Saint Petersburg to Moscow: Trains, Planes, etc.
 

We are flying from San Francisco and wonder what the best (and least expensive) flight plan would be to get to St Petes and then to return by Moscow. We prefer NOT to go though the nightmare of JFK either way.
We are spending one week in St Petersburg on business and would like to go to Moscow for a few days before flying home. What is the best way to get from SP to Moscow? Unfortunately we do not speak or understand the Russian language. We are looking for easiest connections and transfers, as well as lowest prices. Any ideas? Thanks for your time helping us!

The best way to get from Moscow to SP is by train. You can fly, but with all the way to the airport, security etc. it may actually take you longer :)
In my opinion, the night trains are the best: you take the train that leaves at 11-something PM and get to your destination early in the morning. They also have faster trains with travel time near 4 hours.
You can buy tickets at the ticket office at the city or at the train station. One in Moscow is called Leningradsky vokzal, the one in Peterburg is called Moskovsky vokzal.
If your travel is going to be in March or April and not coincides with any holidays, or weekends, or etc., there would be no problem to get tickets.
Another thing you might want to know: there are different types of compartments in trains in Russia. "Obschii" (common) is the cheapest but the worst, it's basically a common space with people all over; I would not recommend it. "Kupe" compartment is meant for 4 people and is better. The most comfortable, though the priciest, compartments can be found in "spalnyi vagon" - they are for two people only, so you can be all by yourselves and would not have to deal with strangers.

As far as night trains, you can also buy out the extra beds in your "kupe" which is designed for 4 people. We did this when my sister came to visit me in Russia. As mentioned above, there are also fast day trains, but you can save $$ on hotel expenses as well (Moscow is the most expensive city in at least Europe, if not the world) if you take the night train.

It will be hard to purchase train tickets there without speaking Russian, so I would recommend buying through an agency here. I'm sure there will be a sizable premium.

Learn some Russian before you go! I would recommend http://spoonfulofrussian.com/ for some basic language knowledge- also available as a PodCast. You won't know the wonderful Russian people without at least a basic (polite) knowledge of their language.

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Marusja1
Thank you for your quick reply to my question. Your information is very useful. Sorry I forgot to mention our travel will be in late June...the most expensive airfare time unfortunately. From what you have told me it sounds like the train is the way to get from SP to Moscow.
Katya_NY
Your information is very helpful as well. Thank you for the Russian language web site. I will definitly check it out and see what I can learn in 3 months. I want to at least be able to say "please, thank you" etc.

There is a night train called " Strela", but as another poster noted here, you do need to make sure that you get a private compartment. And, if you don't speak Russian, I would pay the extra money and reserve it through the agent. The last thing you want is to end up in a compartment with 2 other strangers who you don't understand.

Aeroflot has direct flights to Moscow from LAX, I was able to get the flight from Moscow to St Petersburg at no cost. I booked to St Petersburg with a stopover in Moscow.

It's not necessary to buy out the kupe for 4 when you can buy a compartment for 2. You can also buy your rail tickets with an agency like Amex (in the Grand Hotel Europe) or perhaps your business contacts can suggest a local agency who can do the transaction.

Night train might not save money on a hotel as it arrives 6-7am and I personally don't like to wait until midday to check-in.

But the least expensive and easiest connection would be to fly as already suggested.