Phenomenal 3-Day tour in St Petersburg by Dancing Bear

If you want a truly personalized tour skip the "we offer tours in all your ports-of-call" companies ang go with Dancing Bear Tours. Julia is very responsive to inquiries (I wondered if she ever slept), listened to our preferences, made recommendations on the "must see" sights then designed a tour based on what we wanted rather than what is standard. And our price was below companies that required we book tours in 2-3 ports to get a "discounted" price. (Check out my posts for the other ports-of-call where I list/review our guides).

Julia's guides are chosen for their knowledge and professionalism. Our guide, Kate, has a teaching degree and teaches English at the college level. Her knowledge was amazing and when we asked "off the cuff" questions, like "what would it cost to buy that Dacha over there" she consulted our driver (also a class act) and would give us her best guess. She also never fretted when we wanted to buy something from a local vendor (NOT the typical "tourist" shop). She'd negotiate the price, help with sizing and if the vendor only took Ruples she paid the bill and let us repay her in US dollars. She also took us to the Russian equivalent of a Wal-Mart -at my request - so we could see where Russians go to shop. She even offered to use her club member discount (we declined so we could use our credit cards).

I organized our group on our Roll Call and was able to set parameters - we needed to all be able to walk a LOT and climb stairs (something you have no control over with the bigger companies). Because we didn't have to wait for 15 people to use the toilet in a museum (that had limited facilities), someone taking a smoke break, or one who had to find an elevator, we had time to enjoy lunches at local restaurants, which WE picked, and ordered off the menu (they have Wifi) and were still able to stay on schedule. As a result, we spent more time IN the museums and AT the sights. I must add no matter who you book your tour through - make sure it includes the Siege Memorial MUSEUM not just the memorial. Seeing the film, pictures and artifacts and learning what actually took place is eye opening and gave me a better understanding of why the Soviets wanted to "take" Berlin at the end of WWII.

Julia also offers evening excursions. I attended the ballet and as I was the only one in our group of 8 that was interested, Julia took me in her personal car and my seat was on the floor and center stage!

But the highlight was an evening meal with a Russian couple in their apartment. We were able to visit one-on-one with our hosts (Kate accompanied us and translated) and get a feel for how the Russian people live. What better way to learn about a people and their culture than sharing a meal in someone's home?

On a scale of 1-10 I would rate our experience with Dancing Bear Tours a 10. They provided everything we requested and then some. I HIGHLY recommend this company.

If you look at the notice above your post, you'll see that you are asked only to post recommendations in response to a request and not to start a new thread.

Presumably this is to lessen the likelihood of posters either being connected with the company they are recommending or posting in reponse to a request or inducement from said company.

Google "Dancing Bear".

On second thoughts, maybe don't Google "Dancing Bear". :eek: