Excursions in St Petersburg

[katsantoro]

Good evening

looking for advice of where to visit in St Petersburg and the best companies to use to book excursions?

many thanks in advance

Katrina

[ontheweb]

28 minutes ago, katsantoro said:

Good evening

looking for advice of where to visit in St Petersburg and the best companies to use to book excursions?

many thanks in advance

Katrina

You should probably read the Baltic port board, and see what everyone has said.

 

Our experience was not recent, but we used Alla, and were very pleased. I could also recommend SPB as our Alla tour guide has since opened that company, and she was excellent.

 

Another idea is to look at the roll call for your cruise. Perhaps someone is looking for others to join them in a private tour.

[katsantoro]

Hi Cool Cruiser

thank you so much for your reply. I’ve not used this site before so will look for the port board.

I have been looking at Alla tours and another called TJ Travel so will take your advice and have a look at SPB too

Thanks again

[paul929207]

We booked last summer with Alla and they were great.

[katsantoro]

Thanks Paul

[dbali]

It was several years ago, but we booked with red October that loved them.  Much cheaper than booking the ships excursions, too.

[Heidi13]

We were in SPB in Fall 2017 and in preparation,  I thoroughly researched all tour providers, creating a spreadsheet of my top 3 to compare the costs, deliverables, guarantees and payment terms.

 

Of the 3 on my spreadsheet, they all provided almost identical tours, but not with respect to payment terms & guarantees. One of them only guaranteed to get you back to the ship 1 hr b4 departure, while the other 2 (Alla & SPB) paid for transport to next port, if you missed the ship due to traffic, etc.

 

Personally, we used Alla and were extremely satisfied with the tour and all pre/post contact. However, discussing with other passengers on the ship, the other companies also provided excellent tours.

[katsantoro]

Thanks dbali I haven’t come across Red October I’ll check them out

[katsantoro]

Hi Heidi13

thanks for your reply I hadn’t thought about guarantees I will factor this in when deciding who to use

[Ashland]

9 hours ago, katsantoro said:

Hi Cool Cruiser

thank you so much for your reply. I’ve not used this site before so will look for the port board.

I have been looking at Alla tours and another called TJ Travel so will take your advice and have a look at SPB too

Thanks again

I will along with many other on these boards would also recommend TJ Travel. Just an amazing tour they provided to us...couldn't have been more impressed with this company. They were quick to communicate and the back-n-forth I had with them was wonderful. By the time we got there I felt like I had a friend making all the personal arrangements we needed for our visit. Once there they did not disappoint...just a VIP experience and the trip of a lifetime...saw and did more in our two day visit than we ever expected possible. You'll see what I mean from the first contact you have with them.

[dogs4fun]

We have also used Alla Tours on several occasions and her tours are superb. Most of the top tier companies all receive excellent reviews - my advice would be to contact several of them and see which best suits you.

[ontheweb]

19 hours ago, katsantoro said:

Hi Cool Cruiser

thank you so much for your reply. I’ve not used this site before so will look for the port board.

I have been looking at Alla tours and another called TJ Travel so will take your advice and have a look at SPB too

Thanks again

You're  welcome.

 

Also do look in your roll call. As I said someone may be looking for others to join them. Or if you find something you particularly like, you can ask for others to join you. The latter is how we ended up with our tour. We ended up with a nice group of 10 who all bonded together well. A group that size also ended up less expensive than a ship's tour while affording much more flexibility.

 

Good luck with whatever you do; I'm sure you will enjoy St. Petersburg. And if Talinn, Estonia is on your itinerary, it is a real gem.

 

[Kate P.C]

We were in St.Petersburg four years ago and booked our tours with Anastasia Travel for three ports, including St.Petersburg. Among other mentioned agencies above, they also offered great prices and tours. We got discounts because we booked tours with them in Berlin, Stockholm and St.Petersburg.

Have fun and enjoy the Baltic, one day I am definitely going back to St.Petersburg 🙂

[flowslow]

We were in St. Petersburg last May and we had a great time with our tour with Anastasia Travel. I highly recommend their services. They were very professional and responsive to all our queries. We really enjoyed the tour because we were able to visit all the places we wished to see and our guide, Venus, was the best! She was very knowledgeable of the sights and she made the tour very interesting and fun with all the valuable information she shared with us. 

 

Enjoy your cruise! Hope you have a great time in St. Petersburg! 

[MicCanberra]

On ‎7‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 5:32 AM, katsantoro said:

Good evening

looking for advice of where to visit in St Petersburg and the best companies to use to book excursions?

many thanks in advance

Katrina

Welcome to cruise critic, St Petersburg has heaps to see and do. Check out 'Things to do' on TripAdvisor and select what is of interest for you. They also have tours.

make sure you pick one which means you do not need a visa as well, compare to the ship's tours, they may well be competitive and then you have the convenience of not having to worry about timings and visa's.

Alla and SPB tours have pretty good reputations.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

The first time we went to Russia it was Leningrad, no private companies so we had to use the ship's tours.  Which were great.

 

The next couple of times when we returned to Russia it was St Petersburg.  One time we used Red October.  After that we went out on our own.

[Jezabel2924]

We used TJ Travel last summer for the 2 day tour and could not have been more pleased.  Our Guide was so efficient at keeping us out of lines and on schedule with time to spare.  Enjoy your trip!

[fabnfortysomething]

On ‎7‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 7:05 AM, katsantoro said:

Thanks dbali I haven’t come across Red October I’ll check them out

red October were one of the first private tour operators in St Petersburg along with Denrus

however because they tend to use large coaches similar to ships excursions they have slipped down the ratings in favour of newer companies using less than 16 people in a minivan providing a more personal service and more easily to navigate the narrow canal sides

 

however they may have caught up to this trend and offer smaller groups

[wing]

We uses Red Sun Tours in St. Petersburg. Very personal touch, just exceptional. We had a fantastic tour. Initially we needed a private tour focused on our preferences and they designed an excellent tour itinerary for us. Our guide was so warm lady with a great knowledge, we knew so much about Russian culture and history; it was so sad to say goodbye to them..

I recommend them highly 

[DixieBrit]

Just got back from our Baltic cruise.  We used TJ Tours and booked a two day tour in St. Petersburg online for $199.  It was wonderful.  The company immediately replies to all correspondence.  Information emailed before the tour was thorough and we felt at ease with all arrangement.  The transportation was a new Mercedes Benz van with plenty of room.  The guide and driver were personable and knowledgeable.  The tour included the Hermitage, Catherine's Palace, Peterhof gardens and fountains, the church of the Spilled Blood, a canal and river cruise, lunch at a local restaurant on one of the days (the second day we paid for our lunch) and various picture opt stops as we drove through the city.  We also booked a one day tour with them in Rostock, Germany and were just as impressed.  The tours are limited to 20 people, but we only had four on ours so it was as though we had a private tour.  I would definitely use TJ Tours again.

[meme8]

We are just back from a Baltic cruise.  We used Alla tours in St. Petersburg.  We did a private tour because I have some mobility issues.  We couldn’t have been happier and it was worth every penny-our guide was wonderful & spoke great English.  Alla tours replied to all my emails ( of which there were many, because I had a lot of questions) very promptly.  Also used them to go to the Ballet one evening.

[asebastian]

We've booked TJ for our upcoming tour next month. According to the roll call, most of them seem to book Alla, one following the other, hence I think they may be crowded and over-subscribed! We had personal recommendations for TJ from one of our cruise companions from a previous cruise. They are also rated very highly in Trip Advisor.

[zaffyfebe]

We have just come back and used TJ Travel. Highly highly recommended and Olga, our guide was amazing. We didn't have to queue for anything ,particularly the Hermitage as we got early entry before it opened to the general public. We did a full 2 day tour , meals weren't included but we were taken to restaurants which were VERY reasonably priced and serve yourself type of place and very nice.  I would use TJ again.

[kochleffel]

I toured one day last week with Best Guides and one day with whatever agency the cruise line used. Best Guides did a fine job. For anyone who is concerned about missing the sailing when using a private tour agency, our guide says that Best Guides ordinarily plans anything that is outside St. Petersburg for the first day, in a two-day tour, since if there were any problem (breakdown, road closure) on the second day they could always find a way to get customers back to the ship if they are in St. Petersburg proper.

[Mimiya11]

We are just back from our Baltic cruise and used TJ Travel.  First class all the way.   Alexandra was our guide and she was able to get us to the front of many lines and her passion and expertise in Russian history were truly fantastic.   We had a small group of 15 and she was always one step ahead to ensure all our needs were met.   Perfect two days!!