Fast and Easy Ways of Travelling to Saint Petersburg, Russia

St. Petersburg with its numerous museums, palaces, parks, cathedrals and historical buildings is a superb place for a social vacation. With the new means of transportation, including sea ferries and high-speed trains, going to the city has become easier and faster.

In April, 2010 a ferry connection between Helsinki in Finland and St. Petersburg was opened. The comfortable car ferry is making overnight cruises involving the cities 2 - 3 times a week. Being the Ice Class boat it is operated most of the year-round. Also, there are several places that you must visit while you are tours in st Petersburg. The ferry offers accommodation in cabins of different classes for 2 - 4 persons. All cabins have private WC and shower. A Class and Deluxe cabins are outside ones with the windows, economy E and B class cabins are inside ones. The ferry has several restaurants and bars, a duty-free shop, a casino, a sauna and a kids club.

                  

Travel costs are about the same whilst the land transport but a huge advantageous asset of travelling by ferry is so it allows a visa free stay static in Russia for approximately 72 hours. It means that you can hop-on the ferry in Helsinki on Thursday, participate in a weekend visa free Saint Petersburg tour from Friday till Sunday and get back to Helsinki on Monday morning. Accommodation is arranged at among the hotels in the city centre.

In December, 2010 new-high speed "Allegro" trains were launched between Helsinki and St. Petersburg. With the speed around 220 km each hour and the travel time of approximately 3.5 hours the train journey by "Allegro" is considerably faster than it was before. Custom and border checks are conducted on-board the train. The trains offer seating accommodation in two classes, first and second, a restaurant car, space for handicapped passengers and a playroom for kids. Currently you will find 4 trains a day in each direction between Helsinki and St. Petersburg including early morning and late evening ones. It gives more day time for Saint Petersburg excursions.

For those who want to visit to Saint Petersburg from Moscow you will find around 7 high-speed "Sapsan" trains a day. Train journey involving the Russian capital and Saint Petersburg by "Sapsan" takes about 3.5 - 4 hours. The trains have seating cars of the first and second classes, a café car and space for handicapped passengers.

Several airlines serve Saint Petersburg international airport and connect the city with Germany, Finland, Italy, the United Kingdom, France, the United States of America and other countries.