Obtaining Russian Rubles in the US

[Gary72]

While we almost always just use ATM's in Europe, I was curious to see if there is a way to get Russian Rubles in the States? or on the ship? Thank you in advance...

[Hambagahle]

Why bother? There are ATM's all over St Petersburg (since this is CC I assume that is where you are going) and most of them will dispense money in either USD or Rubles. In addition USD are widely accepted in Russia. You will certainly get a better rate at an ATM in Russia than in the US IF you can buy rubles there at all...

[abouna]

You can't get roubles in the US

[belle907]

We used an ATM in St.P and another family on our tour exchanged US$ into rubles at a hotel our guide suggested. We also used US$ and Euros in a couple of places. Most everyplace we shopped had prices in rubles, US$ and euros.

Also, some of the venues have ATM's, I know Yusopov's Palace had one in the lobby.

[belle907]

You can't get roubles in the US

Actually you can get rubles in some cities in the US. I have heard of people being able to get them in the LA area, I'm sure in NYC you could get them as well.

[RetiredFL]

We can order them through BofA but why bother. There are plenty of ATMs.

[TLCOhio]

While we almost always just use ATM's in Europe, I was curious to see if there is a way to get Russian Rubles in the States? or on the ship? Thank you in advance...

 

Be careful what you wish for. If you order and get Rubles through your bank in the U.S., the cost and exchange rate will be very, very high! Just do the ATM there. Or, in many cases (including ours for three days there in 2008), we "winged it" without having Rubles. Things worked out fine. We were in a private group and that added a little flexibility for how to manage these things.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Rickdabear]

You can't get roubles in the US

Oh Contrare. I was able to get Rubles, Krooni, Kroni, Pounds and other currencies at my bank before we left. They charged ten dollars for everything.

Da Bear

[TLCOhio]

Oh Contrare. I was able to get Rubles, Krooni, Kroni, Pounds and other currencies at my bank before we left. They charged ten dollars for everything.

Da Bear

 

BUT, what exchange rate did they use? That ten dollar fee might be OK, but if they also hit you for a bad exchange rate, it might not be worth it. It's a personal choice. I just urge people to watch BOTH the fee AND exchange rate before judging whether that "convenience" is worth it.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Drifting Happily]

We had no trouble getting Roubles in the U.S. I went to Travelex, their rates were competitive and if you go over a certain dollar amount, there is no fee. I usually use ATMs, but on this trip felt it would be inconvenient. That said, there was no need for Roubles. I ended up tipping our tour guide with them, because everything we bought they quoted me a higher price in roubles than in dollars or euros.

[Rickdabear]

We had no trouble getting Roubles in the U.S. I went to Travelex, their rates were competitive and if you go over a certain dollar amount, there is no fee. I usually use ATMs, but on this trip felt it would be inconvenient. That said, there was no need for Roubles. I ended up tipping our tour guide with them, because everything we bought they quoted me a higher price in roubles than in dollars or euros.

 

That's a fact. The dollar is prized in Russia. I had to work at spending rubles.

Da Bear

[unberwoob]

We traveled for 16 days in Russia and never once needed rubles. The dollar and euro are accepted everywhere.

[Gary72]

Thank you to all who replied...