trosebery

On 4/10/2022 at 11:03 AM, MAVIP said:

Odyssey Coach Tours
✉ info@odysseycoachtours.co.uk      We booked their tour Shore Excursion Giants Causeway (Extra Leg Room)in september 2019.  Good tour  https://odysseycoachtours.co.uk/giants_causeway_tour/shore-excursion-giants-causeway-tour-small-group/ 

And that's the same one that we booked too, lol. Yes, their tour was exactly as described and everything went very smoothly.

11 hours ago, lionheart said:

Thanks. I figure come in at 7am get to hotel and drop luggage and take taxi to vasa

 

than to old town walk around and the morning of cruise continue walk old town and see things missed 

 

the cruise leaves 430

If your plane lands at 7 am, by the time you collect your luggage and transfer to your hotel and leave your luggage and make your way to the Vasa Museum, you may be well past the summer opening time (8:30 am) and it might be better to wait until later afternoon . . . or the next morning? Especially if you've been on a red-eye flight. The Vasa Museum is dark and I know that I usually try to plan for outdoor natural light activities on the first day after a red-eye (and crashing early.). The Vasa Museum doesn't take too long to visit, though. When you're feeling tired, you can just leave and step back out in the fresh air.

Incidentally, that there are a number of other interesting museums near the Vasa museum, including the ABBA Museum (which also gets crowded quickly) and the open air museum, Skansen (my kids and I loved the Nordic animals, especially the moose and wolverines).

BTW, in Gamla Stan (the old town), don't miss The Royal Armory aka Livrustkammaren. And if you really want to do something different, try a subway art (self-guided) tour -- we did one when we were awake early on our first morning (after we'd crashed early) and there was nothing else open at that hour, and it was fun!

Most of the big SPB companies offer tours in other cities, but really, they're just contracting out to local guides. It's not the same experience as in Russia, where you have a guaranteed small group, headphones so that you can hear everything your guide is saying, a dedicated driver with door-to-door service, etc. Some tours will be excellent with small groups (last cruise we went on, two friends of ours booked the Alla tour in Copenhagen and they were the only people to do so, so they had a private tour with an excellent guide!), others will put you on big tour buses with 20 other people and your guide will be wrangling strays all day and hard to hear in the crowd.  So read the details of the tours in other cities carefully. And note that with the exception of SPB (and Berlin, if you're going to Berlin), most other Baltic cities are very easy to explore on your own.

Yes, most people will use Akureyri as a base for excursions elsewhere, either on land (e.g. to the Myvatn area, white water rafting, or horseback riding) or on sea (usually whale/puffin watching), but if you don't want to adventure elsewhere or really don't have much time, Akureyri has a cute little botanic gardens and a geothermally heated swimming pool if you want to stroll around and enjoy what the locals do.

You should have plenty of time to sightsee in the morning. Just leave your luggage at your (presumably centrally located) hotel and return for it when it's time to transfer to the ship. (Unlike Caribbean cruises, where people are often eager to board the ship in the morning, people on Northern European cruises usually make the most of their time in their embarkation city and arrive in the afternoon.) What do you want to see in the city? Most people will split their touring between Gamla Stan on one day and Djurgården (where the Vasa Museum is located) on the other.

It depends what testing facilities you have locally? Here we have labs that can give you results for RT-PCR tests in 1 hour. They're expensive, but they exist. However, I thought Norway also accepted rapid antigen tests (RATs)? We can have those done at many labs here in about 15 minutes for relatively cheap (even on a Sunday).

I did! Did you have any particular questions about it? Did I think it was worth it? No, it was a bit of a drive and the castles weren't especially interesting unless you have a special interest in medieval history. We went because my son does have a special interest in medieval history and *didn't* want to be dragged around Riga looking at Art Nouveau architecture (although we did take some time for that afterwards).

Even if your room isn't available, the hotel should allow you to leave your luggage, which is what we did last time we arrived in Copenhagen? We took the train from the airport (included with our Copenhagen card), dropped our bags, and walked around . . . although you could also hop on a canal tour (also included with the Copenhagen card) if you're tired/jetlagged. Both options get you out in the fresh air and natural light . . .and are much cheaper than taxi/tour services. (We took a taxi once in Copenhagen. Wow it was pricey.)

Thanks for bumping this thread: I'm trying to talk my sister into joining me on a Northern Europe trip in the future, and I think she will love Tallinn (possibly even more than St. Petersburg), so Tallinn photos are always welcome.

And I will agree that a Tallinn guided tour is not necessary as it's very easy to DIY, although I did really enjoy the very reasonably priced private walking + bike tour with did with Traveller Tours (a local company) on our last visit, as I especially enjoyed contrasting our medieval city walk with our cycling tour of the more modern areas (such as Telliskivi Creative City, with its street art).

(Adding that I didn't especially enjoy the walking tour we did with one of the big St. P. tour companies on our previous visit, as there were too many people in our group in too-crowded areas to hear our tour guide easily. The big St. P. company tours in other ports vary widely in tour group size and quality.)

Thank you for sharing! You forget just how much gold there is everywhere until you see the photos again. Oh, those pictures made me long to go back. . . . I'm trying to talk my sister into joining me for a trip in the future, so I will email her the link as a lure.

I would point out to first time visitors, though, the the port guide is not completely comprehensive in that it does not cover all sights and even omits some favourites like the Fabergé Museum. Do read tour descriptions carefully to make sure that you visit all the sights that *you* want to visit. And if setting up a private tour (as Tom suggests in the final pages), do talk with your tour company about what sites might interest you personally.

(And yes, reiterating his final advice: do search a well-reviewed tour company for the best experience instead of relying on the cruise line tours. I recommend emailing several companies to find the best fit for you if planning a private tour -- this is how I wound up with Red Sun for a private tour on our 2nd visit after going on one a standard small-group tours on the first visit. Both tours were good, but our private tour, being customized to our interests and catering just to us throughout, was obviously better. There are many recommendations in the stickied thread at the top of this forum if you're looking for recommendations.)

Wow, I'm just back to this forum (thinking of yet another Northern European cruise), and I'm noticing a lot of older threads are getting bumped! I'll post a link to this thread that's currently stickied to the top of this forum:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2696545-master-thread-of-st-petersburg-advice-and-recommendations-from-cruisers-whove-been/

that contains a lot of advice posted at the end of last season (and since).

I've done both the 15-16 person tour (with SPB) and the personalized custom tour (with Red Sun Tours), and I'd obviously give the edge to the personalized custom tour if you can budget for it. But both were enjoyable and well-run.

I just noticed that this old thread got bumped, so I'll add a link to this fairly current thread started at the end of last season (now stickied to the top of this forum):

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2696545-master-thread-of-st-petersburg-advice-and-recommendations-from-cruisers-whove-been/

Especially if you're wanting a private tour, I recommend compiling a list of several companies that appeal to you, from recommendations here and on TripAdvisor, and emailing each of them to see which is the best fit for you. (This is how I wound up touring with Red Sun Tours on our last trip. They happened to be the best fit for us, but your preferences may vary.)

Be cautious of selecting a company simply because they offer tours in other ports at a discount. This is how we toured the first time around, partly because I hadn't realized how easy it was to tour on your own in many of the ports, and we felt a little too constrained. The next time around, I planned for each port independently (public transit is with Google Maps is easy!).

But it's difficult to make a bad choice in St. Petersburg. I haven't met anyone personally who didn't enjoy their visit!

On 6/24/2020 at 10:29 PM, Mercruiser said:

We went on a Baltic cruise last summer. My wife wrote this blog. I took most of the photos. It should give you lots of ideas.

 

https://teristravels.wordpress.com/2019/09/08/schwerin-castle/

 

Scroll to the bottom to see the other blog posts. We were living in Netherlands so there lots of ideas for dutch travel.

Yes, thank you so much for the photos! Not only did they bring back wonderful memories, but I've enjoyed our two trips to the Baltic -- most recently my trip with my daughter and teenage son on the Norwegian Spirit in 2019 -- that I'm considering joining my sister on another in 2021! (Hence I'm back scrolling through this board!)

In addition to my thank you, I'll add my own port reviews for the benefit of anyone who might come across this thread (edited from some notes I was making for my sister's benefit):

Stockholm: It depends where you are berthed. The first time we visited Stockholm, we berthed in Nynashamn and so we joined a group shore excursion (through the same company that we were using for St. P.), and the excursion was . . . underwhelming. I enjoyed the part in the Vasa Museum and the short walk in Gamla Stan, but the rest was photo stops (at City Hall and the like) and looking out bus windows and too short for our port time. If I knew then what I know now, we probably would have taken the train from Nynashamn. The second time visited, our cruise left from Stockholm, so we had more time to spend in the city, and I fell in love with it. If you have a choice, do choose a cruise that embarks or debarks in Stockholm to give yourself more time in the city. We caught the Arlanda Express from the airport (very easy) and stayed in a hotel near the train station (also near the Icebar, where we met some of the people from our Roll Call for drinks!). It was an easy walk to Gamla Stan, where we enjoyed a wander on our first evening. The first morning, we awoke early because of the jet lag and went on a subway art tour before breakfast! (Google "Stockholm subway art tour" for advice.) We then spent most of our day on Djurgården, not only visiting the Vasa Museum (we visited early before the crowds), the ABBA Museum (which gets crowded quickly!), and Skansen (which is spread out enough that we didn't have to worry about crowds). My favourite part was actually visiting the Nordic animals in the small zoo in Skansen. The next morning, we went back to Gamla Stan and visited the palace, and my favourite part was actually the (free!) Royal Armory Museum, which it's just weapons but clothes and carriages and etc.

Helsinki: Helsinki feels somewhat underwhelming after visiting many other Baltic ports, especially if you stop here after St. P., because it's a much more modern city. The first time we visited, we joined a group shore excursion (through the same company that we were using for St. P.) and enjoyed it: we had time in Market Square, some photo stops (at Sibelius Momentum and the like) and looking out bus windows again, but we also had a guided tour in the folk museum on Seurasaari Island, which really redeemed the tour. It was a fascinating glimpse into traditional Finnish life, and the setting was so beautiful. In fact, I so fell in love with the landscape that the next time we visited, I organized our own excursion with Feel the Nature, who took us on a short hike in Nuuksio National Park. As it was the season for it, we got to pick wild berries (my favourites of which were the lingonberries and bogberries). We also got to visit the reindeer near the Haltia Nature Centre and feel them lichen! Some others on our cruise visited Porvoo, and enjoyed it. Those who stayed in Helsinki but went off on their own especially enjoyed Suomenlinna. And someday I would very much like to visit Löyly sauna.

St. Petersburg: Obviously the highlight on any Baltic cruise. This is one port where you can't just wander off on your own -- not without a Russian visa -- and for a first-time (or even second-time!) visitor, it's not really worth the hassle and expense of obtaining one and organizing your own transportation and tickets when there are so many excellent companies devoted to doing so for you! The first time we visited, we went on a standard 16-person small group tour with SPB, and we highly enjoyed it (and I also heard wonderful things about Alla, TJ, et al), but if you can afford an even smaller private tour, I highly recommend it. The smaller your group, the easier it is to get around those fearsome lines, and the greater control you have of your own itinerary and schedule. The second time we visited, we went on a private tour with Red Sun Tours, and had so much fun: not only did I get to revisit my favourites (like the fountains of Peterhof, the Hermitage Museum, and the Church on the Spilled Blood) but we got to visit more quirky attractions like the Grand Maket (I love miniatures and model trains) and the Soviet arcade games museum (which gives you some vintage 15 kopek coins to play the games!). If it had been open when we visited, I'm sure my son would have loved the Artillery Museum. For food, we visited Stolle again, of course, but then we went to try some Georgian food (that we can't get at home), and next time I want to try some Uzbek food. We would definitely do a private tour again. There's so much to see in St. Petersburg, don't feel constrained by what other people consider must-sees. (For example, I found Catherine Palace hot and crowded and the Amber Room smaller and darker than it looked on all the photographs.) 

Tallinn: Oh, Tallinn is beautiful, but if you want to really appreciate the Old Town, try to avoid the crowds and start early or end late. The first time we visited, we joined a walking tour, and I was grateful our guide was so tall so that we could see her over the crowds, or we would have easily lost her. At the end of the tour, we got out of the Old Town and visited the Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour Museum, which we enjoyed. The second time, I organized a private walking+bike tour with Traveller Tours (which was not expensive) and we got started much earlier, and it was a better experience. The walk from the port into the city and even up the hill is not bad if you're able-bodied. And then, when the Old Town started to get crowded, we hopped on our bikes and rode out to the more modern outlying districts, along the harbour to where the Tallinn hipsters lived, through residential neighbourhoods (the Estonians like to put ping pong tables in their parks!) to Telliskivi Creative City and the market. We saw lots of interesting street art, and I do recommend venturing out of the Old Town to see the contrast. In the afternoon, we wandered into the Rotermann district to the Kalev chocolate shop (do eat some Estonian chocolate!) to attend a Chocolate Truffle Making workshop I'd set up with some others on our Roll Call, which was a fun social activity. If I head back to Tallinn again, I'd like to visit Kadriorg Park and the singing grounds.

Riga: We didn't visit here on our first cruise, so it was all new to us. Still, I let my son talk me into visiting the medieval castles of Turaida and Sigulda (along with Gutman's cave) with only a short walking tour of Riga. I think he was afraid that if I got to pick, we'd spend the entire day admiring Art Nouveau architecture, and he's probably right. This way, he had to tolerate only about 20 minutes of Art Nouveau architecture. While I enjoyed the castles, especially climbing the tower at Turaida, I don't know that I would go again. They aren't in the best condition (especially Sigulda), and Riga is beautiful. I did enjoy our walking tour there, and I recommend the company, Nordic Experience, that I used to organize our day. They were able to issue invoices and collect credit card payment from everyone before we left so that we didn't have to worry about payment once we were there (or no-shows driving up the cost).

Klaipeda: Another place we didn't visit on our first cruise. Klaipeda itself is small, so I chose to organize a tour (with Ulko Tours) to the Curonian Spit, my favourite place on which was the Hill of Witches. As we were a small group, we were lucky enough to arrive and be able to wander around the forest and see and photograph the sculptures before all the crowds arrived. They were swarming in as we left, and I'm sure it would have been a very different experience. (I did wish our guide had known more about the folktales the sculptures represented.) The cormorant colony was underwhelming, which was disappointing as we had some keen birders with us. We did see some bird colonies randomly later -- including more swans than I'd ever seen before -- so I'm glad we had a guide who was willing to help us find them. We did go all the way to Nida, and the amber "museum," although small, was a fun experience as we got a small presentation on Baltic amber. Word of advice: don't walk the dunes, especially on a hot day, unless you really want to feel what it might be like to be lost and struggling through the Sahara. When visiting Klaipeda town itself, make sure you search out and find the quirky sculptures, especially the very cute Golden Mouse.

Gdansk: Yet another place we didn't visit on our first cruise. Here, transportation from the port of Gdynia is an issue as traffic is notoriously bad. I organized a tour through Nordic Experience again to the former concentration camp of Stutthof before visiting Gdansk. The tour itself was excellent, although it was a difficult and emotional visit. If you'd like to visit somewhere outside of Gdansk but don't feel up to visiting Stuffhof, our fellow cruisers who visited Malbork Castle enjoyed it. Gdansk itself is lovely, if a little crowded during peak tourist season. We did make time for a photo stop at the Solidarity shipyard gates. If we'd had more time, I would have loved to stop at Oliwa Cathedral or in Sopot to see the "Crazy House." As it was, our guide and driver had to be clever to get around the traffic to get us back at the port at the arranged time!

Warnemunde/Rostock: The first time we visited, we knew that we didn't want to venture into Berlin as we were travelling with little kids, but we did venture as far as Schwerin, to see the "fairy tale" castle. It was okay. We'd joined a small-group tour (through the same company that we were using in St. P.) and travelled by train to Rostock and then on to Schwerin. My enthusiasm for the day was admittedly dampened given that it was a Sunday (so many places were closed and we were unable to visit the astronomical clock in St. Mary's church as it was closed for services) and it was drizzling rain. Warnemunde itself looked cute and I resolved to spend more time there if we returned. However, the next time we visited, our port was Rostock, which is not a passenger port, and it was Sunday, so transportation was difficult. The few taxi drivers who were there were looking for fares into Berlin, but we talked one into taking us to the Rostock Zoo, which is an excellent zoo and we spent the whole morning there. We then caught the train and bought a day pass, and went to Warnemunde . . . which was crowded. If there are enough ships that some have to port in Rostock instead of Warnemunde, Warnemunde is going to be crowded. We had lunch and wandered along the waterfront briefly before hopping the public ferry across to the Marine Science Center. The Center itself is not much to visit as it's really just some pontoons with the seals and sea lions who participate in their sensory research experiments swimming around. However, we participated in their Seal Experience, which allowed us to go out on the pontoons with one of the researchers and the seals for an hour while he explained the research that they did and how they trained the seals to participate. Yes, we got to pat the seals and even play fetch with them! (At the end of the day, we were able to take a train and a bus back to the port without difficulty. Google Maps is good with public transportation schedules.) Next time we visit, we might to the train to Bad Doberan, but I would like to visit the seals again!

Copenhagen: The first time we visited, this was our embarkation point, so we had a few days to spend in the city. My favourite museum was the National Museum with its excellent history exhibits (especially the prehistory through the Vikings galleries), my husband's and son's was the Danish War Museum. The palaces are all so different: Rosenborg is small but noted for its Treasury, Christianborg has the grand state rooms, and Amalienborg is more intimate and lived-in. Note that although you can visit all on the Copenhagen card, there may be lines at Rosenborg and you can't bypass them with the card. (Go early.) Next time I'd like to visit Frederiksborg castle. Of course, you can't visit Copenhagen and not enjoy a canal cruise. The first time we visited, we got up early from the jet lag and were the first passengers on a mostly-empty boat, which was great. Although the second time, we went in the afternoon on a hot day and got to watch all the Danes jumping in the canals and having a swim (clothing optional near Christiania). Both were fun experiences. Be aware that if you are on a canal cruise, you will only see the Little Mermaid statue from the back, and she's small. If you want to really visit her, go on foot. And if you're walking that direction, do visit the Gefion fountain too. I do recommend, if you have a choice, choosing a cruise that starts or ends in Copenhagen. (There's an easy train connection between the airport and the main station, near Tivoli). There are other places that we visited on both visits, but if you only have one day, those were my favourites (Tivoli, although it was an interesting park to walk around, had long lines for all its rides). Note that it's easy to catch the buses (HoHo or public transit) from Oceankaj, but when catching the public bus, we had to have tickets or the Copenhagen card in advance. BTW, a note on cards like the Copenhagen card: there are now apps that allow you to purchase and activate these on your cellphone (as long as you have data or WiFi), and you can put more than one card on one phone (just swipe through the cards when necessary).

Oslo: I really like Oslo for its museums, and although we had an excellent guide on our first visit, this is a very easy port to visit on your own. On our last visit, we got the Oslo card that covered museums and public transport, including the ferry across to the Bygdoy museums. The Viking Ship museum is probably the most popular (and very good, although small), but my favourite was the Fram museum and my kids like the Kon-Tiki museum best. The Folkemuseum (Cultural History) is also nearby. From there, we took public transit to the Vigeland Sculpture Park (and met some friends for dinner). Other places that we enjoyed on our previous visit were the City Hall and the Opera House (walking up the roof). Other places to visit that I know others enjoyed were the Resistance Museum in Akerhaus Fortress and the Holmenkollbakken ski jump hill.

That's a lot of words, I know, but I hope that they help someone?

5 hours ago, dog555 said:

Well, I finally heard back from SPB tours yesterday evening, but still nothing from Alla ( sent them 2 requests for info, one a week ago and one 4 days ago from their website contact info) and nothing from Best guides.  I did also check spam but nothing there either.  Will try one more time to contact.

These are unusual times. They may be running short-staffed. They may be trying to determine how they will deal with the current changing situation and the unknown future. Unless your questions are urgent, I would definitely give them more time.

8 hours ago, Lagerta said:

 These two agencies are well known  on the market for many years and I'm sure they provide great service.  Ask them both what specialties they have. As for me, my husband and I looking for something new about the city, something unusual , for example I've heard about a quest around the city and the idea seems very original.

If you want something unusual, you'll probably have to set up a private tour? We did a standard small-group tour with SPB Tours on our first visit and then a private tour with Red Sun Tours on our second visit, and although both were very good and very well-run, a private tour obviously gives you so much more personal attention and control of your itinerary.

Fortunately, most tour companies are very willing and able to organize private tours, and the private tours aren't as expensive as you'd think. I'd recommend searching the master thread (at the top of this forum) for some names of some well-reviewed companies and then emailing several to see which is the best fit for you (itinerary, price, quality of communication, etc.). If setting up a private tour, you don't have to feel constrained by what's on the companies' websites, so use those listings only as sample itineraries.

If you do have an interesting and unique private tour experience, be sure to report back to share with others!

As others have noted, it will depend on your interests. Some people like palaces and cathedrals, some people like slice-of-life visits (subways or grocery stores), and others like quirky things -- for example, two places that we visited on our last visit were the Soviet Arcade Game Museum (where you get 15 kopek coins to play the games, and our guide also found us an employee of the museum who was able to tell us about history of video gaming in Soviet Russia) and the Grand Maket (not market but maket -- it's a giant model train set with Russia in miniature). Finding the quirky sites can be tricky so it's good to ask here!

Also, if you're on a private tour that you're setting up yourself, you can also think about what you'd like to do for meals! I recommend trying some Georgian food, and next time I'd like to try an Uzbek place.

If you chat with your tour company, they may also have some suggestions for you. (One reason that we toured with Red Sun last visit is that they were great about listening to what we wanted instead of just offering the standard itinerary.)

We went last two weeks of August last year and had beautiful weather. Sunny skies (we lucked out and got zero rain), temperatures mostly in the low 20s (70s in F) with only 2 genuinely hot days.

8 minutes ago, Oligorio said:

Now that you say this, it is true. I remember on out mediterranean cruise that we were all day out then back for a drink then dinner. Some days not even the show.

I guess its time to negotiate with others in my party.

I think you would suggest to go to the treads on every port of call in order for me to decide what to do on each of them right?

Just a brief Q. As far as my research is, almost every in this baltic itineraries are DIY tour friendly, but St.Petersburg right?


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On European cruises, I've often saved money by sailing in inside cabins as we were only ever in them for sleeping.

Yes, the ports (in general) are very DIY friendly. Many are walkable and public transportation is very good. You can search this forum for more threads about particular ports or ask your own questions. Many people recommend picking up the Rick Steves guide to Northern European Cruise Ports, although do remember that this is only a starting point. (I don't always agree with his recommendations, and some information like public transport connections can go out of date and should be checked online.) Note that the destinations that require the most advance planning (or a tour) are those that are some distance from the actual port (like Gdansk) . . . and of course St. Petersburg.

You'll have a stickied thread above on St. Petersburg. The general consensus is that you should book with one of the independent tour operators, and if possible, set up a private tour to control your own itinerary (the cost becomes more reasonable with larger groups). I've been once with one of the large companies (SPB) in a "small group" tour and once with a smaller company (Red Sun) on a private tour, and both were excellent experiences, although obviously I'd give the edge to the more personalized private tour. You don't have to decide what you're doing until next winter or even spring, though, and there's not much point to doing so as the coming season -- or rather, the lack of it -- may change the St. P. tour company landscape, as some companies may fold, merge, or restructure their offerings to survive.

On our last cruise, I set up a private tour with Nordic Experience and then posted on our Roll Call and quickly filled our tour. I then forwarded the email addresses to Nordic Experience and they invoiced everyone individually so that we were all paid up by credit card before we left. We had no trouble finding our guide and driver, and they got us back on time -- although the traffic was indeed terrible! (Fortunately, minibuses can take some roads to get around the traffic that the big buses can't.)

We picked the Stutthof Concentration Camp + Gdansk Highlights Tour, which we appreciated (although the concentration camp was an emotionally difficult visit for many).

Others on our Roll Call went on the Malbork Castle + Gdansk Highlights Tour and also enjoyed it. Both are good options (as is just visiting Gdansk itself).

It definitely depends on the ports and on the port hours -- the more hours in the ports, the better. (And the more days in St. Petersburg, the better.)

Choosing between your two itineraries, I'd probably pick the 11-night because it visits Sweden and Poland. (Although starting and ending in Copenhagen is also a good pick as Copenhagen is a beautiful city.)

How much is "so much?" What's your limit for staying on your feet at one time and total over the course of the day? Can you handle two strenuous days back-to-back (without wearing yourself out for other ports like Tallinn)?

The tour operators themselves are your best resources. Email them and they can match you with a tour that best fits your needs. I recommend emailing several and choosing the best match for you. (I selected a private tour with Red Sun Tours as the best match for us on our last trip after emailing around. You might find a different best match.)

And remember that one person's "must see" is another's "meh," so don't feel that you need to see some sight just because others are raving about it. Choose what you like.

As schmerl pointed out, many companies will allow you to book without paying a deposit, and especially if you would like a private tour, I would suggest booking with plenty of lead time. Our tour with Red Sun Tours last summer didn't require payment until after the first day of the tour, and booking in advance gave us lots of time to ask all the questions we needed to tweak our itinerary just the way we liked it.

1 hour ago, Powersurge! said:

Thank you for the replies!  Like trosebery says, 4hours for 4 stops  is a tight schedule!  I'm looking at walking Riga as I also want to see the "art nouveau" district.  I think I will look at skipping the KGB museum so that I can enjoy the old town more and not be rushed!   

 

If I change my mind, or see we are doing good time, i will take up Andrisk123 recommendation of doing KGB first.

 

The district with the highest concentration of Art Nouveau buildings is about a 20 minute walk north of the medieval Old Town, around Albert Street if you're checking a map. If you want to see both, make sure you give yourself enough time to do so. (There is also an Art Nouveau Museum if you're interested in interiors.)

Note that if you want to do the tour at the KGB museum, they recommend booking tickets in advance.

1 hour ago, flymeaway said:

JoannaBullhead. We are still working out the details but it is a private tour and it will probably work out to around $500 pp. for the 2 day tour. They said that some places will not allow me to use my mobility scooter but they have a wheelchair they will provide at no extra cost for me to use. I received an email today with a schedule but I still need to work on it a bit. I think they would be open to looking at your wants and needs and making a tour that suits you. 
 

I know this forum is for those who have already traveled there but it’s so hard to get good info on handicap travel I wanted to pass on my experience to anyone who needed it. 

Actually, it might be a good idea to start a thread (that could be stickied) about accessible Baltic tours/sights/etc.

Because St. Petersburg is probably the easiest port to tour when you have mobility issues, given how well the independent tour companies can cater to their guests! It can be trickier in more DIY ports like Stockholm or Tallinn, especially given the cobblestoned/sloping/etc. streets and historic sites with many stairs. Advice from others with mobility issues who've BTDT would be appreciated.

57 minutes ago, mapgirl34 said:

We are booked with City Break Tours for April 26-27. This tour: 2-Day Group Shore Excursion in St Petersburg with Faberge Museum & Boat Cruise. 

Within just days of booking, we received the following email that there are no tickets for Catherine's Palace:

 

"I also would like to inform you that on some travel dates in the high season there are no available tickets to Catherine's Palace from our company. The days that your cruise ship docks in St Petersburg are one of such dates. The group will visit the Grand Palace of Pavlovsk which is also one of the Imperial palaces of Russia. We inform you very long beforehand to understand the situation."
 

I don't have a problem with this, but should I be concerned that I chose the wrong company?  After reading through all the reviews on this thread, no one mentions City Break Tours, but they've received 134 Excellent reviews, so I thought we were good.   I assumed that if I tried another company, I'd still end up not being able to see Catherine's anyway.  Also, is April really the high season?

That is odd. Now, I'm not a big fan of Catherine Palace myself (since it's out of the way to visit and often crowded), but many people consider it a must-see. If it's important to you, I would make enquiries with other companies and see what they say. (Is there something happening at the Palace on those particular days that it's not available?) I'd try asking Elena at Red Sun because she's usually pretty good with prompt communication, but any of the bigger companies (Alla, SPB, TJ, etc.) could probably help you too. Email around and find out the story.