Excursions in St Petersburg

[tom_uk]

It's getting to the stage when we're contemplating beginning to think about booking excursions for our Baltic cruise in June/July. We've never done a Baltic cruise before, so this will be our first visit to St Petersburg.

 

I know that the general advice here has been to go with a private tour provider. However, looking at the P&O Excursions page for St Petersburg, I noticed a couple of 'small group' excursions - mini-bus sized, I gather. I wonder if in fact these are the same as the private tour providers' offerings?

 

Here's a description of one of these P&O excursions:-

 

Travel by minibus and in groups of no more than 16 to ensure that you experience as much as possible during your 2 days in St Petersburg. Early entrances to the Hermitage and Catherine’s Palace will give you a head start on the rest, and a hydrofoil ride to Peterhof Fountains and Park bypasses the city’s busy roads. During your day in the city, lunch will be served at a local restaurant, and during your visit to Pushkin a packed lunch will be provided to give you more flexibility with your free time.

 

During your time in St Petersburg you will visit the inside of some of the city’s classic sights; Catherine’s Palace and the famous Amber Room, Church of the Spilled Blood, Hermitage Museum, St Peter and Paul Fortress, Yusupov’s Palace and St Isaacs Cathedral. Venture down into the city’s ornate metro and ride the subway, before joining a river cruise to showcase this multi faceted city.

 

A sample itinerary is detailed below.

 

Day 1

Tour Catherine's Palace and the Imperial Park.

Free time at Peterhof to enjoy the gardens and a packed lunch.

View the impressive Lower Fountain Park and Upper Gardens.

Sit back and relax on a hydrofoil ride back to the city.

Visit Peter and Paul Fortress, Church of the Spilled Blood and St Isaac's Cathedral.

 

Day 2

Visit a local farmers market and have some free time for shopping.

Tour the Hermitage.

Stop at a local restaurant for lunch and a chance to rest.

Visit Yusupov's Palace to discover fascinating history of Rasputin.

Travel St Petersburg's waterways for a different view of the city on a river boat.

 

The price is £210 per person.

 

Any comments from those who done a Baltic cruise?

[jenny wren]

Yes we were more than happy with our ships trips from Celebrity Eclipse.... They actually were cheaper than if we'd booked privately....and we just did a half day (Hermitage) on second day as we thought we'd be tired.... And we were!!!! We. Had excellent guides both days who took us to the front of any queues etc and gave us headsets to wear so we could always hear what was being said....lovely hotel lunch included...

 

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[Scriv]

Hi Tom - we are on the Jun 13 Baltic cruise on Oriana and have booked one of the Small Groups tours (Simply St Petersburg). We thought it looked very good. Will be interested to see how it compares to the private tours people are talking about.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Scriv

[Nefie]

Hi we did the Baltic cruise last June & used a local company See below

http://www.spb-tours.com/st-petersburg/en/node

If you pay in U.S dollars you don't have to pay them until the 2nd day of the tour

Only 8 people on the tour & early entry into 2 of the palaces missing all the queues. Also had headphones supplied

Being a local tour guide she was able to explain any thing that was asked, also took us to one of the underground stations.

If only London was as clean.

Mark

 

 

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[Host Hattie]

We did a Baltic Cruise with Holland America and did an SPB 2 day tour with a group put together on our roll call. we were very happy with the tour and would definitely recommend SPB as an alternative to large ships tours

 

The description sounds similar to the small group tour arranged by P&O and at least they will make all the arrangements. It does sound expensive though. I can't remember what we paid in 2011 but I'm sure it was a lot less.

 

Enjoy, whatever you decide

[Gilpet]

We did the Baltic cruise with RCI in July 2012 and used Alla Tours in St Petersburg for a two day tour that sounds almost identical to the one you quoted, including the small group sizes. At the time we paid $300 and this was paid on the morning of the second day. If you look on the ports section of Cruise Critic you'll find links to some local tour operators but I would thoroughly recommend Alla.

 

I know you'll have a wonderful time - we certainly did.

 

Gill

[simonpjd]

For £210 it sounds a lot but the visit should be excellent.

The fountains and the hydrofoil trip back is especially good.

[Jules of The Seas]

Hi,

When we went to St.Petes we used a company called Denrus, thro the Internet. They are a recognised travel company in St. Petes. The two day tour is excellent, and because you go with them you DO NOT need to obtain a Visa. They are the Visa.

We had two excellent days , they too give you headphones and the two sit down lunches are excellent. They are reasonably priced

You will see everything!! Unlike most ship tours.

[kevinyork]

Those tours look a lot like the tours offered by local agents. When we went 2 years ago these were not available via the cruise line. We went with TJ travel but to be honest the itiniary you have listed is pretty much what we did for about the sane price. On that basis I would book the ships tour.

 

 

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[newport dave]

We did Baltics in 2011 on Arcadia and did a 2 day tour with Alla Tours another local tour guide. Our 2 days were very similar to what you posted and looks a similar price to what we paid. Thinking back, we probably did a couple of extra things, but we did do their 2 day intensive tour to try and see everything. Still, it looks good value, at the time P&O only did day tours with a couple of stops on each.

[N&PJ]

We used Spb on our visit to St Pete's and I have to say they were excellent, however the biggest plus-point was that we had no standing in line at any of the venues, our guide was able to take us straight in. The lines at the Hermitage in particular can get very long.

[jenny wren]

On our ships trips the guide took us:) to the front of any queues so no hanging around for us either!