St Petersburg: how to get there by plane or train

Cheap air flights to St Petersburg from USA: 

www.cheapoair.com  

International flights.

Most major airlines fly to Moscow (Sheremetyevo II) and St Petersburg (Pulkovo II), although some international airlines now fly into Moscow's Domodedovo airport. Moscow is connected to over 120 cities in Europe and 70 countries around the world. Inquire at travel agencies and telephone the different airlines to discover the best rates. The advance -purchase (14-21 day APEX) fares usually give the most value for money. Since flying from points outside Europe can involve large time differences, consider a stay in a European city for a day or two to recover from jet lag. Stopovers are often included or provided for a minimum extra charge.

About Aerflot company.
Aeroflot is the largest Russian airline company they fly to over 50 countries, carrying over 6 mln. passengers annually. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Aeroflot has immensely improved in -flight conditions. They acquired dozens of new western made planes (such as Airbuses and Boeing 777/767/737s) and introduced a new menu. Aeroflot no longer holds their monopoly on air travel within the country, Check out their website www.aeroflot.ru

To/from St Petersburg from/to Moscow.
Plains fly between two cities almost every hour and arrives from Moscow to St Petersburg to Pulkovo 1 airport and to Moscow from St Petersburg to Sheremetyevo or Domodedovo airports.

About St Petersburg airport Pulkovo II (international flights):
Look at the map of the airport: http://www.pulkovo.ru/info/scheme/pulkovo2.

About Pulkovo I (domestic flights, including flights to/from Moscow).
Look at the map of the airport: http://www.pulkovo.ru/info/scheme/pulkovo1. It will take us 25-40 minutes to drive in our minivan from the airport (either 2 or 1) to the St Petersburg downtown.

Connecting trains.
One pleasant way is to take train from a European city to Moscow or St Petersburg. In the USA, call Rail-Europe on (800) 8484-7245. Their website is: http://www.raileurope.com/us/index.htm; try also www.trainweb.com.? Many of my tourists arrive to St Petersburg from Finland (Helsinki) by train; it takes them about 5-6 hours the train arrives on the day of departure; each day two trains run from/to Helsinki/St Petersburg:

Attention, please! This is a winter schedule which is valid during 2006-2007 winter season; it will be updated in course of time.?

How to get from St Petersburg to Moscow and from Moscow to St Petersburg?

Here is very informative site in English: http://www.traintickets.ru/en/index.htm?- you can order tickets on your own through the internet!! Trains are more fun, efficient and cheaper than flying. The commercial trains between Moscow and St Petersburg are splendid way to travel. Traveling during daylights hours affords wonderful views of the countryside, or board the sleeper at night and arrive the next morning for a full day of sightseeing. In Moscow trains leave for St Petersburg from Leningradsky rail way terminal, in St Petersburg from Moskowski rail way terminal. Trains always leave on time with a single five minute warning broadcast before departure-so pay attention! There are three classes or long-distance travel. Luxury or Lyux or sleeping car has two soft berths to a compartment; first or coupe class has four soft berths; "platscart" has either six hard berths or standard seats (try to avoid the latter). Your ticket will indicate the train, wagon (vagon), compartment (kupe) and berth (myesto) number. The lower the wagon number the closer it is to the front of the train on departure. A personal car attendant (provodnik) serves tea, brewed in the car's samovar, biscuits, and wakes you up in the morning. The compartments are not segregated. If there is a problem, the attendant can usually arrange a swap-it is safe traveling alone as a woman (carry earplugs in case of snorers). A minimal fee may be charged for sheets and towels. Tickets are collected at the beginning of the trip and returned at the end. For outstanding services tipping your attendant is appropriate.

Below is a winter train schedule on 2006/2007 season.

E-except Sunday; G-except Saturday; F- Mon, Wed, Fri: **-even days; *-odd days. On the folowing site you can find the pictures of compartments of some trains: http://www.rzd.ru/museum/index.html?he_id=1003