I know the Forum is a place for questions, but since there are frequent questions on this topic, I thought it might be helpful to share the information I have as a result of my recent trip. It does seem that there is still no train running between St. Petersburg and Tallinn, so the bus is pretty much the only land-based alternative.
We used Eurolines and booked the tickets ahead of time on their website www.eurolines.ee. You can make your reservations in advance AND print the tickets. It all functions quite well, actually. I do suggest booking as early as you can if you want to be in the front of the bus because the seats are assigned by number as the tickets are issued. Yes, it%26#39;s just like a plane; you actually have an assigned seat.
Leaving St. Petersburg, you can depart from the bus station or from Baltic Station. We chose the former since we were not aware of the assigned seating and wanted to sit together near the front. It means an extra 30 minutes on the bus, but there were far fewer people getting on at the earlier stop. The stop at Baltic Station was not sheltered, which could be an issue in bad weather. The bus itself was clean and comfortable (it wasn%26#39;t their Lux bus) and the drivers were fine, but the air-conditioner was inadequate and it got quite stuffy inside. Bring plenty to keep yourself hydrated and nourished as it%26#39;s a long ride. The seats recline, but it%26#39;s a major intrusion in the space of the traveller behind you.
Although the bus departed on time, the amount of time spent at the border crossing can vary considerably. The departure from Russia requires all passengers to disembark and pass through immigration with their luggage. There wasn%26#39;t much else happening at the exit point when we were there and it went pretty smoothly, although it%26#39;s always a hassle to drag your luggage over curbs, through doorways, etc.
At the entry point in Estonia, we didn%26#39;t depart the bus. The immigration officer came on the bus and looked at all the passports. We had US passports. He looked at them and gave them back without even stamping them which, actually, was a bit of a problem when we later departed Finland, as we had no entry stamp for the EU. Not a big deal once we explained the circumstances of our entry.
Unfortunately, we were on a bus full of Russians, and he took all of their passports (and perhaps the passports of others) and reviewed them in the office. He was gone for nearly an hour while we sat in the hot sun. I suspect the length of this process varies greatly. I%26#39;m sure an %26quot;average%26quot; time is built into the schedule and I suspect that our Russia exit went more quickly than usual, but it meant that we arrived in Tallinn nearly an hour late. Plan accordingly if you are doing anything time sensitive upon arrival. Start to finish, the trip took 8 hours in a stuffy bus.
Another posting questioned where the stops are in Tallinn. There are at least two, but the bus station itself (the final stop) seems to be the closest to the center of town. We had a hotel pick-up, but a taxi would have been fine. Things in Estonia are pretty reasonably priced (no Euros here!), and I would have been was in no mood to figure out public transportation after that much time on the bus.
It was a very long day, but I don%26#39;t know if there are any real alternative if you need to make this trip. The price was pretty reasonable, and it was one of the few booking processes in Russia that seems to function well. Anyway, that was our experience and advice. Hope someone finds it helpful.
|||
Thanks so much for your post. I just posted questions before I saw your post. You answered most of the questions I asked although we are going to St. Petersburg instead of coming from S.P.
A couple moe questions:
Were there restrooms on the bus?
Was the scenery interesting?
Thanks!
|||
My wife and I both recall that the driver did announce that there was a restroom on the bus. Presumably there would be, since it%26#39;s such a long trip. Also, after you pass (with luggage in tow) through Russian exit booth at the border, there is one restroom, but everyone on the bus is keen to use it. So you should get your stuff off the bus and get through as soon as possible to get in line. I don%26#39;t know how it works in the other direction.
The scenery is not particulary interesting, although there was a pretty impressive wind turbine farm.
|||
Thank you very much!
No comments:
Post a Comment