“First-timer just back from visit to Russia---My observations”
A lot of folks here helped me plan my trip so I figured the least I could do was post a handful of observations that I hope will help others visit this incredible place.
Off the top, I traveled alone and I visited Moscow, Veliky Novgorod and St. Petersburg for four nights, two nights and three nights respectively and in that order. These were three wonderful cities by the way---each offering something a little different from each other. They were ideal for a first time visit.
Observations:
I'm a well traveled adult male and I've never met kinder, more wonderful people in all my life than the countless Russians I met on this trip.
As others have said ad nausea, there are ATM's everywhere, but half of them are a tad sketchy. Stick to well known names and ones attached to a real bank whenever possible and you'll be just fine.
The metro is Moscow is fantastic; don't race to catch a certain train, there's another coming every two minutes. Use the Yandex Moscow Metro app on your phone, it's hugely valuable.
The metro takes 1-3 rides before you figure it out, if that and when in doubt just ask somebody. And having the metro app to point to when asking makes a world of difference.
The St. P metro is a breeze, especially after learning the rope sin a half day in Moscow. There's a ton more English signage in the St. P metro (and in the city in general) etc than there is in Moscow but neither place is remotely difficult to navigate in any way.
I probably approached 80 people for various questions/directions etc in my ten days and 90% told me they didn't speak English when I asked them----and then when I asked them the question I needed answered anyway, they were more than happy to help me and do so in pretty decent English. My take away is they are very kind but not too confident in their English language skills but once they recognize that the question is an easy one to answer, their kindness takes over and they help you out as much as they can.
I could not keep track of the number of people who went way out of their way to assist me---in fact I had one guy drive me ten km out of his way to help me get to where I was going when I thought I could walk there etc. And if he spoke more than two words of English, I'd be embellishing.
All three cities I visited were were very clean and very safe. I didn't have a single issue with safety at any time during my trip, morning, noon or night.
I never wore a money belt in any of the three cities I visited and I never felt I should be doing so either.
Not once was I asked by police or fake police for any ID of any sort. In fact I doubt the police ever even looked at me---worrying about local police as I enjoyed each city was a complete non issue for me.
The whole issue of validating your stays or registering as a foreigner or whatever it is people call this was a complete non-issue. What I was told with relative authority while I was on the ground in Russia was that if you are not staying in any city for more than 7 days (and weekends don't count) then you're fine to do as I did---absolutely nothing.
Moscow is pricey, ditto St. P but if you didn't know that going in, then you're probably quite naive. I'm not a restaurant guy anyway, I much prefer to shop with the locals in grocery stores and they are all well stocked. It's a great way to save money too.
But if you enjoy fine dining or even moderate dining, you will have as much choice in these three cities than most any city of comparable size on the planet.
Invest a few hours/days before you arrive in Russia, to learn the Cyrillic alphabet and some core Russian words, esp words pertaining to directions etc. It was a huge help to me.
I'm sure I've forgotten a fair bit and much of what I've said here is common sense to many I imagine but the bottom line is that Russia is a wonderful, safe, enjoyable place to visit and if you have any fears or concerns or hesitations, park them at home and enjoy all that Russia has to offer.
If anyone has specific questions for me, I'd be more than happy to help you out, just ask.
I'll wrap this up by thanking the many good people in this forum who helped me have such a wonderful trip. I'm already planning my return trip.
Off the top, I traveled alone and I visited Moscow, Veliky Novgorod and St. Petersburg for four nights, two nights and three nights respectively and in that order. These were three wonderful cities by the way---each offering something a little different from each other. They were ideal for a first time visit.
Observations:
I'm a well traveled adult male and I've never met kinder, more wonderful people in all my life than the countless Russians I met on this trip.
As others have said ad nausea, there are ATM's everywhere, but half of them are a tad sketchy. Stick to well known names and ones attached to a real bank whenever possible and you'll be just fine.
The metro is Moscow is fantastic; don't race to catch a certain train, there's another coming every two minutes. Use the Yandex Moscow Metro app on your phone, it's hugely valuable.
The metro takes 1-3 rides before you figure it out, if that and when in doubt just ask somebody. And having the metro app to point to when asking makes a world of difference.
The St. P metro is a breeze, especially after learning the rope sin a half day in Moscow. There's a ton more English signage in the St. P metro (and in the city in general) etc than there is in Moscow but neither place is remotely difficult to navigate in any way.
I probably approached 80 people for various questions/directions etc in my ten days and 90% told me they didn't speak English when I asked them----and then when I asked them the question I needed answered anyway, they were more than happy to help me and do so in pretty decent English. My take away is they are very kind but not too confident in their English language skills but once they recognize that the question is an easy one to answer, their kindness takes over and they help you out as much as they can.
I could not keep track of the number of people who went way out of their way to assist me---in fact I had one guy drive me ten km out of his way to help me get to where I was going when I thought I could walk there etc. And if he spoke more than two words of English, I'd be embellishing.
All three cities I visited were were very clean and very safe. I didn't have a single issue with safety at any time during my trip, morning, noon or night.
I never wore a money belt in any of the three cities I visited and I never felt I should be doing so either.
Not once was I asked by police or fake police for any ID of any sort. In fact I doubt the police ever even looked at me---worrying about local police as I enjoyed each city was a complete non issue for me.
The whole issue of validating your stays or registering as a foreigner or whatever it is people call this was a complete non-issue. What I was told with relative authority while I was on the ground in Russia was that if you are not staying in any city for more than 7 days (and weekends don't count) then you're fine to do as I did---absolutely nothing.
Moscow is pricey, ditto St. P but if you didn't know that going in, then you're probably quite naive. I'm not a restaurant guy anyway, I much prefer to shop with the locals in grocery stores and they are all well stocked. It's a great way to save money too.
But if you enjoy fine dining or even moderate dining, you will have as much choice in these three cities than most any city of comparable size on the planet.
Invest a few hours/days before you arrive in Russia, to learn the Cyrillic alphabet and some core Russian words, esp words pertaining to directions etc. It was a huge help to me.
I'm sure I've forgotten a fair bit and much of what I've said here is common sense to many I imagine but the bottom line is that Russia is a wonderful, safe, enjoyable place to visit and if you have any fears or concerns or hesitations, park them at home and enjoy all that Russia has to offer.
If anyone has specific questions for me, I'd be more than happy to help you out, just ask.
I'll wrap this up by thanking the many good people in this forum who helped me have such a wonderful trip. I'm already planning my return trip.
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