It's better to carry US dollars - then you won't have any problems with changing them. There are currency exchange offices all around St Petersburg, many of them work 24 hours.
There are also many ATMs, usually next to banks' offices. The ATMs take no comission or only 1%, but your bank will charge you about $5 for a transaction.
You can use the credit card in most of the supermarkets, department and clothes stores, restaurants and clubs. Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted, AMEX and Diners are rare.
The most wide-spread travellers' cheques are AMEX and Thomas Cook, you can go to any bank to cash them. The banks are open from 9.00 to 17.00-20.00 usually. There it's also the most secure place to change your money.
Prices (in $ US, $1 buys about 30 roubles)
St Petersburg is less expensive than Moscow. After the financial crisis of 1998 most of the businesses realised that they should work for middle class, but still St Petersburg is expensive for some things.
The food is relatively cheap: if you cook yourself you'll fit in 50-100R ($1.7-$3.5) a day, if you go to the restaurants only, expect to spend from 100 to 300 R ($3.5 - $10) a day - of course if you're not up to the luxury stuff.
The transportation is very cheap: a ride on the metro is 5 R ($0.15), a bus, a trolley, or a tram is 4 R ($0.13). A taxi will charge 50-200R ($1.7 - $7) depending on your appearance and your ability to negotiate.
Sometimes, you'll have to pay more than Russians to do sightseeing. Museums and famous sights charge about $3, however there are some tricks, see in the appropriate sections of our site.
If you go partying, you can spend nothing or everything. Some of the clubs don't charge any entrance cover, otherwise expect to pay $1-$3 and more if there's something special. A drink is usually about $1 (local beer can be even cheaper). A meal is about $2-$3.
For shopping there's quite much variety: all the main fashion and casual wear western and especially scandinavian brands are represented on Nevski Prospekt street. The prices are about 20% higher than in Europe.
