averyglenn

Hi everyone:
We will attending a family reunion in Finland July, 2005. We would like to take a 3 day trip to St. Pete's from Helsinki. Has anyone made this trek before? If so, would love to hear how you made the trip (independently v. a tour). All this stuff regarding the visa for Russia is very confusing to me.
Many thanks,
Lori

Garfield

For information about travel and visa see:
http://www.waytorussia.net/


For visa invitation I usually use:
http://www.gotorussia.net/

hsv

I have not done that trip, but I have heard that the train ride is rather dull. However, ferry service has been introduced last summer by Finish Silja Line and Estonian Tallink. You might want to check out that option.
Using Silja Line, there are two options: board the Silja Opera in Helsinki for a cruise to St. Petersburg, or cross over to Tallinn on one of the fast ferries and catch MS Finjet ferry.
Tallink operates directly out of Helsinki, too and stops shortly on the other shore in Tallinn just to proceed to St. Petersburg.

Try:
http://www.silja.fi/?ChangeLang=english
http://www.tallink.fi/en/

carcassone

We did this a few years back. We visited Tallinn, Estonia as a day trip from Helsinki. The ferry ride was an hour each way and the town is a short 15 minutes walk from the port. Tallinn is very charming and worth the time and effort.

We flew to St. Petersburg from Helsinki for a 4 days visit. We did not join any tour. We had a hotel reservation and the hotel sent us an "invitation" letter which was needed for the Russian Visa. We also arranged airport transportation to/from the hotel. Other than that, we were on our own, including a day trip to the summer palace.

While we always travel independently, St. Petersburg was one place where there may be some advantages for a tour. Mainly because, at least when we were there, most people do not speak English (while many speak German!) Thus, they do not offer help as readily as, say, the French or Italians, or perhaps, because they don't see a lot of independent travellers.

Nontheless, we did manage and had a great time.

Ardfert

I took the train from Helsinki to St Petersburg and back earlier this year. I used the Finnish train-there is also a Russian alternative. I enjoyed the trip,had a few snacks aboard and surveyed the countryside.There is a lot of land covered by trees on the route but I felt I saw enough of both countries to make the trip worthwhile.I saw a lot of St Petersburg and really enjoyed the historical buildings-almost all of them built by the Czars as StP was the capital of Russia up to 1917. On the way back I figured out that I could go to the Finlandia station on foot and duly arrived there in plenty of time.The problem was that the Finnish train does not go from the Finlandia station! I got a taxi and all was well but I have a feeling that I was not the only one to get confused by this situation.

Marc_David_Miller

The main point to consider about going to Russia (St. Petersburg) from Helsinki is that you need to book your accomodations in advance and get a visa while you are in the United Stetes (assuming you are American). The hotel or tour operator will send you the required paperwork, then you need to apply for a visa from the designated Russian consulate. It takes about three weeks, and $100 (plus the visa service fee if you use one).

averyglenn

Thank you everyone for all your helpful tips! I normally travel independently, but it does seem like a tour might be the best way to go as I am travelling with my 80 year old aunt. She is in great shape, but will surely feel more comfortable with something organized.
I feel much more oriented now; this Russian visa thing is a bit confusing but you have clarified things greatly for me.
Thanks again, Lori

elina

I have found out that the easiest way is to book everything through a Finnish travel agent specializing in Russian travel. I have used www.finnsov.fi but there are several others, too. They arrange everything: visa, hotel, train tickets, and it doesnīt really cost more than doing it by yourself. And it is still independent travel, you just donīt have to do the arrangements yourself.

averyglenn

Thank you Elina! I will check the website out.
All the best,
Lori