In spite of the fact that the average salary in St Petersburg is approximately 700- 800$ a month and as you can guess it’s significantly lower than salaries in Europe or in the USA staying in the city itself is not extremely cheap. In fact, it is the second most expensive city in Russia after Moscow. Your main expenses will be accomodation and museum tickets, while food and cafes are quite affordable. Below are approximate prices for some popular goods and services you may need in St Petersburg:
- A room in a 3 star hotel, low season – 50$
- A room in a 3 star hotel, high season – 110-160$
- A meal in a fast food like Mc Donald’s, Subway, etc – 3$-8$
- A meal in a mid-range restaurant – from 15-20$ without wine
- A mug with a view of St Petersburg– from 4$
- A metro ticket – 80 cent (public transport is cheap)
- Museum tickets – 4-30$ (prices depend greatly on a museum)
- A 0,5 bottle of coke in the city center – 1,3$
- A taxi ride from Pulkovo to the center – 25$ (economy class car)
- A metro ride (one-way) – 80 cent.
Unfortunately sometimes taxi drivers in St Petersburg try to cheat on tourists and send prices up. And of course prices depend on the company.
Credit cards like Visa and Mastercard are often accepted in tourist places ( cafes, hotels, etc) mostly in big cities like Moscow or St Petersburg, but do have some cash with you to pay for transport, tickets to some museums, etc. Only Russian rubles are accepted for payment in cash. You may have a lot of trouble with travel cheques so it’s better not to use them at all.