Helsinki / St Petersburg / Moscow

I

IrishGunner

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Thinking of going to Helsinki and either going to St Petersburg or Moscow for a few days on the train

St Petersburg is suppose to be more scenic but I have always wanted to see Moscow

What is Helsinki like ? Found below sites

http://www.helsinkiexpert.fi

and also

http://www.visithelsinki.fi

However looking for anyone who has been there and things to do places to stay and eat etc

Also it seems to be harder to get into Russia than get out

Contacted the embassy and was told the price of a visa is €100 for a one day turnaround, €80 for a five day and €60 for a ten day. I also need an invitation from the hotel we are staying in forget about letter to Brezhnev maybe a letter to Putin

Helsinki expert do organised tours and think this is the safer bet rather than trying to do it myself or is it ?

Anyone any experiences of any of these cities

Thanks
 
If you want to have a straight forward trip into Russia then just get a tourist visa for 5-7 days and fly in via, for example, Cologne with Germanwings. Fly into Moscow, have 2 days there, catch an overnight train up to St. P and 2 there and on up to Helsinki. But if you plan to really enjoy Moscow you'll need 4-5 days minimum just to see the main sights.
 
St. Petersburg is REMARKABLE. IF you only had one place to go to, I'd say go there.

On the visa, a hotel voucher is a must for a tourist visa. Make sure when you get your invitation from the hotel that it is an "official" voucher. It will have a purple coloured stamp on it to "prove" it's "official".

The Russian embassy here is fine, so long as you have everything on the form. Had no problems with them.

Bon voyage!
 
Visas are no problem for Russia - just get all your paperwork in order and it's fairly easy - the embassy in Dublin is efficient enough. Yes you need an "invitation" from the hotel your staying in, but this is no problem they will all be well used to arranging this (I think from memory a fax will suffice - don't recall Sunshine Supe's comment about the purple stamp being an issue - I'm fairly sure I just had a fax last time)

Unless you have a lot of time I wouldn't bother with Helsinki - it's a pleasant enough city, but pretty uninteresting compared to St. Petersburg and Moscow both of which are fascinating places to visit.
 
I would go for Petersburg over Moscow if you can only have one. It is a much cheaper location (Moscow is more expensive than Dublin) and there is a lot to see there. A guidebook is essential, particularly if you don't speak Russian - I recommend the Rough Guide. It never left my bag when I was living there. If you book your accommodation online, most places will arrange your invitation and then you just need to get the visa. http://www.destinationrussia.com/ is a particularly good site (no affiliation, just a satisfied customer).
 
Gebbel it's like any city, it's as expensive as you want it to be. Moscow travel is cheap, you can eat cheaply and sleep too, but most places you have to pay to get into, museums etc.

I find it pretty cheap but then again i'm familiar with the place.
 
I was last there in summer 2005 so maybe it has changed a bit since then. I found that eating out was about the same or higher than Dublin. FYI, if you can speak Russian, it's very easy to pay the local prices in the museums instead of the highly inflated tourist rates.
 
I was in St Petersburg in October 2007. Its a beautiful city. The Hermitage museum will take you a day to walk around. And even then you won't see everything.

Try and get tickets for the Kirov ballet (Marinsky theatre) worth every penny - they are not cheap - but it is a fabulous thing to see. We had front box office seats but then again, we knew someone living there. Expect to pay approx €70 to €100 for these.

Also went to the Opera in the State Opera house - not really my scene but again definately worth going to see. Go to see the Church on Spilled Blood - simply amazing. St Issacs is worth a look too. You can climb the stairs to the cupola and get a view of the city. On a clear day you can see the port / gulf of Finland.

St Petersburg can be easily walked around and English is not widely spoken. Generally, younger people will be able to speak it a bit more than older people. All kinds of food available so you won't starve!

I flew Lufthansa into Frankfurt and on to St Petersburg. Coming home I think we did it in 4 and a half hours including changing planes.
 
Purpeller is dead right, I forgot that to get into the Kremlin non-Russians pay more.
 
Well Finally getting around to organise this but only taking in Helsinki and St Petersburg

Helsinki just want to see it and getting train to St Petes

Looking for recommendations on Accommodation in Petersburg as heard not the cheapest

Checked with helsinki expert website and they gave prices of close to €200 euro each including train and 1 nights accom. Would it better to do it myself ?
 
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