St Petersburg to Helsinki

[lulumay]

Hi there, are there any Finns or St Petersburgens in the houes. My wife and I are planning to travel from St Petersburg (STP) to Helsinki by train but how do you buy the tickets? We have a flight into STP but in order for us to get a visa out to visit russia, we need to show an out bound ticket. The travel agent in hong kong said that they cant buy russian train tickets in hk and can only get it at the train station.

Am i meant to illegally enter Russia just to get the train ticket and then legally get a visa??? Or should i bring some vodka, caviar, and rubles and slip them under the table top my travel agent!!!

[Designholiday]

Try to call the Train Company in Finland and see if they can help
Travelling by train in Russia

You can buy train tickets in Finland to many cities and lines in Russia. You must book a seat to all domestic trains in Russia before departure of the train.

Cities to which you can book a train ticket

Tver
Vyborg
Petrozavodsk
Joskar Ola
Vladivostok
Irkutsk
Nizhnyi Novgorod
Omsk
Kazan
Kirov


What cannot be booked

Seats cannot be booked for trains between Vyborg and St. Petersburg or St. Petersburg and Novgorod or other local trains. Business class services of long-distance trains cannot be booked in Finland.

Train service level

Tickets can be booked in Finland for 1st and 2nd class seats and berths.
Some trains have a restaurant car
Berths are not sold separately for male and female passengers.
A bedding fee of €3-5 and other service fees are paid onboard the train
Russian timetables

Russian domestic timetables can be viewed on the Internet in e.g. the travel service of the German railways. VR is not liable for the correctness of the information.

Travel service of German railways (DB)

Further information and bookings by tel. 0600 41 905 (M-F 8.30-16.30), price of call in Finland €1 + local network charge or with a form. Tickets are sold on the stations in Helsinki, Joensuu, Kuopio, Lahti, Oulu, Seinäjoki, Tampere and Turku.

Tickets and details are also provided by travel agencies selling journeys to Russia.
http://www.vr.fi/heo/eng/ita/fjunavenajalla.htm

[helskarm]

Easiest way would probably be to either call or e-mail the Finnish board of tourism, they will help.

Check these links out:
http://www.visitfinland.com/w5/index...pages)/By_Rail
http://www.vr.fi/heo/eng/ita/ita.htm

Luck!

[alextennis]

You can also visit www.russianrails.com complete an application form online and they should help you out.

By the way, I am sure it will be more expensive to get a train rather then to fly unless you get an economy class on a train which believe me is gross (I am Russian so I know). When I was a child I used to travel across the country by train all the time for tennis tournaments...

Maybe getting a bus would be a beter idea at least it should be something like Mercedec.

Good luck!

Alex