Russia trip

May 14, 2008 10:15 AM

A friend and I are planning a trip to Russia this summer to visit a friend who has been working there for a couple years. My first question: Will this make getting a tourist visa more difficult (given we will not be staying in a hotel)? Secondly: We'd like to travel to a couple of other countries while we're there, but we're at a bit of a loss as to where...

We'll probably be in Russia about two weeks and plan on seeing Moscow and St. Petersbug. I realize if you're in Russia, you're mostly close to Russia - but we'd also like to go to Poland, and maybe another place with about two weeks more in travel time. We're flying out from Toronto.

posted by scribbler to travel & transportation (8 comments total)

Russian visas suck. I stay with friends, but I book a hostel, get a visa through them, and then after the visa is set, cancel my hostel reservation. The visa invitation via the hostel's recommendation for an invitation company was $25.
posted by k8t at 10:32 AM on May 14

I recommend Latvia. Riga is great, but the whole country is lovely. Of course I'm rather biased being Latvian.
How do you plan on getting to Poland? I'm assuming you'll be taking a train from St. Petersburg to Moscow (and then, if you wanted, to Riga) but do be careful. Russian trains are notorious as a place for pick-pockets and thieves prey on tourists.
posted by buka at 10:39 AM on May 14

Been to Russia twice. Once I flew to Moscow from Toronto. The other time I took a train from Estonia to St. Petersburg. Overall, it is fine and easy to get around but is expensive now given that the ruble is a petro-currency.

Get started on your Russian visa early. You will need definitely need a letter of invitation. Read the embassy website, maybe your friend can just fax it to them. Phone them in Ottawa to confirm. Do not be put off by the embassy staff's gruff attitude, it is part of the charm of Russia.

Be warned that the visas are expensive and you should not do some strange multiple entry trip. I highly recommend the Balkan states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). Poland is OK but not as cool or as good a bang for your buck as the Balkan states.

Go to a meat-market bar in Russia. It will be expensive and all the women are hookers so indulge at your own risk but they are some of the prettiest women ever. Oh and "Russian food" in Russia is atrocious. Once you've tasted it to confirm for yourself and not trusted a random Internet stranger, I recommend you eat Uzbek, Italian or American over there.
posted by FastGorilla at 11:31 AM on May 14

Getting your visa at the Toronto Russian Consulate? I've done it - give yourself PLENTY of time. Make sure you have a money order and following all of the instructions on the website to perfection. I had to have a confirmation voucher from my hotel in order to get the visa.

In order to avoid this issue if you're not staying at one and considering the chaos I saw at this office (While approved on my first try - many around me in line were not and had no idea why - I came to pick up my visa on the date stated by the consulate and it wasn't ready. It wasn't ready for an entire week after this date) I would go through one of those agencies that deals with the Russian visa for you. The consulate was full of these "visa operators" and I wished I had gone this route. Just give it a google.
posted by meerkatty at 11:41 AM on May 14

Oh and "Russian food" in Russia is atrocious. Once you've tasted it to confirm for yourself and not trusted a random Internet stranger, I recommend you eat Uzbek, Italian or American over there.

This depends on where you go. As a Russian, I've eaten a lot of excellent Russian food. The problem is, the places tourists end up going tend to be nasty overpriced hellholes. I'd recommend Georgian food. There are restaurants everywhere, and even bad Georgian food isn't terrible.
posted by nasreddin at 11:41 AM on May 14

Go to theThe Pushkin Fine Arts Museum in moscow if you can. It is one of the finest museums in the world. No joke. Small, but everything there is very much worth seeing.
posted by ewkpates at 12:02 PM on May 14

i agree with nasreddin's advice about Georgian food. Georgian food in Russia is generally interpreted as "shashlik" (in Russian, Шашлык) and is generally fairly close to what you'd recognize as shish kabob. it's a particularly good choice because it's usually pretty well-cooked over an open fire of some sort. of course, if you're a vegetarian and don't have tons of money to spend on eating out (Moscow is one of, if not the most expensive city in the world currently) expect to have do a bit of search for things that you like. "Salads" in Russian and the CIS have traditionally consisted of things like cucumbers and other vegetables mixed with a cream-type dressing. Lettuce isn't as popular.

fastgorilla means the Baltics, not the Balkans.
posted by buka at 1:04 PM on May 14

FastGorilla means The Baltic states, and I also recommend them. Also, Helsinki is a reasonably short train ride from St. Petersburg.
posted by matildaben at 2:51 PM on May 14