Train Travel
 

We're going to Russia in October and thinkingof taking the train from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Any comments? What is the approximate cost per person. Where is the best place to get tickets or reservations?<BR>Thanks, Phil

Fodors<BR><BR>Since nobody's answered you and you're now on page two of Fodors forum, may I start ?<BR>For tickets for trains within and beyond Russia, including Transiberian: Express-2 on http://www.eng.express-2.ru <BR>For train tickets in St Petersburg. It would be worth while to get thjeir estimates now, as they could post tockets to your Moscow hotel:<BR>White Nights: http://www.concourse.net/bus/wnights<BR>Sokol Tours: http://www.sokoltours.com/.<BR><BR>You try aniother forum ? If you use htp://www.lonelyplanet.com, then Thorn Tree, then East and Central Europe, then Search (the icon is a magnifying glass) you can enter "St Petersburg" and I think you'll find a fair deal of comment on the rail journey. <BR><BR>Also interesting is the Russian railway ring at http://gamayun.physics.sunysb.edu/RR/Railweb.html/.<BR><BR>The consuls of five countries comment on security on the train. You can read their views <BR>from Australia on http://www.dfat.gov.au/consular/advice<BR>from Britain on http://193.114.50.10/travel<BR>from Canada on http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/menu-e.asp, under "Travel Reports"<BR>from France on http://www.dfae.diplomatie.fr/voyageurs/etrangers/avis/conseils/alphabet.asp<BR>from the USA on http://travel.state.gov, under "travel warnings"<BR>Some experienced American travellers find the American site over-cautious. It is therefor useful to check all five sites.<BR><BR>Please write if I can help further, but I'm afraid I've not been to Russia.<BR><BR>Ben Haines, London<BR>

Hi Phil: I was interested in taking the Day Train from Moscow to St. Petersburg and could have gone right to the Leningradskiy Station to get my ticket. Instead I went to the Hotel Intourist at Tverskaya Ulitsa 3/5 right behind the Hotel National......on the main floor is the old Soviet Travel Agency called Intour. I was spending a week in Moscow and the first thing I did was to go book with them and I went back a few hours later and picked up my ticket. I paid 500 Roubles for the ticket (about $25 Canadian).....I found out on the train from Russians in my compartment, that they had paid 468 Roubles at the station. I was pleasantly surprised at how low the commission was on this ticket. The Day train leaves around 11:30 AM and gets into St. Petersburg around 9:30. I think most folks take the overnight train, but I thoroughly enjoyed the trip.<BR><BR>Let me know if you need any more info as I was not with a tour. Cheers

Phil: Forgot to mention that the small hotel I was staying at in the Old Arbat area of Moscow wanted 2000 Roubles for that ticket! ($100)

Could you tell me how much the overnight train was, Elizabeth?

There are about 10 trains leaving from St.Petersburg to Moscow every night. First class would cost about 50 USD. You could buy those in office on the Moscow railway station. <BR>Kind regards, Olga