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Comparing SPB & Alla Tours in St. Petersburg


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I'm a US citizen and I'll be on a cruise, so only day trips in each port except for St. Petersburg which is 2-1/2 days.

Latvia - no visa required

Poland - no visa required

Lithuania - no visa required

St. Petersburg - no visa required provided you are staying onboard the ship each night. SPB has a visa-free entry program for cruise ship passengers (72 hours max which would cover your stay) provided you utilize the services of a locally licensed tour operator (examples: Alla Tours, TJ Tours, Red October, Best Guides, etc.) or book a ship tour. Both the local tour company & the ship tour will provide you with a "visa waiver" that you print & show at immigration.

 

Sounds like a great itinerary!

jill

Edited by dogs4fun
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Thanks for all the info. When we were looking for tour companies for our upcoming June Baltic cruise, it was quite challenging to decide which company to use. It is more difficult due to there being so many good ones. We decided on Alla. She responds so quickly to my inquiries and has been super helpful in our planning. She has been a real pleasure to work with and she has operated the business since 2005. She also doesn't upcharge for using credit cards.

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Speaking of ALLA, I just received their latest price list you might be interested in:

 

"Dear Friends,

Happy New Year to you and your families!

I am writing to inform you about availability of early tour booking discounted prices for our tours in St Petersburg!

Cost of St Petersburg group tours is:

St Petersburg Grand tour $325 is changed to $300 pp

St Petersburg Comfort tour $300 is changed to $275USD pp

St Petersburg 3-day Grand tour $420USD pp changed to $385USD pp

 

Our pricing policy for the early booking of the package tours has been changed as well:

1. Now we offer booking packages with as many cities as you wish starting form just 2 cities! It gives you extra package discount when booking 2, 3, 4 or 5 cities!

2. Our 5h Stockholm Grand tour includes both Vasa museum and City hall inside visits

 

Cost of our most popular 4-city and 5-city packages is:

4 city package with St Petersburg 2-day tour, Helsinki, Tallinn and Berlin 480USD pp

4-city package with St Petersburg 2-day tour, Helsinki, Tallinn and Stockholm 450USD pp

5 city package with St Petersburg 2-day tour, Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm and Berlin is $575USD pp"

 

We are going to SPG in July on the Marina. Alla asked me to post these price changes on CC. I receive no compensation, etc. Maybe a 'spasiba' when we get there. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
We had a hard time deciding which to go with, so I did up a chart to help with the comparison. It showed when and how long we were at each stop, prices, etc. It was much easier to make a decision once we had all that info laid out in front of us!

 

Newlaxfan,

 

I hope your informative spread sheet is still available for sharing. We will be on our Baltic's cruise in july 2013 and I am now beginning the process of planning our private shore excursions. We have 3 days in SPB. Could you possibly email this spreadsheet to me at bjpickens@comcast.net. Many Thanks!!:)

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We are going to be in SPB tue May 14 2013. We did find one interesting difference between tour operators.

 

We want to see Catherine's palace which is closed for public on Tue. Only a few operators like Alla, Guide guru seem to have that special permit. Don't think that SPB tours does CP on Tue. Something to consider.

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Here's another comparison:

 

SPD charges a fee for credit cards usage

ALLA does not charge a fee for credit card usage

 

I think you mean SPB.

 

However, just to correct you, SPB no longer charges credit card fees. Have a look at their website where it clearly states NO CREDIT CARD FEES. I have also had this confirmed in writing.

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However, just to correct you, SPB no longer charges credit card fees. Have a look at their website where it clearly states NO CREDIT CARD FEES. I have also had this confirmed in writing.

 

Sorry, you are correct. Apparently they used to charge credit card fees. Thanks for clarifying this. :)

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Speaking of ALLA, I just received their latest price list you might be interested in:

 

"Dear Friends,

Happy New Year to you and your families!

I am writing to inform you about availability of early tour booking discounted prices for our tours in St Petersburg!

Cost of St Petersburg group tours is:

St Petersburg Grand tour $325 is changed to $300 pp

St Petersburg Comfort tour $300 is changed to $275USD pp

St Petersburg 3-day Grand tour $420USD pp changed to $385USD pp

 

Our pricing policy for the early booking of the package tours has been changed as well:

1. Now we offer booking packages with as many cities as you wish starting form just 2 cities! It gives you extra package discount when booking 2, 3, 4 or 5 cities!

2. Our 5h Stockholm Grand tour includes both Vasa museum and City hall inside visits

 

Cost of our most popular 4-city and 5-city packages is:

4 city package with St Petersburg 2-day tour, Helsinki, Tallinn and Berlin 480USD pp

4-city package with St Petersburg 2-day tour, Helsinki, Tallinn and Stockholm 450USD pp

5 city package with St Petersburg 2-day tour, Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm and Berlin is $575USD pp"

 

We are going to SPG in July on the Marina. Alla asked me to post these price changes on CC. I receive no compensation, etc. Maybe a 'spasiba' when we get there. :)

glad you posted this, i too, was about to, been emailing Alla since our first enquiry last nov, fantastic service, just formaly booked with these excellent prices last week, cant wait

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We also have our confirmed 2 Day Comfort Tour through Alla! She is wonderful and very professional. We are very pleased with the customer service we have received thus far. Can't wait until we finally get to meet her!

Same with us, great price, did u get quoted $275, hope so, if not , get back to them.Great price, cant wait

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Thanks for all the info. When we were looking for tour companies for our upcoming June Baltic cruise, it was quite challenging to decide which company to use. It is more difficult due to there being so many good ones. We decided on Alla. She responds so quickly to my inquiries and has been super helpful in our planning. She has been a real pleasure to work with and she has operated the business since 2005. She also doesn't upcharge for using credit cards.

 

Speaking of ALLA, I just received their latest price list you might be interested in:

 

"Dear Friends,

Happy New Year to you and your families!

I am writing to inform you about availability of early tour booking discounted prices for our tours in St Petersburg!

Cost of St Petersburg group tours is:

St Petersburg Grand tour $325 is changed to $300 pp

St Petersburg Comfort tour $300 is changed to $275USD pp

St Petersburg 3-day Grand tour $420USD pp changed to $385USD pp

 

Our pricing policy for the early booking of the package tours has been changed as well:

1. Now we offer booking packages with as many cities as you wish starting form just 2 cities! It gives you extra package discount when booking 2, 3, 4 or 5 cities!

2. Our 5h Stockholm Grand tour includes both Vasa museum and City hall inside visits

 

Cost of our most popular 4-city and 5-city packages is:

4 city package with St Petersburg 2-day tour, Helsinki, Tallinn and Berlin 480USD pp

4-city package with St Petersburg 2-day tour, Helsinki, Tallinn and Stockholm 450USD pp

5 city package with St Petersburg 2-day tour, Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm and Berlin is $575USD pp"

 

We are going to SPG in July on the Marina. Alla asked me to post these price changes on CC. I receive no compensation, etc. Maybe a 'spasiba' when we get there. :)

 

glad you posted this, i too, was about to, been emailing Alla since our first enquiry last nov, fantastic service, just formaly booked with these excellent prices last week, cant wait

 

We also have our confirmed 2 Day Comfort Tour through Alla! She is wonderful and very professional. We are very pleased with the customer service we have received thus far. Can't wait until we finally get to meet her!

 

We also have our confirmed 2 Day Comfort Tour through Alla! She is wonderful and very professional. We are very pleased with the customer service we have received thus far. Can't wait until we finally get to meet her!

 

Looks like you guys all scored great tours at super prices. Congratulations! :)

We booked with Alla for our 2 days in Saint Petersburg & our day in Berlin. The tours were fabulous! You are all in for a real treat! And Alla herself is simply the sweetest lady.

Saint Petersburg is an amazing city!

Enjoy! :)

jill

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Hello! We are just about to book onto the 2 Day Grand Tour in St Pertersburg with Allla. We're on the Queen Victoria departing S'hampton on 1st June. I've set up a roll call. Is there anyone out there who'd like to join us? Joan & Pip

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Looks like you guys all scored great tours at super prices. Congratulations! :)

We booked with Alla for our 2 days in Saint Petersburg & our day in Berlin. The tours were fabulous! You are all in for a real treat! And Alla herself is simply the sweetest lady.

Saint Petersburg is an amazing city!

Enjoy! :)

jill

 

Great to hear it! These boards are so useful in providing information to all us cruisers. Best of luck in getting your tour together!

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

 

"When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do!"

Walt Disney

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Great to hear it! These boards are so useful in providing information to all us cruisers. Best of luck in getting your tour together!

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

 

"When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do!"

Walt Disney

I'm sorry, guess I wasn't clear. We already completed our tours with Alla. We had a fabulous time. That is why I mentioned that you are all in for a treat. :D

jill

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We also confirmed 1-day with SPB, eventhough the site says 4 person is such amount or 16 person is such amount. You can always negotiate and they are very price competitive and will beat anyone's pricing. Just show them what others' offers. What I am saying is they can give you flat rate.

 

They also asked me to mention in Cruisecritic that they are no longer charge credit card fee. Their website has changed.

Edited by PC168
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Same with us, great price, did u get quoted $275, hope so, if not , get back to them.Great price, cant wait

 

Fizzy

 

Just a heads up on this Comfort Tour. Just be aware that it does not include two of the more frequented places in St Petersberg, St Isaac's Cathedral and the very popular Yusupov’s Palace. These are very popular places to visit. The price is very good, but you will be missing some of the highlights of St Petersberg.

 

Cheers

 

Len

Edited by Giantfan13
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Fizzy

 

Just a heads up on this Comfort Tour. Just be aware that it does not include two of the more frequented places in St Petersberg, St Isaac's Cathedral and the very popular Yusupov’s Palace. These are very popular places to visit. The price is very good, but you will be missing some of the highlights of St Petersberg.

 

Cheers

 

Len

thanks for the info Len, want to leave some things to do for when we go back under our own steam !! will make a note

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