Mobility Scooter

[Knolmom]

Has anyone ever seen anyone using a mobility scooter on a private company tour in St Petersburg? Are they permitted inside the Hermitage or Catherine's Palace, or any of the churches like Spilled Blood or St Peter and Paul. I hate to have to have someone push me around during the tour if I could use a scooter instead. I am not wheelchair bound, and can use a rollator for some of the sights, like Yusopvs Palace or St Isaacs, but I could certainly arrange an itinerary that includes more sights if some were accessible by scooter.

[LHT28]

Your best bet is to contact the tour guide companies they would know

[John Bull]

Sorry, only negatives from me. :rolleyes:

 

Hermitage is mainly on the upper floor. Don't know if there's an elevator.

Catherine Palace, we all have to put (supplied) covers over our shoes so I suspect that a scooter would be a no-no.

 

Peter & Paul and Spilled Blood I can't think of any problem, that's not to say there are none.

 

But well worth asking the tour operator, as number 28 suggests.

 

JB :)

[Knolmom]

Thanks for your input, John. I know there is an elevator in the Hermitage as they use wheelchairs there. I was a little confused about the shoe covers inside Catherine's Palace, as I know they allow wheelchairs in there also. Thinking that using a scooter, and then a Rollator would be easier than hiring a wheelchair and someone to push it. It is actually better for me to have the info before I contact the tour company(s) so that I know what I need. We could use a car with a collapsible wheelchair but would require an accessible van if I took the scooter.

[LondonTowner]

I had a manual wheelchair in SPB last September. The problem I can see with the scooter is that in many places there are no dropped kerbs. I had to get out of the wheelchair quite a few times as it was difficult for my OH to get me on to the pavement, but we managed and I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

 

I can manage some steps and some walking, which was needed to get onto the boat and then onto the hydrofoil to go to Peterhof.

 

We booked the 2 day Comfort Tour with Alla. I explained my predicament beforehand and they promptly replied with the complete itinerary and details about access and how many steps in each place.

 

Our trip was on a new mini bus and the (helpful) driver folded the wheelchair and put it in the hold of the bus. The guide took us into accessible entrances in the Hermitage and St Catherines Palace and on an accessible route around the Peterhof. The only thing I didn't do was the trip on the subway. I went with the bus driver to where we met the others after their ride.

 

There are pros and cons whether to take a scooter or wheelchair, but I think a wheelchair is possibly more convenient in SPB.

[Knolmom]

Thanks so much for your enlightening response. The scooter is just an option for me, as I will have one onboard. Although I have not communicated yet with the tour companies, I see that Anastasia Tours offers a wheelchair tour where they throw in the wheelchair and you can hire someone to push you if your companion is not up to the task. I would not have to bring a wheelchair from home, and as I said above, I will have a rollator to use for places not accessable by wheelchair.

I was just exploring the option of using the scooter so that I would not have to hire a pusher as My husband recently had shoulder surgery. I also thought that it would move us along faster through places like Peterborg, Catherine's Palace and the Hermitage and, since I am mobile but slow, this would allow us to see almost as many of the sights as those doing the deluxe tours. I do not want to chance breaking my rental scooter by going up and down curbs. I would love to do both the Hydofoil to Peterborg and a canal boat ride at the end of the day. Additionally, Rasputin's Palace, an inside visit to Spilled Blood, and a trip to the Romanov's burial crypts at St. Peter and Paul are also must do activities. I am physically able to do the subway, but that is the one activity I would forgo to see everything else.

I guess I will contact Anastasia Tours regarding their wheelchair tour, and stress that I would be using the wheelchair to allow for a more inclusive tour than the one they have outlined. London tower, we will be in London for 9 days prior to the cruise. I can also rent a scooter there, if you think something like that would be practical? Thanks for an additional advise anyone cares to offer me.

[vtwgalmm]

We have booked with SPB Tours and they have said that one member of our party can bring/use a mobility scooter on the tour. We're going in May. I'll let you know how it works out.

[LondonTowner]

Knolmom

 

There is a current long thread on the London Forum on Tripadvisor about whether a scooter or wheelchair should be used in London.

[Knolmom]

Thanks

[yliebert]

We have booked with SPB Tours and they have said that one member of our party can bring/use a mobility scooter on the tour. We're going in May. I'll let you know how it works out.

 

SPB told me they would only accommodate a scooter on a private tour. They also said we should do the easiest tour which sounds mostly like drive-bys. What do you think of DenRus?

Yoletta

[vtwgalmm]

We will be on a private tour but they have told me that we will have guided tours. I asked them many questions before I booked. I hope they were honest. I took them at their word.