My husband and I are deciding if this will be our next vacation. We have looked into flights and hope to arrive in Moscow at 10:15 on a Sat and leave the following Sunday at 12:30 from Moscow.

Although we would go to the a few of the major museums, we really just enjoy being in the cultures we travel to and don't try to cram a bunch of things into the trip. That being said, we know we are not there for 2+ weeks, but for the pace and things we like to do, the time suits us just fine.

So far I am wondering about the train from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Is the only website for the train http://www.rzd.ru/ ? Has anyone taken this day train?

Also, anyone have any suggestions for places to stay in either city? We would like to keep the cost under $150US per night.

Thanks for your help.

Yes, I've taken the day train between St. Petersburg and Moscow. I did not book online but had an agent buy it for me in St. P.

I'd make one suggestion to you if you are truly going to visit both cities, fly into Moscow and out of St. Petersburg, or vice versa. You don't want to lose precious time back-tracking to get back to one city or the other, especially since you "only" have a week there. I flew into St. P and out of Moscow, connecting in Germany both ways to/from the US.

You may find that $150 per night isn't going to get you much. I stayed at the Hotel Agni in St. P and the Hotel Budapest in Moscow, both of which I liked a lot but I think they are beyond your budget.

I have an extensive trip report on my trip last fall, which you can find by clicking on my name. Enjoy! It was my favorite trip ever!

IMHO budget accommodation in Russia is often not something you want. We have found an acceptable place usually costs us more there than any place else.

You can try a Russian site, e.g. http://www.zabroniryi.ru Use Google translator.

I would agree...try to do an open jaw, ie flying into one town and out from the other. That is what I did when I went to Russia...into StP...out from Moscow.

Both towns have a lot to see, and I woudn't think twice about doing this trip!

I'm not sure I understand your question: Are you asking whether it makes sense to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg in about one week or are you saying that you have decided to do so, and want advice about how to do so?

If the question is: should you visit both St. Petersburg and Moscow in one week, my answer is: ONLY if you can imagine NO other way to see them. Both cities offer an incredible range of things to see and experience, and I think anyone who really wants to experience both of these cities would do well to consider waiting until s/he/they have at least 10 days, if not at least 2 weeks, for the journey. But it depends on what you want to see and experience and the pace at which you prefer to travel.

I took day trains from St. P to Moscow and back many years ago. What is it that you want to know?

Dividing your time between the 2 cities for a week's holiday is fine, esp as you mentioned that you don't want to cram too much in. It would be better to fly into one city and out of the other, but if that's not possible then flying between the two will cut down the travel time. I've not taken the day train, only the night trains and have done that several times.

Regarding hotel rates, Moscow is more expensive than St P but there are reasonable rates to be had if you don't mind being outside the city centre. The metro is inexpensive, efficient and fun, some stations are works of art. Also there are advance purchase rates at some hotels too which cut down the cost if your plans are firm (as they are prepaid, non changeable and non refundable).

Sounds like you've already booked US/Moscow/US, so you can't do any open jaw.

You arrive on Sunday in Moscow, jet lagged. When would you go to St. Pete? If you take a train that would take up a day I believe. So, you really only have Sun/Mon/Tues/Wed (travel day?), Thurs/Fri for two cities. Seems a bit rushed to me - Just 5 real days for both cities. I went on a river cruise with only 3 days in each city, and I wish we had much more time.

There is a high-speed day train now that "only" take 4 hours, but factor in time to/from the station and it really does eat up a big part of the day, which is why I suggested flying into one city and out of another.

Caveat: In terms o fhotel we always want to be in the very center - wasting time trekking in from the suburbs of major cities is not a way I want to spend my vacation. Also, there are many hotels built under the old regine that have been "upgraded" but are still simply not up to western standards.

Did Mos and SPB in Sept for 3 weeks. Go to tripadvisor.com and query the train and you can find a tutorial on getting the train tics w/o paying a middleman. We did it (both buying the tics and taking the train). Absolutely, positively nothing to see during our afternoon, Sapsan trip, so for you would recommend the overnight and save yourself a hotel stay.

Hotels: we stayed in apts and that might not help you but Mos is more exp than SPB so just plan to spend maybe $175 in Mos and $125 in SPB so $150x8 as I agree about backtracking is not in your best interest.

We haven't booked yet... I did say we were looking into this trip as a possible option. I know about open jaw flights and we are trying to make that work for our schedule and budget. We are only interested in finding out about the train prices and hotel options.

Thanks jan47ete for the hotel and train info.!

@kenav We would be in Moscow Sat-Wed (train on Sat to St. Pet) and St. Pet Wed night - Sun For the things we want to do in the cities this is plenty of time.

Thanks

Anyone know parts of town to stay in/out of in terms on hotel/apts.?

Well, my train info won't be too helpful, as my train ride Moscow/St. Petersburg happened in 1984, but I did really enjoy that daylight ride between the two as a way of seeing more of the countryside. It's a little more than half-way down the trip report--in poem form, no less: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

What dates approx are you travelling? Anything within the garden ring road is pretty central although some hotels fall outside of that eg Hilton, Renaissance, the new Radisson and many others that would be considered fairly central. Main thing is to be near a metro.

We had an apt on Noviiy Arbat which was almost between 2 Metro stations. By the time we walked to the Arbat station since the blocks are so long, we were halfway to The Kremlin area where we seemed to have spent a lot of time. It turned out once we got the hang of the bus system (right at our front door), we went everywhere by bus, so you might want to check that out as wwell.