St. Petersburg is an important transportation center especially for the Russian North. The transport system within the city is also well-developed and continues improving every year: new metro stations are being opened and new surface transport lanes are being designated. We have gathered information for you to figure out which transport to use and the best ways to do it in our charming St. Petersburg.

Metro in St. Petersburg

The deepest metropolitan in the world surprises its visitors not only by spectacular architecture of some stations, such as Avtovo, but also by its high efficiency.
The metro is the most popular public transport in St. Petersburg. Opening at about 5:30am and closing at 00:00am, St. Petersburg’s metro is a convenient way to move around this city. Moreover, it is a rather simple system that doesn’t require deep knowledge of the city.
The Saint Petersburg Metro entrances are marked with a blue letter “M” on top.
Unlike the Moscow Subway, that gives out paper card passes, St. Petersburg underground offers round metal tokens, that cost only 40 rubles for a ride!
The trains run quite frequently (every 2-3 min) and are always punctual. The metro gets very crowded during rush hours, so it is best to travel between 10:am and 17:00pm.
The metro working hours change during special celebrations such as the New Year or the White Night festival. On such occasions the metro work for longer hours and tourist can use the subway from 4 am to 2 am!

Public surface transport: Buses, Trolleybuses, Trams and Marshrutkas

Due to the fact that the metro stations are situated far from each other, you might have to use surface public transport. It is a bit complicated in use and, for example, trams and trolleybuses are slow and affected by traffic. Nevertheless, if you are on a long-term visit to St. Petersburg and do not want to waste money on taxi, then a bus is a transport you might possibly want to take.

 

There are three types of buses in Saint Petersburg you should look for:

  • White and green buses always assisted by a conductor are called “avtobus” and are known as the most popular surface transport.
  • There are also a bit more expensive buses, that are private. These have a letter “K” coming before their number.
  • A very popular surface transport is a Marshrutka – a minibus that has its own rout, but you can easily ask the driver to stop anywhere on the way and he won’t mind!

Bus stops are marked with a letter “A” which means “Avtobus”

Taxi in St. Petersburg

All public transport stops working at night and this is exactly when you might have to order a Taxi. It is normal for Russians to flag down random cars on the streets and take a lift. However, this is absolutely NOT recommended for the city’s guests.
When you arrive at Pulkovo airport, the only thing you should do is address the airport taxi counter and ask the assistant to order you a cab. The airport guarantees a safe and an affordable ride. The prices depend on the district you are heading to, you can find them on the official site 
Pulkovo taxi counters are located at Arrivals hall on the first floor of the Terminal.
When ordering a taxi in the city, we suggest that you use famous taxi apps, that function in St. Petersburg as well as elsewhere in Europe. Download the following apps on your phone: Yandex Taxi, Gett Taxi, Uber and enjoy your ride.

Trains in St Petersburg

There are five train stations in Russia that offer trips within the city, to other towns and even other countries.

Those are:

  • BALTIISKY station – serving trains to suburb Peterhoff, Oranienbaum (Lomonosov), Gatchina.
  • VITEBSKY STATION – serving trains to South-Western Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary. Serving trains to surbubs Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), Pavlovsk.
  • LADOZHSKY STATION – serving trains to North/ North-East of Russia, Finland.
  • MOSKOVSKY STATION – serving trains to Moscow, Northern Russia, Urals, Siberia, Central and Southern Russia.
  • FINLYANDSKY STATION – serving trains to Vyborg, Karelia and Finland.

The train is a convenient and popular way to travel in and from St. Petersburg. You will find further information on the official site.

Water transport

Built on rivers and channels, St. Petersburg is to be admired from water. A great amount of travel agencies offer executions on canals of the city. Excursion boats depart from the central piers every hour. Prices vary from 250 RUB to 1500 RUB per person depending on the duration, on the program and on the comfort of the vessel.
A very popular type of water transport is the Meteor – a motor vessel, carrying passengers from the city to Peterhof and back. Prices and other details about the trip are described on the official website.
Mind the fact that all water trips around the city are available only in the warm time of the year – from May to October.

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