I am traveling w/ my 2 girlfriends to St. pets the last week of July and needed some help w/ some questions: 1) What is the best way to get from the train station to our hotel near Nevsky Prospect? (we are being quoted $40USD p/ person for transportation); 2) For the top 10 things to see in St. Pets, is it beset to hire a car service + trguide for the full day, or can we taxi (car service?) to the attractions and hire a tour guide for $10USD p/ hour? (This is what I did in Istanbul) 3) How safe are taxis? Is it relatively easy to get taxis and how much do they cost? 4) I've heard that the lines for tickets can be very long. If we do hire guides, can the guides get the tickets for us? or how do we buy tickets in advance? Thanks!!

You might get more responses to your question if you re-post it with St. Petersburg in the title. My first reaction was that you wanted information on St. Peter's in Rome.

Hi, acmeworks!
1. best way to get from railway station to hotel is to book a transfer, cause otherwise u shall have to hire a taxi staying near the railway station which is twice as much and not really safe i would say (u could be cheated). My company can make a transfer for u at 30 $ per transfer.

2.Better to take total tour which includes guide service+car, so as not to interrupt your tour in order to find some transportation... Price is not high for such kind of tour. it's a normal practise here.
4.Right, in summer time queues into museums are enormous. better to decide in advance what museums u'd like to see so as we could buy u tickets in advance.
Mailto my direct mail: [email protected] i shall answer all your questions and send u city tour rates.
www.gopiter.com

rgds!
maria

What or where is St. Pets?

lavenrendrye:

As acmeworks says, it's the city that surrounds the Nevsky Prospekt.

Surely no poster on this board can be unaware where that is?

Ah! I get it now--the city with the famous Hermy museum, St. I's Cath, Pete's hoff, and Mary's theatre.

Definitely do the guide with a van or car. Best use of time, you will learn so much, you will be brought to front of lines etc. We were there on June and used Red October tour compny and were very pleased. They will give you a suggested itinerary that you can use as a start, but you can change it to fit your needs. They know the most important things to be seen, but are very flexible The email: [email protected] Good luck, what a fabulous experience you are in for.

Thew best way to see most of the attractions in St Petersburg is to get a city map and walk. St Petersburg is a very walkable city.

Do a search on internet for St Petersburg and you will find more than enough information. Try: http://www.cityvision2000.com/

You didn't say what railway station you are arriving at, but Moscow Station is on Nevsky Prospect, your hotel may be near the station.

For tranfer information see: http://www.waytorussia.net/

Some hotels are within walking distance of Moscow station eg SAS Radisson and the former Sheraton. A transfer at USD30 seems alot of money when I paid RUB600 from the Radisson to the airport (in a street taxi). I wouldn't bother with an organised tour as St Petersburg is the perfect city for walking esp in summer. But I would hire a car plus driver for excursions outside the city.

I used the services of Eugenia (www.eugenia.com.ru) who collected me from the station and also provided guide services.If you have little time to waste then a guide is worthwhile in Russia and relatively cheap by western standards.See also the classified section of the St Petersburg Times, www.sptimes.ru, for other guides in the classified section.