When planning your trip to Russia make all your reservations in advance as St. -Petersburg and Moscow are very popular destinations and to make your stay in our country more comfortable we need time.
Apply for your visa at least a month before your visit, several months are better. When planning to come in a high season (May - September), especially with a group, make reservations much ahead, at least 6 – 8 months before the visit as there can be the a shortage of accommodations.
In simmer all museums and theatres are overbooked so reserve tickets in advance through “Prima” – its saves both money and time.
Do not take excessive luggage with you. You can easily buy bottled water anywhere here and you can use the tap water for cleaning your teeth. Today you can find practically any international food brand in our supermarkets and there are many quite good eating places.
Especially important to avoid huge and heavy suitcases when traveling by railroad. Compartments are not large and the luggage goes into the compartment with you.
As for safety rules, St. Petersburg is a typical big city like New York or London and the same precautions should be undertaken when traveling here.
An important issue is the weather. Our city has a sea climate with a humid summer and comparatively mild winters. It might rain any time, so carry an umbrella. Planning your holiday ask our experts about weather conditions.
The most popular tourist season is the period of the White Nights when the Sun never sets (between the end of May and beginning of July). Though the other seasons may be no less pleasant: usually August and September are very sunny. Besides, then comes the Golden Women’s Summer in the end of September (like Indian Summer in North America) that turns numerous parks into gold and all shades of yellow.
Winter offers its own pleasures – there are several ski resorts in the surroundings of St. Petersburg, Russian “Troika” rides (sledges driven by horses), fireworks and skating.
Winter is the season of many music festivals and New Year Balls (we celebrate the New Year’s Eve, the Orthodox Christmas (7th of January) and the Old Russian New Year (13th of January). This season offers a rich and diverse museum and theatre programme at a lower price and with absence of anxious crowds at the entrances to the venues.
