live42day

Hello
I am hoping for some help from folks who have been to these cities recently as to the current approximate costs of eating etc.

My husband and I are heading for Russia next month. I usually travel to Asia and find the prices in Europe (Russia) quite a bit more, but not sure how to budget for food.

We are taking the train to St. Petersburg from Helsinki, (paid for) and spending five days in St Petes.
We have already booked and paid for two ballets and two operas (one at the Bolshoi in Moscow).
We then will take the overnight train to Vladimir and spend two nights there (all paid for as well, done on line).
Then the last two full days (3 nights) in Moscow.

What I am wondering about basically is how much to budget for food and entrance fees.
I will buy the Hermitage tickets on line and we will probably hire a guide here and there. How much would that average a day for a guide?

I am a vegetarian ( I know I will have my challanges) and niether my husband or I drink alcohol. We like nice but not 5 star resteraunts. I read from fluffnfold that your averaged $50 per meal for the two of you and that sounded like it included a bit of beer/wine so that is not too bad IMO.

And tipping? I find that sometimes my budget is blown to bits because I didnt allow enough money for the tipping. Is it customary in Russia to tip everyone? And if so how much.

Thanks for your help. We are getting very excited about this trip and it is coming up fast!

live42day

does anyone have any ideas about how much to budget for meals/tips/local transport in Moscow and St. Petes?????

bringmeback

Hey there,

I don't know if I can be so much help but I live in Moscow so I'll try.

Saint Petersburg is a lot cheaper than Moscow. That said though, they really love charging more for foreigners in museums and whatnot. I am not sure how much a guide would be a day - it depends what you want to see and how much experience they have. To me, Saint Petersburg is a relatively easy city to get around and in Moscow, it is more necessary for a tour guide.

I think that spending 5 days in St.Petersburg is quite a lot...you should look into going to Pushkin or Peterhof as a day trip. If you can, I recommend picking up the In Your Pocket- Saint Petersburg guide because it has some really good info on sites and restaurants. It is also online, i believe.

Being a vegetarian is hard but there are some cheap chains as Kartoshka and Teremok that are easy to get vegetarian food. Stolle is a nice cafe that serves really good pies. They have some vegetarian food. Borscht is a good option too. In Moscow, Stolovaya No.51 located in GUM is a really good value too.

Tipping isn't really necessary. I usually tip 10% to 15%, depending on the service but most of my friends think I pay too much

Most restaurants have really good weekday business lunches which save a lot of money. They are generally about 390+ rub (about 13$ and up). Typically, I've found that dishes are 400 rubles and up at average places. Usually that is meat though, so it could be cheaper with you as a vegetarian.

$50 a meal is a good estimate in Moscow. I don't think it will be so much in Saint Petersburg.

For entrance fees, the Hermitage was the most expensive ticket I paid for, but I am a student, so take this with a grain of salt! For me, I thought that the Hermitage and Peter and Paul's Fortress combo ticket were both worth the price. I'll see if I can find my tickets.

In Moscow, I haven't been to many museums here that have been worth it, unfortunately because a lot of them are Russian only. I highly recommend the Great Patriotic War museum here and the Kremlin but otherwise, eh.

I wish I could be more help!

live42day

Thanks very much, that is a help. I appreciate it.

Stanislava_Somova

Hello!

I am a guide in St. Petersburg and I just wanted to add a bit)
You already got the idea about the food - a lunch in common cafe that serves delicious but quite simple food cost app. USD 15 per person (no alcohol). A meal in a good restaurant can definitely cost USD 50 or more per person. And I wouldn't say St. Petersburg is a lot cheaper than Moscow)

It's great to come to St. Petersburg in April - you won't have to wait in huge lines to get to the museums! The English-speaking guides charge about USD 10-20 per hour depending on their experience and qualification and usually have discounts when you book them full day (for example they may charge USD 15 per hour but USD 100 for a full day (10 hours)).

You've got the idea about the tipping from the previous post)

Hope the info is useful)

live42day

thanks very much for the info Stanislava. That really helps me a lot. Not as bad as I was led to believe, pretty much the same prices as here in Canada.

Stanislava_Somova

Please feel free to ask me if you need any more information)

Odin

Charging more for foreigners for entrance to museums or for hotel rates is not something unique to Russia and is practised in other countries too.

It will not be as challenging as you may think to find vegetarian food, however things like Borscht might be made with meat stock so best check. Eggplant dishes are common. Restaurants such as Shesh Besh which is an inexpensive chain have a great salad bar and Georgian restaurants such as U Pirosmani have many veggie options & dishes with walnuts.

live42day

wonderful, thanks Odin. I dont have a problem with foreigners paying more. I noticed that all my ballet and opera tickets that I bought on line were more than the locals pay, and I am fine with that. I will look for those restaurants.