity to leave our bags in the cloakroom and I’d had my
camera glued to my hand the previous day so it was good to have a break from
it. I’ve got to admit we don’t know a lot about art so show me a painting and
tell me it’s a Rembrandt and I’ll believe you. My advice is plan your trip here
– research what is on show, get there early and plan your route. You WILL got
lost (we did, several times) and spent nearly 3 hours walking around it trying
to take it all in.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Once
outside we attempted to fill in some of the gaps from the day before, St
Nicholas Cathedral and then up past the station. This is where, for me (Adam),
St Petersburg really came alive. Old Ladies selling simple items at the side of
the road, we walked passed one woman holding out a pair of adidas trainers in
the hope that a passerby would offer her something for them. Kiosk stalls
selling Beer and Cigarettes and Vodka for pence and all sorts of food stands
with the western favourites represented at about a quarter of what we’re used
to paying for.<br />
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Of the
few shops we went in the cosmetics items that Sophie looked at were about the
same price and we had hoped to find some bits and pieces to bring back but we
didn’t really want or need anything. We arrived back at the bus stop for 4:30pm
and was back onboard with an exit stamp in our passport – the whole experience
having ended as quickly as it begun.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Summary</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Amazing.
Fantiastic. Wish we’d stayed longer – but we will be back one day to visit and
Moscow has just jumped up several places on the ‘to do’ list. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Cars / Roads</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">St
Petersburg is a MAD place when it comes to cars and driving, we saw 3 accidents
while we were there and there were many other cars with evidence of recent collisions.
The traffic is a mixture of new BMW’s and old Lada’s and other Russian cars I
didn’t recognise with the traffic lights being controlled by police in tinted
booths at the side of intersections. The police in their Lada’s chatted and
shared cigarettes while the chaos went on around them – with speeds on the
Nevskiy Prospekt easily topping 70mph. We did spot a couple of guarded car
parks that would be perfect for camping though!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Road Signs</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">We
really need to learn our Cyrillic alphabet, these signs just look mad to me! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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To read on how to book the same trip, click here:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/06/helsinki-to-st-petersburg-visa-free.html">http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/06/helsinki-to-st-petersburg-visa-free.html</a></div>
</div>

St Petersburg - Russia!

We’ve been to St Petersburg! If you know us personally then you’ll know that we’ve been talking about going to Russia for some time....

Helsinki to St Petersburg - Visa Free!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you are touring Scandinavia with your motorhome and want to experience St Petersburg this guide tells you the options for doing so. If you want to read about our visit to St Petersburg first <a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/06/st-petersburg-russia.html">click here</a>, or wait until the end of this guide.<br />
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<b>1.) The Visa Free 'Loophole'</b><br />
<b>2.) Options, Days and Prices</b><br />
<b>3.) Booking Via the St Peters Line Website</b><br />
<b>4.) Budget Accommodation in St Petersburg</b><br />
<b>5.) Leaving your van in Helsinki</b><br />
<b>6.) Longer Stay (Visa) and High Speed Rail Link</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><u>1.) The Visa Free 'Loophole'</u></b><br />
<br />
Since 2010 it has been possible to visit St Peteprovided for you at check in with the exception of your hotel reservation which you will be required to show at the same time and may be asked for it at any time. You will also be provided with an immigration form with two parts (entrance and exit) for you to fill out out and hand to Russian Customs on your entrance and exit to Russia. You will also get your passport stamped!<br />
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<b><u>2.) Options, Dates & Prices</u></b><br />
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<b>You need to take a Monday or a Thursday sailing in order to travel Visa-Free</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtJhSFEcXtCaXqcYlrKgdOLsGhgzptdVuVaPIC7IpVqRZVuREqFppWmQ83yWx7zKB0xzG92gbGyme8Q77IlWDQzx9xeP3denZ8TVNaWMCCGl8NwqHdBk6JSWroRVTqNJUvmGXOpE9ZQHo/s1600/princess_maria.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img apple-style-span="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7mB552zFwVE/TgN2xNCKCyI/AAAAAAAAb80/span class=" style="font-size: x-small;" />** This is not actually a tour but a Shuttle bus per-say but a shuttle into the city centre.<br />
<br />
All of the necessary documents will be provided for you at check in with the exception of your hotel reservation which you will be required to show at the same time and may be asked for it at any time. You will also be provided with an immigration form with two parts (entrance and exit) for you to fill out out and hand to Russian Customs on your entrance and exit to Russia. You will also get your passport stamped!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>2.) Options, Dates & Prices</u></b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>You need to take a Monday or a Thursday sailing in order to travel Visa-Free</b><br />
<br />
</a></div>
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The ferry departs Helsinki from the Olympic Terminal at 19:00 (GMT +2) and arrives in St Petersburg at the brand new and very smart Maritime Façade Cruise Terminal at 09:30 (GMT +3) local time, departing at 19:00.<br />
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If you want to travel Visa Free you have to take a Monday or a Thursday Sailing from Helsinki.<br />
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Prices depend largely on the cabin, accommodation and options chosen for your crossing. The cheapest option is a 'berth' or shared (male/female) cabin at €30 but the next up is E class, a comfortable, clean en-suite cabin without a window for roughly €130 each way.<br />
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<b>On-Board Facilities</b><br />
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This is a 'Cruise Ship' after all and we were just using it as a means of getting from A to B and I suggest you do the same.<br />
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My preference would be to either eat before you depart of take something on board with you, we had buffet breakfast in the Seven Seas (€9pp) which was fair-average. My advice would be to make up your own mind since the 'discount' for pre-booking meal's with your booking is €1.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAa8rPbpnEae2n9rpla1vcWXJbGcsv5BN7xjIgJmzhL5KfIUoCcp0v_FWJa9Ern-WOXs58vhYV0fV17Au-dY6E7j6KOZCxsCLjyBQA61_H5gq8SPW4xTWkUeZA41w7cC7l8jjxiUPg7s/s1600/Princess+Maria+2010-09-13+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAa8rPbpnEae2n9rpla1vcWXJbGcsv5BN7xjIgJmzhL5KfIUoCcp0v_FWJa9Ern-WOXs58vhYV0fV17Au-dY6E7j6KOZCxsCLjyBQA61_H5gq8SPW4xTWkUeZA41w7cC7l8jjxiUPg7s/s320/Princess+Maria+2010-09-13+4.JPG" width="320" /></a><b>Cafe 'Bake & Coffee' (€3-€8):</b> Microwaved burgers, pizza, meatballs and mash (or mush as the menu described it!), soup and sandwiches.<br />
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<b>Buffet 'Seven Seas' (€30pp):</b> Self service buffet available in the evening for dinner and the morning for breakfast (€10pp).<br />
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<b>A la Cart 'Explorers' (€40+):</b> Looked superior to the others, but at that price we didn't bother.<br />
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<b>Rabbit Bar & Sky Club (€9+):</b> Same food as 'Bake & Coffee' but twice the price for getting deafened while your eat it.<br />
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<b>Duty Free Shop:</b> Soft drinks €1, Beer €2, Bottle Wine €4, Chocolate / Sweets €1, Bottle Vodka €5, Branded Whisty €5, 200 Fags €15*.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">* See non-eu import restrictions comment further down.</span><br />
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There is also a Cigar Bar, Cinema, Casino, XXXX Bar, Sauna / Pool / Gym for extra cost.<br />
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<b>3.) Booking Via the St Peters Line Website</b><br />
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The St Peters Line website is fairly poor and doesn't make nearly enough fuss about the 'Visa Free' element of the trip. As a result there are several travel agents setup with excellent websites that provide all the necessary reassuring information when searching for those terms. However, they also charge a fee for the privilege and in addition they are not even linked directly to St Peters Line so are unable to offer real time availability. Avoid them -  having read this far in the guide you should be well equipt to use it and a small discount is likely to be applied on your final screen depending on the lead.<br />
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The website is: <a href="http://www.stpeterline.com/" target="_new">http://www.stpeterline.com</a><br />
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<b><u>4.) Budget Accommodation in St Petersburg</u></b><br />
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I cannot recommend Sky Hotel enough, by far the cheapest accomodation we could find at €55 euro a night for a room with a shared bathroom or €65 with your own. Located just off the main through fair Nevsky Prospect down a back alley but wonderfully modern once you get inside. Staffed 24 hours and English speaking we couldn't find a hostel this cheap when we booked just a few days before we were set to sail. Don't forget to print off a copy of your booking confirmation - it is best to choose pay in advance rather than on arrival.<br />
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<a href="http://nevskyhotels.com/en/st_petersburg_hotels/skyhotel/" target="_new">http://nevskyhotels.com/en/st_petersburg_hotels/skyhotel/</a><br />
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<b><u>5.) Leaving Your Van in Helsinki</u></b><br />
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There are a number of options available to you, however it is worth checking with your insurance company to see if they will cover your vehicle while you are effectively out of the country.<br />
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<b>A.) The Cheapest Option (€10/weekday)</b><br />
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The long term parking at the Olympic Ferry Terminal is expensive at €30/day with discounts the longer you stay. Payment is by credit card and is pay and display, but no security is offered. We saw a fair few vans parked there, however.<br />
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Just as you pass the Olympic Terminal on your left hand side there is a small municipal off street car park with about 15 extra wide spaces with grass at the back which could easily accommodate a 7m van. Despite being next to the terminal it falls into Helsinki Zone 3 which is €1/hr 9am-7pm, free evenings and weekends. We acually wild camped here for 3 days and it was fine, although the ticket machine only accepts coins so bring some change! I would arrive the night before as you may need to hover around to get the best space. There are a number of similar car parks around the other ferry terminal but we didn't explore these ourselves so can't recommend any specifically.<br />
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<b>B.) The Maximum Security Option (€30/day) - </b><a href="http://kluuvi-service.fi/">http://kluuvi-service.fi/</a><br />
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'Special Parking' is located just inside the port, having to pass through a security barrier and into a manned/CCTV garage within the port. Only suitable for van conversions but they have a number of 'big car' spaces that even the Jumbo 6.3m Ducato would fit into. Pre-booking advised. They may require you to leave your keys as if they get busy they block-park cars, but they have a good reputation and given the numberre date from Russia).<br />
2.  Two copies of Russian visa application form, completed and signed (<a href="http://www.visatorussia.com/files.nsf/Lookup/visa_application/$file/visa_application.pdf">right click, save as</a>)<br />
3.  Two passport-size photos signed on the back.<br />
4.  Confirmation of hotel arrangements from an authorized Russian travel company, or directly from the Russian hotel, showing reference number and confirmation number for the visa.<br />
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If you have done the above, it opens up another method of getting to St Petersburg via High Speed Rail taking just 4 hours but costing a similar amount to the Ferry. For more information visit <a href="http://www.vr.fi/fi/">http://www.vr.fi/fi/</a><br />
reliably informed if you turn up at the Russian Embassy for 9am with the relevant documentation you'll have your Visa by lunchtime.<br />
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The following documents should be submitted to the Russian Embassy or Consulate to obtain a Tourist Visa to enter Russia:<br />
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1.  Your original passport with at least 2 blank visa-designated pages (passport must be valid for at least 6 months after intended departure date from Russia).<br />
2.  Two copies of Russian visa application form, completed and signed (<a href="http://www.visatorussia.com/files.nsf/Lookup/visa_application/$file/visa_application.pdf">right click, save as</a>)<br />
3.  Two passport-size photos signed on the back.<br />
4.  Confirmation of hotel arrangements from an authorized Russian travel company, or directly from the Russian hotel, showing reference number and confirmation number for the visa.<br />
<br />
If you have done the above, it opens up another method of getting to St Petersburg via High Speed Rail taking just 4 hours but costing a similar amount to the Ferry. For more information visit <a href="http://www.vr.fi/fi/">http://www.vr.fi/fi/</a><br />
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<b>Other Tips:</b><br />
When you leave the ship, make sure you queue for the "EU Citizens Only" customs booth - this one moves CONSIDERABLY quicker than the "All Other" and thus Russian Queue's!<br />
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Plan you time in S26nbsp;maximize the duty free / bars which is fair enough.<br />
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Restaurants are expensive but cafe's are very cheap as are the stalls selling food so look to eat here if you want to maximise your budget. If you do want to eat out, look at the reviews on Trip Advisor first and have a few ideas of where to target first as it can be difficult to choose.<br />
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<b></b><br />
<b>For our trip to St Petersburg, click here:</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/06/st-petersburg-russia.html">http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/06/st-petersburg-russia.html</a></b><br />
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Helsinki to St Petersburg - Visa Free!

If you are touring Scandinavia with your motorhome and want to experience St Petersburg this guide tells you the options for doing so. If y...

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