travel to russia

[sereia 0]

Hi fellow VJ'ers! I am considering a short vacation to St Petersburg since I will be in nearby countries. I thought taking a train ride over for a five day stay would be wonderful but am curious about the whole tourist visa process. I heard I must get my visa before I depart the US? Is that true? What if I don't know the exact dates of when I will be going? That seems to be a problem. Any recommendations on the best way to get my visa in the US? (I am not in DC where the embassy is) Any other advice you can offer?

Thanks so much!

[WalkonWildSide 0]

Hi fellow VJ'ers! I am considering a short vacation to St Petersburg since I will be in nearby countries. I thought taking a train ride over for a five day stay would be wonderful but am curious about the whole tourist visa process. I heard I must get my visa before I depart the US? Is that true? What if I don't know the exact dates of when I will be going? That seems to be a problem. Any recommendations on the best way to get my visa in the US? (I am not in DC where the embassy is) Any other advice you can offer?

Thanks so much!

http://www.gotorussia.com/ has a visa service that works. If you don't the EXACT days you can always bracket around the days. For instance if you want to be in Russia from June 15th to June 20th. On your visa application just put that you will be there June 5th to June 30th. This will give you +/- 10 days on your visa application and this way you can show up any time between June 5th and June 30th. HOWEVER you must leave before June 30th. If you put June 5th to June 30th, doesn't mean you HAVE to stay for 25 days.

Also remember if you stay for more than 3 days you need to register you visa.

[chili74 0]

Good advice above. Great idea, have a wonderful time! You will love St Petersburg in the spring/summer (I have no clue when you are going but anytime is lovely)

[obender 0]

i can only add to the previous post that you'll have to send your passport to these guys at http://www.gotorussia.com/ and they'll mail it back to you. processing takes several days and about 200$ depending on how quickly you want it to be done.

with that visa you'll have to stay in hotel in russia and the hotel will register you with no problems. you can also look at

https://www.russia-visa.com/cgi-bin/visa.cgi

obender

[eekee 182]

if you come on a cruise ship you don't need a visa.

Consulates are in DC, NYC, Houston, and San Francisco. You need to a use a service like the ones listed above if you want to go by train.

Edited May 8, 2009 by eekee

[sereia 0]

Thanks so much! Do I need to know the hotel I am staying at if I use the gotorussia service? I'm so excited to be going! I only wish I could see more of Russia but I can go back someday!

[eekee 182]

Thanks so much! Do I need to know the hotel I am staying at if I use the gotorussia service? I'm so excited to be going! I only wish I could see more of Russia but I can go back someday!

Yes, you need to know the hotel when you get the visa and have all of the information on your application. I believe that gotorussia will arrange everything for you, although I'm not entirely sure as I've never used their service.

For tourist visas what you need is called a "voucher" (for non-tourist visas, you get an official invitation). It will have the duration of your stay, the name and number of a legitmate Russian tourist company, an intinerary, and a hotel reservation. And a stamp. Russian bureaucracy loves stamps.

[WalkonWildSide 0]

Thanks so much! Do I need to know the hotel I am staying at if I use the gotorussia service? I'm so excited to be going! I only wish I could see more of Russia but I can go back someday!

You don't need to know the hotel or stay at a hotel. The visa processing companies have an "arrangement" with hotels in different cities. I rented an apartment in Moscow, stayed at a dive hotel in Samara, and a private apartment in Ulyanovsk. None of those locations were listed on the visa or the travel voucher. However you should know what city you want to visit. And if you think you might go to a 2nd or 3rd city, let the visa processing folks know about it.

I would suggest staying in a private apartment. Also you might want to arrange for a private tour guide while you are there. They can be really handy and are usually inexpensive.

[eekee 182]

Thanks so much! Do I need to know the hotel I am staying at if I use the gotorussia service? I'm so excited to be going! I only wish I could see more of Russia but I can go back someday!

You don't need to know the hotel or stay at a hotel. The visa processing companies have an "arrangement" with hotels in different cities. I rented an apartment in Moscow, stayed at a dive hotel in Samara, and a private apartment in Ulyanovsk. None of those locations were listed on the visa or the travel voucher. However you should know what city you want to visit. And if you think you might go to a 2nd or 3rd city, let the visa processing folks know about it.

I would suggest staying in a private apartment. Also you might want to arrange for a private tour guide while you are there. They can be really handy and are usually inexpensive.

You can do all that, but for someone who doesn't speak Russian and is just on vacation, it's probably easier just to stay at a hotel in the city and not have to deal with getting a faked registration through a tourist company and all that, because laws about this change constantly and it can be overwhelming for someone who doesn't deal with this kind of thing all the time.

[Neonred 3,609]

I've used www.russia-visa.com for my visas many times with great results. You do not need to have the name of a hotel, and in fact I never used a hotel on any of my visits. For a short visit, however, I would agree it will be much easier to stay at a hotel. When you check in to your hotel you will give them your passport for a few hours and they will take care of your visa registration.

[baron555 934]

I've used www.russia-visa.com for my visas many times with great results. You do not need to have the name of a hotel, and in fact I never used a hotel on any of my visits. For a short visit, however, I would agree it will be much easier to stay at a hotel. When you check in to your hotel you will give them your passport for a few hours and they will take care of your visa registration.

VisaExpress is good also.

[slim 1,530]

Make sure you're upfront with the registration companies and they'll take care of you. When I say upfront, that means "pay upfront." Russia is a unique place in that you can pay money and you're basically untouchable. But, you have to pay the money first!

If you don't speak any Russian, as said above, go through the tourist/visa company, pay upfront, and stay in one of "their" hotels, take "their" tours, etc. Russia isn't a hard country to get around in, but it's not like many other countries where, "They should speak English if they want my tourist dollar." Russia does not give a f#@k about your tourist dollar, you, or even themselves. They really don't. But that's also what makes it so great!

[chili74 0]

Another succinct summarization by Slim!

Edited May 9, 2009 by chili74

[sereia 0]

Excellent replies! Thank you so much! We both do not speak Russian and basically will only have about five days to see St. Petersburg and it's surroundings and be off again! So I definitely want to stay in a nicer hotel in a central location IN St. Petersburg. I don't have any friends or family there so a hotel is a must.

[slim 1,530]

One thing that has not been brought up yet and probably should be is if he "looks like a terrorist" (and I'm being real here in the most MENA-friendly way I can be) and has a name like Muhammid al-Jihadi, you should make sure you check and double check with the tourist/visa company to ensure you're registered every single place you go and on all the tourist lists, etc. You may want to even contact them directly and let them know your S/O is from Morocco to see if there's anything "special" you need to do. (When I say "special" that means "Do I need to pay extra money for some good papers so the FSB doesn't kidnap my S/O?")

You don't need to get too excited over this, but "brown" people in St. Petersburg tend to stand out a little more than your run of the mill white folks. It's not a big deal, just make sure you stay in a hotel, get on the tourist lists, and are registered upon arrival. Dot your i and cross your t and you'll be just fine.

If it's someone other than your S/O going with you (or if you and/or your guest are "brown") just make sure you exercise a little more caution than you would somewhere else. Not a big deal, but you could compare to say, small town Mississippi or Alabama. Something like that but with some govt. agents and soccer hooligans mixed in.

Don't skip St. Pete because of this, just use a little caution, that's all.