Hello everybody,

I would like to share my impressions about my second trip to Russia, which was really an amazing trip for us.

It was our second time, but it did not disappoint. The first time we came to Russia we visited Moscow (4 nights) and St. Petersburg (2 nights). Honestly speaking, I loved St. Petersburg much better, and 3 days there is not enough, that's for sure. St. Petersburg has much more museums, so if you like museums, make sure that you have enough time for St. Petersburg.

We had a wonderful guide Nadia, that we found in Hello Russia Tours (https://hellorussiatours.com). They were actually good in organizing our schedule, and all tours ran smoothly and professionally. The price was very reasonable for the private tours that we had. Everything was arranged just for us. We were pampered pretty good, and even given some souvenir magnets for free in the end. Our tour plan was as follows:

Day 1. Arrival/relaxing
Day 2. City tour and a boat tour with a guide (we had a private boat). In the afternoon we had time for ourselves to walk around a little
Day 3. Catherine Palace
Day 4. Free day with shopping
Day 5. Peterhof in the morning with a drop off at the airport after the tour.


I personally think that 5-6 days is a good time for St. Petersburg. You don't need more to get a good taste of the city, and you are not rushed.
For food experience, check restaurants by Ginza chain (Ginza Project). They have multiple restaurants, we tried two Russian ones (Katyusha and Moskva) and both were great.

How long did it take you to get your visa after you submitted your application?