It is safe route Helsinki-St.Petersburg-Warsaw?
 

Hello, I'm from Chile, and will rent a motorcycle to make the trip Helsinki-St.Petersburg-Warsaw. Anyone know if this route is safe? There assailants? difficult to cross borders, go alone with my girlfriend, we recommend?? I hope I can help. Thank you... AFONDO

absolutely safe, just like riding from Arequipa to Santiago...

I don´t see any real safety issues on that route (except maybe traffic can be a bit hairy in some places, esp. Russia and Poland.)

BTW, are you required a visa to enter Russia? They´ve managed to make their country not-so-appealing at least for Finnish people, who are just passing by, and would like to continue to Eastern Europe, because even a single-entry visa for Russia applied through a travel agency is in the region of 70-80€ per person. Nowadays, when you can take a ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn Estonia for much less, and then continue straight down towards Poland, most travellers leave Russia out completely (so the Russians don´t get a penny from them – but I´m not sure they´ve thought about it that way, it´s probable that they like their bureaucracy more than they like a few tourist dollars/euros!) :rofl:

Also taking a rental bike abroad, especially to take it to Russia, could be a bit of a problem (even though they´ve joined the Green Card system, that might help a bit), but you´ll need to check that with whoever you are renting from.

the only (legal) way to get into russia without a visum is to take the ferry from St. Petersburg - you can get a 72-hr visum, without vehicle, to return on the same ferry (for which you have to have a return ticket).

any other way - you're gonna pay...:taz:

The OP is Chilean.....no visas required for travel to Russia...!!

( I renewed my long-forgotten Chilean passport with this sole purpose in mind :D)

Re: It is safe route Helsinki-St.Petersburg-Warsaw?
 

Hola afondo,

This route should be completely safe (I haven't crossed the border with Poland lately, but others did and it seems everything is good).

Try to take care after you enter Russia from Finland and on the highway towards St.Petersburg, as there will be sizable lorry traffic and some crazy car drivers passing at high speeds through oncoming lanes. So watch out.

Also, from St.Petersburg you can take different routes to Warszaw. You can go through Belorussia or through the Baltic republics. Depends on your preferences and visa situation. Both routes are safe.

If you need any help around St.Petersburg, feel free to send me a PM.