Did you know there’s a simple (and 100 per cent legitimate) way to visit St Petersburg without going through the visa process? The only catch is you have to enter the city by cruise ship. But hey, cruises can be pretty fun.
I first heard about the loophole through a friend – who had heard it from someone he met at a hostel when he was in Moscow. The loophole allows you to visit Russia for up to 72 hours as long as you’re part of an organised tour starting from a cruise.
My first thought was this couldn’t be true – you board a ship and you’re able to get around the visa rule? My antenna was up and it sounded like a scam. But I did a bit of research and it seemed like it was true and so I booked my passage on a cruise ship from Helsinki in Finland.
