Getting to Saint Petersburg
The international airport of Saint Petersburg is called Pulkovo (the international code for the airport is LED), and is located in 15km from the city center. It is served by several airline companies including Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, SAS, Air France, KLM, Korean Air, ČSA, LOT, British Airways, Finnair, Air Baltic, Rossiya Airlines, Aeroflot, Transaero and others, and also by low cost airlines Air Berlin and Germanwings. There are two terminals at Pulkovo airport; most international flights by regular airlines are served by Terminal 2, while most domestic flights as well as international ones by low cost airlines are served by Terminal 1. The transfer time between the two terminals is about 10-15 minutes by taxi; please note there is neither shuttle connection nor public transport between them. Both terminals can be easily reached from the city by taxi or public transport.
By taxi
At either terminal, there is an official taxi counter “Taxi Pulkovo” (“Такси Пулково” in Russian). A taxi ordered at this counter arrives in a few minutes; the prices are fixed and range between 500 and 1500 rubles (USD 17-50, EUR 16-42) depending on the part of the city to be reached. A taxi ride to the city center costs 900 rubles (USD 30, EUR 22.5). However, the prices may get slightly higher by the summer. To be safe, refrain from taking a taxi outside the terminal building on your own.
To get to the airport by taxi, you may order it by phone. There are several taxi companies in Saint Petersburg; below are the phones of a few of them:
- 068 (local) or (+7 812) 324 7777
- 053 (local)
- (+7 812) 6000000
- (+7 812) 7000000
- (+7 812) 4000000
By public transport
The nearest metro station to the airport is “Moskovskaya” (“Московская”; blue line on the scheme). It can be reached from either terminal by a bus or a minibus, which stop right in front of a terminal.
Terminal 1 – “Moskovskaya”
Bus 39 (municipal) - ticket cost: 25 rubles (USD 0.8; EUR 0.6); transfer time: appr. 25min.
Minibus K39 (commercial) - ticket cost: 35 rubles (USD 1.2; EUR 0.9); transfer time: appr. 20min.
Terminal 2 – “Moskovskaya”
Bus 13 (municipal) - ticket cost: 25 rubles (USD 0.8; EUR 0.6); transfer time: appr. 20min.
Minibuses K3, K13, K213 (commercial) - ticket cost: 35 rubles (USD 1.2; EUR 0.9); transfer time: appr. 15min.
Other options
If you would like to spend a few days in Moscow before or after the conference, you might choose to fly to Moscow and then get to Saint Petersburg by air or rail. There are three international airports in Moscow: Sheremetyevo (SVO), Domodedovo (DME) and Vnukovo (VKO); each of them is connected to the city by an express train, and also serves flights to/from Saint Petersburg. However, the most convenient way of getting from one city center to another is by an express train “Sapsan” (“Сапсан”), which runs 6 times per day; the travel time varies from 3h40m to 4h10m, and the ticket cost is approximately 3500 rubles (USD 120, EUR 90) for the second class and 6500 rubles (USD 220, EUR 160) for the first class. Alternatively, there are comfortable night trains, which leave one city between 11pm and midnight, and arrive to the other between 7am and 8am the next day.
Yet another way of getting to Saint Petersburg is to fly to Helsinki (Finland), and take an express train “Allegro” (“Аллегро”), which leaves from Helsinki city center and runs 4 times per day. The travel time is 3h36m, and the ticket cost is approximately 3500 rubles (USD 120; EUR 90).