St. Petersburg-peterhof & pushkin same day?

[Tybro]

Hi all,

I'm collecting info from SPB tours and they offer a day where we go sightseeing, then to Peterhoff for an outside tour, then Pushkin (Tsar's Village) for an inside tour, then back to ship. I know these places are 1 hour from town AND 1 hour from each other. Has anyone done both of these in one day? If you had to choose one, which one would you choose?

Thanks

[Petersburger]

Dear Tybro,

I'm from St.Petersburg and I can assure you it's possible to do both places the same day, if you visit ONLY Lower Park of Peterhof and Catherine's Palace in Pushkin.

If I had to choose one place, I would definitely choose Peterhof, but in this case, would do the Grand PaLace and the Park.

[TLCOhio]

Hi all, I'm collecting info from SPB tours and they offer a day where we go sightseeing, then to Peterhoff for an outside tour, then Pushkin (Tsar's Village) for an inside tour, then back to ship. I know these places are 1 hour from town AND 1 hour from each other. Has anyone done both of these in one day? If you had to choose one, which one would you choose? Thanks

 

YES!! It all very easily done in a one day, plus much more. We did a private tour over two days. On the first day, we visited Pushkin or Tsar's Village for seeing Catherine's Palace. It is about 15 miles south of St. Petersburg. Then we went the Peterhof, had lunch there, took hydrofoil into St. Petersburg, did a canal boat ride, saw the two great historic cathedrals in the early evening and then back to the ship.

 

Then, the second day, we did the Hermitage, plus much more. Below are some of my visual samples for just a little of what we saw and did. Are you looking only at what this one firm/group offers or have you checked with some of the other major firms? What is most of interest to you in visiting this great city? Tell us more!! Don't be shy. Happy to share more and answer added questions.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

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Appreciate those who have “tuned in” for these two posts. Don’t be shy and feel free to comment and/or ask any questions of interest.

 

 

Inside Catherine's Palace in St. Petersburg with our personal guide, we view this spectacular reception room, painted ceiling, gold, etc.:

 

 

 

At Catherine's Palace, here is the spectacular Amber Room:

 

 

 

Lots of beautiful church towers and buildings are located all over in historic St. Petersburg:

 

 

 

One of the many fountains on the grounds of the Peterhof is the Orangery Fountain, depicting Triton fighting a sea monster. There is a cafe there with outdoor seating and super views:

 

 

 

Here is an overall view of the size and scale of St. Isaac's interior in St. Petersburg. It is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in this historic city and was dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great. The cathedral took 40 years to construct, 1818 to 1858, under direction of a French architect. During Soviet rule, it was nearly destroyed and was made into a Museum of Scientific Atheism. It has been restored to its religious beauty/role. The cathedral's main dome tops out at 333 feet and is plated with pure gold.:

 

 

 

Private, personal tours can be worth it, especially in St. Petersburg. Here our group of four, with our guide, Jane or Zhenya from Anastasia, we are viewing one of the two da Vinci masterpieces at the Hermitage after an early admission. There are only 17 such painting by this artist existing in the world. We did an early admission at the Hermitage, adding to the enjoyment in this spectacular place AND museum. It is both!:

 

[Hlitner]

My only issue with the tour would be that it seems like a crime to visit Peterhof and not tour the Palace. We once talked to a person who told us that they had just returned from a month touring Europe but "never had time to see anything" because they were so busy going from place to place. There is some wisdom in that comment.

 

Hank

[CintiPam]

Well, Hank, I now have committed that crime twice on my two visits to St. Petersburg in the past four years. The smaller palaces at Peterhof closer to the Gulf of Finland are far more interesting IMO. Due to the investment/improvements, i.e., additional furnishings now in Catherine's Palace made by the Russian government, it is the better choice if you only have time for one grand palace. Also, hopefully, you will enjoy some of the grand palace rooms at The Hermitage.

 

I say easily doable and highly recommended; SPB-Tours does a great job. Enjoy your time with their guides!

[Tybro]

Yes, that is my fear is that we'll be spending nearly 4 hours of a an 8 hour day in the car driving. I'd rather spend it seeing something wonderful, even if it means skipping one place.

[CintiPam]

We were in St. Petersburg on a Saturday and Sunday, so I am certain that helped with the traffic, but we spent about 30 minutes on a hydrofoil to Peterhof, a fun and scenic experience, then about 45 minutes driving from there to Catherine's Palace, a lot of it on a highway opened since my last visit, then less than one hour back to town, again mostly on a highway. I still assert that you do not have to choose.

 

Just how many days will you have in St. Petersburg? I had almost four on a previous visit with my sister, but still scheduled this way to spend one of my two days on this visit, this time with my husband. BTW, we stopped at St. Isaac's for 45 minutes at the end of that day as well, but we did SPB's deluxe tour with just one other couple, so arranged for more than an eight-hour day.

[petersburgguide]

It is possible to make both, even both palaces.

If you have to choose, I would choose Peterhoff for its fountains

[dogs4fun]

I guess it depends on what is most important to you.

As CintiPam stated, both are very easily doable.

I simply can't imagine missing either Peterhof or the Catherine Palace!! Both were, IMHO, amazing.

Like CintiPam, we toured for 2 days & traveled to Catherine Palace via bus and to Peterhof via hydrofoil. Very enjoyable. We saw many gorgeous sites on our 2 days (including a canal tour). On our first tour day, our tour lasted for almost 9 hours! :D

We employed the services of Alla Tours...Alla (a simply lovely person with whom to correspond) did an outstanding job and we left feeling like we had made a friend in SPB.

We plan on returning to SPB in 2013 (with a visa) so that we can explore this magnificent city in depth.

jill

[Cornishpastyman1]

The Fountains of Peterhof

 

The Catherine Palace at Pushkin

[Giantfan13]

From our tour with SPB Tours, we also did Peterhoff and Catherine's Palace in one day. I think it makes a lot more sense to do it this way. We did Catherine's Palace first, bused to Peterhoff and then while we toured there the bus went back to St Petersberg. We took the hydrofoil boat back to meet our bus. By doing it this way it saved over an hours time for us to see other things. We had fantastic weather and SPB Tours did the smart thing and rearranged some of our tour to take advantage of the glorious weather to do more of the outdoor activities. That is why it is always better to book with an independent tour as the ship's tours would never do anything like that.

 

As you enter Catherine's Palace you are serenaded by a Russian Band

http://s834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/?action=view&current=europemaster834.mp4

 

A quick view of Peterhoff, looking out towards the Sea of Finland

http://s834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/?action=view&current=europemaster838.mp4

 

Another quick view of Peterhoff, the fountains and the crowds

http://s834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/?action=view&current=europemaster839.mp4

 

Leaving Peterhoff on the hydrofoil

http://s834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/?action=view&current=europemaster843.mp4

 

Cheers

 

Len