Visit Russia visa free? You’re bonkers I hear you say! I’ve heard all the stories and you definitely need a visa…right? Let’s talk about the Helsinki to St Petersburg cruise we took on the St Peter line ferry.
For a long time now I’ve wanted to visit Russia. With 12.5% of my background being Russian/Finnish heritage, I’ve had a familial connection to this part of the world. Movies, documentaries (Long Way Round anyone?) and books (either of Orwell’s classics 1984 or Animal Farm will do) have fascinated me. The Soviet and Communist era has eaten up a lot of my time both in fiction and non-fiction. And even with a dream of a Tin Tin style adventure on the Trans-Siberian railway, it is perhaps confounding that I’ve never been able to make time for Russia.
So even amongst a year travelling the world, a comprehensive trip to Russia didn’t make it onto the itinerary. There just wasn’t a time where I could give up my passport for long enough to obtain a visa. Yes, even on long term travel, you still run out of time!
And whilst I didn’t get to ride the fabled Trans-Siberian or stand in Red Square, the very next best thing presented itself when researching the likelihood of a trip to Russia. The magical ability to visit Russia visa free.
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72 hour Helsinki to St Petersburg cruise to visit Russia visa free
Discovering the ability to visit Russia visa free for me was a little like winning a small prize in the lottery. You really do feel like you’ve discovered a secret, and when we’ve shared this with some friends and bloggers alike, they’ve been surprised to hear about it too.
This magical visit Russia visa free loop hole is available only by cruise. It is operated exclusively via the St Peter line ferry on board the Princess Anastasia.
The St Peter line ferry departs for St Petersburg via Helsinki or Tallinn. For clarity, a number of cruises with some of the big liners will also allow you to visit Russia visa free. These will take you to St Petersburg on a journey through the Baltics. However you are limited with flexibility and constrained by their multi-day itineraries. They also tend to be substantially more expensive.
The St Peter line option hits the sweet spot. You’re not locked in to a broader itinerary. And of course it means you get to visit Russia visa free without the administrative hassle of forgoing your passport and shelling out for a significantly priced visa.
READ MORE: 2 days in Helsinki: from start to Finnish
The Princess Anastasia completes a fortnightly loop between Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg and Tallinn. If you’re on a rapid trip and wish to visit more of the Scandinavian and Baltic states, you can choose to do a full loop of those cities. But for us (and seemingly a lot of passengers), starting and ending the trip in Helsinki made the most sense.
Knowing there is a way to visit Russia visa free and proceeding from there are two different things. This was far from the simple travel processes you typically find getting around Europe. I’ve broken down our experience below, with the hope of helping you maximise your trip.
The St Peter line website
The website that makes booking this cruise a reality is built in the pre-MySpace era. There is no simple user interface like booking a flight on Easyjet or Ryanair. A blast from the past, you will need to invest some time navigating this world-class site from circa 2003. Feel free to utilise a dial up internet connection to make the experience even more authentic.
To say there is a lack of information when booking is an understatement. You’ll need to be comfortable proceeding with ambiguously sparse details. Consider this part of the price of admission for being able to visit Russia visa free.
Start your visit to Russia visa free here || St Peter line ferry
Considerations when booking
As mentioned, the St Peter line runs on a fortnightly schedule. If you’re bouncing between dates of arrival, just because it leaves Helsinki a Thursday one week, that doesn’t mean the same the following week. You’ll need to pay attention to this, to ensure you maximise your visa-free period. For instance, there are options when you might be able to visit St Petersburg via Helsinki, however you’ll get a few hours for one day only, and need to return to the ship that evening (not even getting a night in St Petersburg).
My recommendation would be to keep your schedule flexible. Play around with the dates of sailing and the website will let you know what dates are available to return to Helsinki or onwards to Tallinn. Don’t despair and try different dates, there are many options. It is self-evident that it could be a lot easier to navigate on the website.
Through the booking process, you’ll be asked a number of things.
Choosing your room
There are a number of different room options available. For our outbound trip from Helsinki to St Petersburg cruise, we chose a room with a window totalling 9 square metres. It contained 2 bunks (4 beds in total) but we had decided to book the entire room for ourselves. It contains a small bathroom and shower. Beds come complete with a sheet and thin pillow. It is best described as minimalist accommodation. A similarly sized room is available without windows, for a cheaper price. There is also the option of sharing with other travellers to make it easier on the wallet.
On our return journey we upgraded to a Commodore room. The Commodore room is 12 square metres. A full 33% increase on the bunks we had on the way over. You wouldn’t think it, but we really noticed the extra size. It had a double bed with sheet, blanket and pillows. There is a work desk and a small TV. BBC will be your only non Russian channel. The Commodore room also comes with a mini bar. It’s stocked with two small bottles of wine, two beers, two waters, a Pepsi and a juice. The mini bar is yours to consume so make the most of that on your journey, or at least take it with you (hey, I’m a value seeker!). The bathroom is the same size as the standard bunk room.
Our Commodore room also came with breakfast included on board at the ‘New York, New York’ restaurant. There isn’t anything particularly ‘New York’ about this restaurant other than a few images on the wall from circa 1990. The breakfast is a reasonable spread and is a good value inclusion in the Commodore ticket price.
Choosing a hotel room
The booking process will ask you to book a hotel. If you book the same ferries in and out that we did, this means you’ll need 2 nights accommodation.
The website has a selection of hotels available for you to book in St Petersburg. We opted to book a hotel ourselves. We chose Art Avenue in St Petersburg which met the sweet spot of having quality reviews and meeting the right price point. When we checked in we were asked to show our booking confirmation, and the check in attendant was fine with this.
Please note: On the day of checking in, in preparation for our voyage, we ended up reading deeply (as you do) into the St Peter website. The website includes a breakdown of the visa rules. These suggest you can only book hotels via their site.
This was one of those ‘oh no’ moments. All of the information we’d read elsewhere had suggested booking accommodation elsewhere was fine. We had no issues at check in as mentioned, but the official line is you need to book via St Peter.
If we did the cruise again, we’d still book our own hotel directly as we did this time around. We think it’s only fair you have the right information to make an informed decision as this point is buried in the detail. And like any visa situation, the rules and their application are privy to change or be stringently enforced at any time. We suspect St Peter line don’t really care if you book with them, as long as you prove you have accommodation booked whilst you’re there.
Choosing add-ons and tours
St Peter line offer a variety of tours once you’re in St Petersburg. We recommend sourcing your own tours in your own time, but you will have to book one ‘tour’ – the ‘city tour option’. In actual fact, this is not a tour but a transfer from the ferry terminal to St Isaac’s Square in St Petersburg. This is a requirement of the special visa free arrangement with the Russian government, so there is no wriggle room on this. You must book this.
We’d also recommend shelling out the €20 for a priority exit pass in St Petersburg. We only had a limited amount of time in St Petersburg, so we wanted to maximise every single minute of our trip. You get to disembark the ship approximately one hour before the majority of passengers. You’ll also be confronted with a much shorter line at immigration upon entering. Our guess is that this buys you somewhere between 2-3 hours more time on the ground.
If you are looking for tours when you arrive in St Petersburg, our good friends at Get Your Guide have a wonderful range to choose from.
Your booking confirmation
In the age of technology, I’ve become very used to being bombarded with emails and reminders about upcoming trips. You won’t get that with St Peter. You’ll get one confirmation as below. No further details, just this. It has all the details you need, but absolutely nothing more.
Total cost of our Helsinki to St Petersburg cruise
All up, the total cost for booking our ferry back and forth, our rooms, 2 nights in St Petersburg, city tour and priority exit came to a grand total of €616 for two people. We booked approximately one month out, so there may be an opportunity to secure a better price in advance. The breakdown of this is as follows:
€148 Standard room Helsinki to St Petersburg cruise on board Princess Anastasia
€266 Commodore Room St Petersburg to Helsinki cruise on board Princess Anastasia
€52 city tour (return transfer)
€40 Priority exit in St Petersburg
€110 Art Avenue Hotel (2 nights)
Preparing for your Helsinki to St Petersburg cruise
The Helsinki to St Petersburg cruise takes around 14 hours each way. Food and drink is available on board. As a captive audience, it is quite expensive, so we’d advise making a visit to the K Market located a 5 minute walk from the West terminal in Helsinki. You can grab some snacks and drinks (including beer and wine) to take with you. It’ll be much easier on the wallet than anything you’ll buy on board.
Checking in
The location for boarding in Helsinki is tucked away in the West terminal. It is marked in Google Maps if you search ‘St Peter line’ in Helsinki. The ferry terminal is located opposite a major shopping centre – you can’t miss the ‘Bad, bad boy’ statue outside of it. It’s the ugly looking man child urinating.
For another point of reference, the Clarion Helsinki hotel is located just a few minutes walk from the terminal and is easy enough to find. It’s the tallest building in the area, so just look up.
Check in and boarding officially opens at the West terminal from 1500 and is a simple enough process. We were staying nearby, and decided to get our documentation in the morning. This was an unexpectedly good call on our part. No lines, quick and competent service and they were able to answer a few questions we had without issue. When we returned to actually check in to the ship, the line was long and it seemed we managed to avoid a painful process.
Our advice would be to get there early, get your paperwork, relax and board at leisure.
The check in officer will ask for your passports and proof of hotel accommodation (you’re best served with a print out). If you’ve been in and out of Europe recently, they will quiz you on your Schengen eligibility. We were at 75 days of our 90 day visa. Our passport is awash with stamps from all over and it’s not incredibly clear, so just make sure you know where you are at. I’d avoid taking this trip if you are running close to the end of your Schengen eligibility.
What you’ll get at check in on your Helsinki to St Petersburg cruise
At the Helsinki terminal, the check in officer handed over 4 tickets for us each:
Boarding card. Also your room key. It looks like a parking lot ticket, but will swipe you in. I promise.
An arrival card. This will need to be surrendered to immigration when arriving St Petersburg.
A departure card. This will need to be surrendered to immigration when departing St Petersburg Think of it as a temporary visa.
Excursion ticket. Our Priority Exit ticket for St Petersburg. Our fast ticket off the ship.
The excursion ticket also included our ‘city tour’. The city tour/transfer bus runs every half hour taking passengers to and from the city.
We boarded the Princess Anastasia at 1700, towards the back end of the 1500-1830 check in time.
Immigration process
Departing via immigration at Helsinki was similar to the airport process. Once again we play 20 questions with regards to our Schengen situation, and they were satisfied with our response rather than trawling through our passport looking for stamps. Having travelled throughout the entire Schengen region, I can tell you no one is tighter on surveying Schengen requirements than Finland! If you aren’t on top of your Schengen situation or even know what this refers to, check out this helpful article.
On board the St Peter line ferry
Once on the ship we were instructed to our cabin. You’ll wander through the entry and a comically dressed ‘Captain’ will offer to take photos with you. They’ll then try and sell your photo with the ‘Captain’ on mugs, magnets and prints. You know the drill. I’m still amazed people buy these souvenirs, but each to their own I guess.
There are many, many rooms on board and like any cruise, it can feel like a labyrinth to find yours. Just follow the signs, or if in doubt ask a staff member.
Cruising has come a long way in the last few decades. The St Peter line has not been the driving force behind that.
Our 4 berth room (2x bunks) was basic in comfort, and don’t expect to have a whole bunch of room for your luggage. But for the 14 hour journey it’s enough to get you by. The bathroom is similar to one you might use on a high speed rail service in Europe with the addition of a shower.
The ship must surely qualifying for vintage with its fake gold hand rails, dark maroon carpets and sparse cabins. Our room had seen better days, but we didn’t book this boat for luxury.
Heading up top
After dropping our bags in our room we headed up top to await departure. It was a cracking day in Helsinki, a balmy 27 degrees. It was the most breath taking day we’ve ever had in Scandinavia, and really put a different spin on previous trips where a jacket has been a minimum clothing accompaniment.
There is a ‘garden’ on Deck 6 without a plant in sight, but it does offer alcoholic beverages and some snack foods (a hot dog will set you back €6). There are around 70 seats where you can sit and order from the bar. We coined this area ‘Gasper Garden’ because all of the smokers found this spot before us. It’s not a handful of people, it felt like everyone was lighting up. We found refuge around the corner to watch departure as we entered the Gulf of Finland which was smooth as silk.
Phone service
The Helsinki to St Petersburg cruise runs relatively close to the coast of Finland and Estonia at points. We had 4G service for around an hour post departure, and then subsequently went in and out of service. If you have an EU Sim, you may be able to get by for a fair bit of the trip before you head to bed. Wifi is available onboard at significant expense. We didn’t see a need for it whilst cruising, so made do without.
On Deck 7, you’ll find a host of restaurants. We went for Napoli Mia which served up pizzas for €16. A glass of Russia’s draft beer Baltika will set you back €5.
In scenes reminiscent of the Love Boat, a piano is set up with a microphone and various artists sing songs with a karaoke backing track. Artists rotate banging out the very best of the 70s, 80s and 90s. It’s not great. But it’s not horrible. It’s exactly the ambience I thought I expected on a cruise to Russia. It was easy to find ourselves swaying along to a mix of Bee Gees, Abba, Stevie Wonder and a selection of one hit wonders interspersed with some Russian classics (I presume!).
Disembarking the Helsinki to St Petersburg cruise
After a reasonably well rested night – it’s a smooth ride and the gentle hum of the engine is enough to nurse you to sleep – it was time to awaken and disembark.
As we’d paid the €20 for priority exit, we headed to Deck 6. Note there are no announcements for Priority Exit. Announcements only pertain to the regular exit which is from Deck 4. Priority will exit from 30 minutes after arrival. In our case we arrived at 0830, needed to be at Deck 6 by 0850 for disembarkation at 0900.
There were probably 100 people with priority exit. It wasn’t overly crowded, but you’re best advised to get up to Deck 6 early enough- the lifts do fill up. We made the trip up the stairs from Deck 5 with our baggage.
When it came to disembark it was somewhat chaotic. Not everyone loitering on Deck 6 were priority and a staff member tried to address en masse amongst the noisy crowds. Rest assured you are in the right place if you have priority exit.
You’ll be eventually led out down to Deck 4. So we pick our bags up again and head down the stairs. And led past the poor non-priority people of Deck 4 who are held behind a rope like nightclub goers waiting to enter the club.
A scan of your boarding pass to signify your exit and you’ll be allowed out. Getting off the ship is via a stairwell. Not as smooth as embarking on a long, smooth ramp in Helsinki, but something to be aware of. There was one porter helping older passengers with their bags, so if you need assistance, let it be known as early as possible.
Russian Immigration
With Priority Exit, we were only 7 people deep in our immigration queue. An observation to expedite the line you choose to join. The first four to go through were of Chinese descent and each took an age to go through. I’m not sure if it was a language barrier issue, but there was a lot of back and forth between border control. All were eventually processed. The 3 passengers ahead of us were European and were processed quickly. Our Australian passports also appeared to be on the ‘quick process’ list. Whilst you can visit Russia without a visa, you will be issued with a slip you’ll need to hold onto until you depart. Keep that safe together with your passport.
All up, we were in line for about 45 minutes. Not too bad compared with some airport queues we’ve had to wait in, and a real benefit of paying the extra €20 for priority exit.
So aside from purchasing the Priority Exit, if you want to get through this quickly, pick the line with the Europeans.
Outside, look for the signs for the City Bus with the Moby/St Peter logo. There is a helpful attendant who will guide you to the right bus. The bus is comfortable with space for luggage storage underneath.
The journey into St Isaac’s Square, St Petersburg took around 40 minutes. It seemed to go around the world. We understand this it may have had something to do with preparations for the Russian Naval Day. Vladimir Putin was in town, there were navy vessels in port, fly overs of various aircrafts and tanks outside the Hermitage (on show, not defending the museum!). So I suspect this trip typically takes a little less under normal circumstances.
We were dropped just off the side of St Isaac’s Square where there were literally dozens of buses. We had some concerns about how we’d find it on the way back, so you can read on below to find out how we got back.
Hotel check in
Upon checking into your hotel, the first question you’ll be asked is for your passport and Russian visa. Since you’re paying a visit to Russia without a visa, they will request your boarding card and passport.
We stayed at Art Avenue hotel. The check in staff had the hospitality of your stereotypical Russian. No smiles or friendly assistance here. Just dealing in facts and nods. Art Avenue were good to stay with, but should you find another hotel to your taste, just make sure they accept non-visa visitors. We had heard some stories of hotels turning people away, so it is probably best go with those who have a record of taking visa free cruise passengers.
Art Avenue was a nice, spacious room. Our only complaint was the lack of a lift which made the difference for us carting our long haul luggage up 3 large flights of stairs. There is a kitchen and even a washing machine if you need it.
BOOK NOW: Art Avenue Hotel || Rooms from €37
Exchanging cash for roubles
You can exchange your cash for roubles on the boat up until 2100 with a 5% exchange fee. I found this out at about 2115, so that was unhelpful. In that case, you’ll have to find a bank to exchange once on shore. We used BBR Bank (bbr.ru). They took a flat 30 rouble (€0.40) cut and paid me at the wholesale rate. So whilst I spent ten minutes on shore doing this, it was a bargain to exchange at.
We enjoyed a fantastic few days in St Petersburg. We’ll share some details of the specifics and details of this soon!
Wrapping up in St Petersburg
The St Isaac’s area is an extremely busy one. And there are so many buses, we thought it would be a struggle to locate the return city bus tour transfer.
After an enjoyable trip to Russia visa free, we opted for a cab which set us back 310 roubles (€4.25) directly from our hotel. This trip took around 15 minutes, and was worth the extra cost. Not needing to wander the streets for 800 metres through the crowds in the heat was a big upside.
We arrived just after 1600 and the registration line here was a bit of a shock. Out the door and spilled onto the car park. The line moved fast enough though, and we were through in around 45 minutes.
Once we got through we were able to shuffle on through our special check in desk. We didn’t realise we had access to this desk (remember the lack of information we mentioned?). Our Commodore Room booking secured us special access to this speedy desk. We picked up our new boarding cards and our breakfast vouchers and we were off through immigration.
Outgoing immigration is infinitely faster than incoming. They obviously scrutinise who comes in very closely, but want you gone quickly!
Boarding the Princess Anastasia in St Petersburg
Once through, we headed for the boat, took the stairs up with our gear and a porter helped Kristen with her luggage.
This was a nice gesture as between entering the ferry terminal, going through immigration and boarding the ferry, our bags were scanned a total of three times. Which meant loading all of our bags onto conveyor belts and then recollecting. It’s good to know it’s secure, but it did feel like overkill.
Once on board we scanned our boarding pass in and headed straight for our room.
A worthwhile room upgrade
Our upgrade felt like just that. No slugging it out in single beds in 9 square metres for us on this leg. Oh no, it’s a double and 12m squared room for us on the way back thank you! Aside from the space and bed, the carpet was much newer if not new and there was enough room to lay our bags down.
The included minibar and fruit bowl was a nice touch. So I have to admit the room itself was much better than expected.
Just before 1900, we headed up top to wave goodbye to St Petersburg one last time. Who could pass up the opportunity for one last wander through Gaspers Garden? Admittedly it’s not the nicest view with mostly a horizon full of cranes and containers. Still, it was a pleasant afternoon and a nice way to enjoy our last views of Russia. It also gave some context to just how big a port St Petersburg is.
Dinner at New York restaurant
For dinner we headed to the New York restaurant. They serve a range of a la carte meals.
Kristen ordered the pasta which was pretty average. And as Italian lovers, that isn’t just us being Italy snobs. I had the Chicken Kiev which was the pick of the meals albeit quite expensive at €20 (especially compared with the very best Kiev we’d eaten in St Petersburg for a quarter of the price), but hey you’re a captive audience. You’ll have at least two nights on the ferry. If I had my time over, the easiest thing to do would be to split a pizza at Napoli Mia which we ate at during the first sailing.
We checked out the theatre ballet show that was on in the Colombus Lounge. We spent 15 minutes here before we took advantage of the VIP area for Commodore customers. It was a pretty desolate space with not much happening. You do get a nice, warm view of the horizon though. We enjoyed one last trip up top in blustery conditions and watched the sky burn away into the night.
We had a great sleep, although the room was a bit stuffy given the unusually warm temperatures in the region at the time.
Priority exit is from 0800. Given our Helsinki accommodation wasn’t able to take us early, we stayed on board and enjoyed our breakfast (included with the Commodore Room) and disembarked at 0945. 1000 is the latest we were able to disembark as the immigration officials then close down the port for a few hours.
Concluding our trip
Whilst some of my commentary suggests that there is opportunity for improvement, the trip was incredibly enjoyable. If you’re strapped for time, this is the perfect way to visit Russia visa free, dip your toe into the water of Mother Russia and get a glimpse of the magnificence of St Petersburg.
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Are you thinking of travelling on the St Peter line Helsinki to St Petersburg cruise? Or perhaps you’ve already taken it? We’d love to hear below. Happy sailing!
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