We will be in St Petersburg for 2 full days in June. We can probably get visas at the embassy in NYC. Do we really need a tour guide or can we find our way around on our own? So far, the tours I have looked at allow just a few hours at the Hermitage and I can't imagine spending less than 4 -5 hrs there.

We did it on our own back in 1995, but we stayed more than two days. On our last day we had a guide, which was not bad because he could explain what we could not figure out on our own, and show us what we had not seen. I suspect that any hotel would be able to direct you to a guide service if you want one after seeing the sights/sites that can be done on one's own.

You can do the Hermitage on your own and spend as much time as you want. And when we were there, there were plenty of people standing around offering to be your guide. I think we would have missed some very interesting things without a guide. But there are other things in sT.P. and environs that are certainly worth a tour.

It helps to be able to resd the Cyrillic alphabet if you're doing it on your own--and a number of phrases, also.

If you learn the Cyrillic alphabet and take a good guidebook you don't need a guide.

I agree with most of the above - no guide is needed to visit St. Petersburg, but it will help tremendously if you learn Cyrillic. But 2 days is not much time at all for a city with as much to offer, and a guide might be able to help you make the most of your time. And yes, the Hermitage deserves at least 4 or 5 hours, if not more!

It's a magnificent city - enjoy!

I think you should use a guide. I can recommend one if you want (will have to look far back in emails). There are different prices for westerners and Russians so you also might want the guide to help you figure things out, in addition to there being so much to see and such a rich history, so it will be so interesting to hear the stories behind everything!

We traveled there independently - but it was for 6 days. In 2 you will have trouble seeing much of anything.

You can definitely travel on your own - no problem. But do plan on either walking or taking taxis - since the subway can be confusing and time-wasting.

And do learn the cyrillic alphabet and the usual polite phrases - English is not nearly as widely spoken as in central or western europe.

How are you planning to arrive in St. Petes...are you visiting adjoining countries? I ask because this summer we visited St. Petes by taking the overnight ferry to and from Helsinki. We were not required to obtain a visa if we stayed under 72 hrs. We arrived in St Petes on a Friday morning and returned to the ship Sunday late afternoon. It worked out great for us. We didn't have a guide, just a good guidebook. We loved it.

To answer the question, a guide is not necessary. St Petersburg is a great city for walking around and the main sights are concentrated in the centre. However if you change your mind about a guide, there will be some at the entrance of main sights.

It helps to learn to read Cyrillics but if you can pronounce the word but have no understanding of the meaning then it's of limited use. A metro map with both Russian and English station names is helpful. The metro is very efficient and inexpensive, some stations are really really deep.

Plenty of people go to Russia without any understanding of Russian. Some road names esp centrally are in Russian and English.

No idea what is meant by probaby being able to get visas at the NY embassy. In alot of countries getting Russian visas has been outsourced to a particular visa agency, is this not the case for the US too? Also as mentioned by other posters, if arriving by a cruise a visa might not even be necessary.

In addition to learning the cyrillic alphabet, learn the sounds of the letters. You may be surprised what a sign says--and how much you "need" the place. My favorite is
PECTOPAH That woud be pronounced (close) "restaurant".

one of the recommended private tour companies is quite insistent (bold red letters insistent) that you MUST have a guide and must STAY with the guide because the guide will have the visas for touring. We are coming in via cruise ship and staying the usual 2 days. Anyone got a clue if this is true? I am working on a 1 day tour and a 1 day "free day" to explore on our own, but suspect I will need a visa to exit the ship.

The visa is definitely something you need to think about. Maybe it depends where you are coming from (apparently Finland and some other countries are exempt), but as I understand it, you do not need a visa if you arrive on a cruise ship, stay less than 72 hrs, and book a tour through a Russian tour company. The tour company provides something they call a blanket visa. We used SPB, and we did not need to purchase a visa since we had booked with them.

Our 'tour' consisted of a ride from the dock into town on a bus, so don't plan on it for sightseeing. I think it is a way for the cruise lines to get around the mandated tour. I think it was around $25 a person. It worked out great for us though.

<<Maybe it depends where you are coming from (apparently Finland and some other countries are exempt)>>
Visa requirements depend on your nationality not on where you are coming from. There are very few nationalities exempt from requiring a Russian visa, mostly CIS countries and some south american nationalities and then there is the visa free scheme for cruise passengers for trips of 72 hours or less.