Tours, visas and hotels in St. Pete for land stay after cruise

[World Gallery]

We are doing something quite different but hope we can make it work. We are doing the 20 day Mediterrean cruise that starts and ends in Rome then will fly to St. Petersburg for a 3 to 4 day land stay. I started researching 3 years ago for a Baltic cruise but we couldn't go so I put it off until now. We have 3 kids adopted from Russia and want more time in St. Pete than a Baltic cruise will allow. Since we are paying a lot to fly over, we figure we will do it all in one trip.

 

I am hoping to use my research from years ago and info here to plan the land portion of this trip.

Does anyone know if the same tour companies used by many here will also work with us, being that we are not coming directly from the ship?

 

Has anyone used a company to get their visa and a hotel stay (I think there is one cruise line that does leave from St. Pete so those people would be in need of a hotel). We are hoping to get one tour company to book everything needed - tour, hotel, visa, ballet tickets, etc

[janina]

We just used Marina Wilson Private Tours. Found out about her on trip advisor, she was absolutely wonderful. We wanted two days for only 2 of us and our own plans. She speaks fluent english, actually sounds like a Brit. She married an Australian and has her own company. Her prices are excellent, and can do hotels, visa and everything. Found wonderful places for us to eat, shop, etc. Website is www.st-petersburg-visit.com. You can also read reviews on trip advisor...we loved her.

[World Gallery]

thanks janina - I have already sent them an email. It seems this is what we are looking for.

 

Any other suggestions?

[Kingsbridge]

I've taken 4 trips to Russia. One hotel stay in St. Petersburg, one Russian River Cruise, one Baltic Cruise, and this year a 4 day visit to Moscow. I used Travel Visa Pro in San Francisco for my Russian Visa since I live on the West Coast. I was very satisfied with them. I booked my own hotel online using Trip Advisor reviews for information purposes. I had the hotel email me an invitation letter which is needed for the visa application, but when I looked on the websites of various visa services, it seems that they can get the visa support letter and that you may not need to supply it. I don't know whether it's better to have a travel company book the hotel but I knew which hotels I wanted and found it easy to book directly with the hotel website. Expedia also has lots of choices. In St. Petersburg I used the concierge desk to book excursions as needed. In Moscow I did it all on my own. I would certainly contact the tour companies that are popular with Cruise Critic members (SPB, Anastasia, etc.). They could just as easily arrange tours for a land visitor as for a cruise passenger. In my opinion the most important thing about the hotel you chose is the location. Even though you may be relying on a guide to pick you up and take you places, you won't enjoy a distant hotel that isn't near the center of the city.

[World Gallery]

thanks kingsbridge - I have already gotten in touch with SPB and like them a lot. Now I just need to find a hotel. You are right, location is everything. If you don't mind me asking, what hotel did you use in St. Pete? We are looking for one with AC that works (which can be rare in Russia. They may stay they have an AC but that doesnt mean it actually works)

[Kingsbridge]

I stayed at the Grand Hotel Europe when it was a Kempinski hotel. Now it's part of the Orient Express group and prices have gone up. I am thinking of going to St. Petersburg next year and staying at the Renaissance Hotel which is on the far side of St. Isaac's Square. The hotel is modern which usually means that the a/c works. I get Marriott points so it's a good choice for me, especially since they have some good midweek business rates including breakfast and internet, etc. I would suggest that you look for hotels on Expedia. Use your actual dates if they are not too far out. When the hotel list comes up, there is an option in the listing for the first hotel to "Map This". Click on that and a red icon shows the hotel that you have selected. On the same map there are lots of blue icons and if you move your mouse over them, it will show the name of each hotel. Since you can see the faint outline of Nevsky Prospect and of the Neva River on the map, you can get an idea of the relative distance between the hotels and their locations. Try it and see if you find it helpful. I don't know what your price range is but once you've picked out a few hotels to consider, I think that SPB can tell you whether there are good restaurants and shops nearby.