What’s a water taxi? 

Small boats with capacity of around 10 people are now coursing along two routes: one between the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Admiralty (the city’s most tourist-y areas); and another between Krestovsky Island and the Begovaya metro station. 

The boats depart every 20 minutes between 11 am and 7 pm on both routes, and the price of one ride is just 100 rubles. In the future, if the initiative is popular, the schedule will change to a boat every 10 minutes.

Experience

This Thursday, I ventured to the Peter and Paul Fortress to test the taxi first-hand. Even though finding the boarding spot was eventually easy, there are several piers there, so I was a little confused at first. You need the pier that’s a little further down the embankment – here’s its exact location. Just ask for the water taxi at the counter at the pier.

You can get your tickets on the spot (card and cash payments available). Apparently, a boat had just set off when I arrived, so I had to wait a little nearby after getting my ticket – luckily, there are several benches right near the pier. 

After some 10 minutes, it arrived: taxi-colored and compact, it somehow also looked chic. Once I checked my ticket and got on the boat, I was surprised to find a little table and some very comfortable seats. It felt great to be inside – although “inside” is quite a relative term, for the taxi has a roof but no windows, making it perfect for a ride on a hot day. 

Though the journey itself was brief, it was wonderfully cheerful: upbeat music was playing from the boat’s speakers, there was a refreshing breeze, rather welcome in the sun, the Neva smelled wonderfully of the sea, and the water glistened joyfully. Every passenger was smiling, me included; it felt like we were sharing a special, if brief, experience. 

The city, of course, looks incredible from the water.  Just the way it’s supposed to, some might say. I definitely couldn’t withstand its charm and dutifully fell in love with St. Pete once more.

Should you try it? 

The short answer is: yes, definitely. 

And here is the long one (if you aren’t convinced yet): 

• Come on, have you ever really been on a water taxi before? 
• It gives you a taste of a boat tour at a very affordable price and within a timeframe that can totally fit into a busy schedule. It can even be a great mood booster after class, especially now when exams are coming but the weather makes studying inside feel like a crime. 
• If used strategically, it can even help you avoid some of the traffic jams in the city center. 
• It’s a cool new opportunity to get another perspective on the city’s major attractions: you get to see the Hermitage, the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island, the Kunstkamera, and even a little bit of St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Basically, it’s your brief introduction to St. Petersburg; and as such, it can be a cool way to show off the city to any visiting family or friends. 

Sure, we won’t argue the water taxi is the most practical means of public transport – especially on a rainy day – but it’s hard to deny that sense of amusement and pure joy you feel once you are aboard. So, it’s a definite must-try from us!