St Petersburg totally independent,self guided?

We actually decided to ditch the cruise and go and stay there for a week [emoji38]. That way we can see everything we want to and we don't have to rush, we can still afford to stay in a nice five star hotel, go when and where we want and make our own mistakes. It was a close call, I had my finger on the purchase button for the cruise quote, but something made me hesitant. I'm feeling confident that I made the right decision for us.

 

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We have been through a similar quandary to you over the last three weeks and have eventually plumped for a River cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow with Viking, who allow a couple of free days as well as some other time in the cruise schedule and we have also booked the post cruise 2 days in Moscow. There are some good prices on their UK website at present, and we got an extra bonus of being offered a balcony cabin for the price of the better outside cabin if we go on the first cruise of the season (early May 2018) - admittedly the high season cruises do go up a lot in price, but it will be busier as well so not the time we would choose to travel to Russia. We will likely go to St Petersburg on an Ocean cruise another time as there are other places we want to see in that region, so chose not to extend with a land stay there.

OK you may just want St Petersburg, but if you have the time to spend the two weeks doing what we have just booked there is a whole lot of value for money if you get the right price. We looked at doing our own hotel(s), either for a complete holiday or as an independent add on to the river cruise, but considering we would have wanted some private tours, transfers etc. we decided that the complete package was worth doing and we would have some safeguard and advice from Viking staff whilst 'doing our own thing', which like you, is what we much prefer. The whole pack, including flights from Manchester, only cost just over 1.5 times the cost of a decent, but not overpriced, Baltic Cruise from the UK in the cheapest balcony cabin (P&O, Cunard etc.).

I realise you are from the other side of the world, but just thinking it may be a third option, that may just be of interest to you or anyone else of like mind reading this thread. I know river cruises include 'trips', but you do not have to go on all of them if you do not want to and I have read reviews from people who did a trip from the boat, but stayed in the location to spend more time on their own if time allowed, rather than return straight to the boat with the group. The river cruise does apparently spend a long time cruising between the two cities, but we would want some 'down time', so decided that is as good a way as any other to relax, during what can be a very active holiday.

I agree there are just some times when it is just not the best option to take an Ocean cruise to begin with.

Thank you, and enjoy your river cruise. We are spending five weeks of so travelling around the UK which is the main game, the St Petersburg is an extension to that.

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Thank you, and enjoy your river cruise. We are spending five weeks of so travelling around the UK which is the main game, the St Petersburg is an extension to that.

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Enjoy all parts of your holiday. The Trip Advisor forums (Cruise Critic's sister site of course) are good places to research, if you have not already found them, which I suspect you will have done. There is a good trip report from one of your fellow countrymen (or lady) near the top of the St Petersburg board just now.

We had second thoughts and have booked the two night pre cruise stay in St Petersburg as well - our wish for freedom got the better of us, even though we will likely return on an ocean cruise one day. We feel just the chance to stroll round somewhere is often a better experience than trying to see all the 'sites'.

There is an included countryside home visit during the river cruise and another optional one to a standard city home (shared flat accommodation) which appeals to us. I am particularly looking forward to the included ballet performance on the river cruise as well. We have never seen a ballet, but when on Rome..........or do I mean Russia! :)

Good for the OP :). We love both land a cruise trips (and routinely use both) and agree, that the only way to really see a place in depth...is to do it with an extended land stay. Cruises are great for giving one a "snapshot" of a place....but many of us want much more then a "snapshot."

Hank

I am particularly looking forward to the included ballet performance on the river cruise as well. We have never seen a ballet, but when on Rome..........or do I mean Russia! :)

Will you have any choice as to which ballet company you see? The best combination is the Mariinsky Company performing in the historic Mariinsky Theater. Second best, is the Mariinsky Company performing in Mariinsky II, the modern theater. (Comfortable seats, great sightlines, and excellent acoustics but no soul or history.)

Will you have any choice as to which ballet company you see? The best combination is the Mariinsky Company performing in the historic Mariinsky Theater. Second best, is the Mariinsky Company performing in Mariinsky II, the modern theater. (Comfortable seats, great sightlines, and excellent acoustics but no soul or history.)

I do not know, but, on reflection, would not be surprised if it is just a tourist performance. None the less it is an included trip from the river boat (and they do not dock centrally), so will include transport from/to the ship, so will certainly be better than spending the evening on board.

The two nights (as well as the daytime) that we are hotel based in St Petersburg and Moscow) will be all about getting out on our own, without having everything pre planned and 'set in stone' as it were. We have a feeling that the main appeal will be to just stroll around the city, along the waterfront etc. and being able to eat where and when we want, though there are places we also want to see (e.g. Faberge museum and the main churches). As we are likely to return on an Ocean ship, we can see tourist sights with a guide then, but complete freedom is a now or never experience for us.

It is also a pleasant change to have a fair bit of the holiday (i.e. most of the time when on the boat) pre arranged with a wide variety of things to see/do (countryside as well as the cities). We go away a lot and it can often seem that all the rest of my time is spent researching destinations, which I do very thoroughly. I realise this sounds like the complete opposite to what I said in the previous paragraph, but we always plan for some pre arranged days and others when we can just go off and "wing it". That outline plan is done for this holiday and we just need to look at the time when in the hotels and the two free days when on the boat.

Barbara

Hi all

 

thank you for the sensible answers, much appreciated. I am in bed with a ghastly flu so please excuse if I sound vague- I certainly feel it. At least I'm putting this time to good use by doing some research. I must trawl through searches trying to find others who have asked the same question but - you know - sick.

 

I neglected to mention that we would be in St Petersburg for three days if we take this cruise - so that's quite a bit of expense for private tours and we really really do hate being guided, on the other hand it's not a bad amount of time to DIY.

 

So I'm still tossing up whether to actually go on the cruise or fly there, but we are spending six weeks driving around the UK and I thought the cruise would be a bit of luxury relaxation.

 

I just found out that Russia is 'Visa free' if you have a World Cup ticket during that time - there's another process but it's a thought. Will keep investigating and thank you.

Keep in mind you need to actually go to the game as tickets are not transferable. It is not clear you would be allowed off the boat each day or only the day of your match. I don't think cruises were envisioned when they developed this process.

Suggest you look at www.FAN-ID.ru, as once you have purchased a ticket for a world cup match you will also have to apply for a FAN,ID

We were on a large ship Baltic cruise. We did an awesome independent small group “tour” in St P and loved it. I say tour but it felt more like spending the day with a friend. We used Urban Adventures and were lucky enough to have Anastasia as our “guide”. I think her max number of participants was to be 12. Imagine our surprise that my hubby and I were the only ones that day. We also ended up getting to see/do more than originally planned because we were able to quickly maneuver around and Anastasia truly loves sharing her city. Rarely (if ever) have I had a guide ask if we wanted to stay out longer than the tour was scheduled. We totally understand your aversion to large groups. Sounds like you’ve got things figured out but thought i’d share our experience. If I ever go back to Russia, I think I would consider a river cruise but first i’ve got other olaces to cross off my bucket list.

Have an awesome time on your trip.

HI

 

Has anyone 'done' St Petersburg without a guide from a cruise ship? I can't express how much we loathe being guided and being herded in groups. In every port I do stacks of research, then we do our own thing using the good old Lonely Planet and public transport. We have been to Korsakov and Vladivostok and they were so different- in Vlad you can just get off by yourself and do whatever you like, but not in Korsakov although we did manage to use public transport.

 

The point is I don't mind getting a visa, I know it requires pages of paper work etc. but I'm quite used to that. Only problem is you need a letter of invite so that may stop me, although when I worked in China during the Olympics letters of invite were required but you could easily buy one that was not 'real' (in that you weren't really going to stay in that hotel, or go on that tour). Just wondering if anyone has done anything like this. I adore being at sea, or else you might ask me why elect to cruise being as tours and crowds are pretty much par for the course. Trying to decide whether to cruise to St P. On an itinerary that looks great (Azamara) or wether we will have to fly and stay. Thanks for any experience.

Based upon the VISA and documentation requirements, which can be tricky and or confusing, I would strongly suggest you book your St P touring with a touring company because they can do all the paperwork for you. As cruise ship passengers, two years ago we used ALLA and last year friends used the same company. All of us were thrilled with their services. They had excellent English speaking guides, full day itineraries and very manageable sized groups - I believe they were limited to 16 passenger vans. Their price for a very full 2 day tour was about 60% of a similar tour sponsored by the cruise ship and we avoided 40 passenger bus loads. In my opinion, St P is not a Do It Yourself touring location.

Enjoy yourself.

Based upon the VISA and documentation requirements, which can be tricky and or confusing, I would strongly suggest you book your St P touring with a touring company because they can do all the paperwork for you. As cruise ship passengers, two years ago we used ALLA and last year friends used the same company. All of us were thrilled with their services. They had excellent English speaking guides, full day itineraries and very manageable sized groups - I believe they were limited to 16 passenger vans. Their price for a very full 2 day tour was about 60% of a similar tour sponsored by the cruise ship and we avoided 40 passenger bus loads. In my opinion, St P is not a Do It Yourself touring location.

Enjoy yourself.

If you are happy with a 16 person van tour than yes it will be easier to go with a tour. St. Petersburg is far from an impossible place to visit independently. The visa process isn't that difficult and you can pay someone to do a lot of the work if you choose.

If you hate tours and want to walk and take the Metro to see the sights at your own pace you might be better off getting a visa. That said it isn't likely to save you money and you will need to be patient with language and other hassles.

I just found out that Russia is 'Visa free' if you have a World Cup ticket during that time - there's another process but it's a thought.

Interesting!

My granddaughter has just returned from a College History trip to Russia. They had to go to the consulate in Manchester to apply for the visa. They had already filled in the form, but had to fill in another one when they were at the consulate, specifying which social media sites they used (Sept 2017) Also finger prints were taken. Their passports were taken and returned in 2 weeks. The visa cost £190.

I have contacted both SPB and Alla and their quote for a 2 day private tour was $500 p.p.

We too went back and forth about going on our own as we were in SPB for three days and we wanted to visit Moscow. We both travel for business so we use a company that processes visas for us all the time.

I ended up using Best Guides and we had both a guide and a driver. We were 5 as we had our three college kids and we paid about $330pp but keep in mind that we flew to Moscow, toured the Kremlin, Red Square, etc. in addition to two days in SPB. The visas were going to be just over $200pp and all guides include the cruise ship visas in their pricing. It was a no brainer. Since we had our own guide and driver, everything was totally flexible and we had a blast.

Another issue, as mentioned above, the line to get into Catherine’s Palace was around the building. We walked right in, they took us to a private room, took our coats, gave us coffee and we chatted with the curator before she gave us a fantastic private tour. We could never have arranged that on our own.

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If someone 'loathes' a guide when in a foreign country, I would certainly suggest going it alone no matter what the inconvenience may be. All others not fluent in Russian going to St. Pete as a tourist probably oughta just go with the flow and have a knowledgeable local guide with them for a few days of gawking.

Does anyone know how it works if you book a half day tour in the morning, for example, and then want to explore on your own in the second half of the day? Is the visa that the tour company gets for you only good for the duration of the tour? Does the tour company escort you back to the ship and ensure you board or are you free to explore?

What did the USD330 include? i hope you don't mind my asking.

We saw all the major sights in SPB in 2 days, Hermitage, Peter and Paul fortress, Catherine’s palace, Spilt blood, Yusupov, St Issacs...

In addition, spent one day on a guided tour of Moscow including the Kremlin, Diamond Fund, Red Square, subway, Gum....

One of the guides was visiting her dad in Moscow so she flew with us from SPB to Moscow. It worked out great. We paid for our airline tickets, Aeroflot was about $60pp each way. Everything else was included including meals.

Once you go through customs the first day, they don’t bother you about having a guide with you. No one asked us either getting off the ship or at the airport. You would have no issues staying out once you are finished with your guide.

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Does anyone know how it works if you book a half day tour in the morning, for example, and then want to explore on your own in the second half of the day? Is the visa that the tour company gets for you only good for the duration of the tour? Does the tour company escort you back to the ship and ensure you board or are you free to explore?[/

 

 

The touring company is responsible for you from start to finish of their tour.

They must get you back to the ship.

Once you are out of their "control" you must have your own visa to continue touring on your own.

Does anyone know how it works if you book a half day tour in the morning, for example, and then want to explore on your own in the second half of the day? Is the visa that the tour company gets for you only good for the duration of the tour? Does the tour company escort you back to the ship and ensure you board or are you free to explore?[/

 

 

The touring company is responsible for you from start to finish of their tour.

They must get you back to the ship.

Once you are out of their "control" you must have your own visa to continue touring on your own.

Correct. You will be returned to the cruise terminal at the conclusion of your tour. There is nothing to see in the area so even if you illegally decided to roam around the city on your own at the conclusion of your tour, you would need a taxi to get back to the city.

Your tour company is responsible for you while in their charge but at the conclusion of your tour, you cannot roam about on you own unless you have a visa.

Sure - one could simply not go back through immigration at the conclusion of your tour - one could opt to risk roaming the city without a visa. Don't know what would happen if you were stopped by the Russian authorities for any reason - might not be pretty.

Correct. You will be returned to the cruise terminal at the conclusion of your tour. There is nothing to see in the area so even if you illegally decided to roam around the city on your own at the conclusion of your tour, you would need a taxi to get back to the city.

Your tour company is responsible for you while in their charge but at the conclusion of your tour, you cannot roam about on you own unless you have a visa.

Sure - one could simply not go back through immigration at the conclusion of your tour - one could opt to risk roaming the city without a visa. Don't know what would happen if you were stopped by the Russian authorities for any reason - might not be pretty.

 

Thank you for the information - we definitely have no intentions to do anything illegal or dangerous. Like the OP, we prefer to explore on our own rather than as part of a tour but it sounds like a tour is the way to go given the visa requirements and the fact that we only have two days in SPB.

 

Thank you for the information - we definitely have no intentions to do anything illegal or dangerous. Like the OP, we prefer to explore on our own rather than as part of a tour but it sounds like a tour is the way to go given the visa requirements and the fact that we only have two days in SPB.

FYI: many of the local tour operators offer an evening extension wherein you can do whatever you want - stroll Nevsky, shop, have dinner at a local restaurant, visit a pub, etc. (they provide you with an additional ticket, a driver and sometimes, if needed, an escort.)

FYI: many of the local tour operators offer an evening extension wherein you can do whatever you want - stroll Nevsky, shop, have dinner at a local restaurant, visit a pub, etc. (they provide you with an additional ticket, a driver and sometimes, if needed, an escort.)

 

That's great to know, thank you! Our teen daughter is a dancer and I want to look into options to see a local ballet performance.

That's great to know, thank you! Our teen daughter is a dancer and I want to look into options to see a local ballet performance.

Hi, Capriciousc. That's exactly what I would like to do. My daughter is seven and will be starting ballet classes soon. I'd love to take her to see a ballet performance. Not sure which ballet would be best for her. She has seen The Nutcracker. I'm afraid Swan Lake may be boring for her.

Jess

Hi, Capriciousc. That's exactly what I would like to do. My daughter is seven and will be starting ballet classes soon. I'd love to take her to see a ballet performance. Not sure which ballet would be best for her. She has seen The Nutcracker. I'm afraid Swan Lake may be boring for her.

Jess

You may not have a lot of choice. Swan Lake is the most performed ballet during the cruise season. Nutcracker is quite seasonal; it is scheduled to be danced at the historic Mariinsky Theater on December 8 (and many more dates through the holiday season). I'd be shocked it if were performed, even in rotation, during the typical Baltic cruise months.

Here is the link to the list of ballets scheduled at the Mariinsky Theater. (Mariinsky is the historic 19th century theater. Mariinsky II is a modern theater. What is lacks in atmosphere, it makes up for in comfort, sightlines, and acoustics.)

https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbill

If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you'll find links to other blocks of months. Right now, the most distant date on the schedule is June 8. That night, Anna Karinena is scheduled for Mariinsky II.

Here's the link to the Hermitage schedule: https://hermitagetheater.com/playbill

This month, the Hermitage Theater is alternating between Swan Lake and the Nutcracker. Using the calendar, you can see that June through August, the only ballet being performed at the Hermitage will be Swan Lake.

The Alexandrinsky Theater is the last of the three theaters in St. Petersburg for ballet. It is a very opulent, historic theater, but I recall it only presents Swan Lake during cruising season. Right now, the playbill will be of limited use since it is only showing the offerings through the month of January. Nevertheless, here's the link: http://en.alexandrinsky.ru/afisha-i-bilety/

http://en.alexandrinsky.ru/afisha-i-bilety/

Thank you Pet Nit Noy. You are Wonderful!

We booked private tours....WAY less than the ships tours, and we could design them how WE wanted....yes we had to send our passports to San Francisco for visas, but that was easy and quick...either way you are paying for a visa...privately or in the ships expensive tour....We spent 3 days with the same tour guide and driver and it was fabulous!!