SPb-tours - who was your guide?

[Infi]

After reading the many great reviews on here for SPb-tours, I'm leaning towards booking with them for our upcoming visit to St. Petersburg.

 

For those who have used SPb-tours, who did you have for a guide? SPb-tours has a list of their guides here (http://www.spb-tours.com/st-petersburg/en/node/87), and I'm wondering if anyone had a guide they really enjoyed or would highly recommend. Thanks in advance for any information. :)

[danne]

We did 2 tours with SPB Tours while in Russia on May 18th. The first was a private tour with just me and my husband. Tatyana was our guide and Archum (sp?) was our driver. Archum was such a safe, courteous driver. Nothing like the "crazies" we've encountered in Brazil, Columbia, Mexico, Egypt and many others. I was actually able to relax in the car and enjoy the ride and view.

 

Tatyana was incredibly knowledgable and sweet. We did twice as much as the larger groups, arrived at the ship earlier than the larger groups to eat and freshen up for the evening cruise and even changed our itinerary so we were inside while it was raining and outside while it wasn't! SPB Tours (Vika), Tatyana and Archum were worth every penny. We even tipped them 20%. Looking back now, I wish I had done more like 25% or 30%...it really was THAT GOOD!

 

The evening "Fun Tour" was also great! It included Vodka Tasting, Neva Canal Cruise with Russian Folklore show. Alexandar was our guide. It was a larger group of 15.

 

I hope you had as much fun as we did!

[gdayhoff]

We had Elena Skidan as our guide in 2009.We couldn't had a better guide.Truly outstanding.Excellent knowledge of Yusupov Palace and the Hermitage Museum.Communicated very well with all ages in our family group(15-79).

You will enjoying dealing with STB-Tours

[Bet & Peg]

We used SPB in July 2010 for a St. Pete tour for 8 people. Our driver was Nicholas who was so FABULOUS we gave him an extra tip! He was always polite but also funny and shared songs with us as we drove - and even did an interesting Elvis Impersonation!!! He stayed with the van so we didn't have to carry little things - jackets, extra shoes, etc.

 

Our guide was Elena ?? - but looking at the photos, DH and I are pretty sure it was Elena Semenova with very different hair! She was FANTASTIC!!! And her bio is "right-on" she did have a passion for St. Petersburg, history, and art! She mad ethe trip come alive for us and never turned it into just a boring history lesson! I think she gives her groups just as much as they're interested in.

 

I've read about Rasputin and was happy we were stopping at Yusupov Palace. She told the story of Rasputin's murder perfectly times as we entered the rooms downstairs! Even those who knew nothing about what happened were "all ears" listening to her!

 

She really came alive in the Hermitage as she explained the art - we even had two young people (could have been natives) following our little group and listening in to her stories. When I mentioned it to her she said it often happens and if we wanted she'd talk to them but they weren't bothering us. I think it was a real compliment to her!

 

As our tour started I realized we had never discused with Victoria about the availablity of rest rooms! But Elena's "teacher" mode went into effect without us asking (we were all seniors!) and she explained that we would bestopping at some gift shops to use their clean rest room, have a chance to look for souveniors, and also enjoy some free samples some of vodka, coffee and/or liqueur!! The guys began asking for a "rest" stop and not to use the facilities!!!

 

The second morning we had some extra time (we were always early) and she asked if there was anything not scheduled anyone was interested in doing. We wanted stamps for our post cards so she stopped at the main PO and our cards beat us home!!

 

I would highly recommend her - she really made our trip so special!!!

[Giantfan13]

We had Elana also,and I believe Sergei (Sp) as our driver.

 

I understand there are several Elana's working for SPB

 

Here is a shot of Elana , Sergei and Mr and Mrs Giantfan

 

If anyone recognizes her (or us), maybe you had them also

 

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe998.jpg

 

Cheers

 

Len

[rubens]

Last year, Luba was our guide and she was great. Unfortunately I don't think you'll be able to make a choice of guide as Viktoria makes her planning well in advance. Anyway with SPB you can't go wrong

[Burpin04]

Just got off ship and we had an American in Berlin named heather who was extremely knowledgeable, couldn't fault her. We had yelena in st Petersburg. Very knowledgeable also, but did enjoy the American better as easier to understand. Though there was no language barrier whatsoever. Drivers both times excellent, with the Berlin one having cold drinks on his bus also which was good and the st Petersburg one having umbrellas for us when it rained. Could not fault this company.

[Infi]

Thanks so much to all for your great comments and recommendations. It looks like we can't go wrong with any of the SPb guides. Please keep the recommendations coming!

[lancashire_cruisers]

We had Elena Semenova as our tour guide in 2009 but not through SPB Tours. She was a wonderful ambassador for St Petersburg and established a great connection with our then 9 year old daughter.

 

Debbie:)

[Friendlyangel]

We had Albina on May 17, 18. She was awesome! She really loved her city and made us love it, too. Her English was very easy to understand, too. I don't think you can go wrong with any of Vika's guides.

[fabnfortysomething]

talking to our tour guide last year it seems that most of the top tour guides dont work for just one company.They are highly qualified usually Art historians and our guide Helen was working with us via Anastasia but recommended several other companies she also contracts with.

 

the best guides with recommendations from tourists get the pick of the work

 

Lyn

[Host Hattie]

We had Elena Semenova for a 2 day tour last week, she was great.

When asked a question on the first day to which she didn't have an answer (what is the current inflation rate ?!) by the beginning of Day 2 she had the answer with lots of additional economic information.

[ArtM]

We had Elena Ivanova as guide and Vladimar as driver when we did the deluxe tour the weekend before last.

 

Elena was incredible in her knowledge of art and architecture of the places we were visiting. She fielded all our requests without breaking stride, and with help from Vika, adapted our schedule to changing weather and traffic conditions - there was a big 300th Birthday of St Petersburg celebration going on that weekend. I thought she was a super manager keeping everyone on track without making anyone feel like he/she was being pushed.

 

According to Vika, SPb has six Elenas on its staff. Like a previous poster, I got the impression that the guide assignments are not random.

 

Art

[MRSBITS]

We just returned from our Baltic cruise aboard Celebrity Eclipse; and we had a fabulous SPB 2-day Deluxe tour with Ekaterina Samarina for our guide and Andrew was the driver.

Katja (nickname) spoke excellent English and was extremely well-versed in the art and history of the museums, cathedrals and palaces of St. Petersburg. She and Andrew did a commendable job fulfilling everyone's dreams/wishes for visiting St. Petersburg.

The highlight for me was our visit to Yusopov's Palace, where the murder of Rasputin took place. It is my understanding that Russian guides need an additional certification to take visitors to this palace; and, Katja filled me in on details that I had not read about! I highly recommend a tour with SPB! Carolyn

[dnbnor]

we were on a tour 7/8 June 2011, maria was our guide and max our driver. i can't sing there praises enough!!

[sammiedawg]

We recommended Eugene ( last name something close to Gretzy) to a group touring this summer. He loved Americans, spoke perfect English and did a great job overall. He was our guide last July.

[CintiPam]

Natalya was our guide in St. Petersburg on June 18 and 19, and Max was our driver (with his spotless Mercedes). Heather was our American guide in Berlin; she is fantastic.

[PJames]

Elena was out SPb tour guide in St. Petersburg:

http://www.gummy-stuff.org/Baltic-cruise.htm#SPb

[Hal Bennett]

My wife are I were on the NCL Sun June 22, 2011. We took the two day active tour and the evening canal ride. Victoria Pushel was our guide in St. Petersburg for the active tour. Victoria said that she had been a guide for seven years. She spoke excellent English and had been an exchange student living with an American family in Illinois. Without a doubt Victoria was the best guide that I have ever had, anytime or anywhere. For the evening boat tour we had Alexander, who also was very good. In Germany we had Holly. Holly also was outstanding. She is an American who married a German from Hamburg. If you take the Berlin tour try not to use up a lot of time eating lunch. Tell your guide you are willing to do someone quick. Avoid any sit down lunch, takes too long. We spent about an hour and a half because of slow service. This caused use to run late, missed sites and got back late to the ship. In Finland we took a three hour walking tour. I would recommend avoiding this. I would use the Hop on Hop off bus instead.

 

Hal

[canadarocks]

If you take the Berlin tour try not to use up a lot of time eating lunch. Tell your guide you are willing to do someone quick. Avoid any sit down lunch, takes too long. We spent about an hour and a half because of slow service. This caused use to run late, missed sites and got back late to the ship. In Finland we took a three hour walking tour. I would recommend avoiding this. I would use the Hop on Hop off bus instead.

 

Hal

 

We have 4 different SPB Tours booked. I've been thinking that a sit down lunch would be great to break up such a long day in Berlin, but your post now has me concerned. Having just been there, what would you recommend my group of 20 do for lunch?

 

We have the three hour Helsinki bus tour booked with SPB Tours. Was it the walking that you recommend avoiding, or was there something wrong with the tour company itself in Helsinki? :confused:

[CintiPam]

We have 4 different SPB Tours booked. I've been thinking that a sit down lunch would be great to break up such a long day in Berlin, but your post now has me concerned. Having just been there, what would you recommend my group of 20 do for lunch? ..

 

I organized a group of 16 for an SPB-Tours trip to Berlin on Sunday, June 12, and I also did not want to waste a lot of time on lunch, so I made that clear in my emails in advance. Then, when I met excellent Heather, our American tour guide, that morning, I also discussed our itinerary with her, particularly because some of us wanted to stop at the Pergamon Museum before we returned to Warnemunde. She suggested that she pre-order for all of us, using the five most common main dishes at the cafe she planned for us to lunch at, plus the three most common side dishes plus drinks. She wrote this all down, and then phoned in the order; due to her initiative, we had an excellent lunch in 30 minutes. She also helped serve it to save us even more time. She is a treasure, delivering one of the best tours I ever have taken, certainly the best one-day tour, and I hope SPB appreciates what a fantastic guide she is!

 

I always make it a practice to review the itinerary and expectations upon first meeting the actual guide for any private tours, just to insure there is no misunderstanding or miscommunication because the person with whom you have an email relationship before your tour practically never is the person conducting the tour. This has been a very effective tool, particularly to avoid lengthy shopping stops in certain southern European ports!

[canadarocks]

Thank you so much for the great advice! I have emailed Anthony with a request to do our lunch stop in Berlin the exact same way as you did!! :cool:

[CintiPam]

Thank you so much for the great advice! I have emailed Anthony with a request to do our lunch stop in Berlin the exact same way as you did!! :cool:

 

If you end up going to one of the restaurants across the street from the Holocaust Memorial, be sure not to order a side order of potato salad for just yourself; this side order to my excellent brat was a soup bowl size portion that easily could serve at least four very generously.:D

[canadarocks]

Can I ask how you all coordinated paying for your Berlin lunch? Did you each pay the same amount, and did you decide that beforehand? :confused:

[Hal Bennett]

Holly, our tour guide in Berlin made reservations at a restaurant for us in advance. Holly said that we should be able to get in and out in a hurry. Through no fault of Holly's this did not work out. Three people in our group did not receive there food until everyone else was finished. Holly was so upset she told me not to leave a tip. I spoke to a person from another group with SPB and they ate on the run, saving a lot of time. We missed several stops because of the hour and and half plus lunch. Another thing that bothered me was that we were running about an hour late leaving Berlin. Several people wanted to use the rest room before we left and were told by the bus driver that we did not have time. We stopped about forty minutes later and it was a long haul for the ones who really needed the rest room break. While on the bus back to the ship I noticed a cooler filled with water and beer. None was ever offered us. My wife mentioned this to Victoria in St.Petersburg and she was not happy. Victoria said that the water was supposed to be for the tour passengers.

 

Finally, the walking tour just did not work for me and my wife. First off two people did not show up and that made use late catching the public bus. Our guide had us get off the bus in really plain Jane sort of area. I don't mind walking, but it just wasted a lot of time. The Ho Ho bus comes right up to the ship. I think that's a better option. After the tour we walked around on our own, had lunch etc. and had very nice time. When we were ready to return to the ship I asked directions to the proper bus stop and found it with no problem. We met three other people from the ship and because we waited so long for the bus to arrive we gave up and took a cab back to the ship.

 

I would not hesitate to book SPB in the future. I would just do a better job talking to Victoria and asking more question about the tours.

 

Hal