My first glimpse of St. Basil’s Cathedral glowing over Red Square was the moment I fell in love with Moscow. I had worried Russia might be expensive, but traveling through Moscow and St. Petersburg on a mid-range budget turned out to be very affordable and enriching.
In fact, prices in Russia’s big cities can be quite reasonable for travelers, especially with the Russian ruble at a favorable exchange rate. (At the time of writing, $1 equals around 79 rubles and €1 about 92 rubles, making mental currency conversions easy.)
What follows is a detailed, personal rundown of what I paid, and what you can expect to pay for accommodation, dining, getting around, attractions, and souvenirs in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Along the way I’ll share tips on using cash vs. cards and how to avoid the “tourist price” in these iconic cities.
Accommodation in the Big Cities
Finding a comfortable, mid-range place to stay in Moscow or St. Petersburg was simpler (and cheaper) than I expected. Mid-range hotels and well-located private rentals in both cities typically cost around 6,000–7,000 RUB per night (roughly $75–90) for a double room.
For example, I stayed at a boutique hotel just off Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg for about 5,500 RUB/night (around $70) including breakfast – a great deal for the location.
In Moscow, a similar standard hotel near the city center ran me about 6,500 RUB for a night, which echoed the reported average of ₽6,696 per night for a double room in the city.
Prices do fluctuate with season and location – you’ll pay more in peak summer or right next to Red Square – but mid-range travelers can generally find quality rooms well under 8,000 RUB if booking in advance.
One thing I loved was that even many mid-priced hotels came with nice touches like free bottled water (since tap water isn’t advised) and Wi-Fi. If you’re on a tighter budget, clean hostels and guesthouses are plentiful too, especially in St.
Petersburg’s center, but for this trip I opted for private rooms. Tip: If your dates are flexible, try visiting in shoulder season (spring or fall) when rates can be lower and availability higher, allowing you to snag a higher-tier hotel at a mid-range price.
Overall, accommodation in Russia’s two capital cities can be a solid value for the money, letting you enjoy a bit of comfort without blowing your budget.
Cafés and Mid‑Range Restaurants
One of the joys of traveling in Russia is enjoying the local cuisine without overspending, as I learned from many meals in Moscow and St. Petersburg. On average, I found that a modest restaurant meal costs around 500 RUB ($8), and a three-course dinner at a nicer mid-range restaurant can be about 2,000 RUB (≈$30–35) per person.
This proved true in practice: one night in Moscow, I treated myself to a classic Russian dinner – beet salad, beef Stroganoff, and blini for dessert – at a cozy mid-range eatery, and the bill was roughly 1,900 RUB.
On another evening, at a trendy Georgian restaurant in St. Petersburg, two of us spent around 4,000 RUB total (about 2,000 each) for appetizers, mains, and wine, which aligns with that 2,000 RUB per person estimate for a nicer restaurant meal.
Cafés and coffee are also delightfully affordable. Every morning I grabbed a latte or cappuccino from different coffee shops – even on busy Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, a latte cost me about 250 RUB (roughly $3).
In fact, the average price of a cappuccino in Moscow is about 250 RUB, so coffee lovers won’t be breaking the bank.
Casual eats like meat pies (pirozhki) or a quick lunch at a bakery can be as low as 150–300 RUB. I often popped into local chain cafés (like Teremok or Mu-Mu) for Russian fast-food style meals at ~400 RUB for a filling combo – a great budget-friendly option.
One of my favorite discoveries was the “business lunch” tradition. Many restaurants offer fixed lunch menus on weekdays (usually 12–4pm) where 250–500 RUB buys you a set of courses and a drink.
I tried this at a bistro in Moscow’s business district: for 400 RUB I got a hot soup, salad, and chicken with rice – an incredible bargain (often the entire set cost less than one à la carte dish would in the evening!).
These business lunch deals in Moscow and St. Petersburg typically run 300–500 RUB total and are popular with locals, so I highly recommend using them to save money while tasting local flavors.
For drinks, prices were reasonable as well. A pint of local beer is around 250 RUB in a pub (about $4) and a glass of house wine about 300–350 RUB. I remember enjoying a craft beer flight at a microbrewery in St. Pete for ~240 RUB a pint, and in Moscow I paid 500 RUB for a big stein at an expat bar – not bad compared to Western European cities.
Of course, if you dine right on Red Square or in a five-star hotel restaurant, you’ll pay a premium. But overall, by favoring local eateries, cafeteria-style stolovayas (cafeterias) for quick lunches, and avoiding the obvious tourist-trap restaurants, I ate very well on a mid-range budget.
Tip: Venture a few blocks off the main tourist drags to find more local restaurants with lower prices. For instance, a coffee on a side street or a neighborhood bakery might be 30% cheaper than on Nevsky or Arbat. And don’t hesitate to try the ubiquitous chain eateries and food courts – they offer authentic dishes at local prices.
In short, dining in Moscow and St. Petersburg can be both delicious and affordable, especially if you do as locals do at lunchtime and keep an eye out for daily specials.
Metro, Buses, and Taxis
Navigating these cities was not only easy, but also extremely budget-friendly. Moscow and St. Petersburg both have excellent metro systems. In Moscow, I grabbed a rechargeable Troika card, which made each metro ride cost just 42 RUB (about $0.50).
Imagine crossing this sprawling metropolis for half a dollar – and with ornate stations that feel like mini-museums! St. Petersburg’s metro was similarly priced (a token was around 65 RUB, just under $1).
For perspective, a day-pass in Moscow is about 265 RUB ($3.40) and got me unlimited rides, which was perfect for sightseeing hops.
Buses and trams are also cheap (roughly 50 RUB a ride), though I mostly used the metro and lots of walking in the city centers.
Taxis and ride-hailing are another area where mid-range travelers can breathe easy. I relied on the Yandex Taxi app (the local equivalent of Uber) whenever I needed a car.
Fares were impressively low by international standards. For example, a 25-minute cross-town ride in Moscow cost me about 500 RUB, and rides of 15 minutes or so within the city center were often only 300 RUB.
To my surprise, even the long trip from Sheremetyevo Airport to downtown Moscow (around 45 km) was just about 900–1000 RUB using the app. (That’s roughly $12 for an airport transfer – I’ve paid triple in other capitals!) In St. Petersburg, my late-night taxi from the Moskovsky train station to my hotel (around 20 minutes) was only 400 RUB via Yandex.
The key is to use official apps like Yandex or Uber (which now partners with Yandex in Russia) – they lock in a fair price upfront. Avoid hailing unlicensed cabs on the street, as those can overcharge foreigners (I heard horror stories of tourists being asked for 5,000+ RUB by scammy drivers – just don’t even go there). Using the apps, I always felt safe and knew what I’d pay.
Within city centers, walking is also a great way to save money and see the sights. In Moscow, I often strolled between Red Square, the Arbat neighborhood, and Gorky Park. In St. Petersburg, Nevsky Prospekt is extremely walkable end-to-end. When my feet got tired, the metro or a quick Yandex ride filled the gap cheaply.
Overall transportation costs in both cities were a negligible part of my budget – I probably spent no more than 600–800 RUB ($8–10) per day even on my busiest sightseeing days, and much less on others.
This means you can freely explore without worrying about transport expenses. Just remember to have some small change or a local transit card for buses and metro.
Tip: Get a transit card (Troika in Moscow, Podorozhnik in St. Pete) if you’ll be riding often, since it reduces per-ride costs and saves hassle. And definitely stick to official taxi apps – you’ll not only save money, but also avoid any communication issues since you input your destination in the app. With these tools, getting around Moscow and St. Petersburg is both easy and inexpensive.
Sightseeing and Entry Fees
Considering their world-class attractions, entrance fees in Russia are very reasonable. I was often pleasantly surprised at how affordable major museums and sites were, especially compared to Western Europe.
For instance, St. Petersburg’s famed Hermitage Museum (Winter Palace), one of the largest art museums on the planet, costs only about 700 RUB (roughly $8–9) for an adult ticket. I spent an entire day wandering its opulent halls for the price of a sandwich back home.
Over in Moscow, visiting the Kremlin grounds and cathedrals – the very heart of Russia’s history – was similarly priced at around 700 RUB per person for a basic entry ticket. Standing within the Kremlin walls, surrounded by golden church domes, I remember thinking: this is a bargain!
Even climbing the iconic St. Isaac’s Cathedral colonnade in St. Petersburg was only about 400 RUB for panoramic city views.
Of course, some special exhibitions or guided tours can cost more, but even those were moderate. I took an audio-guided tour inside the Armoury Museum in the Moscow Kremlin (which houses crown jewels and Fabergé eggs) for about 1,200 RUB.
And a summer day-trip to the Peterhof Palace and Gardens outside St. Petersburg – often the priciest excursion on a tourist itinerary – set me back around 2,000 RUB for the grand palace ticket.
Many smaller museums and galleries were only a few hundred rubles. For example, I popped into a small Russian avant-garde art museum in Petersburg for 150 RUB (under $2).
Churches like Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood charged about 350–400 RUB entry, and some attractions (such as Lenin’s Mausoleum on Red Square, or many churches if just entering to pray) were free. Overall, a daily sightseeing budget of $10–15 (≈800–1200 RUB) can cover multiple sites.
One thing to note: foreigners and Russians sometimes pay different prices at state museums. As a foreign visitor, I paid the posted “full” price – e.g. 700 RUB at the Hermitage (while locals had a discounted rate). Even so, these prices are excellent value.
Multi-museum passes are available in some cases (I got a two-day pass in St. Pete that included the Hermitage and several other art museums for around 1,000 RUB). Also, many museums have free admission days monthly or offer student discounts, so it’s worth checking their official websites in advance.
The bottom line is that enjoying the cultural riches of Moscow and St. Petersburg doesn’t require a hefty budget. Major attractions range roughly from 300 to 1,000 RUB for entry, with most top museums around 500–700 RUB as noted (even the opulent Catherine Palace outside St. Petersburg starts from about 1,100 RUB for a basic tour).
In my experience, I never had to skip a sight due to cost – time was my only limiting factor! So, mid-range travelers can freely immerse themselves in museums, palaces, and galleries without worrying about high ticket prices.
Just plan ahead for popular sights (to avoid lines) and enjoy the fact that sightseeing in Russia often costs far less than in many other countries.
Souvenirs and Shopping
I’m a bit of a souvenir addict, and Russia did not disappoint – from nested dolls to fur hats, souvenirs were plentiful and often quite affordable if you shop smart. The first thing everyone back home asked me for was a Matryoshka doll (those famous painted nesting dolls).
In touristy shops on Arbat Street or near major sights, I saw small basic matryoshkas going for 2,000 RUB or more, which felt steep. But I learned quickly that prices in tourist centers are heavily marked up. Instead, I took the metro to Izmailovsky Market in Moscow, a sprawling souvenir bazaar where locals themselves shop.
There, the prices dropped dramatically: I was able to buy medium-sized Matryoshka sets for 800–1,200 RUB each – the exact same dolls that central shops wanted 2–3 times more for.
In fact, one traveler I met boasted that he got 8 fridge magnets for $6 total and two nice ushanka fur hats for 3000 RUB (~$30) at Izmailovsky! That’s about 75 cents per magnet – a fraction of the 150–200 RUB ( ~$2–3) each that souvenir kiosks on Nevsky Prospekt charge.
My own haul from Izmailovsky included a beautiful hand-painted matryoshka (10 pieces) for around ≈5,000 RUB (it was a splurge, but it was large and artisan-made), a simpler 5-piece doll for 1,000 RUB, and a pile of magnets at 50–100 RUB each.
I also couldn’t resist picking up a classic Ushanka fur hat (the kind with ear flaps). In a mall shop that hat might cost $50+, but at the market I bargained it down to 1,300 RUB – about $17 – for a faux-fur version. Traditional embroidered shawls, lacquer boxes, Soviet memorabilia, and amber jewelry were also great buys.
For instance, I found a set of painted wooden Christmas ornaments for 500 RUB and a vintage Soviet-era pin for 200 RUB.
The key is to shop where locals recommend and be willing to haggle a bit (especially at open-air markets). In St. Petersburg, there are fewer big souvenir markets, but I discovered that shops a few blocks off Nevsky (or even vendor stalls at places like the Kuznechny Market) had far better prices than the tourist-focused stores right by the Hermitage.
Don’t be shy to comparison-shop: I saw the same style “USSR” T-shirt priced at 1,500 RUB at the airport, 800 RUB on Nevsky, and 500 RUB at a market stall deeper in town. It pays to wander a little.
Also, if you plan to buy multiple items, sellers often give discounts – when I bought three matryoshkas from one vendor, she knocked down the total price by about 15%.
As a mid-range traveler, you can definitely load your suitcase with keepsakes without overspending. Budget maybe ₽1,000–2,000 ($13–25) for a few nice souvenirs (more if you want something like genuine silver jewelry or a large handcrafted item).
With that, I got a whole bag full of gifts. Tip: For the best prices, visit Izmailovsky Market in Moscow on weekends (when all vendors are there), and in general, avoid buying souvenirs in the most touristic spots. A little effort to seek out local markets or less obvious shops will make a big difference in price.
And however you do it, don’t leave Russia without at least a nesting doll or an ushanka hat – they’re iconic, fun, and often much cheaper than you’d expect in the right place.
Cash, Cards, and Currency Tips
When it comes to money, Russia has its quirks that mid-range travelers should prepare for. First and foremost, cash is king for foreign visitors right now. Due to geopolitical events and sanctions, international credit and debit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Amex issued outside Russia) do not work at Russian ATMs or vendors.
I learned this ahead of time and made sure to bring enough cash in Euros to exchange once in Russia. In both Moscow and St. Petersburg, I easily found authorized exchange offices and banks that changed my euros to rubles at fair rates (avoid shady street changers, stick to banks or official counters).
You can bring up to the equivalent of $10,000 USD in cash without declaration when entering Russia, which is more than enough for a vacation budget. I certainly didn’t need that much – for a couple of weeks I brought about €800 and $300, and ended up changing money in batches as needed.
Cards issued in Russia (Mir cards) are widely accepted domestically, but as a foreigner you likely won’t have one. Some travelers get creative (I heard of a service at Sheremetyevo Airport that issues prepaid Mir cards to foreigners), but I personally managed fine using cash for most transactions.
Big hotels, upscale restaurants, and museums in Moscow and St. Petersburg do often accept card payments, but again, your foreign Visa/MasterCard might not go through.
I had one backup card that was a UnionPay (a Chinese network) which did work at a few ATMs, but that’s not common for most European or American travelers.
So the safest strategy: bring currency (USD or EUR) and convert to rubles locally. Both cities have plenty of ATMs and exchange offices – I felt safe carrying rubles as cash since street crime is quite low in tourist areas, but of course take normal precautions as you would anywhere.
The good news is that Russia is largely a cash economy for tourists at the moment, and prices are low enough that you won’t need to carry huge wads of bills day to day. I usually withdrew or exchanged just enough rubles for a few days at a time.
Many mid-range establishments, shops, and metro stations accepted cash without issue, and I rarely found myself needing coins aside from small purchases like bottled water or metro tokens – most things I paid with 100s and 1000s (rubles) notes.
The ruble comes in notes up to 5000, which is roughly $60, so even paying your hotel in cash is feasible if needed.
A note on exchange rates: The ruble’s value can fluctuate, so check the current rate right before your trip. As mentioned earlier, during my visit 1 USD ≈ 79 RUB and 1 EUR = 92 RUB, which meant everything in rubles felt quite affordable to me coming from Europe.
This might change over time, but generally the ruble has been weaker in recent years, favoring incoming travelers. Also, most prices you’ll see quoted in Russia are in rubles (it’s actually illegal for shops to price in foreign currency), so having a grasp of the conversion is handy.
I often did quick mental math: move the decimal two places for a rough USD equivalent (e.g. 1000 RUB ~ $12.5, 500 RUB ~ $6.25).
For Euros, 1000 RUB was about €11. The favorable exchange rate meant my money went a long way – I sometimes felt like I was under-budgeting because costs were lower than anticipated.
In summary, plan on using cash for most of your spending in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and bring that cash with you (in a major currency to exchange) since your home bank card likely won’t work at ATMs in Russia.
Once you have your rubles, you’ll find that a mid-range budget can comfortably cover daily expenses, with room for the occasional splurge, thanks to the generally low cost of living.
Just keep your cash secure, break down larger notes at your hotel or major stores (smaller vendors appreciate exact change), and enjoy the freedom of not worrying about credit card limits or transaction fees on this trip.
Final Thoughts about Russia
Traveling through Moscow and St. Petersburg on a mid-range budget felt like unlocking a secret: you get million-dollar experiences for a fraction of the price.
Of course, how you spend makes a difference – eat where locals eat, ride the metro, and shop at markets, and you’ll save plenty of rubles while seeing a more authentic side of Russia.
Meanwhile, in the more touristy corners, a little caution (and maybe skipping that overpriced café on Red Square) goes a long way.
Personally, I loved the sense of connection that came with using cash and the metro like everyone around me – it turned little daily transactions into cultural experiences.
And every ruble saved on one thing was a ruble I could spend on another memorable experience (like an extra ballet show at the theater or a second helping of blini with caviar!).
In the end, I found that a mid-range budget of roughly $100–$120 a day (about ₽8,000–9,500) was more than sufficient to live very well in Moscow and St. Petersburg – covering a good hotel, hearty meals, museum entries, transit, and some shopping.
In fact, most days I spent less than that and felt rich in experiences.
If you’re planning a trip to Russia’s two capitals, rest assured that you can enjoy them fully.