private guides in northern europe capitals

[Emma1]

Am looking to do private tours and have heard about Red October and Denrus ( spelling?) in StPetersburg. I have never done this before - any feedback on companies anyone has used. HAs anyone ever gotten back to the ship late and it left? There would be 5 of us ( 3 kids 11,13,14). Seems it would be a time saver with the kids and we would be able to see more versus standing on constant lines - for a price of course.

[scrapycruiser]

We toured with Denrus this past Sept 3-4 and I can highly recommend them !

We did the Value tour. It was 2 full days of touring. There were 16 of us on a small bus. Lunch was included each day. We saw the Hermitage, Peterhof, Peter and Paul fortress, St Issacs ( not to be missed ! Equally impressive as St Peters in Rome ), rode the subway, took canal tour, saw where Rasputin was killed, stopped twice for souvenirs ( not alot of time...things were very expensive !! ).

 

Denrus communicated frequently and answered all my questions. Nothing was left to my imagination. They take care of your visa and they are responsible for you. You can't "wander off". They allow for traffic in the afternoon when taking you back to the ship. They have never been late. There is no worry there.

 

My only disappointment was not seeing Catherine's Palace. But I heard it was "run down..not kept up" and that Peterhof was much better. We loved Peterhof !! The palace is unbelievable and the fountains and gardens so photogenic !!!

 

We were on the Jewel of the Seas. We'll sail with DCL to the Med '10.

Hope this helps. I can't report on Red October,sorry.

[belle907]

My only disappointment was not seeing Catherine's Palace. But I heard it was "run down..not kept up" and that Peterhof was much better. We loved Peterhof !! The palace is unbelievable and the fountains and gardens so photogenic !!!

We went to Catherine's Palace in July and the outside is in the middle of a rehab. YOu could really tell the difference where they had done work.

 

We only toured the gardens and fountains at Peterhoff, in 2010 I want to include the inside on our tour with Anastasia Travel Company. I've already contacted her for our 7/2010 tour since we thoroughly enjoyed the tour she prepared especially for us and had a really good guide and driver.

[country gardener]

I was in St Petersburg this summer and used Denrus. They were great to work with prior to the cruise and totally delivered on the two days of excursions. We were up and touring by 7:30 AM and didn't return until 11:PM. We toured until time to go to the Ballet at the Marinsky. Day two we were up and gone by 8:oo AM and back at the ship an hour before it was time to board. We saw EVERYTHING. It was great . Had quick lunches and dinners, but stopped and snacked whenever. We even got in plenty of shopping. Our guide was Toyla and our driver was Igor. Toyla had bushy gray beard an hair and looks like he might be mountain hiking. He is however encredibly knowlegable about Russion history and art. Best part...he new good places to shop. Igor our driver was such a gentleman and spoiled us with treats and good manners.

We had a schedule set prior to going but there was plenty of flexibilty in our days.

You will have a wonderful experience with Denrus

 

Janice

[biddy belle]

We used Alla Tours this past May, and they were terrific! Our group of 14 from our roll call decided on the 2 day Complete St. Petersburg tour, and saw everything we wanted to see. Lunches were included, and we traveled in a Mercedes van that our driver was able to pull right up to the entrances of the various palaces and museums. Alla got us early admission to the Hermitage, so we could enjoy it before the crowds got in. If you go to the Baltics port of call boards, you will find many recommendations for Alla. Also, the rollcall for your ship is a great place to form your own tour group. Enjoy.