Advice on booking tours in St. Petersburg

[JIMDSB2]

Sorry you will be in STB only one day, as that is not nearly enough time to see the uust city not to mention the palaces on the outskirts.

We went with Anastasia on a 2 day tour and there is NOTHING I can say bad. Our guide was Irina and driver was Edward. Both were wonderful.

The only hassle of the whole 2 days, and you will read about it on this site is that our ship (Jewel of the Seas) attempted to keep us on until their own tours left on day 1.

It has been noted here, that they can not do that, and a little persuasion was needed so our group of 12 could get off when our tour was expected. The Immigration agents whisked us through and out guide was right on the other side waiting.

[amarsh]

Have to agree with Derek as we were on the same tour group. We just loved SPB tours. they went over and above what we expected, gave us the usual hydro foil ride plus a canal boat ride, two lunches, and an extra side trip to a Synogogue that we wished to see. Elana was our guide and she knew her stuff. When anyone got in her space, she let them know who was in charge and we benefitted form it all. We met Viktoria on the second day and she was so freindly and nice to just as her emails pictured her. . I would heartily recommend them to anyone and everyone. I understand everyone thinks their tour was the best, but as long as you were satisfied, that's all that counts. We did our research and we just found SPB to give the most for what we wanted.

 

Would you mind, Gianfan, listing what your intinerary was? Thanks. Would appreciate it.

[cincicouple]

Thanks for replies from both of you. Getting out among the locals sounds great, but sbhdmh makes a great point about the 11 hour day of touring. Wish we could be there for 3 days, but 2 is all we have. Think I will finalize itinerary first before making final decision on evening. Thanks again!

[rl1013]

Try allatours, we were 13 in the group and had the van to ourselves. Very happy with our tour guide and we managed to see St. Petersburg in a very relaxing way.

 

 

Pictures below of our tour

 

[greyhound101]

We have already booked SPB for our June 6th cruise on Azamara which is 3 days in St. Petersburg. Victoria has been in contact with me via email and was always quick to respond to my requests. She will also be securing us tickets for a performance at the Marrinsky Theater (opera or ballet) and for a Folk Ballet performance also. I am also using SPB in Berlin.

[reynoldswrap]

greyhound101 - did you receive schedules/quotes from tour guides other than SPB for Berlin? If yes, do you mind sharing some of the info and/or why you decided to use SPB? thank you,

 

Sharon

[RTanner]

I'm new to the site but THANK YOU!!! We're booked on Celebrity Constellation and will be in St. Petersburg on June 6th, 2010. (5/28 sailing out of Amsterdam - we've been on a few but first time on Celebrity) Your posts have opened my eyes and we will book with with Denrus, Anastasia or SPB (we're still weighting the pluses and minuses). Any other little helpful hints anyone wants to drop will be greatly appreciated.

[Giantfan13]

Would you mind, Gianfan, listing what your intinerary was? Thanks. Would appreciate it.

 

 

AUGUST, 20 (Thu) 8.00AM-6.00PM

8.00-8.30am Meet at the ship

8.30-9.00am City orientation drive

9.00-10.00am Drive to the Tsars’ Village. Subway ride

10.15-12.00pm A visit to the Catherine's palace with the Amber

room and a walk in the park

12.00-12.30pm Snack at the local blinis’ place

12.45-1.30pm Drive to Peterhof

1.30-3.00pm Walk in the Peterhof Lower fountain park and the

Upper gardens

3.00-3.30pm Drive back to the city by hydrofoil

4.00-5.30pm Excursion in the Yusupov’s palace

6.00pm Return to the ship or optional evening activities, for example

ballet or a folklore show

 

AUGUST, 21 (Fr) 8.00AM-5.00PM

8.00am Meet at the ship

8.00-11.00am City sightseeing tour covering the major sights

and photo-stops. A visit to Peter and Paul's fortress and

cathedral

10.30-11.00am Excursion inside the Church of Our Saviour

on the Spilled Blood

11.15-12.15pm Lunch: traditional Russian meal

12.30-2.30pm The Hermitage museum

3.00-4.00pm Canal boat ride on a private boat

4.15-4.30pm A visit to the Grand Choral Synagogue

5.00pm Return to the ship

 

Depending on the weather, the traffic and other things, the order of the itinerary may change, but you will always get to see what is promised.

On our first day the weather was jsut georgeous, so we also did the canal boat ride that day. The day ended up being a bit longer than was planned, but in St Petersburg, when you get wonderful weather, you need to enjoy it. No one minded any of the changes.

If there is a major traffic problem somewhere in the city that may interfere with a schedule stop, they will switch to another location and eventually get back to what was missed. I would assume all the companies will do the same.

As I have said many times, we picked SPB because of Viktoria and her emails and professionalism. She will accomadate anyone requests and do her best to make your visit to St Pete one that you will remeber for a lifetime.

[sammiedawg]

Can anyone share an approximate cost per person 2 day tour?

There will probably be 8 of us traveling together.

I will contact some of the companies as well.

Thanks

[thecook]

When you email the tour companies, they will send you itineraries with costs. Problem is that the costs are not firm because the 2010 has not begun. Quotes ranged from $229 to $300+ depending on the tour that was choosen. You will get a good idea of what is offered. I contacted 5 of the companies that had good reviews on this board. Only Red October asked that I contact them after the current cruise season was over. The rest were all prompt with replies. Good Luck!!! Almost forgot to include that we are also a party of 8

[sbhdmh]

Can anyone share an approximate cost per person 2 day tour?

There will probably be 8 of us traveling together.

I will contact some of the companies as well.

Thanks

 

We did 2 days with Masha in August. We had 9 in our group but there was no charge for my 4 year old. The adults paid $240 US and the student paid $190. We added an extra guide for a few hours so my husband (an art professor) could spend more time at the Hermitage and go to the Russian Museum. This cost an extra $15/hour.

[greyhound101]

Sharon,

 

I investigated several tour companies. Prices were basically the same. Our cruise is staying overnight in Berlin and SPB offered us a 5% discount in Berlin if we booked both cities with them. Plus they are customizing our tours to deviate somewhat from the published tour. Also, in Berlin they are picking us up on day 1, touring us in Berlin and on Day 2 we are going out on our own and they are providing us with transport back to the ship.

[Matymoo]

Four of us are cruising the Baltics with Cunard in August 2010 and, although I picked the cruise because it was going to Russia, I really have no idea what to expect in terms of tourist sites. So my first questions is what are the must see's?

 

Because we have no preconceived ideas would we be better to go for something like the Denrus fixed price tour (currently $295) or would we end up with too many people in our party?

 

Or should we book a tour for just the four of us? How much extra would that cost?

 

Sorry for asking so many questions but thanks in advance for your help!

[greyhound101]

Denrus and all the tour companies have fixed price tours. The main attractions are the palaces and the Hermitage Museum. All the operators take you to basically the same sites. When I investigated and emailed Denrus the blew me off. We are doing Azamara in June 2010 to the Baltics. 3 days in SP, and 2 in Berlin plus other cities as well.

 

Art

[sbhdmh]

Four of us are cruising the Baltics with Cunard in August 2010 and, although I picked the cruise because it was going to Russia, I really have no idea what to expect in terms of tourist sites. So my first questions is what are the must see's?

 

Because we have no preconceived ideas would we be better to go for something like the Denrus fixed price tour (currently $295) or would we end up with too many people in our party?

 

Or should we book a tour for just the four of us? How much extra would that cost?

 

Sorry for asking so many questions but thanks in advance for your help!

 

You will find that everyone on CC thinks that they had the best tour in St Petersburg. You are sure to have a great time. Most people consider The Hermitage, Peterhoff and Catherine's Palace as the definate must sees. There are also beautiful cathedrals - Church of the Spilled Blood and St Isaac's especially. Some people rave about Peter and Paul's Fortress. If you are into art the Russian Museum has an amazing collection. If members of your group are interested in Russian Jewish culture there is Choral Synagogue. Our guide, Masha, also found an amazing exhibition of the History of Jews in Russia at the Ethnographic Museum. We also wanted to see the "real" Russia so we rode on the Metro, visited a supermarket and ate in a Blini restaurant. It will all depend on what you are interested in which is why just about everyone on CC will tell you to arrange a private tour. The ship's tour and some cookie cutter tours with the larger companies will have you on a bus with 50 other people. You tend to see less and pay more that way.

 

The major companies people mention here on CC are Denrus, Red October, Alla, Anastasia, SPB. We had a great experience with a private guide who is setting us her own company. I would suggest that you email as many of them as you can and get a sense from their responses who will make you the most comfortable. Once you make a selection you can go to the Roll Call section and find others from your sailing to join you. When we first arranged a tour for our family it was coming in at over $500 per person. We added 2 more families for a total of 9 people and cut the cost by more than half. It was great.

 

Hope this helps. Just post again if you need more information.

[Dave and Micha]

You will find that everyone on CC thinks that they had the best tour in St Petersburg. You are sure to have a great time. Most people consider The Hermitage, Peterhoff and Catherine's Palace as the definate must sees. There are also beautiful cathedrals - Church of the Spilled Blood and St Isaac's especially. Some people rave about Peter and Paul's Fortress. If you are into art the Russian Museum has an amazing collection. If members of your group are interested in Russian Jewish culture there is Choral Synagogue. Our guide, Masha, also found an amazing exhibition of the History of Jews in Russia at the Ethnographic Museum. We also wanted to see the "real" Russia so we rode on the Metro, visited a supermarket and ate in a Blini restaurant. It will all depend on what you are interested in which is why just about everyone on CC will tell you to arrange a private tour. The ship's tour and some cookie cutter tours with the larger companies will have you on a bus with 50 other people. You tend to see less and pay more that way.

 

The major companies people mention here on CC are Denrus, Red October, Alla, Anastasia, SPB. We had a great experience with a private guide who is setting us her own company. I would suggest that you email as many of them as you can and get a sense from their responses who will make you the most comfortable. Once you make a selection you can go to the Roll Call section and find others from your sailing to join you. When we first arranged a tour for our family it was coming in at over $500 per person. We added 2 more families for a total of 9 people and cut the cost by more than half. It was great.

 

Hope this helps. Just post again if you need more information.

 

While there is some good information in this post, it is absolutely untrue that Alla tours puts you on a bus with 50 other people--- that's the cruise line. We did Alla this past May and the max. group size was 15.

[sbhdmh]

Please note that I said "some cookie cutter tours with the larger companies" - I did not mean to cast aspersions on any particular company. I have read all positive reviews of Alla. However some posters who have worked with private companies, not just ships tours, have indeed mentioned being on large busses. Again , I think all can agree that a smaller group will generally prove to be a better experience in St Petersburg.

[cruzisme]

Do your research with all the tour operators as mentioned on this thread

Go with the one that you feel comfortable with; one that covers what you wish to see or visit

We happened to go with SPB and loved it! Our second choice was Anastasia. We feel either company would have been fine.

Our group was 13 and it worked out great in an A/C van; no huge busloads for us, not our style!

Hope you will see all that has been stated above (my favourite was Church of Spilled Blood) Wish we had more time at Peterhof but hey, we had 2 full days of sunshine so can't complain.

Also ask to eat at more local places (unless you want something fancy) We ate at a blini place and on the second day, at Stolle (yummy meat pies)

 

Wish I was going again!

[bayjoens]

Has anyone tried Zhenya Kempinski from the Rick Steve's guide? Any input would be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[Ballwin Babe]

Can anyone tell me what to expect to pay (total) for a typical (private) highlights tour (nothing out of the ordinary) over 2 days for a group of 6? I'm getting so confused by all the pricing. Some include admissions, others don't. My head is spinning. Just looking for an approximation for all 6 of us for 2 days with a van and a guide. Can anyone help? :confused:

[bardstowntraveller]

We have booked a private 2 day tour with Anastasia that includes a city tour, Catherine's Palace, the fountains at Peterhof, Peter & Paul Fortress, St Isaac's Cathedral, Savior on Spilled Blood Church, the Hermitage with Gold Room and early admission, a canal cruise, metro tour and Nevsky Prospekt shopping. The cost per person based on 8 people was $296. Most of the cost of the tour is admission charges. We could have cut our cost by eliminating the Gold Room and early admission to the Hermitage and by eliminating the canal cruise. A good gauge to how expensive your tour will be is the prepackaged tours offered by SPB and Denrus. You can put together a comparable tour for 6 or 8 for the same or slightly more cost.