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Travel Tips: Moscow and St Petersburg
by Barry Needoff

Visa and health formalities

A visa is required for Russia and must be obtained in advance of travel. In our case, this was taken care of by the tour operator, who sent us a questionnaire / application form with confirmation of our booking. There are no vaccination requirements, but mosquito repellents are useful for St. Petersburg and its seaside environs, in the summer.

Money

Whilst the only legal tender is the Rouble, the Euro and the US Dollar are accepted as the main currencies to bring in to exchange, as Roubles are not available outside Russia. There are plenty of banks and informal exchange counters which will accept Euro and Dollars; the ‘spread’ between the buying and selling rates for these two currencies is so small as to indicate a ready market for each. Sterling is less easy to exchange and I suggest avoiding bringing this for travel to Russia.

ATMs (“BANKOMAT”) were plentiful in Moscow and St. Petersburg, with screen displays in English and other languages as well, of course, as Russian. They dispense Roubles. Credit cards are widely accepted, but, again, bills are charged in Roubles. Unwanted Roubles should be changed back to “hard” currency when leaving the country, and the best deals again are for Euro and US Dollars. I found the formalities for this to be quite simple when leaving St. Petersburg, and was even offered Euro coins as well as notes in exchange for my Roubles. Unless importing vast amounts of cash, there is no need for currency declarations or to keep receipts for money exchanged.

The better quality hotels and restaurants engage in a quaint form of economic apartheid with pricing in “y.e.” – ‘Conditional Units’ – a notional currency linked to the Dollar or Euro. If this is the case, the prices or menu will be expressed in “y.e.”, the establishment will probably have a sign somewhere explaining the value they attach to the Conditional Unit, and they will bill you in Roubles at the advertised rate. Such rates vary by establishment.

The other well-documented example of economic apartheid is the policy of charging foreign visitors around five times as much as locals pay for entrances to museums, galleries and theatres such as the Bolshoi in Moscow. The only way round this is to have sufficient grasp of the vernacular and the willingness (and cheek) to lie about one’s entitlement if challenged. Students would do well to invest in an International Student Identity Card which will give them free access to the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg (normally 350 Roubles) and reductions at such other sites as the Peterhof complex nearby. For reference, in June 2004, £1 = 52 Roubles, €1 = 35 Roubles, $1 = 29 Roubles.

Getting around

Both cities are fortunate to have cheap and efficient underground railway networks, some of the stations, particularly in Moscow, are beautifully decorated, if a little grubby. A single journey costs 10 Roubles (Moscow) or 8 Roubles (St. Petersburg), regardless of distance. As there don’t appear to be any self-service ticket vending machines (and there isn’t a 10 Rouble coin) you will need to queue at a cash desk (“Kacca”) for your ticket (“Bilet”) in Moscow, or token (“Zeton”) in St. Petersburg.

Taxis do not appear to be metered so agree a fare before setting off. Short, single journeys within each city cost us around 200 Roubles each.

A good way to see Moscow, enjoy some fresh air and relaxation is to use the riverboat service between the city centre (close to the Rossia Hotel and Red Square) and Kievskaya Station (to the southwest of the city, and close to the end of Arbat Street, renowned for its shops and souvenir stands). The boats take 90 minutes for the trip, following the meanders of the Moscow River and stopping at landing stages along the way. A one-way ticket costs 200 Roubles.

Similarly, there is no shortage of canal and river trip excursions in St. Petersburg, though we were only able to find ones with commentary in Russian. “You can look in English,” we were told, with a cheerful smile (a rarity in itself), at a cost of 200 Roubles for a hour’s trip.

First published in VISA issue 60 (April 2005)