See St Petersburg without a visa

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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.

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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. read more

Solo traveller? Here’s 6 ways to meet people

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I’m predominantly a solo traveller. Or I used to be. These days I’ve met so many people in my travels that often I’m couchsurfing with people I’ve met during my past travels. Or I’ve organised to meet someone I met overseas on the other side of the world. Or I just met three people at my hostel.

In the last six months, I’ve couchsurfed in Boston with someone I met in Peru and next up we’re doing a tour in Jordan; completed a 10 day trip to Greece with a Canadian I met while aupairing in Italy; and toured Maui with a friend I met while teaching English in Hungary. read more