Half of the suburbs around Saint Petersburg are, for ticketing purposes, still Saint Petersburg — and a train ticket there costs a flat 65 roubles one way. That covers Zelenogorsk and Komarovo, Oranienbaum (Lomonosov) and Pushkin. Vyborg costs more: 314 roubles on an ordinary train, 353 roubles on a Lastochka. Gatchina from Baltiysky station starts at 120 roubles.
There are no fare zones here. The regional operator dropped them in 2010, and the 2026 tariff is a flat 65 roubles inside the city limits, 48.44 roubles for the first 14 km in Leningrad Region plus 3.46 roubles per further kilometre, or 56.14 plus 4.01 on a Lastochka.
One number shapes every winter trip: on 22 December 2026 the sun rises at 09:54 and sets at 16:01 — six hours and six minutes of daylight. Plan outdoor things before 15:30 and indoor things after.
Zelenogorsk and Komarovo: 65 roubles, half an hour
Fifty kilometres from Finlyandsky station. An ordinary train takes 56–59 minutes, a Lastochka 30, and both cost 65 roubles because Zelenogorsk is legally part of the city. Walk the frozen shore at Komarovo, then the park and the 1950s railway station in Zelenogorsk. Nothing here charges admission, so the whole day costs 130 roubles plus lunch.
at the Bank of Russia rate on 06.10.2026 · powered by tutkakdoma
Vyborg: a medieval castle and a Monday trap
129 km from Finlyandsky station. The Lastochka takes 1 hour 12 minutes for 353 roubles; the slow train takes at least 2 hours 13 minutes for 314. In winter that extra 39 roubles buys you daylight.
At Vyborg Castle the Olaf Tower ticket costs 500 roubles for everyone, the museum 350 roubles for adults (children under 14 free), a combined ticket 1300, and simply walking the Castle Island 100 roubles. The tower and the island are open daily 9:00–19:30, but the main museum building is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and the Town Hall Tower and Clock Tower open only at weekends. See our Vyborg day-trip guide for the rest of the town.
Gatchina, Tsarskoye Selo and Oranienbaum
Gatchina Palace costs 700 roubles for adults, 400 for students and pensioners; the Priory Palace 300; the Palace Park 250. The palace is open 10:00–18:00 but ticket desks close at 17:00, and Mondays are closed. The park itself is open daily from 06:00 to 22:00.
At Tsarskoye Selo the ticket from Vitebsky station is 65 roubles and the Catherine Park costs 400 roubles (300 reduced, free under 14), but entry is free before 9:00 and after 19:00; the park is open 07:00–21:00 from September to 19 April. The Catherine Palace with the Amber Room costs 1600 roubles for Russian and EAEU citizens, 400 for children aged 7–14. Tickets are sold online only, for timed slots, and are name-bound. Closed Tuesdays and, from November to April, the last Monday of the month.
Oranienbaum is the emptiest of the suburban parks in winter, and a separate park ticket is required only in the summer season — in winter you simply walk in. The park is open 08:00–20:00. The Grand Menshikov Palace costs 800 roubles for Russian and EAEU citizens, 150 for children aged 7–14, and is open 10:30–18:00 with last entry at 17:00. The Chinese Palace and the Palace of Peter III are closed for the winter.
Tickets and what to bring
Buy through the operator's mobile app, a self-service terminal or a ticket desk. The Podorozhnik transit card has worked on suburban trains since December 2017, but it gives no discount — you pay the standard fare. Book the Vyborg Lastochka ahead: seats are reserved and weekend trains fill up.
Bring a thermos, boots with a real sole, cash as a backup for small museum desks, and a power bank — a phone holding your ticket drains twice as fast in the cold. One destination per day is plenty; it gets dark before you finish the second. Compare the options in our day-trips comparison.
