St. Petersburg to Moscow: train or airplane?
 

Hello,
Our party of 6 adults is traveling from St. Petersburg to Moscow on April 17th, and we have to choose between
- taking the train(around 50 euros per person or 57.5 US dollars - 4 hours ) and
- a flight (Aeroflot offers a 36 US dollars flight price per person to DME - 1:30 hours).

The transfer prices to /from stations or airports are not that different.

So, just taking into account the price, the flight would be better. Is there anything else we should consider?

The travel agency thinks that the train is a better choice because you still have to be one or two hours before at the airport plus he time of the flight.

Are there any safety considerations as well?

Thanks in advance for your help.

B

Nobody flies between Moscow & St Petersburg, it's just 400 miles and there are both sleeper trains that save a hotel bill and daytime 'Sapsan' trains that take just 3h50.

The train goes centre to centre, with central stations and zero check-in. It's relaxed and comfortable, you can stand up and walk around, no seatbelts here, and no nonsense with liquids.

The airports a way out of town so you can add an hour at one end and half an hour at the other - your '1 hour flight' will take 4 hours, longer than the train, disjointed, you can hardly settle into a book at any stage of it.

The train is a genuine Russian experience, on the famous 'October Railway' through Russian countryside. The flight is just another globlised flight, sealed inside a plane at 35,000 feet, a non-experience.

If you're on a relaxed vacation with the intention of actually SEEING Russia, I think this is a no-brainer...

Well, the Man in Seat 61 is a train travel shill, but this is a question that answers itself: given the minimal time gain from the air travel, the added comfort of the train, and the fact that the trains are in the cities, not out in the countryside, Seat 61 is correct. Take the train.

Thanks for the advice! I will take the train.

I found another post with a link to Russian Railways,
http://pass.rzd.ru/main-pass/public/en
where the train tickets seem to be half the price I got, at least for some schedules.
Is it trustworthy? I also have to check if it is possible to buy with my Peruvian credit card, since I read it was not possible with the US and Canadian cards.

We bought our train ticket through the internet with a US credit card. I believe we received an email voucher in return. We also choose our seats since I don't like to ride backwards. Local Moscow metro is outside the Moscow-St Pete train station by just a few hundred feet.

In my opinion if you traveling from one city and you are already going to be at the airport – in this case the best option will definitely be taking a flight. You’re not going to spend the extra time and money on transportation.

If you are traveling from a hotel (or another place in city center)- the best way to reach St. Petersburg from Moscow would be taking one of the trains (Sapsan fastest).

Here http://russianblogger.me/best-way-to...st-petersburg/ you can find all the info about getting from St. Petersburg to Moscow.

Hope it will help you and you'll enjoy your time in Russia :)

Thank you!
I like your blog, daniiltimin.