SPB private tour St Petersburg

[northernrose]

I booked a unique 2 day private tour with a SPB-tours in April and paid for it in June 2019.

After getting off NCL Getaway we located our tour guide. We went drove to St Petersburg.

Pros

Private car with one bottle of water per person

Great 3 course lunches with one bottle of water

Got to see the gold room in the Hermitage with a Russian speaking guide

Got shop at local grocery store

Good and helpful driver

The guide was very informative about life in St Petersburg

Cons

Did not get to all the sites promised in the April confirmed agenda

Didn’t see any of the art in Hermitage. I ask to see some Renoirs but was shown Rembrandt. I was very disappointed.

Many stops were too early or too late

There were addition tickets that we had to pay for. The guide stated that ticket were 1700 Rubles but turn out to be 500 Rubles.

There was very little thought in the planning of the tour. We passed some sites two to three times.

There was very little adaption to the need of the clients. (Mobility issues)

We had very small time to shop.

The guide was very confused about the agenda.

The guide spent lots of time on her cell phone

In conclusion: we were very disappoint with SPB tours , but thought St Petersburg's city  was great.

[texasgirl29]

I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience with SPB. We did a 16-person tour with them a few years ago for two days and had a great tour. All admissions and meals were included; the only cash we paid at the end as tips for our guide and driver. 

[tallnthensome]

Did they not take you to Peterhof Palace? 

[jdvmd]

Sorry it didn't turn out as well as it could have. Used SPB several years ago and would not hesitate to use them again. You may want to post your review also on the Ports of Call board.

 

[deefer]

We also had a fantastic 2 day tour with SPB in 2016.  

 

Sounds like your guide may have been the problem.  On a private tour you should have seen exactly what you wanted.  I would encourage you let SPB know of your experience so they can address any issues.  Doesn’t help you out but the next group who gets this guide may have a better experience.

 

Glad you made the best of it.

[FitchburgWIFamily]

We worked with a private tour company in St. Petersburg because my mom (age 86 at the time of travel) has some mobility issues.  She uses a walker, but out tour company provided a wheel chair for her because of the amount of walking involved.

 

We had a private driver and guide.  One of best things they did was tip us off to the General Staff building on Hermitage Square which is where the 19th and 20th century European art is now displayed.  Much less crowded than the Hermitage building itself, and a very impressive collection of impressionists.   

 

It's too late for the OP...but for anyone else who loves art: ask to be taken to the General Staff building on the Hermitage campus.

 

We did have a few disconnects between what I coordinated with our tour guide before we left and what we did get to see.   Part of that was because of traffic, changes made to avoid a rain shower, and just how slow we moved.  But probably the biggest part is there is soooooo much to see, we just plain got tired.  We asked to go back to the boat long before our guide and driver were ready to get rid of us.

 

Best of luck to future travelers to SP and empathy for the OP who didn't get to see and do everything they wanted to.  It is for most of us a one time chance, and it is sad to think of what we missed out on.

[rhblake]

Several years ago we used SPB Tours and were extremely happy with them. We were a private group of 4 and 1 in our group was 93 and at the time was using a cane. We saw it all and there were no extra fees involved. We also used SPB in Berlin. I would highly recommend their services. Sorry your experience was less than you expected.

[Steve & Pauline]

We used SPB Tours for a two-day excursion in St. Petersbourg several years back and we were very disappointed. They placed our group of 6 young active adults with elderly folks and the slow pace of the tour was excruciating. We could see other groups climbing the stairs to explore buildings while we all had to stay together and walk around.  Very boring.  Also, my daughter knew more about the Romanov family than the tour guide and had to correct the guide a few times lol. They had asked us for all of our ages when we booked the trip so there was no logical reason to place us with the elderly!  Also, had to wait all the time for the walkers to be loaded up. We paid so much $$$ for this excursion and were very disappointed.  Our fellow passengers were lovely people, don't get me wrong, but that is probably the only time we'll be in Russia and so we wanted to make the most out of it and hence, booking a full two-day excursion. Never again SPB!