St Petersburg - Making additions to itineraries

[NCMtnBoys]

So any of you that have taken St Petersburg tours with any of the most talked about tour companies, if you've wanted to make an addition to your itinerary, did you do it before you left home, or did you wait and just ask after your tour commenced? If you did it after your tour commenced, were the companies gracious enough to just tack it on at no charge, or was there an additional charge?

 

For example, I've decided that I think I want to go on a subway ride to see some of the station art and architecture, but that isn't on the itinerary that's been put together. Wondering if it's better to ask now to have it added on, or whether waiting to ask until after the tour starts maybe they'll just tack it on at no charge.

 

What are your experiences adding little things such as this once the tour has commenced?

[LHT28]

I would ask ahead of time ..they have a schedule to keep

[bardstowntraveller]

I think it really depends on what you want to tack on. If it is something that requires a ticket, you are better off to communicate it ahead of time. This will save you time as the tour operator will secure the tickets in advance. The metro is probably something that could be added on at the last minute as long as you aren't picky about which station you want to see. As far as adding on attractions at no cost, you will be on the hook for any admission charges. If there aren't any out of pocket charges and your tour time is not extended, you shouldn't be charged extra.

[nabby]

We ended up customizing our 2-day tour last year with DenRus. We wanted to do the metro, and we also wanted to have lunch with a local family. We also had certain things that we really wanted to see (both the Catherine Palace and Peterhoff) and some things we were willing to give up. We worked it all out ahead of time. As I recall they purchased the metro tickets ahead of time for us, so if you want to do that you probably should let them know in advance.

[MercedMike]

We ended up customizing our 2-day tour last year with DenRus. We wanted to do the metro, and we also wanted to have lunch with a local family. We also had certain things that we really wanted to see (both the Catherine Palace and Peterhoff) and some things we were willing to give up. We worked it all out ahead of time. As I recall they purchased the metro tickets ahead of time for us, so if you want to do that you probably should let them know in advance.

 

We also did a custom two day tour with DenRus and found them to be wonderful about arranging things the way we wanted it. We added a couple of things on our own that were not on their regular list. We also did the lunch with a local family and it was terrific! However, you should definitely make plans in advance as they will be very helpful in the planning, and normally keep to a very tight schedule. While you could probably make a change "on the fly", adding one attraction would pretty much require giving up another.

 

Check out our trip report and pictures at http://www.bully4.us/baltic.html

 

Incidentally, our guide just handed us the metro tokens before we went down into the station. They were not really "tickets".

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Mary Ellen]

We used Alla last year. I also wanted to add the subway and arranged it ahead of time. There wasn't an additional charge. I would strongly suggest talking over any itinerary alterations prior to your tour date. We did have a situation arise that required a last minute drug store stop that was easily handled by our guide and driver, but any changes that you know you want, set them up before hand.

[traveler525]

Yes, let them know ahead of time. That is the best way to maximize your time as well, and then your tour operator can plan ahead. On our trip, our confirmation stated we had the driver and guide for a specific amount of time. There were only 4 in our group, so we ended up having extra time in our day after our planned stops and so our guide took us to extra stops (that just were for viewing, no tickets needed). But of course they ask you if you wish to add anything, some people were tired and did not wish to do so.

 

But even so last minuted changes may be possible. Two things we had asked to do our guide did not have on her agenda. She was able to call the tour company and they worked it all out and we were able to do what we had planned. It was not more expensive since we had requested to see these things and had planned for it in our budget, just that our guide did not have it on her advance plan. So they are flexible if possible as well. Everyone wants to make sure you have a fantastic time and I am sure you will!

[TLCOhio]

The correct answer is that "IT DEPENDS"! Does what you want to do take added time and/or cost more? We worked with Anastasia and she was very flexible and responsive. We did a number of fine-tunings to our schedule during the 6-7 months leading up to our visit. She provided a spread-sheet so that you could see the cost for each place so that it was clear what could be added or skipped or adjusted.

 

One in our group of four wanted to find a shop that had Soviet-style military hats. That was easy to work in on our second day as we headed to the early admission to the Hermitage. Clearly, there was no added cost unlike going to a place that has additional admission costs. Adding is easy if it fits into the "FLOW" for your already planned schedule. St. Petersburg is a large city of five million people. You can't just dart here and zip there. It needs to fit into a logical pattern in order to have time-efficient logistics.

 

The good firms are flexible, but you need to do the advance planning and thinking about your options.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio