St. Petersburg less expensive tour?

[b_cruise]

I just booked a baltics cruise and have been looking at the 2 day tours and wholly Molly they seem pricey...like $300 US dollars each? Anyone have a great recommendation for a tour that is a bit less expensive? Any ideas are welcome...I'm open to going and seeing anything anyone recommends as this will be new to me and I honestly have no idea. I'm obviously going to have to do some reading.

[CruiserBruce]

$300pp for two days is expensive? Seems pretty reasonable to me. And that is commonly mentioned as the going price...

 

A similar question was asked last winter, IIRC. The replies were relatively negative in the sense that there were questions about the reliability of a cheaper vendor or two.

[heidikay]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2164788&highlight=inexpensive&page=2

[GradUT]

I agree with CruiserBruce that $300 seems reasonable for a 2-day tour of St Petersburg which includes your visa, all your transportation, all your admission fees and, often, 2 lunches as well. We did the Grand Tour (2-day) with Alla Tours last summer and it was money well spent.

 

But, having said that, there are 2-day options which include the best of St. Petersburg for closer to $200. In fact, SPB Tours (which is one of the major tour companies that is well-reviewed by posters here) offers a 2-day Highlights Tour which includes a hydrofoil ride and visits to Peterhof and Catherine's Palace on Day 1 and tours of the Hermitage, the Church on Spilled Blood and the Peter and Paul Fortress on Day 2 for only $210. Those are the "best" sights of St. Petersburg, so perhaps this would work for you.

[dogs4fun]

I agree that $300 is quite reasonable when you consider you are receiving 2 full days of touring, 2 lunches, guide, transportation & all entrance fees. This ($300) is for the most comprehensive tours that independent companies offer. Breaks down to $150 per day. However, there are cheaper options available - for example, Alla Tours offers the Comfort Tour for $240 per person (includes all the must see highlights as well as lunches on both days). Perhaps you can negotiate a lower price if you bring your own lunch from aboard ship & eat while others are enjoying their restaurant lunch. I would wager that you might be able to book the Comfort Tour for about $200 - $210 per person if you are willing to bring your own lunch - I would check with Alla Tours and the other tour providers frequently mentioned on these boards. I would also check with my cruise line to see what they offer (although cruise ships tours are usually more expensive than the independent operators and, IMHO, inferior to the local Russian tours).

Edited February 17, 2016 by dogs4fun

[CruiserBruce]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2164788&highlight=inexpensive&page=2

 

Yes...search is your friend!!!

[b_cruise]

Thanks for the replies!! I guess when there are three in the party, one port $900 and I'm from Canada so that's like $1350 and I still have 7 ports to go....so yes it's expensive for me. It's great to know there are lunches though...wine? Lol🍷🍷. I'll take a look at the link and alla tours.

[LocoLoco1]

I just booked a baltics cruise and have been looking at the 2 day tours and wholly Molly they seem pricey...like $300 US dollars each? Anyone have a great recommendation for a tour that is a bit less expensive? Any ideas are welcome...I'm open to going and seeing anything anyone recommends as this will be new to me and I honestly have no idea. I'm obviously going to have to do some reading.

Go to our Holland-America ROLL CALL Forum, Zuiderdam April 18 BalticCruise You will find several of us have arranged a very good rate with SPB Tours in St.Petersburg. Good Luck Locomotiveman Tom

[b_cruise]

Go to our Holland-America ROLL CALL Forum, Zuiderdam April 18 BalticCruise You will find several of us have arranged a very good rate with SPB Tours in St.Petersburg. Good Luck Locomotiveman Tom

 

Thank you!! I was just on spb site and it looks like there are several 2 day tours for about 190 pp if I can get a van of 10 together which should be easy to do!! Thanks everyone...much help!!

Edited February 18, 2016 by b_cruise

[kitkat343]

The visa cost for Americans is $160 per person. The private tour companies know you cannot avoid that fee unless you utilize their services, so there is an incentive for Americans to use their tours since the private tours also include transportation and entrance fees. My son was 3, so they didn't charge for him, which made even a private tour for just our family extremely reasonable compared to the cost of 3 visas.

[John Bull]

They're very full days, in small groups.

Good value at $300.

That said, the Rouble has crashed & theoretically prices should have dropped by a lot more than they have.

I've seen posts saying that Anastasia's prices have dropped significantly (to take customer-share from the bigger outfits?). Their reputation is every bit as good as the others, tho' obviously on a smaller scale. No personal experience of Anastasia (we used Alla, very good) but worth getting a quote.

 

Your mention of wine with lunch ............

Jugged water is provided with lunch - drinks are available to purchase, but where we ate accepted only Roubles, no plastic, no foreign currency.

We always like to have local jingle in our pockets and had taken enough Roubles to cover the guide's tip, so we had beers. The tip shortfall we later made up with Euros.

So you might like to take a few Roubles with you.

 

JB :)

Edited February 18, 2016 by John Bull

[Giantfan13]

When we cruise we also look for a sort of least expensive option. We are seniors, on a sort of fixed budget, so if we could save a few hundred dollars, it helps.

That said, we also looked at the big picture. This will probably be our one time in St Petersburg, and do we want to do it on the cheap, not allowing us to fully experience all there is to experience there? We didn't want to do it that way.

 

If you are a regular cruiser and take any ship's excursion, see what their price is for an all day tour, anywhere, with meals and admissions included? For the most part, they are well over $150PP a day. Yes, in the grand scheme of things, $600 is a lot for 2 people for 2 days, but when really looking at it, it really isn't.

PLUS, I can almost guarantee, you can save a good deal of money by doing basically all the other ports on your own. They are all very doable that way, and the money you save that way, can be applied to a really great time in St Petersburg.

 

Since we toured, a few years ago, I come here all time to offer advice. One thing I always tell people when they ask if they should, say, make that long trip to Berlin? I tell them, if you DON'T go, and then come home, will you kick yourself for not going and missing the opportunity to see one of the world's great cities? If you feel you might have any regrets, do NOT cheat yourself about seeing and experiencing what St Petersburg has to offer, just to try and save a few dollars. These things do not come up every year.

If you will be content with the lower price option, then do it, but compare the differences between those and say the $300 option and see what you will be missing, and then decide.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[GradUT]

PLUS, I can almost guarantee, you can save a good deal of money by doing basically all the other ports on your own. They are all very doable that way, and the money you save that way, can be applied to a really great time in St Petersburg.

 

I totally agree with this statement. We self-toured, using the great information provided in "Rick Steves' Cruise Ports of Northern Europe" in every port we visited. We supplemented with the Free Walking Tours in Copenhagen and Stockholm, which only cost us the tip to the guide. (And they were both excellent tours). St. Petersburg was our "splurge" and it was worth every penny we paid for our tour with Alla.

[DipBrat]

Thanks for the replies!! I guess when there are three in the party, one port $900 and I'm from Canada so that's like $1350 and I still have 7 ports to go....so yes it's expensive for me. It's great to know there are lunches though...wine? Lol🍷🍷. I'll take a look at the link and alla tours.

 

Given the fall in the Ruble, if you get your own visa and depending on what you want to see you could easily cut your costs (including visa $150 CAD) in half. $50 USD should cover 2 days of sights and lunches. For example a Hermitage entry ticket is about $7 at the current exchange rate. A good lunch $10 pp. Taxis can be trickier but they have Uber now so if you are familiar with that it could be a good option that wont really require Russian.

 

For most people it is probably not worth the hassle, but it can be done.

[mskaufman]

When we cruise we also look for a sort of least expensive option. We are seniors, on a sort of fixed budget, so if we could save a few hundred dollars, it helps.

That said, we also looked at the big picture. This will probably be our one time in St Petersburg, and do we want to do it on the cheap, not allowing us to fully experience all there is to experience there? We didn't want to do it that way.

 

If you are a regular cruiser and take any ship's excursion, see what their price is for an all day tour, anywhere, with meals and admissions included? For the most part, they are well over $150PP a day. Yes, in the grand scheme of things, $600 is a lot for 2 people for 2 days, but when really looking at it, it really isn't.

PLUS, I can almost guarantee, you can save a good deal of money by doing basically all the other ports on your own. They are all very doable that way, and the money you save that way, can be applied to a really great time in St Petersburg.

 

Since we toured, a few years ago, I come here all time to offer advice. One thing I always tell people when they ask if they should, say, make that long trip to Berlin? I tell them, if you DON'T go, and then come home, will you kick yourself for not going and missing the opportunity to see one of the world's great cities? If you feel you might have any regrets, do NOT cheat yourself about seeing and experiencing what St Petersburg has to offer, just to try and save a few dollars. These things do not come up every year.

If you will be content with the lower price option, then do it, but compare the differences between those and say the $300 option and see what you will be missing, and then decide.

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

I couldn't have written it better myself. When you think of what it costs to get there St. P. is one place where you do not want to skimp. We went with SPB last year and we compared notes with someone on the ship's 2-day tour (which costs about $50 more pp than we paid). We had things that they did not including a subway ride. Also, when the group had enough in the Hermitage the guide moved on and we had more time in another place.

[b_cruise]

Okay, you all have convinced me.. I will definitely spend the money and get a good tour. Thank you!!

[mskaufman]

Here's a link to some of my pictures that will give you an overview of the two day tour

 

https://msknortherneurope.shutterfly.com/pictures/453

[Mediterranean]

What is your cruise date? I have some good deals with Alla Tours for St. Petersburg Grand tour for May 29/May 30

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[mac martin]

We are in St petersburg on may 29 and may 30 where do I find the info on Alla Tours.

[mac martin]

What is your cruise date? I have some good deals with Alla Tours for St. Petersburg Grand tour for May 29/May 30

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We will be in St Petersburg on those dates where do I find the good deals? Thanks

[mskaufman]

We are in St petersburg on may 29 and may 30 where do I find the info on Alla Tours.

 

Google them and you will find their web site.

[dogs4fun]

We are in St petersburg on may 29 and may 30 where do I find the info on Alla Tours.

The website for Alla Tours is: http://alla-tour.com/

Alla also has a toll free number that you may call if you require information.

[hobbess]

I just booked a baltics cruise and have been looking at the 2 day tours and wholly Molly they seem pricey...like $300 US dollars each? Anyone have a great recommendation for a tour that is a bit less expensive? Any ideas are welcome...I'm open to going and seeing anything anyone recommends as this will be new to me and I honestly have no idea. I'm obviously going to have to do some reading.

 

The tour companies offer cheaper tours too, but those tours won't cover as many sights as their more expensive options.

 

Before settling for a less comprehensive tour, have you tried to see if the $300 is a firm price?

 

Last year, I signed up with one of the big established tour companies that had been highly recommended on this site. But, I didn't pay $300 for that tour even though that's what the other people in my tour group had paid.

 

Instead, I kept negotiating the price as they kept on dropping the price until we reached an agreeable price and I ended up saving a significant amount of money.

 

With the way their ruble has continued to fall this year, I'd expect even greater savings if I booked a tour this year.

[Mediterranean]

The website for Alla Tours is: http://alla-tour.com/

Alla also has a toll free number that you may call if you require information.

I negotiated very good price with Alla tours for St. Petersburg tout

$265.00 per person in case we will have a group of 16 people

If anyone is interested - contact Alla tours and ask for the Mediterranean group p

Or email me at zfishberg@yahoo.com