RUSSIAN TIPS
 

Hi fodorists
I will travel to Moscow and St. Petersburg beggining of August.
We will stay 4 nights in each city. I need advise for St. Petersburg
because I know that the time perhaps is a little short..
We will arrive at St Pete about 6 pm. I do not know if we will have time to do something at night..
1) We want to do a sightseeing tour late in the afternoon I want to know if I need to hire a private guide.
2) Peterhof Palace or Catherine I am not so sure if I will have the time to do both.
3) Is it possible to visit Hermitage and another sightseeing in a single day.?
I will appreciate your kind advise.

www.viator.com/St-Petersburg/d908-ttd

many options for you at reasonable prices pick one that suits

virtualtourist.com helpful locals with great info

a truly wonderful city lots of sightseeing possible.

Moscow expensive not as nice in outlying areas for me.

Still pretty cool...

I did the boat trip from St Petersburg to Moscow, but I spent the first day on my own before boarding the boat, wandering St Petersburg and visiting the Peterhof.

The Peterhof is a must-see and needs at least a half day. I only visited the lower gardens because I ran out of time - but that was well worth it. Take the boat; it is a little more expensive than other means but a very pleasant and fast way to go. There are several that depart from the wharf over the road from the Hermitage.

I saw the Hermitage as part of a tour group from the cruise boat. I do not recommend that method; too rushed and too crowded. If I ever get the opportunity again I will go alone and rent one of the audio guides and take my time. But even as part of a tour group it was another must-see and a wonderful place to visit. It is quite possible to do that in half a day if you don't want to linger too long in any one section - but you could spend a week there too :) I suggest you do your own thing in the Hermitage for a half-day, then take a tour for the other half-day to see the other palaces and churches of St Petersburg.

I only had time to see the usual tourist traps in Moscow: Red Square, GUM store, the Kremlin etc but it was a wonderful day's visit with glorious weather for photos. We took a dinner cruise on a restaurant boat on the river; that was excellent and gave a different perspective on the city.

Cheers, Alan, Australia
Born Under a Wandering Star
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/

> Is it possible to visit Hermitage and another sightseeing in a single day?

Yes, if that's your preference. One can spend days there or one can spend hours there. If you do try to limit your time there, make sure you figure out a way to focus your time and attention (e.g., by reading ahead, renting an audio-guide, or going with a tour group). It's a magnificent collection in an amazing building in a fabulous city. Enjoy!

Thanks, I will take into account your suggestions. Do you know
Express to Russia a travel company??. I want to do a trip to Golden ring in one day. I know that it is a very short time but unfortunately we will stay only 8 nights in Russia and we want to know as much as possible.

hermitage and the blood church are close to each other and could easily be done in one day....H is so big that after a while you just get blury eyed... do not bother with the optional room visits there...

book your tickets on line ahead of time and you go to the front of the line....it is a CA agency... google H tickets..
when you enter the inner courtyard you stay to the left and go to the gard at the exit door and he will let you in... you go to the desk around to the right after entering.

click on my name above and find my ST Pete trip report...there is a good driver listed there...

we got very good rates at the marriott courtyard hotel.

I used Elena from Express to Russia for my booking on the MS Lev Tolstoy. I am still musing over my review. Mostly good, some not so good. Possibly best if you contact me direct at [email protected] if you want to chat about them in detail.

Cheers, Alan, Australia
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/

Just for info, the email address I posted was a disposable one. After communicating satisfactorily with a Fodorite it has now been deleted.

I received several invitations from some very friendly people in West Africa offering ways to make a lot of money within hours of posting it here, as well as some lovely invitations from Eastern Europe for various things medical and physical...

That doesn't bother me; it's the reason I used a disposable address. But I thought I should mention it in case anyone else is thinking of posting personal email addresses on this forum.

Cheers, Alan
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/