I cannot seem to get an answer in regards to how to travel from Tallinn, Estonia, to St. Petersburg, Russia. How much will this trip costs, when and where should I buy a ticket, and how long will the journey take?
I may also be able to travel out of Helsinki but I would then need to head to Tallinn afterwards so either way I need a ticket for the Estonia/Russia border.
Thank you!
Take the night train from Tallinn to st. Petersburg. Ask for Kupee, that is a closed compartment for 4 people. That is comfortable and you safe a nights hotel, and you will arrive in the morning.
From Helsinki take the morning train (a Finnish Train), you will arrive approx. at 15.00 hours.
I normally buy train tickets at the Train station.
How is your Estonian? :-)))))
This webpage doesn't seem to exist in English but the information is quite straightforward:
http://www.gorail.ee/?id=1477
Otherwise you can ask for more information from www.baltijaam.ee (the website of the main train station from where the trains to St Petersburg depart)
cheers, muse
I suspect that the train from Tallinn is cheaper than the train from Helsinki but that the bus from Helsinki might be cheaper than the bus from Tallinn.
Prices for the bus might be available on eurolines.ee.
Prices for the trains are harder to find.
Schedules for the trains can be found on either of these websites: Your Train - CIS train schedule or Die Bahn
Ruth
I met a guy in St Petersburg last week who travelled by bus from Helsinki. However when they crossed the border there wasn't any checks and he didn't receive an immigration card or visa stamp. He had a lot of trouble sorting this out. Back and forth between different organisations in St Petersburg for a day.
So if you travel by bus its just something to be aware of.
Iain
...Eurolines run regular buses from Tallinn to St P and back...around 6 to St P daily that I can remember including 2 late night ones at 11.00 and 12.00...trip takes about 8 hours including adjustment of clock...can't recall the exact cost but might have been around 180EEK last May???...got all my info from Eurolines site at the time...no border problems at Narva/Ivangorod...
Hi goter
I suspect the visitor from SPb was pulling your leg. Every bus stops at the customs/immigration building and all passenger are required to get off, leaving the bags on the bus. After going through the line for immigration processing passengers wait in a side room for the inspection of the bus to complete. Every passenger has to show passport, visa stamp and migration card before being allowed back on the bus. The bus driver does it again before taking off because he is responsible for any unaccounted for passengers. The likelihood of 3 check systems failing for on passenger is very very low. Until and passport is stamped, even getting to the outgoing waiting area is impossible.
...agree with #6...travelled to and from St P from Tallinn and Riga by bus and was exactly as laid out above...suggest you ignore any anecdotal stories about these procedure...
"Every passenger has to show passport, visa stamp and migration card"
What is the "migration card" you speak of? I'm heading to Russia in a couple of days with a visa stamp but don't have a migration card...Can someone enlighten me?
You obtain a migration card when you cross into Russia. In other countries it might be called an arrival/departure card. There are parts to the card and you fill out where you are staying and some other information, the card is stamped and half is returned to you. This becomes the departure card and is needed to exit Russia.
It used to be that registration stamps were collected on the migration card but in October 07 the procedure changed and you no longer get stamps where you stay. It is not the responsibility of the place where you stay to fill out the forms for registration. You should make sure that this happens but you don't get proof of its having happened any more.
Ruth