Carrying cash in Russia
 

We are taking a River Cruise. A friend told me when they went they had to carry cash as the River Boat did not accept travelers checks for credit cards. Is this still the case? How about when we are staying in St. Petersburg. Can we use credit cards, ATMs, travelers checks?

Thank you.

TTT

Check with your cruise company, as the credit card situation varies from boat to boat. Forget about travelers' checks, and bring enough cash to last you for the duration of the cruise (ATMs are easy to find in Moscow / St. Petersburg, but "problematic" along the cruise route).

All payments in Russia are officially made in rubles. However, in many shops you may find the prices indicated in U.S. Dollars or "conditional units" (usually equal to U.S. Dollars, but also now could mean Euros, and often the exchange rate is arbitrary). This became common after the financial problems of 1998. Many shops catering to tourists as well as companies selling major items (such as cars, real estate and computers) quote their prices in U.S. Dollars. The conversion rate is either posted (commonly at a slightly high rate) or understood to be the bank rate.

Some private vendors, such as kiosk sellers, guides and taxis may accept payment in U.S. Dollars or in rubles, although there generally is no meaningful price difference.

Obtaining and Spending Money
It is best to bring at least a few days worth of money in cash, as occasionally communications networks handling ATM and credit card transactions are not available (as elsewhere in the world).

Currency Exchange Bureaus
As many Russians keep their savings in U.S. Dollars it is very easy to find exchange bureaus throughout Russia. Banks and small currency exchange bureaus offer very good rates; hotels and casinos are generally more expensive. Many exchange bureaus will also convert euros and other currencies, although often the rate is not as good as for U.S. Dollars.

Bring pristine U.S. Dollar bills. You will have easier time changing money if your banknotes are absolutely clean. Only bring the newer versions of the $5, $20, $50 and $100 bills (with the larger, off-center faces) as few places will accept the older versions.

Don't change money on the street. Unlike during Soviet times, there is no advantage to dealing with an unofficial vendor (and consequently there is considerable incentive for the moneychanger to take advantage of you).

ATMs
Bank machines are common and convenient in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Other large cities also have them but many times there are restrictions on foreign cards. They usually offer services in multiple languages, and some give out U.S. Dollars or local currency... In smaller towns and villages they are often difficult to find or non-existent.

Credit Cards
In Moscow and St. Petersburg more and more shops, restaurants and services take credit cards (Visa/MasterCard are more accepted than American Express; Discover, Diners Club and other cards are rarely accepted).

Most upscale establishments will accept credit cards, but beyond these it is pure random.

Travelers? Checks
Some banks (such as Sberbank) will cash AMEX travelers' checks, but they are not particularly convenient.

Also, more and more I recommend tipping in rubles rather than US dollars (often the exchange rate is not very good when people are exchanging bills less than $100, so I try not to give out $5-20 bills).

Marc_David,
do you know if there are limitations on amount of cash tourists can bring to Russia?
thanks

The rules now are that you can bring in or take out up to $3000 US cash without declaring it, if you have up to $10000 US, you need to fill in the declaration form and then show it when you leave Russia.

Thank you Garfield. Where are these rules posted? I went to Russianembassy.org and do not see anything about money matters.
Sophia

You will find much information about travel in Russia at waytorussia.net

On the question of how much money see:
http://waytorussia.net/Practicalities/Emergency.html

Thank you Garfield!