Tour guide for Berlin, who would you recommend?

[trishs]

We re going to Warnemünde Germany and would like to take a tour to Berlin. Would like to be picked up at the port and given tour in Berlin. We have a group of 6. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[thehen]

Our group of six toured with Jo Eckhardt. (Her webpage is afriendinberlin.de).

We had a wonderful time and really got a great sense of the city. We were picked up in Warnemunde at 7:30 by a driver/guide, and met Jo in Berlin by 10 am. During our entire drive into Berlin, our driver pointed out different sights, and answered many questions about life before the 'wall' was removed. The van was very comfortable for six adults. If you have an opportunity, have lunch at the Reichstag .... great view and weiner schnitzel!

 

elaine

[trishs]

Hi Elaine,

Thanks so much. I Contacted Jo, she got back to me right away. We have 6 in our group also. The price was more per day than St Petersburg tour. Was yours pricey? Trish

[HeinBloed]

Hi Elaine,

Thanks so much. I Contacted Jo, she got back to me right away. We have 6 in our group also. The price was more per day than St Petersburg tour. Was yours pricey? Trish

 

Do not forget that Berlin is about 120 miles away from Warnemünde.

 

So transportation is a major part of the quotation.

 

As just in front of the Cruise Terminal in Warnemünde is the Train Station:

 

ask him to quote for 5 hours starting at Berlin Hauptbahnhof if you take yourself the train.

 

Do not forget: if you ask for a quotation from Berlin you MIGHT have an empty positioning of the van from Berlin to Warnemünde for pick-up and empty return to Berlin after delivery in Warnemünde.

 

You can also check a local provider:

 

http://www.m-vp.de/2465/english/preise2.htm

 

If you do not mind to have a TAXI sign on the car:

 

It's 420 EUR per day.

 

If you need to have a licensed guide with you it's 200 EUR more.

 

If you like a neutral van without TAXI sign it's again 190 EUR more.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[trishs]

That's a great idea. Is it confusing to get to Berlin by Train? Trish

[HeinBloed]

Just check here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=454630&highlight=Berlin

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=551137&highlight=Berlin

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=533783&highlight=Berlin

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=479704&highlight=Berlin

 

I think you'll everything you should know.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[trishs]

Hi,

I have been checking out your links. You are amazing. Thanks Trish

[scutia]

We also used afriendinberlin with Jo as the owner. However, our guide was Susanna, who was great. I plan on posting a thread about our experience.

[thehen]

When I compared our per/person cost to the ship's excursion, it really was a better value. And, we did get to see and do more. Having our own transportation allowed us to get in and out of places that the larger busses cannot. We contracted with Jo to do her six-hour tour. I would avoid the train and bus scenario - too many people, and too limited an agenda. As with most large tours, you end up waiting for people and wasting a lot of time. HeinBloed had a good suggestion, but I would definitely want to add the guide. You will gain so much more by having this personal interaction. Also, your driver will not be able to park and wait close to many of the sights. Our driver dropped us, then either circled or parked somewhere distant, our guide phoned her to pick us up when we were ready to leave.

 

It's hard to compare the St Petersburg tours with this. We did the Denrus Value Tour. It was an incredibly wonderful tour, and a great price! I believe, as HeinBloed states, that the difference in cost has a lot to do with the transportation to Berlin. Perhaps you could ask Jo to quote you her tour from Berlin, and arrange your own transportation? Too much uncertainty for me, but it might be the solution for you. Ultimately it's your decision ........ my feeling was that I probably would never return to Berlin, so I needed to make the most of the limited time there. Well, that turned out to be a misconception ....... loved the city, and want to get back there for a longer time so I can explore it more thoroughly!

 

elaine

[trishs]

That sounds like a good idea. I would rather just get there and not worry. Thanks Trish

[wahoomommy]

Below is a post for a guide we used in St.Petersburg but she also lives and offers tours in Berlin. She was wonderful. I attached the post below with my review and her info.

 

In June 2007 my husband and I, along with our 2 young daughters and my in-laws sailed on the RC Jewel of the Seas and visited St. Petersburg. Viktoria Rother (www.spb-tours.com) was our guide and she was WONDERFUL. Immediately from the first moments we met her, we felt comfortable and so glad we had chosen to tour with her. We had a private van just for our group, along with our driver and then Viktoria, our guide. We learned so much on our tour about Russian history, current culture and life in St. Petersburg, and then of course all about the sights we visited. We were able to make up our own itinerary and choose the spots we wanted to see. In addition, I made changes as I continued my research and thought of other things, or had questions about places I initially choose. We LOVED everything we saw and feel we could not have been in better hands. Viktoria was warm and friendly and really gave us a sense of life in Russia. At the end of our 2 days, we were truly wishing we could stay in Russia longer to see and learn more with Viktoria.

 

Throughout the days we would catch glimpses of tours from the ship and they were such LARGE groups. In the end, we saw so much more than we would have been able to see with a ship's tour. Also the price was reasonable considering how expensive the ship's tours were. All together I would whole-heartedely recommend a private tour with Viktoria and spb-tours (www.spb-tours.com)

[Boopsie]

We re going to Warnemünde Germany and would like to take a tour to Berlin. Would like to be picked up at the port and given tour in Berlin. We have a group of 6. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Victoria Rother is a wonderful tour guide for both Berlin and St Petersburg. We spent 3 days in St. Pete's with her on our Oceania Baltic cruise. She is knowledgeable, speaks fluent English and is charming. We will call her when we tour Berlin, also. Her email address is: mail@spb-tours.com. Her website is spb-tours.com. I can't say enough about her--I guarantee you will love her!

Elaine