Useful Information

Travel

Arriving by plane
St. Petersburg is easy to reach via many daily convenient flight connections from main European and American cities. There are two airports in St. Petersburg – Pulkovo-1 and Pulkovo-2. They are located close to each other, about 9 kilometers south of St. Petersburg.
Pulkovo-1
From Pulkovo-1 the K-39 minibus goes to Ladozhsky Station through the center of the city, passing the Ploshad Vosstania metro station on Nevsky Prospect.
You can take Bus No. 39 to the metro station which is closest to the airport – “Moskovskaya” Metro Station.
Pulkovo-2
From Pulkovo—2, minibuses either go to Sennaya Ploshad in the center of the city (K-3, K-213) or to the closest metro stations: Moskovskaya (K-13) or Kupchino (K-113).

Do not accept transportation proposals from private persons in the airport!

Arriving by train
There are 3 main international railway stations in St. Petersburg: Moscovsky railway station, Ladozhsky, Vitebsky. All the stations, besides Ladozhsky, are located in the center of the city. The Moscovsky Station receives trains from Moscow, the south of Russia and the Baltic States. Trains from the Baltic States, Kiev and Odessa arrive at the Vitebsky Station, while trains from Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, Vologda, Vorkuta, Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk arrive at the Ladozhsky station, as well as through trains from Moscow.

Arriving by Sea
Cruise ships arrive in the St. Petersburg Sea Harbour located in the Gavan at the west-end of Vasilievsky Island. The Silja Line runs two regular ferry services connecting the city with Europe: Petersburg-Helsinki and Petersburg-Tallin-Rostok. The services are seasonal, with the ferries operating from the end of April to the end of September. The Sea Port receives other cruise ships though they are not operating within regular services.
Sea Harbour
As a rule, tourists arriving at the Sea Station are met by buses provided by the receiving company, though the station is also well served by public transport and it is not difficult to reach the center of the city from there –trolleybus, bus or route taxi can take you to the ‘‘Vasileostrovskaya”, “Primorskaya” or “Nevsky Prospect” metro stations.

Arriving by Bus
Regular and tourist buses arrive in St. Petersburg every day from European and Russian cities. Many of the buses coming from Germany, Finland and Sweden stop by the Oktyabrskaya Hotel located on Ploshad Vosstania. From the square in front of Baltiisky railway station (the Baltiiskaya metro station), the Eurolines buses head for the Baltic States, Scandinavia, France, Germany and other European countries.
However, the travel by bus takes quite much time. Even from the nearest Finland it is possible to reach St. Petersburg only in 6 - 7 hours.

Public transportation in St. Petersburg

The main part of interurban and local passenger carriage is fulfilled by public transport which is:
- metro (Saint-Petersburg metro has 4 lines with 58 stations). Metro operates from 5.45 till 24.00. Metro fare is 20 roubles.
- overland electrical transport - trams and trolley buses. Fare for one trip in overland municipal transport is 18 roubles.
- buses - public and commercial routes
- local trains.

Overland transport operates from 6.00 till 24.00
The system of minibuses is well developed.

Time

St.Petersburg is situated in the Moscow standard time zone (MST), which differs from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
MST = GMT + 3 hrs.

Currency exchange

The national Russian currency is ruble. All payments for goods and services throughout Russia must be done in rubles, or by major credit cards.
Foreign currency can be exchanged in banks or currency exchange offices at the airport, hotels or in the city. Exchange rates are always posted.

Electricity

220 V plugs are standard continental European type. British and North-American appliances need an adapter.

Emergency:

01 — fire
02 — police
03 — ambulance
04 — gas accidents
Can be dialed direct from payphones, with no codes. If you are calling from a mobile phone, add the code +7 812 or 8 812.
However, it is easier to use the special emergency number for mobile-phone users — 112 — which will connect you with the emergency number of your service provider.
If your operator does not provide this service or if your roaming agreement does not include it, you will be given the correct number to dial the city emergency services.

Metro Map