A to Z Ports: Russia’s St. Petersburg

There are a couple places for cruise lines to dock in St. Petersburg. Most ships will dock at a port with a typical cruise terminal with souvenir shops, however some smaller ships, such as the ones used by Azamara, can dock right in the center of St. Petersburg near the Hermitage. No matter where you are docked, it is important to know that you have to have a special traveler’s visa for Russia. This means you have to plan your excursions before you dock in St. Petersburg. If you are on a ship’s excursion, this is taken care of for you. However, this does not mean that more independent travelers cannot make plans. A group I met through the Cruise Critic Roll Call made plans with SPB Tours and we had a great time. There were eight people in our tour van for two days of seeing the sights, including eating in local restaurants and riding the subway. Our tour guide made the most of our stay, including a few things not on the planned itinerary. There were also options for evening trips.

Here are some of my highlights from St. Petersburg.

Peterhof fountains
Peterhof
Peterhof
Cat Starr at Peterhof
Catherine’s Palace
Griffen
Grand Staircase Hermitage
Russian Passport control
Catherine’s Palace

Because everyone needs a special Visa to visit Russia, it means going through Passport Control. I wrote about this experience in a previous post about Immigration.

Here are my posts about the St. Petersburg “marathon” as well as other past posts of this port.

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