Ferry from Helsinki to St. Petersburg

You need a visa to enter Russia. The only exceptions I believe are if you are in a cruise-arranged shore excursion, they take care of it for you. Some private tour groups will also make the arrangements, but no individual citizen can enter Russia without a visa. I'm also not aware of a ferry from Helsinki to St. Petersburg. There is a train though.

You might think about taking the train. There is a new high speed train called Allegro that makes the trip in 3 1/2 hours. The Finnish train web site is: www.vr.fi/eng. Look for "Trains to Russia." This site also has some good Russian visa information with even more links. Look under "Travel Instructions."

No. If you go on the St. Peter Line, a visa is not necessary at least that's what we were told. We went from Helsinki to St. Petersburg and back, but just for the day trip. Overnight to St. Petersburg, a day there, and then overnight back. Met some people who did the 72 hour version, and they did not have a visa.

Thanks for the update Pam. This is a fairly new ferry line and indeed offers up to 72 hours without a visa. I assume they must handle the paperwork much the same way the cruise lines do. So OP Pam, I hope you checked back to see this but it's good info for us all.

Thanks for all the responses. As it turns out, we are opting out of St. Petersburg and taking the ferry to Tallin, Estonia instead. I travel to Finland quite often, so my next trip will be St. Petersburg!