Alla Tours - St Petesburg

[SJ27]

Please double check that your email was correct, no little mistakes, I can honestly say that Alla returns all my emails in hours, they have arranged our tour for August and have been amazing so far, really wait to see SPB

 

 

Again I second these posts. We have been in contact with her since January, her responses seem to have slowed to once per day since season started but always responds. Be aware there is a "fake" site (one where they register the domain in a similar name to try get the owner of the "real" site to buy them out) called alla-tours.com, whereas hers is alla-tour.com (without the 's') so maybe you ended up on the wrong one if that is where you got her email from...?

[timespliters]

Our trip to St Petersburg was the best we have done and it was all down to Alla. see photos and our group

[timespliters]

Just back from our Baltic cruise and I can honestly say that the 2 day moderate tour that we took with Alla was the highlight of our trip and that it far exceeded expectations. From the first moment of contact our guide Angie was the consummate professional and her extensive knowledge and local 'savvy' enhanced the whole experience. Her grasp of english is notable and she was happy to crack jokes and to offer her opinion on life in Russia as well as give us her knowledge of all the historical and social aspects of Russian life. We were very lucky to have her as our guide and she is a fantastic ambassador for her organisation. We will have no hesitation in recommending Alla tours to any of our friends who follow in our footsteps. Lynne and Colin Walker, Telford, England

 

 

We loved our tour with her and hope to do it again

[srpilo]

For what it's worth, he used Alla (she was actually our guide) for a private tour a few years ago, there was just 4 of us with her and her driver and I have to say she was fantastic.

 

 

2 wonderful days with Alla in St Petersburg

Srpil0

[vinodoc]

We used them on our last cruise and find them very good. Paid them with crisp USD bills on the second day. No problem and had a great time.

 

Kevin

[cathy82]

We had a private tour for 4 persons through Alla Tours when we visited the Baltic on The Constellation in May 2009. Our tour was fabulous. The guide we had was Irena. She was very knowlegeable and spoke English fluently. We did meet Alla who gave us a nice dvd of the highlights of St. Petersburg at the end of our two days. We saw so much more than the larger tours and managed to see everything with time to spare. The Mercedes van we were in was very comfortable. We also had a very luxurious hydrofoil ride over to Peterhof Palace. The price was reasonable and I would recommend them highly in every way.

[Midland Red]

Recently back from Celebrity Eclipse cruise - so pleased we booked Alla Tours' 2 day St Petersburg excursion, the guide (Elena) was really good and knowledgeable, and her English was impeccable - 16 in the party

 

Highly recommended

 

Incidentally, we took advantage of their discounted 1/2 day tour of Tallinn for those who had done the St Petersburg excursion - well worth the money and just 6 of us in the party

[Barbie075]

We used Anastasia travel company and they were just great. The driver was really pleasant and the tour guide was just so incredibly informative and spoke excellent English to the point she did not sound Russian at all. We asked that the meals not be included that we would just want to stop where and when we felt like it with suggestions from them. We actually ate in a concession stand at Peterhof one day and the food was simple and good -- blini. The second day we asked to stop at one of their "pie" places -- we were not really that impressed. I guess just not our cup of tea as they say. We had six of us and saw everything we wanted to see plus more!! I would highly recommend them if you are considering or alternatives.

[TommyC]

We did St Petersburg with Alla Tours last week. There were 16 in the group. Dina was our guide and Vladimir our driver for the two days. Dina did a fantastic job. We saw lots in and out of the city. Everything was explained - it was very educational and informative. The days were long - we made the requisite museum, church and palace stops, had lunch each day, rode the subway, a hydrofoil and made a few unplanned stops too. Don't know if they have any 'connections' but the weather for the two days was sunny and warm. I recommend them highly. My only suggestion is to start your reservation process early on.

[lrn376]

Badbulldog,

you have to open up an account to have messages with Alla. Go to google dot com, put in Alla-Tours and then go to personal contact. From there you will be given directions to fill out the log-in. Then you can write her a message and she will respond. Good luck

[katie26]

We used Alla last week and i cannot recommend them highly enough. you will have a fab time. We had julia although alla popped in to make sure we were ok. a truly wonderful two days and worth eveyr penny and we made everyone on ships's tours v jealous as they only go out for a few hours and we had 18 hours over the two days and saw so much more than they did in a much smaller group.

[barrow]

We used Alla in September in St Petersburg from the Pullmantur ship Empress. Two day 'Grand tour'. Absolutely the best tour we have done. Easy to arrange and so well managed. Our ship was Spanish so we needed a Russian based tour company to have English speaking guides. The arrival time was difficult for Alla-11 am, and she put together a terrific two day programme around our times, thie first time she had done so for this ship. Tatiana, the guide, was brilliant, and the four of us (we were with two Canadians, contacted via cruise critic-you can find the posts in here) had much the best time of it compared to the bigger, similar priced (and in Spanish) trips offered by the ship. We saw far more sights, but it never felt rushed. Lunch on day one was very good. Traditional Russian fare and well cooked. The hot blinis on day two were eaten in the mini bus after the morning at the fortress,hydrofoil and Peterhof. I loved them too. We were told they are the Russian version of fast food but they tasted better than that suggests. The visits were well timed and I can recommend Tatiana's skill in getting the four of us to the front of any queue. Not sure what the guide from the big coach party said to her but we were in. I particularly liked the small group size. We were always the focus of her attention and able to get so much from each site. The minibus was modern and very clean and the driver always managed to be parked very nearby. Not for us the long slow amble to a coach at the far side of the carpark and no waiting for latecomers.

We paid $300 dollars each for the two days, but if that sounds expensive then I would add that it included entrance to all the sites,food, transport-including both the river trip and the hydrofoil, and organisation that enabled us to see and do more than other groups on our ship. Other companies may be as good but they would find it hard to do better. I would use them again without hesitation.

[lauriemac6]

We've just booked with Alla for our St Petersburg tour (Jewel of the Seas, in port May 20-21) and are now figuring out what we're doing in other ports. Midland Red, I was glad to see you had a good experience with Alla in Tallinn. Has anyone else had experience with their tours in Tallinn, Helsinki, or Stockholm?

 

Thanks for any feedback you can provide. :)

[JerseyJaguar]

Barrow, reading your review of Alla makes me very excited! I'm travelling by myself and cringed at the thought of having to form my own group so I had narrowed it down to Alla or Denrus (companies that just let me sign up at a set price), but then I read that Alla maxes out at 16 (DenRus at 30) and that sold me. After I went to the website and sent the PM I didn't expect to hear back for a few days because it was the weekend but Alla contacted me within hours with a two day itinerary all set.

 

It sounds like a very busy two days, too bad there isn't a sea day to sleep before our next port.

[Genessa]

Barrow, reading your review of Alla makes me very excited! I'm travelling by myself and cringed at the thought of having to form my own group so I had narrowed it down to Alla or Denrus (companies that just let me sign up at a set price), but then I read that Alla maxes out at 16 (DenRus at 30) and that sold me. After I went to the website and sent the PM I didn't expect to hear back for a few days because it was the weekend but Alla contacted me within hours with a two day itinerary all set.

 

It sounds like a very busy two days, too bad there isn't a sea day to sleep before our next port.

 

my husband & I were in a group of 4 that ended up being 3 and we had Julia as our guide.

We didn't wait in any lies! By the end of the 1st day we were aching, but the end of the 2nd, even more so, but it was good pains! And it's not that we were walking fast, just that we did so much!

At the Hermitage, Julia asked us if we had any special interests, then, as we went through the "usual" areas, she knew exactly how to guide us to give us more of the sections we wanted to see more of without wasting time back tracking over previously seen areas. We even got to see a special exhibit we didn't know was there until we saw the sign for it.

 

The restaurant food was, by far, the best food we have ever had on an escorted tour, anywhere. And, the food was eaten not only by the drivers and guides, but by locals.

Julia was also able to direct us to the best seats (where applicable) and best picture spots.

 

we can't recommend Alla highly enough.

[dogs4fun]

We also used Alla in August, 2011. We used Alla in both SPB and Berlin.

We just loved our tour (2 day Grand Tour) of SPB. We found Alla to be very professional, flexible, accomodating, reliable and very patient in answering our many questions and concerns.

Valentina, our guide in SPB, was fabulous!

 

My BIL had never been to Berlin & really wanted to see the Pergamon museum. I had contacted other tour companies frequently touted on CC with our Pergamon request and was given the reply: "if time will permit". Alla promised that she would absolutely make certain that we had at least one and a half hours in the Pergamon. We were SOLD on Alla from then on!! :)

 

We plan on returning to SPB in 2013 on a land trip (want more time in SPB to see some of the sights not visited by cruisers). We will again be using Alla in 2013 only this time I have no questions or concerns as I have complete confidence in her. :)

jill

Edited January 7, 2012 by dogs4fun

[Silver Jo]

We have just returned from a Baltic Cruise on Celebrity. We toured with Alla for the Grand Tour in St Petersburg. We had 12 people in the van. One thing that was nice is that we met our tour mates on Cruise Critic so had been communicating before the trip. Our guide was Anna, who was wonderful. We really appreciated that we had the hearing devices--a lifesaver in those crowds. My husband has a hearing problem so he would have really missed out without them. We also took snacks from the ship so did not waste time waiting in the restaurants. We saw so many things---palaces nonstop, canals, statues and on and on.

We also took an Alla tour in Copenhagen--a 5 hr Wonderful Copenhagen tour. It was fine, but the guide did not have the listening devices which made it difficult in a huge crowd of people. She had difficulty keeping the group together which would not have happened if we had been able to hear her. It was an ok tour.

We would definitely recommend Alla tours to other cruisers.

[LondonTowner]

I cannot believe there are posts on this thread about food......... who on earth takes a tour from a cruise ship in SPB for gourmet food?

 

Anyway, my OH and self did a 2 day Comfort tour with Alla last September and I cannot fault it. There was only ourselves and another couple from our ship on the tour, so it really was like having a private tour.

 

I have limited mobility and had advised Alla prior to the tour. I had no problem visiting any place included on the tour. The only thing I didn't do, was the subway ride. Wold definitely book with them again.

[dakacz]

Most people seem to have good experiences with Alla. Unfortunately we were the exception. Our guide would not use the audio speakers except in the Hermitage. Thus unless you were next to him you could not hear him. Also he had nothing to say on the 45 min trip to Catherines Palace. He suggested we nap. We would try to engage him with questions, but to not avail. Like I say we were just unlucky. From what I heard the other tour guides were very good. So it all depends on wh you get as a guide.

[touringbee]

We used SPB tours for our cruise all ports. Just wonderful. Whichever company you use, DO NOT use ships!!! Heard all bad reviews.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Scriv]

We used SPB tours for our cruise all ports. Just wonderful. Whichever company you use, DO NOT use ships!!! Heard all bad reviews. /quote]

 

Would strongly disagree as regards P&O Small Group Excursions. Same format as Alla with minibus and very well informed local guide and driver. It was excellent.:)

Edited September 15, 2014 by Scriv

[michigankate]

Just back from Oceania's 14 day Northern Baltic Cruise and we had Svetlana from Alla Tours for all three days. She was excellent and spoke very good English. Her knowledge of the history of every place we visited was flawless. We also enjoyed a sit-down lunch each day at a different restaurant that was very good. Our weather couldn't have been better with sunshine every day and mid to high 60's. We highly recommend Alla Tours if you visit St. Petersburg.