[russianadoption]

Was wondering if anyone could offer their experiences of taking the overnight train between St. Petersburg and Moscow. We have to do thie several times and prefer the train, but have also heard good and bad things regarding it. Wondered if anyone had any recent experiences they could share! Thanks!

[ddahl]

Just wondering why you have to do it several times? I would tell you to fly. Its inexpensive as tickets can be purchased in country.

[Ktates]

There are some old posts on the yahoo st. pete board about it. we alwasy flew into st. petersburg but on the last leg of the trip when we had to go to Moscow we flew also...at that time it wasn't much more expensive than the train but I know the facilitator said fares were going up so more parents might opt to take the train....

Good luck with it in any case!!!

[SingleMama2B]

A friend of mine has taken the train many times. He said that it was comfortable, clean and relatively a smooth ride. You may want to hear from "k8c" that posts on this board, as she is an American in St. Pete. (a teacher) and has taken the train to Moscow somewhat recently.

[kizibits]

It's been years since I rode the train from Moscow to St. Petersburg, but I remember it as very comfortable. We did the overnight express train and slept most of the trip. The thing to remember on any Russian train is to keep your compartment door locked at all times! You don't want to become a victim of robbery.

Jeana

[k8c]

Hi, it's me. I live in St. P and have taken the train to and from Moscow several times, but not the overnight one. But, our principal takes it regularly and has had no problems.

I enjoy train travel and have had good experiences on the train. I've ridden in different classes of cabin and on different trains. Some trains provide food. Some cabins have movies. Some trains are faster than others, make fewer stops, etc. You can easily access this information online.

I would encourage you to purchase an entire coupe if you're travelling overnight even if you don't need four beds. My Russian friends call the overnight train the pickpocket express. But, if you're on your own (by that I mean if you have a coupe to yourself) you should be fine!

Kate

ps I'd try to avoid the toilets if possible..especially towards the end of the trip.

[Drazil]

In 2004 we flew into St. Petes both times but of course then had to go to Moscow for the embassy appointment. We took the overnight express from St. Petes to Moscow. It left at 11:00 pm and arrived around 7:00 am if I remember correctly. We had a sleeper car and it was pretty comfortable (even with a toddler ), they provided blankets and pillows as well as a midnight snack (yogart, cheese, crackers, bottled water, chips, preztels, candy bars, cookies) it was quite a bit of food for the 3 of us! The worse thing I think was the heat, we were there in September and the the train was kept very warm. We read for a while, got Adrian to sleep on one bunk (I crawled in next to him later on), watched the countryside go by (what we could see anyway) and then slept for the most part. I did not use the bathroom on the train (public) mostly because I really don't use any public restroom if I can help it!!! But other than that it was fine! Actually it was kind of "James Bond" like taking the midnight express!!!!

[keithww]

We took the night Train in May and it was a little rough, but the price was right and we had the cabin to our selves. I would recommend it over flying, for several reasons. Space there is plenty of room. Time you are using time that would other wise be down time. And finally, the Experience, our daughter loves to talk about the train ride. She holds it over her sisters that she rode the train with mama and papa, and they didn't. I liked my flights on Aeroflot, but the space on the train and the chance to see a little Russian country side was a once and a life time experience.

The Woodworth Family in Beautiful San Antonio TX

[DCD]

I have to say this one not such a pleasant experience for us. We did it three years ago with my dd in Feb. We had the whole compartment. It was just a little scary being locked in the car and then waiting for the knock when it was time to get off. It was so so so hot and my dd screamed for about 45min.

I was not looking forward to doing this again with ds. We ended up having to take the flight this time since they ran out of tickets. This was also no picnic. Pretty scary too. So either way just grin and bear it and remember it is one step closer to getting home!!

[LouLouBelle]

We took the train in April from Moscow to St. Pete's. We took the train that I think was called the Red Arrow. It left around eleven and got in around 6:30 or so in the morning. It was a pleasant ride. We rode first class and had the compartment to ourselves. There are fresh sheets on the benches/beds. They bring you food. I would ride the train again in a heartbeat. This was after trip 1 so it was just DH and me.

We did travel to our region by train, also. DD did great on the overnight ride back to Moscow as well. This was a longer ride (14 hrs) than the St. Pete's run.

[beckyww]

To add to what Keith said - Yes, the train has lots of advantages. But a word of caution. It reeks of smoke. Take Benadyrl if you have any allergies.

Becky
The Woodworth Family in Beautiful San Antonio TX

[nungesser]

This is for a different train, but I think you may find the information in this post helpful: Report #6: Ulyanovsk to Moscow