Travel Hints

WATER: Do not drink water from any faucet (tap water) in Russia! The water contains different bacteria than you are used to and it may make you feel ill. It is fine for brushing your teeth, showering and cleaning up.

You will be able to buy bottled water from the buses at a very inexpensive price. These are sold in 2 liter plastic bottles and you can pay with Roubles, Euros or Swedish Kronor. You will also find many types of bottled water for sale in the hotel lobbies and in shops located near the hotels.

If you notice that the shower in your hotel room is only flowing with cold or brackish water, have no fear! Let the water run for 5 to 10 minutes and then see if it improves. Usually after that, you will have plenty of clean, hot water.

FOOD on the bus: It is a good idea to bring something to eat and drink for the first day of the trip (Day Two). Once you arrive in Finland, there will only be one stop between Turku and the Finnish-Russian border.

PASSPORTS: Your passport and tourist visa will be registered at the hotel reception desk on Day Two of the trip. After this has been done, your passports will be returned to you at an announced time. Be absolutely certain that when you have your passport, you know where it is. You may not lose your passport!

SURPRISE PAPER CHECKS: Every now and then, the Russian police, militia, military, special police or frontier police (armed police) make surprise checks of our buses. There is no need to be frightened or alarmed - it is all part of the Road Trip experience. They will often want to check that you have a visa and see your passport. This is especially true when we enter the frontier zone just a few kilometers outside of Vyborg on the way home. These checks usually take about 10 minutes and then they let the bus continue on its journey.

VALUABLES: There is no need to bring expensive jewelry or other valuables with you on any of trips. You can take cameras, video cameras etc. with you - and do take as many pictures as possible! However, when you go somewhere where you are asked to leave your coat or bag (cloak room), do NOT leave anything even slightly valuable in your pockets. Keep your cameras, wallets, money wallets etc. on your person at all times.

BANK CARDS/CREDIT CARDS/WALLETS: and purses too. Empty out your wallets and purses of important items like driver's license, extra bankcards, or receipts that you need back home - basically, anything that you do not need in Russia but cannot afford to lose. There is no need to lose these types of cards that cannot be used in Russia.

** The exception to this is YOUR STUDENT CARD - take this with you! **

At many tourist attractions (museums, churches, etc.) you can get a student discount. Your student card may be from your Swedish university, your home university, or an ISIC student card that you may have received from Kilroy Travels.

HOTEL & FERRY BEHAVIOR: If anything is broken in the rooms or taken from the rooms, or Viking Line ferry cabins, security will notify your group leader or bus driver about this. You are responsible for everything in your hotel room, and in your ferry cabin.

Sleeping bags/pillows: You do not need a sleeping bag – but a pillow is a good idea for the drives to and from Russia.

Towels, sheets, blankets: you do not need to bring any of these with you – you will be staying in hotels that provide these for you during your stay.

MOBILE TELEPHONES: If you are planning to bring your GSM telephone with you to Russia, Swedish mobile telephone operators have roaming agreements with local networks in St Petersburg and Moscow. However, calls back to Sweden may cost as much as 3-5 EUR/minute. To receive a call from somewhere else (outside of Russia) may also cost approximately 1-2 EUR/minute. SMS also works well in Russia – check with your mobile phone network service provider to find out what the charges are.

ELECTRICITY: Russian electrical outlets are the same plug type as in Western Europe - 220V.