HAL Journey thu St. Petersburg excursion-do you need a visa?

[Moose Tracks]

One of HAL's shore excursions for St. Petersburg, Russia is the Journey through St. Petersburg. There's a bus trip to see some sights and then it states "After this fascinating tour you’ll have three hours to spend as you wish. Qualified tour guides will assist you with exploring the atmosphere of this Russian city. Walk along one of the main streets of St. Petersburg—Nevsky Prospect. Shop in the best stores or at the flea market by the Church on the Spilled Blood, or have a lunch (at your own expense) in local café or restaurant in the very center of this unforgettable city. Then, re-join your bus for the return to the ship."

My understanding is that if you book a ship's excursion you don't need to apply for visas as your tour ticket covers this. Are you given three hours to wander anywhere you please and still be covered by the ship's blanket visa, or are you still walking with the guide? I'd love to have the opportunity to wander, but don't want to have to apply for our own visas before leaving home.

Anyone done this tour or have thoughts on how it works?

Lynn

[Coolcruise02]

I would also be interested to hear of others experience. From my research you have to stay with an "official guide", either thru the ship excursion or your private tour guide.

[kazu]

When we went, we were told that as long as we were on a ship's tour we did not need a visa. However, at that time the tour you are describing was not available. We did do stops though where people had free time though and no visa was required.

 

It's always wise to check directly though as rules do change.

 

We loved St. Petersburg, enjoy your cruise :):)

[sapper1]

If you book a private tour through Denrus, Red October, Anastasia, etc. you will not need a Visa either. Your tour ticket serves as your Visa as they are companies recognized by the government as tour providers.

The cruise lines will try to have to believe otherwise, but that is not the case.

 

We toured with Denrus in 2009 and I would recommend them to anyone. We would certainly use them again. We were given time to explore the market by the Church on Spilled Blood on our own and just met back at the bus at the appointed time. Our lunch was provided as it was a day long tour. We covered a great deal of territory and the company provided us with very detailed instructions on their procedures. Our guide spoke excellent English.

 

One word of advice---get a few rubles as the street vendors will not accept US dollars and you will kill for a Coke at some point during the day. I found that out the hard way.

 

If you tip your guide in US dollars they must be new, crisp, unfolded bills as the banks will not accept any US currency that is not in pristine condition. We got some from the bank and kept them aside for this purpose.

 

St Petersburg is a beautiful city and you will enjoy it very much.

 

www.denrus.ru

[Rutland Gate]

When you get off the ship you will go through border control and they will give you a small plastic visa after they stamp your passport. On some tours that is included in your tour ticket. I wouldn't stray from the areas recommended for shopping, sightseeing, etc. When I have travelled to Russia on business I have been given instructions to report to police stations in cities I'm visiting, and they will give me as street map of the areas I am permitted to be in. In larger cities the police have an office in your hotel, and they keep your passport while you are in the hotel. You can be stopped on the street and required to show your passport and visa. It's good to avoid people who want to exchange money for you. With all of this, you will find the Russian people warm and friendly, particularly the younger ones who are eager to practice their english language skills on you! Have a good visit.

[sapper1]

When you get off the ship you will go through border control and they will give you a small plastic visa after they stamp your passport. On some tours that is included in your tour ticket. I wouldn't stray from the areas recommended for shopping, sightseeing, etc. When I have travelled to Russia on business I have been given instructions to report to police stations in cities I'm visiting, and they will give me as street map of the areas I am permitted to be in. In larger cities the police have an office in your hotel, and they keep your passport while you are in the hotel. You can be stopped on the street and required to show your passport and visa. It's good to avoid people who want to exchange money for you. With all of this, you will find the Russian people warm and friendly, particularly the younger ones who are eager to practice their english language skills on you! Have a good visit.

LOL---US TSA officials will give you a warm fuzzy feeling after you experience Russian immigration. :D

[jhannah]

Heads Up: Pickpockets work Nevsky Prospect like crazy. I had an attempt made on me a few years ago. Carry your money and credit cards UNDER YOUR CLOTHING. I spoke with a tourist there who said his wallet was taken from his pants side pocket. These guys are very slick, and (according to locals we were visiting) are working for the Russian maffia.

 

Not trying to scare you at all ... you will enjoy St. Petersburg very much. Just take extra precautions when you're out in public.

[jtl513]

Because the description says "Qualified tour guides will assist you " I get the feeling that you won't be allowed to wander unescorted. When we visited Catherine's Palace we were given free time to wander the grounds unescorted, and visit some nearby street vendors, but that was in Pushkin, not on Nevsky Prospect.

 

If you tip your guide in US dollars they must be new, crisp, unfolded bills as the banks will not accept any US currency that is not in pristine condition.

I don't recall exactly how new the bills were that I used, but I'm sure they weren't "crisp" and "unfolded" because they came from my wallet - and the guide didn't hesitate one second to accept them! ;)

 

We didn't get any rubles for our visit. We used $US for street vendors and a souvenir kiosk on the grounds of Catherine's Palace. They sold all kinds of trinkets and drinks.

[sapper1]

Heads Up: Pickpockets work Nevsky Prospect like crazy. I had an attempt made on me a few years ago. Carry your money and credit cards UNDER YOUR CLOTHING. I spoke with a tourist there who said his wallet was taken from his pants side pocket. These guys are very slick, and (according to locals we were visiting) are working for the Russian maffia.

 

Not trying to scare you at all ... you will enjoy St. Petersburg very much. Just take extra precautions when you're out in public.

Absolutely good advice. I kept my purse in front of me and strapped across my body. When I took my hands off it to raise the camera and take a picture I always had my husband watch the purse while I watched what I was doing with the camera.

I bought my husband a lightweight nylon wallet with a little strap that looped over his belt and was carried tucked down inside his waistband.

We kept our passports, credit cards and ship passes in our money belts under our shirts. We then kept a small amount of cash that we could afford to lose outside for easy access so we wouldn't have to be seen digging in the money belts for cash. This all worked very well.

 

This year, I have bought a smaller camera that can be tucked away inside the purse so it is not hanging out there to be stolen.

[Moose Tracks]

Thanks everyone. We've been to St. Petersburg previously and done private tours. We're just looking for some shorter ship's tours for our next trip and thought this one sounded good if you were allowed to wander a bit to admire the architecture and people watch. I certainly wouldn't try wandering too far afield in Russia. But as jtl513 said, it looks like you'll have to wander with a qualified guide. So I guess qualified guide wandering is better than nothing!

Lynn