We have planned a trip to Finland. At the end I have considered an excursion to St. Petersburg. The people I know in Finland all think St. Petersburg is wonderful but dangerous - more then other large cities - much more then NYC, where I have walked alone at night (to 12am) many many times. They all suggested tours but I have been unsucessful at obtaining what I need from the tour agencies. I have to make a decision soon. What are the pros and cons of spending a lot of extra money to stay at the Astoria, which has a great location, vs the Moskva or Okhtinskaya? (there are 3 of us and we want to stay in one room).<BR><BR>If Olga is not available does anyone else have a guide recommendation?<BR><BR>From the train station to the hotel is it best to try the metro? Take a Mafia taxi for $40? Try and hire transport for about $60 each way? Or is there another choice?<BR>For a 14:00 arrival, would it be a good idea to hire a guide to help us with transport and then take us around to get to know the city?

St. Petersburg is a great city; well worth including. I think it's a bit like Macao, in that there are rumors that it's unsafe because of the mafia, but the average tourist has nothing to worry about. I felt perfectly safe at all times there (granted, I did not go walking around by myself at midnight).<BR><BR>There is absolutely no need for a tour for safety's sake, if that's why your friends are suggesting it. <BR><BR>Pros and cons for spending the money on the Astoria:<BR><BR>Pros: It's a gorgeous hotel with a great location.<BR>Cons: It's really expensive.<BR><BR<BR><BR>Between the other two, the Moskva has a MUCH better location & is by far the better choice.<BR><BR>From the train station, we took a taxi to our hotel, but the Fodors guide does recommend that you have the hotel arrange transport for safety reasons.

We were in St. Petersburg a few years ago and I have the feeling it has gotten more dangerous since then. So you need to take some precautions and be on your highest level of safety alert, especially around the train station, which we found rough. <BR><BR>However, if this is your best opportunity to visit this incredible city, then DO NOT miss it! We loved it and hope to go back someday. I agree that you do not need a tour. As for the hotel expense, I think you will find that your choice is limited to deluxe and very expensive, like the Astoria, or 2-star-ish, somewhat dumpy, not terribly clean alternatives. Perhaps someone else on this forum can tell you if that situation has changed. My main point is: DON'T MISS IT!! The city itself is very beautiful if a bit run-down, and the Hermitage is the experience of a lifetime.

Consider first your visa for Russia if you are planning to go-some Finnish agencies can get one for you but it is costly.<BR><BR>I know probably 100 Americans, myself included, who haven't had any more problems in St. Petersburg than in NYC. <BR><BR>As another poster said, the cons are the price of the Astoria, but the differnce in service levels between the top hotels and the others is vast. Did you try the L'Angleterre or the Radisson SAS if you are more price sensitive? Their rates are generally lower and the service levels are still very good. Staying three in a room should not be a problem with any of the top properties.<BR><BR>As for transportation most any guide can arrange for an airport pickup, although you should be clear how much luggage you have (that will determine the car size). From what I remember most hotels charge about $40 for a transfer--but don't rely on a cab that you find in the airport as they are notorious for overcharging and gently intimidating people to pay.

Many people think that Russia is some place filled with Mafia and it's a dangerous place to visit. Well, there is Mafia, but it's like that in every place in the world and Russia is not more dangerous than anywhere else, even less dangerous. If you know where to stay, keep away from the "bad" places, do your normal traveler's things and practice your normal traveler's safety, you'll be okay. You can only have contact with criminals when you're into something illegal, like buying or selling drugs, or are really looking for trouble. Really, think about it: why would anybody have problems because of you? The Mafiosi spend all their time making business, the gangs spend all their time dealing with each other, so you certainly will not experience any of that. Also there's so much police on the streets of St Petersburg and Moscow that they seem like the safest places in the world.<BR>

We have spent X-mas 2000 in St Petersburg and found this city fantastic. People are very friendly. We felt actually quite safe. The tour is not needed for safety reasons. Ask reception of the hotel to arrange excursions is this is what you want (though exploring city on your own is much more fun). DO NOT MISS incredible museums and parcs (in city and its surroundings). <BR>As for the hotel choice, we stayed at Okhtinskaya which has far better rooms, but is not as centrally located as Moskva.<BR>Enjoy your trip!

Kam, I just returned from a trip on my own to Russia and had no problems. I felt much safer there than I did in a city like Madrid with all the pickpockets. Remember that it stays light there very late depending on the time of year you are going. I used Marc's Olga for a general orientation and then preferred to go on my own. Olga or her other guides can do an airport pickup cheaper than the hotel transport but in Moscow I used a taxi when I arrived. It was $50 but split between three people that would be quite affordable. I used the metro once I was in the city but only to the stops that I memorized since I could not read the words of the stops.<BR><BR>Regarding hotels I stayed at the Moskva and requested a renovated room and it was one of the nicest rooms I had on my trip. I paid $115 for a single room so a double should not be that much more. It was spotless and I was expecting a bit of a dump so I was quite happy. The hotel was a bit further away from things then I would have liked but there is a metro stop right next door so it is just two stops to get to the Grand Hotel Europe in the middle of things. Hope that helps.

I spent several days in St. Pete in late May and found it completely safe. No problems at all. I did, however, think that Pavlov's Dog in the Museum of Hygiene could use a shampoo.<BR><BR>PS Olga is great!!!

We are using Red October in Sept. www.redoctober.spb.ru. Many happy customers posted on cruise board.