State Department Travel Advisory for Russia

[housemartin71]

Just noticed that the State Department travel advisory for Russia is Level 3, meaning "Reconsider Travel". I can't imagine that St. Petersburg is any less safe from a terrorism standpoint (one of the factors mentioned) than other big cities in Europe.

 

Is the other list factor, harassment of US citizens by Russian authorities and a diminution of resources available to aid US travelers, that big a deal?

 

Curious what people think of this.

[dogs4fun]

Just noticed that the State Department travel advisory for Russia is Level 3, meaning "Reconsider Travel". I can't imagine that St. Petersburg is any less safe from a terrorism standpoint (one of the factors mentioned) than other big cities in Europe.

 

Is the other list factor, harassment of US citizens by Russian authorities and a diminution of resources available to aid US travelers, that big a deal?

 

Curious what people think of this.

No worries - I am currently in Saint Petersburg (I have gone each year since 2011) and am experiencing no issues whatsoever. I have never been harassed by Russian authorities.

The travel advisory applies mostly to the Crimea (and some other areas in the north Caucasus). Saint Petersburg (and Moscow) are perfectly safe if you exercise caution regarding your personal effects (i.e., passport wallet or money belt to protect your valuables from pickpockets that operate in virtually every large metropolitan area of Europe).

[KittyloverCA]

I was there in July and it was perfectly safe. We had a private guide and she was completely of top of everything. 

[napoxoguk]

I would think with hundreds of thousands of people visiting St. Petersburg this year alone, and a decent percentage of those people frequenting sites like this one, TripAdvisor, fodors, lonely planet, ricksteves, and the like, any cases of "harrassment by authorities" would be reported, discussed, and duly blown out of proportion. I didn't see much of that going on.

 

As to resources available to aid US travelers - well, these were pretty limited in the first place, and diminution thereof doesn't seem to be something visitors should be overly concerned about.

Longer visa wait times, perhaps... A trip to Moscow (and a bit of a red tape nightmare) if you lose your passport in SPB... not much more than that, I don't think.

 

Edited October 19, 2018 by napoxoguk

[angie7911922]

SPB is perfectly safe. We've never had any issues there. We always book with a travel guide, as they are well on top of what is happening at any given time. As with any other tourist location - if you are smart about it, you should be just fine. 

[John Bull]

On 10/19/2018 at 5:35 AM, napoxoguk said:

 /// and a decent percentage of those people frequenting sites like this one, TripAdvisor, fodors, lonely planet, ricksteves, and the like, any cases of "harrassment by authorities" would be reported, discussed, and duly blown out of proportion. ///

 

 

 

 

Neatly summed-up 

 

JB 

[Lagerta]

I don't think you should be concerned about going to St Petersburg. It is a large tourist center, so it welcomes foreigners, and there seems to be no harrassment from the authorities. Besides, if you are with a cruise, you will most likely be on a tour, where your guide takes care of you. Just like was mentioned above, be careful about your personal belongings and valuables, which is simply common sense. Apart from that, no special precautions needed. Even in busy public places, like the metro, we did not feel unsafe, so the advise from the SDTA should not stop you from going to St Petersburg. it is an amazing city, and you will never forgive youself if you miss it!

[napoxoguk]

On 12/24/2018 at 2:18 AM, cansas.piligrim said:

I guess housemartin71 isn't interested in our answers any more.

Probably not 🙂

Still, for the record, just in case you do choose to pay any attention to State Dept's travel advisories, Russia's has been recently downgraded from level 3 (Reconsider Travel) to level 2 (Excersize Caution). 

Not that it means much either way 🙂