Saint Petersburg has a somewhat undeserved reputation for being a dangerous city. Things have calmed down since the Wild West or Wild East days immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but some common sense is still required.
As with most other major cities, avoid traveling alone at night, and do not get into altercations with drunks. If traveling at night, it is recommended to stay on the main sidewalks and avoid any dark alleys or yards. Gypsy cabs are not recommended under any circumstances, especially those that linger near bars where expatriates and tourists congregate.
Downtown and western parts of the city are safest. Suburbs like Kupchino, Veteranov and Ligovo are struggling with criminality and poverty. Sennaya should be avoided at night time.
As a general rule, the farther you are from the city center, the more dangerous it is.
Gangs are a problem, although mafia gang wars are unlikely to affect tourists. Some gangs, however, such as neo-Nazis or angry hooligans, are out looking for problems and commit crimes that can affect tourists. After the war with Chechnya and terrorist attacks in some Russian cities, local hatred is growing toward people with darker complexions, and neo-Nazism is a concern. St. Petersburg, and Russia in general, can be regarded as a seriously dangerous destination for tourists of darker complexions so travelling in groups is highly advised.
Saint Petersburg's football club, Zenit Saint Petersburg, is one of the biggest clubs in the country, and has its own band of hooligans. If you decide to visit the football stadium to watch the club play, you should buy tickets to center sectors. If you do not do this and a fight starts, you are likely to get dragged into it by either the hooligans or the police, since both will think you are part of the brawl.
Take care of money, documents, cameras, mobile phones, and anything of value because of pickpocketing. Especially watch out on the Metro during busy times, as people start pushing at the train doors, and pickpockets are frequent, particularly but not only at Gostinyy Dvor Metro Station. When riding the Metro, keep in mind that robbery can be a real threat; you should constantly watch what is going on around you and who is standing very close to you.
Thefts of photo equipment are really a big problem in Saint Petersburg. Photo bags probably won't save your camera -- it can be opened in less than 5 seconds. Cameras should be kept in bags slung across the body at all times, with your hands keeping a firm grip on them, and no watches or jewelry should be visible at all. Quite obviously, do not show in public that you have a lot of money. Robberies are not uncommon, and many foreigners have been threatened at gun and knife point. However, foreigners are not targeted specifically, and robbers will attack both foreigners and natives that carelessly reveal their wealth.
Take special care on Nevsky Prospekt, particularly the area with the city tour buses, a favorite spot of pickpockets and particularly of those after photo equipment. On the bright side, "Nevsky Prospekt" sees little mugging.
Russian driving is wild. Drivers attack their art with an equal mix of aggressiveness and incompetence. Guidelines are lax and rarely followed. As a pedestrian, take great care when crossing the roads, as pedestrian crossings are in 99% of cases ignored even by police. If you are thinking of driving yourself, bear in mind that the Russian traffic police are extremely corrupt, even by Russian standards. Pedestrian crossings with a traffic light are quite safe to use, most car drivers will stop. Just like in any other big city always look left and right before crossing the road and make eye contact with the driver if possible.
Saint Petersburg has a relatively big problem with street children who make their living out of stealing. They can be a hassle and can beg you aggressively. Act like any other Russian would: say no, then just ignore them and go away.
Homosexuals must practice extreme caution while staying in Saint Petersburg, as attacks often occur. Many Russian people look upon public demonstrations of homosexuality with undisguised contempt.
Bar fights do occur. In the center of the city and around Nevsky Prospekt, they are unlikely to happen. However, in the suburbs and local cheaper pubs, fights occur almost daily. If you are staying with locals living in these areas, it might be a good idea to avoid these bars. Police are unlikely to show up as they consider fights as small, unimportant, regular and a waste of time, and they will probably laugh at you for calling.
Another subtle danger that can affect your trip is the inevitable effect of winter weather. Poor harvesting of snow and ice is a big problem in city. Caution is advised in snowy winters because of falling ice from roofs, and pedestrians should pay special attention to ice on the streets.
Overall, be warned that if you are used to living in the US and/or Western Europe, Saint Petersburg, as well as the rest of Eastern Europe, will seem different, and, at times, a bit intimidating. On the other hand, Russian people are usually friendly, welcoming and interested towards foreigners, and nothing should happen to you unless you put yourself in harm's way. If you don't care about them they don't care about you, and nothing should get in your way of having a great holiday.
The below private hospitals have English-speaking Russian doctors very few, if any, hospital staff are expats. Depending on the type of service provided and the terms of one's insurance policy, these hospitals may be able to arrange direct billing with European and American medical insurance companies.
MEDEM
Includes dental clinic, pediatric unit, and other services.
Euromed
Multi-specialty medical center that provides a full range of medical services,applying international standards and protocols of diagnostics and treatment. Includes it's own laboratory and pharmacy units, in-patient department with comfortable 5-star hotel class wards, ambulance team. English-speaking personnel provides direct insurance billing and any administrative support to the patientaccomodation,visas,transfers,medical evacuatuons.
The city's water-system is not ideal because of a number of old pipes and as a result does not provide 100% clean water. Some locals boil or also filter tap water before use; you might want to buy it bottled if water quality affects you.
In Saint Petersburg cold water is cleaner than hot, also there isn't hot water for 3 weeks every summer.
There are numerous public toilets, most of which are attended by a person who will charge about 15 rubles for entry. It is a good idea to take your own toilet paper, as it is not always provided. The toilets are typically extremely dirty by Western standards. If you are a Westerner, you can get away with wandering into the Western hotels, which have lovely bathrooms— the Grand Hotel Europe in particular. Just don't ever push your luck with suit-clad men guarding the hotel entrances, they are tough as nails if provoked. Many restaurants also allow tourists to use toilet without being a customer.
American Medical Clinic
Includes dental clinic and pediatric unit.
cope
The first 24 hours in Saint Petersburg may be a shock to the system. The welcome from immigration officials seems like a hang-over from Communist times- don't expect to be spoken to or even looked at by officials. Flying into Saint Petersburg may seem unusual, with the sight of old concrete tower blocks and factory chimneys. The suburbs of the city are a contrast to those with which you may be familiar. Nevsky Prospekt is the most 'Westernized' street in the city and would be more familiar to Westerners traveling to Saint Petersburg. If you are from a Western country, you will find this either shocking or amusing.
Saint Petersburg is plagued by a number of mosquitoes during the summer, as the swampy surroundings of the city give the mosquitoes excellent living conditions. In budget accommodation with few countermeasures against the mosquitoes, this can be a problem at night, putting your well deserved sleep at risk.
Embassies, high commissions and consulates
Germany
Contact
CafeMax
Large, well-lighted, and clean. Also offers copying, scanning and faxing services.
Shangri La
There are four GSM 900/1800 networks MTS (http://www.spb.mts.ru/, Beeline (http://mobile.beeline.ru/...), Megafon (http://szf.megafon.ru/inf...) and Tele2 (http://www.en.tele2.ru/)) and a CDMA 2000 network SkyLink (http://www.skylink.ru/Default.aspx?&r=78) and the coverage is quite sufficient every built-up area and most of the country roads. If you stay for a few days or more and need to make local calls it is advised that you buy a pre-paid SIM card you may be asked for a passport and a cell-phone if you don't have one matching local standards possibly a used one which is going to be much cheaper than roaming in most cases. A SIM card with a balance will cost you less than $10. Cell outlets are plentiful around the city numerous at every subway station and shopping center. You can pay for your talks at most supermarkets, cell-phone shops and ATMs. The emergency service number is 112.
For international calls, consider buying a calling card which allows very cheap calls a few rubles for a minute to Europe or the US. Calling from a hotel room may result in rather painful bill.
The following internet cafes offer computers with internet, gaming, and WiFi as noted.
Players
No WiFi service.
Also there are so-called computer clubs with dozens of computers for network gaming usually crowded by kids playing CounterStrike which also offer internet access in separate rooms for a little charge.
Free wifi is available in most hotels, business and shopping centers. In restaurants and pubs, wifi is really everywhere--thanks to huge amount of Finnish tourists that are used to it.
WiMAX new generation 4G internet is offered by Yota (http://www.yota.ru/), with excellent coverage within city boundaries. 900 rubles/month or 90 rubles/day. Must buy Yota USB modem 2,390 rubles to access the 4G network.
Also you can buy a USB-modem with a pre-paid SIM card of any mobile network operators mentioned above. It will cost about 1200 rubles for GSM operators and 3900 rubles for SkyLink. Note that MTS, Beeline and Megafon offer high-speed UMTS interconnection, but Tele2 offers only standard GPRS. Plans start at 1 rub/Mb for GSM operators and 0.30 rub/Mb for SkyLink. Prices as of 2009
Tvoyo
Also serves drinks & snacks for only a few rubles. This cybercafe used to be known as "Quo Vadis."