MaryamAhmadi

I am 36 and I'd like to see Moscow and St.Ptsburg. I am traveling abroad alone for the first time. I want to know if it's a good idea or not. I appreciate any ideas and also locals in Moscow or St.Ptsburg.

danon

Not a problem..I traveled alone to SP and Moscow In 2015,
and Moscow in 2016.
I stayed in the center , took public transit ..felt safe.
Knowing the Russian alphabet helps.

MaryamAhmadi

Thank you Danon.

kja

I traveled to them both as a solo female back in 1984 -- no problems. Well, that's not really true: At the time, women did not dine alone unless they were prostitutes, and that created some problems because restaurants did not want to seat me , BUT the norms have changed and women can and do dine alone now without difficulty. You should have no problems with that.

As danon says, learning to transliterate will prove incredibly useful. Get at least one decent guidebook.

Both are wonderful destinations, and so different from one another! If possible, give each at least 5 or 6 days....

Enjoy!

CaliforniaLady

My son and I spent four nights in Moscow, and four nights in St. Peterburg in 2009. I found the art and architecture to be fascinating, but it was probably our most difficult trip. My son taught himself the Cyrillic alphabet so that we could get around on the Moscow subways, and we found no one on the street would talk to us if we needed directions.

I believe that you should be quite safe as a female travelling alone. However, if this is your first trip abroad, it may be a difficult place to start. If you are determined, I suppose you should go for it.

I wish we had figured out a way to make contact with people--maybe some sort of exchange or volunteer program? The only person that talked to us was a doctoral student at the entrance to the Kremlin. He tried to help us figure out what sort of entrance ticket to buy, and he was as confused as we were.

Andrew

Having a working smart phone in St. Petersburg helped me immensely to navigate the city. I used Google Maps for both walking directions and public transit directions, and that made getting around much easier. I didn't have to try to read bus schedules in Cyrillic or anything.

I was out one night taking pictures - St. Petersburg is so lovely at night when everything is lit up - and was surprised how people would try to chat me up, in Russian unfortunately, which I don't speak. People were more friendly to me there than in most places I've visited, actually. Almost no one spoke English, though, so I didn't have many conversations with the locals.

danon

".. No one on the street would talk to us..."

Most , especially older people, do not speak English.
In upscale shops and restaurants , yes.

Like , Andrew, I found everyone I approached very helpful .

I did learn enough Russian before my trip to ask for directions.

It is possible to purchase tickets on line for Hermitage, Kremlin,
theaters, trains etc..All in English.

I loved both cities, especially Moscow.



.

izzyb

I spent a week in St Petersburg in 2015, a week is not enough I barely scratched the surface - I got by with only knowing one word in Russian - spasibo - thank you -

I would highly recommend getting in touch with both Moscow and St Petersburg greeters. Essentially a free service who teams you up with a local who can show you the things you need to know and give you local information etc.

I found out about this service 2 weeks before I left - I was teamed up with a local woman who had just completed her tourism degree - she wanted to get some practice acting as a tour guide and to practice her English - I was so lucky as due to the fact that she was a certified tour guide we were given priority access to most places as a group even though there was only the 2 of us. She was an invaluable source and made the whole visit so much more relaxing.

http://saintpetersburggreeters.com/

I absolutely loved St Petersburg and I am right now looking at going back but to include Moscow this time.

Go and enjoy

MaryamAhmadi

I appreciate all your comments����❤️