Warsaw to St Petersburg

We are planning to travel from Warsaw to Beijing via the TransSiberian next summer. We will take about 8 weeks to do this. My question here relates to the Warsaw-StPetersburg segment. What is the best way to travel between the 2? Train? Where can I reserve for it? and I would like to spend 5 days around Warsaw and I am travelling with a 13 and a 15 year old. Any suggestion? I was thinking of taking them to Aushchwitz and to spend time in Warsaw. Any comments? Thank you very much
Johanne

I guess the most easy way is take the direct train from Warsaw to St. Petersburg. It leaves Warsaw at 23.42 in the evening, and you will arrive 28 hours later. By train you can also do it in 23 hours, but htan you have to change trains twice (Sestokai and Vilnius). Don't now about the bus. And IMO you should not spend too much time in Warsaw itself, it isn't that beautiful.

Matthijs

depends what you mean by best way. You could go to Gdansk and catch ferries via Helsinki and Tallinn. Depends what you want to do/see on the way and how much time you want to spend on it. You can't reserve trains on the internet, you may need to reserve via a travel agent (particularly if you're travelling in summer), depending on where you are.
Not really sure what 13-15 year olds are into. So if you're going to Auszwich, you will probably spend a few days in Krakow, and then Warsaw (if you want)? might help if you have some more info on what kinds of things you're interested in doing/seeing.

You can go also by bys - either directly or with stop in Tallin ( Estonia ) , which is beautiful city. Please check Eurolines - http://www.eurolinespolska.pl/index.php?lang=en
IMHO you shouldn`t spend so much time in Warsaw - it is better to go south to Krakow, Wieliczka ( Oswiecim with KL Aushchwitz German is nearby ) or south to Torun and Gdansk or west to Poznan - or places easily available by train. I am not sure if taking 13 or 15 years old child to Auschwitz is a good idea ....

the ''train'' nr 1 says is NOt abtrain as such-but some cars shunted from the Mockba express to another-and it WILL pass By Byelorus-there is no other way=extra visum needed.
as all say; best is too perosnal-specify.
for all those trains in/from PL- IF they can be reserved-many cannot-its just come and see- you pay+reserve at the train sation in WAW-or, IF you can get your message across- at any PL station with international handling. For using the ''real'' long-dist Rusky trains the foreigners think is the TransSib-thats way anohter story-read the FAQ by ms. everbrite in top to start with-but I guess youre not that unprepared now?

thank you all for your replies.
OK. I will then try to land in Krakow which seems more attractive than Warsaw. Then we will travel to Gdansk which also seem interesting. But when I researched the ferry lines to St Petersburg via Tallin, it seems that they are not running anymore. What would then be the best way to travel from Gdansk to St Petersburg. Yes, I would like to go to Tallin if possible. I would love to book a ferry but I can't seem to find anything. Any suggestions??
Thanks a lot
Johanne

Wait a second. Where are you coming from? If you are coming from outside Europe, then flying to Krakow may be more expensive than Warsaw. Also if you plan to go from there to Gdansk, you will discover that this is not a short trip, 11+ hours on a direct train.

If you are coming from North America, you might want to look at flying into London and then taking a budget airlines to one of the Baltic capitals. Look at these sites:
which budget,
flybudget,
cheap0,
europebyair.com,
Air Ninja
kayak
zuji
openjet.

I would rethink your plans.

You might consider going from Warsaw to Vilnius on an overnight bus - departure about 0030, arrival in Vilnius at 0950 (E750) or departure at 2030, arrival at 0720 (E640). Spend a day or two in Vilnius, take a bus to Riga and then the train from there to Peter.

It is possible to take the train from Vilnius to Peter but some trains pass through Belarus which would mean another visa.

Ferries between Petersburg and other cities are iffy. They come and go. It is unknown if any will be running next summer.

You might also look at flying into Helsinki and then traveling from there to Peter or Tallinn.

From Tallinn currently there are no trains to Peter, only buses. Again the eurolines site should have the information.

Ruth

Ruth,
I come from Montreal, Canada. I have looked at my Aeroplan program and landing in Krakow (via Frankfurt) costs 60000 points return, (the same as landing in London) while landing in the Baltic countries or Russia is 75000. I will investigate all the options you are suggesting though because I am not sure what would work out best. I have also envisaged going through Bielorussia in spite of the visa. I heard the people were really interested in foreigners on the train. And maybe Brest would be an interesting stop. Thanks for all your help
Johanne

Brest is an interesting stop especially if your boys know any WWII history. Same with Minsk.

Ruth

I traveled from Warsaw to St Petersburg many times and different ways. The best way is 07:25AM Warsaw - Vilnius 30minutes stop Vilnius - St Petersburg. Perfect trip:) The train does not cross Belarus!!!
On the way back (20:30 leaves St Petersburg ), prolonged stop (almost 4 hours) awaits in Vilnius.

Do not choose "Russian" train. Maybe it is chepaer, but it is dirty and goes via Belarus. The train, I talked above belongd to Lithuanian Railways.

Edited by: weston77

Thank you Weston
I will take note
Johanne