Private touring timing question

[Jnsplace1]

Am on a Baltic cruise in August 2020.   Am considering using private tours for most of our stops.   Is there a recommendation on how far out to book?   I cannot imagine them selling out of spots considering their size (Alla, TJ).  But I suppose they could? 

[dogs4fun]

18 minutes ago, Jnsplace1 said:

Am on a Baltic cruise in August 2020.   Am considering using private tours for most of our stops.   Is there a recommendation on how far out to book?   I cannot imagine them selling out of spots considering their size (Alla, TJ).  But I suppose they could? 

Yes, they can and do sell out. Both Alla and TJ are very highly regarded companies  - Alla is rated #1 on TripAdvisor and TJ is rated #2. I would assume that their popularity (both on Cruise Critic and TripAdvisor) added to the fact that, in addition to bookings through their respective websites, Viator also sells their tours, may be factors in adding to the possibility of their tours selling out. I would assume that you still have plenty of time to book private tours for August, 2020. We have already booked our private tour of St. Petersburg with Alla for September of 2020.

[Jnsplace1]

Hmmm, well noted.  Guess time to make some decisions on which and where.  Thanks a bunch.

[princeton123211]

5 hours ago, Jnsplace1 said:

 I cannot imagine them selling out of spots considering their size (Alla, TJ).  But I suppose they could? 

I don't think the risk is really can I get a tour or not, but at what cost. We've used TJ twice-- once joining a larger tour and once doing a private tour with our own guide, car and driver. I would imagine any of the major companies could provide you with a private tour last minute no matter what but they definitely have a capacity cap on the larger group tours and they are significantly less expensive than the private ones. 

[flowslow]

I know most tour companies offer better discounts if you book in advance. We used Anastasia Travel and they gave us an early bird rate of 50% off the tour. I suggest you take advantage of the discounts they offer for a private tour. You can probably book a tour with any of the local tour companies even 2 weeks before your arrival but there would be a huge price difference. So better plan and book early! Good luck!  

[ontheweb]

6 hours ago, Jnsplace1 said:

Hmmm, well noted.  Guess time to make some decisions on which and where.  Thanks a bunch.

A suggestion---check out your roll call if there is one. Someone  may be looking for others to share a tour, or you can pick a tour and see if you can get others to join.

[schmerl]

We booked a small group tour with TJ Travel for our July, 2020 Baltic cruise. With their group tours (this one takes no more than 14 people)  you don't even have to put a down payment. Just give them all your information and book the excursion. 

[trosebery]

Which ports are you talking about?

 

In St. Petersburg, even our last-minute-joiners on our Roll Call had no problem finding a tour they liked. There are a large variety of tours (all very good) and a number of different companies (also all very good). Alla and TJ and SPB get a lot of the buzz because they are the larger companies, but you'll also hear people rave about their tours with Best Guides or Anastasia or White Nights et al. On our last visit to St. Petersburg, we toured with Red Sun Tours and really liked them and would recommend that you check them out. Some tours/companies offer more sights whereas some offer more time at the sights and some offer more off-the-beaten path tours. Some offer sit-down lunches in restaurants, others boxed lunches on buses to save time. Some offer mini group sizes (8 vs 16), all offer customized private tours, etc. Take your time to shop around and perhaps email a few of the companies for more details if you have questions. (And FYI, the early "discounts" on booking are pretty minimal. Some companies may advertise as much as 50% off or etc. if you book now, but they never actually charge the stated 100% price. Prices are all pretty standard in such a competitive market.)

 

Outside of St. Petersburg, you may have fewer options and local companies may fill their tours quickly. The big companies like Alla, TJ, and SPB may offer tours in other ports, but these can vary wildly in quality (check group sizes and itineraries carefully), and you may be better off booking directly with a local company, possibly with others from your Roll Call. For example, first time I was in Tallinn, I did a walking tour through one of the big St. P. companies, and it was . . . okay. We were kind of in a herd, we were taken on the standard and therefore crowded route, and it wasn't a very personal experience. Next time, we booked a walking+bike tour with the local Traveller Tours and got a private tour (for 3 people) for a very similar price for a longer time with fewer crowds and a much more personal and fun experience!

Edited November 14, 2019 by trosebery

[Jnsplace1]

Thanks for the input.  

 

I am currently still working on if I want to take tours at certain cities.  I've cruised and traveled quite a bit.  BUT, do like hearing the tour historical/cultural info if it makes sense.   The tour itinerary makes all the difference to me.  I've gone to each of the websites.  (TJ, SPB, Alla, a couple of others).

 

Oslo, will probably book with Alla.

German is unknown.  Still deciding on Rodstock or self tour.  Berlin seems like quite the day.  

Talinn may be with SPB.

Heliniski Alla or SPB

Stockholm is a big question.   Indecisive here.

 

Still researching....!   

 

Thanks all for your suggestions.

 

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, Jnsplace1 said:

Thanks for the input.  

 

I am currently still working on if I want to take tours at certain cities.  I've cruised and traveled quite a bit.  BUT, do like hearing the tour historical/cultural info if it makes sense.   The tour itinerary makes all the difference to me.  I've gone to each of the websites.  (TJ, SPB, Alla, a couple of others).

 

Oslo, will probably book with Alla.

German is unknown.  Still deciding on Rodstock or self tour.  Berlin seems like quite the day.  

Talinn may be with SPB.

Heliniski Alla or SPB

Stockholm is a big question.   Indecisive here.

 

Still researching....!   

 

Thanks all for your suggestions.

 

Talinn is very doable on your own. There is a step by step walking tour outlined in Rick Steve's Scandanavia.

 

My how things change. When we did our Baltic cruise Alla was only in St. Petersburg,  and SPB did not yet exist. (Actually our Alla tour guide opened SPB the next touring season.

[princeton123211]

5 hours ago, Jnsplace1 said:

I am currently still working on if I want to take tours at certain cities.

Worth noting that if you take a tour in St Petersburg arriving and departing by cruise ship you do not need to separately purchase a visa to enter Russia. If you choose to do it on your own you have to go to a Russian consulate well in advance or use a service for an additional fee and the cost per visa is upwards of $200. 

 

You cant just walk off the boat like you would in another port unless you have the visa or are escorted by a tour. 

[trosebery]

7 hours ago, Jnsplace1 said:

Thanks for the input.  

 

I am currently still working on if I want to take tours at certain cities.  I've cruised and traveled quite a bit.  BUT, do like hearing the tour historical/cultural info if it makes sense.   The tour itinerary makes all the difference to me.  I've gone to each of the websites.  (TJ, SPB, Alla, a couple of others).

 

Oslo, will probably book with Alla.

German is unknown.  Still deciding on Rodstock or self tour.  Berlin seems like quite the day.  

Talinn may be with SPB.

Heliniski Alla or SPB

Stockholm is a big question.   Indecisive here.

 

Still researching....!   

 

Thanks all for your suggestions.

 

 

Oslo is quite easy to tour on your own -- first time we were there, we toured with SPB and our guide was quite good but our group awkwardly large and we felt we didn't have the time to really explore the places that interested us (like Vigeland), nor did we have time to visit more than one of the Bygdoy museums (we saw the Viking Ship Museum). This past visit, we were able to hit up not only the Viking Ship Museum but also the Kon-Tiki and the Fram Museums. (The Fram was my favourite, my son and daughter preferred the Kon-Tiki.) We got to Bygdoy on the public ferry and were then able to take public transport (all included on the Oslo Pass) to stroll around Vigeland at our leisure, and we had time to see a few sights in the city as well. Others on our ship also highly recommended the Folk Museum (also on Bygdoy). All the museums were in English: you didn't really need a guide to explore them.

 

I've never been to Berlin from Warnemunde/Rostock either as there's plenty to do locally -- and again, you don't need a guide. The public transit is pretty easy and you can get audio guides for sites like Schwerin Castle. (In fact, when we visited with SPB Tours, they just gave us the audio guides for Schwerin.) I've heard Friends of Dave strongly recommended by others if you want a guide. You can also just have fun doing your own thing -- we had a blast visiting the seals at the Marine Science Centre for one of their training sessions (which we booked in advance).

 

In Tallinn, as I've mentioned, our local Traveller Tours tour was much better than our SPB tour from a few years before. (Aslo check out Nordic Experience, based in Tallinn although they also offer tours in other ports now.) Yes, you can explore Tallinn on your own, but this was one city where I felt that walking around with a guide really added to the experience. (And I especially enjoyed the part of our tour that took us outside the Old Town to areas like Telliskivi.)

 

Helsinki, we once took a tour with SPB because we wanted to visit Seurasaari (which I really liked), which wasn't on the HoHo bus loop, but otherwise, I wouldn't bother with a tour. There's not a lot of history in Helsinki, but there are a lot of great experiences to enjoy. (This past trip, we went with Feel the Nature to Nuuksio National Park to pick berries and feed reindeer and experience a beautiful nature hike. My second choice would have been to experience a real Finnish sauna at Loyly.)

 

Stockholm, there's so much available, it's so hard to choose what to do. But I really didn't feel that the tour we were on during our first trip (SPB again) really did it justice. You may be better off on your own again, depending on which port you're at? (FYI, my favourite sights were the Royal Armory in Gamla Stan (free!), the subway art, the Vasa Museum, and Skansen -- especially for its Nordic animals.) All are very easily enjoyed without a guide.

 

One advantage of doing some ports on your own is that not only can you manage your own time to hit the highlights you most care about, you may be able to put the savings toward a private tour in St. Petersburg, which I highly recommend if you can swing it. When we did ours with Red Sun, we were not only able to see all the usual sights like Peterhof and the Hermitage and Spilled Blood and the Faberge Museum (with a personal guide!), we were also able to visit more eclectic sights like the Soviet Arcade Games Museum (you can play the games!), eat at a Georgian restaurant (I'd never tried Georgian food before), etc.

 

Have fun!

Edited November 14, 2019 by trosebery

[CrazyJess]

On 11/14/2019 at 3:37 AM, flowslow said:

 

On 11/14/2019 at 3:37 AM, flowslow said:

I know most tour companies offer better discounts if you book in advance.

  It’s like anywhere else: the earlier you book, the less you pay. If you book now or, let’s say, in December, you book at the cost of the previous season. If you book in January/February, the price will be higher, but some  companies will announce early bird discounts. If you book in May, you will pay the full cost of the coming season. Usually the difference is not too big. For a group tour I guess it will be within US $10-15. You still have plenty of time. No reason to rush. Take your time and shop around.  When I was booking my first Baltic cruise I mailed to five! local companies.  I was in correspondence with 4 of them and it took almost 2 months to make the final decision, but the result was great 😊.

Really great!  Good luck! Jess

[Jnsplace1]

@trosebery Thank you so much for the detail! 

FOD looks really interesting and fun.  Adding this to the pile.  

 

I've done mostly local tour guides in the past several years of traveling.  However, this will be my honey's first cruise.  Probably while I'm scouring for the best of both worlds.  At the same time, I want to be sure the days aren't too crammed.  Other than St.P, that's the obvious one.

[dogs4fun]

FYI - many of the companies frequently mentioned on these boards have already raised their prices for the 2020 season. I just checked the 2020 prices for 3 top tour operators (both on their websites and on Viator/TripAdvisor) and the prices are already higher than they were for 2019. Glad that we booked when we did as we locked in the lower 2019 prices. 

[beth 10]

Check out Denrus also. I know too many choices but after doing a spreadsheet on all companies "group" tour of 14 or 16 we felt Denrus offered the most and we certainly were not disappointed. If our tour leader Nadia Alexeeva is available, grab her. Excellent in all ways and very easily understood. That is not the case for all guides.

[DNJ66]

On 11/15/2019 at 11:19 PM, dogs4fun said:

FYI - many of the companies frequently mentioned on these boards have already raised their prices for the 2020 season. I just checked the 2020 prices for 3 top tour operators (both on their websites and on Viator/TripAdvisor) and the prices are already higher than they were for 2019. Glad that we booked when we did as we locked in the lower 2019 prices. 

That's the  reason why I suppose to book with Best Guides - they state they haven't changed the price of group tours.

 

[Jnsplace1]

When I started looking into this, I could swear I saw a price change from 2 months ago to now.  I just accounted that for the change of the dollar.

 

Anyway,  just working on plans for Tallin & Heliniski.   I almost did Nordic experience, except they are private vs group.  

I prefer not to do on our own as I tend to like history and culture discussions.  After some consideration, I cannot recall a single independent tour I did not enjoy, whereas booking through cruise lines I tend to not enjoy as much.

[trosebery]

6 hours ago, Jnsplace1 said:

When I started looking into this, I could swear I saw a price change from 2 months ago to now.  I just accounted that for the change of the dollar.

 

Anyway,  just working on plans for Tallin & Heliniski.   I almost did Nordic experience, except they are private vs group.  

I prefer not to do on our own as I tend to like history and culture discussions.  After some consideration, I cannot recall a single independent tour I did not enjoy, whereas booking through cruise lines I tend to not enjoy as much.

 

What we did, when we booked with Nordic Experience, was we went on the Roll Call for our cruise and collected names and email addresses of people who would be interested in joining us, which I then forwarded to Nordic and they invoiced us all separately. I didn't have to collect money from people myself or anything. And it was great to spend more time with the people on our Roll Call! (I'm now FB friends with many of them.)

[angie7911922]

Hi, When we were last in the Baltic, we booked all our tours with Anastasia Travel. I guess they are not so very but big  as the other travel agents, but I loved the way how our 2 day private tour of St Petersburg came to be. They made some nice suggestions and the price was (at that time) quite reasonable. And when we found out that they could also help us with tours in Germany,  Estonia and Denmark. (which added an extra discount when booking several tours with them) .

We truly enjoyed all the tours and we will go back!!  Actually looking into booking a Baltic cruise in 2020...