the city

Saint Petersburg is at the shallow eastern end of the Gulf of Finland, where the short but broad River Neva enters the Baltic. About 60 km (40 miles) upriver lies Lake Ladoga, the largest lake in Europe.

Ladoga would make a fine extension to a Baltic cruise if only the Neva were deep enough for ocean-going vessels. Russian river cruise ships, which have a draught of only about three metres, sail all the way from St Petersburg to Moscow via the lakes of Northwest Russia and their connecting rivers and canals. It takes about a week.

The Port of St Petersburg is a voyage of about 200 miles (300 km) from Helsinki, Finland and about the same distance from Tallinn, Estonia. Most cruises to St. Petersburg call at Helsinki in one direction and Tallinn in the other.

From St Petersburg, the nearest town of interest is Vyborg, 130 km (80 miles) towards Finland. Until the Second World War, Vyborg was in Finland. It has a fine castle, built when Sweden ruled the area. Another nearby coastal town with a castle is Narva, just over the border in Estonia, but the road there from St Petersburg is in poor condition.

The journey from St Petersburg to Moscow is over 700 km (450 miles), and the road is far from motorway standard. Flying is the only viable way of adding Russia's capital to a Baltic cruise itinerary. Flight time is 80 minutes, and getting to and from the airports can also take a long time.

THE APPROACH
Because St Petersburg is on the most shallow part of Gulf of Finland, large ships are restricted to the St Petersburg Sea Channel, marked by beacons.The passage is strongly guarded by 15 fortresses – seven from the north and eight from the south. Most of them were built in the early 19th century, some of them on artificial islands.

At the start of the channel is the biggest stronghold and an important naval base, Kronstadt, on Kotlin Island. It was closed during Soviet times, not only to foreigners but also to ordinary Soviet citizens. Cruise ships sail close to Kotlin Island on its south side.

Its enormous Naval Cathedral and old fortifications are well worth seeing. Now that Kronstadt is connected to the mainland by the St Petersburg flood barrier, it is possible to get there by road.

The Main Sea Channel runs for 27 kilometres (17 miles) from Kronstadt to the Cargo Port but cruise ships bound for the New Port turn off it and sail along the newly dredged Petrovski Channel.

Along the southern shore are the palaces where Russia's nobility once lived. Peterhof (Petrodvorets in Russian) is the grand palace of Peter the Great, who founded St Petersburg. It is sometimes visible from the sea because it was built on a ridge but it's too far away to see clearly.

THE CENTRE
Apart from Kronstadt and a few green suburbs, most of St. Petersburg is inland and is not visible from the sea.

The historic centre is bounded by the River Neva on the North and West and by the smaller River Fontanka. The oldest part, the Fortress of Peter and Paul, lies just outside the centre, on the other side of the Neva.

Crossing the area is Nevskiy Prospect, along which are many of the most famous sites. However, Peterhof and the Catherine Palace are quite a long way out of town.

VISAS
Only a few countries have agreements with the Russian government on visa-free travel.

To find out if your country is one of them, contact your country's Foreign Ministry or the nearest Russian consulate or embassy. Searching on line for this information produces unreliable results, because most web pages on the subject are not official, despite their appearance, and are actually trying to sell visa-application services.

REGULATIONS FOR CRUISE PASSENGERS
Citizens of most countries, including the USA and all EU members, normally have to obtain a visa in advance before they can visit Russia. However they can visit Russian port cities without a visa if…

they arrive by cruise ship,
stay for less than 72 hours,
spend their nights on the ship,
and are under the constant supervision of a licensed guide from an authorised tour company while they are ashore.

Unless a cruise passenger is holding a document stating that an authorized tour operator is waiting, he or she is not allowed off the ship without a visa.

This does not mean that cruise passengers must accept the shore excursions that their cruise line recommends. Those who prefer the luxury of personal service, dislike touring in large groups, or can simply get a better deal elsewhere, are free to seek a different authorised tour company.

A few cruise companies compell passengers on alternative tours to wait until all other passengers have disembarked first. These companies should obviously be avoided if you intend to book a tour privately. A search of on-line cruise noticeboards, like Cruise Critic or Trip Advisor, will show you which cruise operators are currently doing this.

As passengers disembark, border officials ask for a photocopy of their passports. Cruise ships have photocopiers for this purpose but making copies in advance will save a bit of time.

REGULATIONS FOR FERRY PASSENGERS
Since 2009 Russian Federal law also permits visa-free entry for tourists arriving by ferry and leaving again by ferry within 72 hours. The amendment specifically refers to ferry traffic. The regulations relating to cruise ships are unchanged.

St Petersburg was lobbying for this change in the law, to allow it to attract more tourists, and is on the list of harbours and terminals that it applies to. St. Peter Line now operates a cruise ferry service between Helsinki and St. Petersburg.

LANGUAGES
Few ordinary Russians speak any language except Russian. Quite a number seem to believe that simply speaking louder will help foreigners grasp their meaning.

In the centre of St. Petersburg some street signs are written in Latin as well as Cyrillic script but most notices are in Russian only.

PUBLIC ORDER, CRIME
Many of the streets of the central area are far from clean. Many public toilets are fairly horrible. Those in hotels and restaurants are better. A good guide will know where the best restrooms are.

Crimes of violence are very rare in daytime, but professional pickpockets operate in busy streets. Purses and wallets should be stowed well away and handbags held close.

Even when there is a language barrier, ordinary people are courteous, but drivers are always in a hurry. City streets are wide and only at traffic lights is it (fairly) safe to cross.

FOOD, WATER
Tap water is not pure and visitors are advised to stick to bottled water.

Food bought from stalls on the street is usually edible and safe, if not always delicious.

MONEY
The Russian rouble is divided into 100 kopecks. There are coins for 5 kopecks, 10 kopeks, 50 kopecks, 1 ruble, 2 rubles, 5 rubles and 10 rubles.

Paper bills range from 10 to 5000 roubles but small shops and cafes are often reluctant to give change for notes bigger than 50 roubles. A pocketful of coins is a necessary inconvenience.

The best rates of exchange are available, not in passenger terminals, but in the shopping streets, where the competition is tougher. You will be asked to show a passport when you change money.

Credit cards are fairly widely accepted, especially in supermarkets and department stores. Sometimes fast food places and bars will take them, too, but it's better to ask before ordering.

PRICES
Prices are not high but are approaching an average European level. Even so, most things in St Petersburg are cheaper than in other Baltic ports.

Everything is priced in roubles. A few places accept dollars and euros but not at a good rate.

Tipping in restaurants is not obligatory.

SHOPS, RESTAURANTS, MUSEUMS
Many shops and kiosks are open 24 hours. In the centre it is easy to find places to buy food, drink and even books at any time of the day.

Most department stores in the centre are open from 9:00 or 10:00 to about 20:00 hrs (8 p.m.) and some to 22:00 hrs (10 p.m.). Sunday is regarded as a normal working day, although with some exceptions.

Museums have much more conservative working hours than shops, and take more days off. Restaurants are always accessible even into the night, although sometimes hot meals are not available very late.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The city's buses, trolley buses and trams operate from about 6:00 to midnight. The price of a ticket has been steadily rising but is still inexpensive by European standards.

Payment is made to the conductor. This can be tricky if the bus or tram is crowded, which is quite common.

Public transport by road looks chaotic but it works and carries millions of passengers every day.

METRO (SUBWAY)
The underground train network is clean, fast, understandable and covers great distances. A ticket for one metro trip costs 20 roubles. One trip means your entire journey on the network, so you can change trains at the same price.

With five lines, metro coverage is not as dense as in many other cities of the same size. There are many places, even in the centre, that have no nearby metro station. The network is being expanded but this is difficult and expensive because the city was built on swamps.

There is no late metro service so, if you find yourself in a distant location after midnight, a taxi may be your only solution.

TAXIS
To use a taxi needs bargaining skill; the price should be fixed before the trip begins. The driver will probably prefer not to use the meter, which may be of very dubious accuracy anyway.

However much they haggle, foreigners will end up paying more than a local, but taxis still needn't be ruinously expensive. A ten-minute ride shouldn't cost more than 40 roubles.

The option of ordering a taxi by telephone is only theoretically possible because few telephonists can manage basic English. However many fine restaurants have their own taxi service and a taxi can be ordered by asking the waiter.

The other option is a route taxi. This is a privately owned minibus that operates like a bus, following a specific route, picking up people who hail it along the way and dropping them off where they want. Prices vary but are more expensive than buses.

The fare is paid to the driver. Route taxis are obviously hard to use if you don't understand Russian and don't know exactly where you're going.

The cheapest option, preferred by locals, is an everyman's taxi. You flag down a passing car and haggle over the price of a shared ride.

COMMUNICATIONS
There are four GSM networks, A European-standard mobile phone will work just about everywhere.

Roaming charges, the cost of calling and receiving calls as a guest of network that is not your own, are high. They are at least twice as much per minute as in most of Europe.

WEATHER, DAYLIGHT
There are even old songs about the merry tradition of rain at any time. The sun often shines but who knows when and for how long? Autumn is especially unpredictable.

season	average highs		rain
May	14°C	58°F	38 mm
June	19°C	67°F	58 mm
July	23°C	73°F	78 mm
August	31°C	69°F	80 mm
September	14°C	58°F	70 mm

The hottest time of the year is generally from late June to mid-August but not always so. August is usually the wettest month.

The season of White Nights comes at the end of June, when the sun hardly drops below the horizon and daylight lasts around the clock.

Quite a few festivals and events that are arranged during this period last late into the night. Daylight is not the same as clear skies and it is wise to have an umbrella with you.