Things to Know Before You Go to Saint Petersburg

I like to think I’m an organized person. At least when it comes to traveling. In my mind I have all the routes to and from the airport figured out, my collection of essential phrases memorized, my itinerary carefully planned with time built in for spontaneity and surprise adventures.

I don’t know where I got this generous mental picture of myself, but it’s pure fantasy.

Which is why, on Sept. 3, I found myself sitting in John F. Kennedy, dazedly staring at the boarding pass in my hand. In 12 hours, I’d be in Russia. That didn’t seem right…

I had a really stellar time in St. Petersburg, but I do think I could have enjoyed it more if I had taken a little more time to prepare for solo traveling in Russia. Here are some things I’d suggest considering before you go to Saint Petersburg.

Prepare for the Intricate Visa Process

Maybe the one thing I got right. The visa process for Americans visiting Russia is involved. The Points Guy covers it step-by-step pretty well, so I’ll just refer to him. The only incredibly frustrating thing was just as I was finishing up inputting all the countries I’d been to in the last ten years, the website kicked me off for inactivity.

Get that list of countries (and dates!) together before you start the online visa process and click ‘save’ often. And apply for a three-year multi-entry visa because they’re the same price and why not?

Smiling Doesn’t Help the Fact that You Don’t Know Russian

I really wanted to learn some survival Russian before I left and one of the benefits of teaching English is you have students from all over the world eager to laugh at you when the roles are reversed. I learned a couple things in French from my Swiss students before going to Montreal. They were really encouraging teachers. I’d repeat something and they’d be like, “Perfect! Your accent is so cute! Wonderful!”

Turns out Russian students are stricter teachers.

“How do you say hello?” I asked one.

“Privyet,” he said.

Easy. I knew this one from movies or something. “Privyet,” I repeated.

“No, privyet.”

“Privyet,” I said again.

“Privyet.”

“I’m saying it the exact same way you are! Privyet!”

He shook his head. “Privyet. Privyet. Privyet.”

That’s about as far as we got. Once I was there I tried picking up the bare essentials, but it’s a lot harder to learn a language when you don’t have a native speaker to model it for you. I gave up and did a lot of miming and apologizing.

And for good measure, write down all street names and restaurant/shop names in English and Cyrillic. Because the guide book may have both but that’s the only place.

But Russians are REALLY Helpful

Despite not being able to communicate verbally most of the time, I found most of the Russians I met to be super helpful. At Peterhof Palace I was trying to figure out how to get from one garden to another. A museum woman gave me some directions, but a nearby security guard could see I was still confused so he beckoned me over and proceeded to give me elaborate directions with lots of details and few hand gestures. I never did get to that garden (I think I needed another ticket), but I appreciated that he went out of his way to help.

Small Bills Relieve Anxiety

For four days, I was constantly apologizing for not having small bills. No matter where I was, pastry shop, souvenir store, boat to Peterhof, I’d hand over a 1000 ruble note and the person would grimace.

“Any smaller?”

There are very things more terrifying than an older Russian woman demanding money from you when you have no way to oblige her. It became one of the most daunting aspects of getting lunch.

Few things cost me over 100 rubles, and if they did (like museum entrances) I could put them on my credit card. Imagine my horror, then, when I went to withdraw money from the ATM and it spat out a FIVE THOUSAND RUBLE bill. I forget who I eventually pawned it off on, but it’s probably because they were so unhappy that I blocked the experience from my memory. If you can, try to get small bills from the bank or ATM (sometimes there’s an option for that).

Fashion is Important – Very Important

More on that later. But let’s just say… I made a list of all the things Russian women don’t wear. It’s as long as my packing list.

The Mythical Local Experience

I’ve been trying to make my travel more about authentic local experiences, not just hitting the main tourist attractions. There are so many important sites in St. Petersburg that you’d need a week or two to see half of them. And to find local haunts, it would probably be better to just make friends with a local. I used Spotted by Locals to find a fantastic bar and a great dumpling place, but I think next time I’ll try to hook up with a MeetUp or Couchsurfing group. St. Petersburg is kind of labyrinth-y and spread out at the same time. An insider would make the trip much more than a collection of grand buildings.

Safety First

I got asked this question a couple times – I felt totally safe in St. Petersburg as a solo female traveler. The only time I got a bit nervous was walking through a park at about 9:30 at night on the way back to my hostel. But once I saw that the other people in the park were people walking their dogs and couples canoodling on benches, I relaxed. Of course, my experience is individualized to me, but if you’re concerned about this just remember to approach Saint Petersburg the same way you would any unfamiliar big city and be smart about your decisions.

Saint Petersburg is beguiling and I can’t wait to visit again. But first I have to learn how to say “privyet” properly.