egaowl1 Posted May 31, 2013 #1 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Trying to decide which tour company is best. Anyone have a recommendation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jancruz Posted May 31, 2013 #2 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Trying to decide which tour company is best. Anyone have a recommendation? I have always used Red October but have heard Denrus is excellent.. Janvruz1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanny18 Posted May 31, 2013 #3 Share Posted May 31, 2013 We were there last August and used TJ Travel for St. Petersburg and Berlin. Very good! Arlene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
computerworks Posted May 31, 2013 #4 Share Posted May 31, 2013 SPB Tours... we were thrilled with them. http://www.spb-tours.com/st-petersburg/en/node Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted May 31, 2013 #5 Share Posted May 31, 2013 There are several recommended companies listed on the Ports Of call forum They all do the same tour spots, I bet if you tried 2 different companies the speech would be the same for each tourist site ;) I Found Viktoria of SPB -Tours very receptive in doing sites off the normal tour offered Check the ones that do the sites you are interested Some do a drive by some actually enter the site so make sure you clarify that Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted May 31, 2013 #6 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Denrus, Red October and Alla are all wonderful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted May 31, 2013 #7 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Denrus, Red October and Alla are all wonderful. +1 with Alla having a slight advantage because of her extraordinary ability to accommodate those who are uncomfortable walking long distances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonardray Posted May 31, 2013 #8 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Alla we did it last year with only 6 people for 3 days, and were taken to several places we wanted go to that were not on the normal schedule. They are the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiks Posted May 31, 2013 #9 Share Posted May 31, 2013 I agree--we had a great experience with Alla in 2011 with a 2-day with 15 people. Wiks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almagetty Posted May 31, 2013 #10 Share Posted May 31, 2013 We also had a wonderful experience with Alla. I recommend her company without reservation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted May 31, 2013 #11 Share Posted May 31, 2013 I am a bit schizophrenic about my recommendation. We had Viktoria in 2006 when she still worked for Alla and was just thinking about starting her SPB company. Thus I can recommend both Viktoria (SPB) and Alla's tours :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisecountess Posted May 31, 2013 #12 Share Posted May 31, 2013 I'll throw another name into the mix ~ Insider Tour. Although they are not as well known, they are highly reliable and competent. They worked with me, promptly via email, to tailor the two days' itinerary to my specifications. We had a safe and punctual driver as well as a warm and knowledgable guide ~ it was like traveling with friend's. Check out their website. Harriet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toseaornottosea Posted June 1, 2013 #13 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Agree. Used Insider Tours 2 years ago. Easy and quick email communication. Very capable and flexible guide and driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChatKat in Ca. Posted June 1, 2013 #14 Share Posted June 1, 2013 We used Denrus a few years ago. Our guide was exceptional. Her English was excellent. We told her what we wanted to see and it was all reserved. They got us in ahead of any lines. We were finished early with one location and she called ahead to the next. They were at lunch and closed but she knew whoever answered and we went in...we had the whole museum to ourselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarbird Posted June 1, 2013 #15 Share Posted June 1, 2013 We used TJ travel last year for 3 days and they were outstanding!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindilouwho Posted June 1, 2013 #16 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Trying to decide which tour company is best. Anyone have a recommendation? We are using Guide-Guru - Natalia has been super responsive on our emails and we have been Skyping every day to arrange the tours. She was less expensive than Alla with more inclusions. She has also been really accommodating for "special requirements". We were originally booked with Alla but her pricing went a little sideways and her emails were slow and erratic about what she had confirmed. All these tour companies have excellent ratings on most websites devoted to reviews. I am beginning to think that there is really only one tour company (probably Intourist) that puts these trips together and these tour companies actually act as agents ..... just my opinion, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted June 1, 2013 #17 Share Posted June 1, 2013 There are certainly enough recommendations here to confuse anyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindilouwho Posted June 1, 2013 #18 Share Posted June 1, 2013 There are certainly enough recommendations here to confuse anyone! FOR SURE!!! LOL :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrheadlass Posted June 2, 2013 #19 Share Posted June 2, 2013 I'm another happy SPB customer...we were in st. Petersburg a week ago. The guide for our 2 day tour for 14 of us was great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andee Posted June 2, 2013 #20 Share Posted June 2, 2013 we were extremely satisfied with Red October. They were very accommodating when we wanted to tweak their standard 2 day itinerary. I was also communicating with DenRus; they were effusive until I asked about making some changes--then they became very unpleasant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pomgit Posted June 3, 2013 #21 Share Posted June 3, 2013 We were in St Petersburg a couple of weeks back. We (four of us) did a private 2 day tour with SPB. The itinerary that we had designed with Viktoria got some 'last minute' readjusting. We were unhappy with this because it essentially reduced our time at Peterhof to 30 minutes (it was unfortunately a spectacular sunny day) so we could make an early lunch and we didn't get our promised 8.30 AM early entry to the Hermitage - we got in at 09.45 AM instead. This meant our time to stroll around town was cut to zero. When time is tight to maximize sightseeing a reputable company is worth it's weight in gold. When we passed on feedback about the tour to Viktoria she became really defensive and said that because it was so busy it was difficult to secure tickets to the Hermitage and that we were, in fact, extremely lucky to see Catherine's Palace. She could have easily managed our expectations with a short email to say that things had to be rearranged, instead of leaving it up to the guide to let us know the unhappy news. I completely understand that prior planning is required to secure tickets to see these amazing sights, and that sometimes it just doesn't work out. I was just unhappy with the way changes to the itinerary were dealt with (like a the entrance to Peterhof) and the manner in which Viktoria responded. She did present us with a box of yummy chocolates the next day and instead of early-early entry to the Hermitage we did a canal cruise which was particularly enjoyable in the sunshine. Just wondering if this is a new thing or it's been reported previously with the 'big' operators. Perhaps it would be wise to do some homework and go with a smaller operator that can guarantee a small number of tickets, unlike SPB/Alla how obviously can't satisfy the demand for tickets given the large number of people booking with them. It will be interesting to see reports as the season progresses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proud Grandparents Posted June 4, 2013 #22 Share Posted June 4, 2013 We used SPB last June and couldn't be happier. I will say the lunches were nothing special but other than that everything was great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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