Second trip to St. Petersburg - Suggestions?

Looks like we'll be back to St. Petersburg for two days in August. We were there for two days back in 2007 and enjoyed it however we don't want a repeat of what we did back in 2007.

We visited the following places on a Red October group tour.

-Hermitage

-Church of the Spilled Blood

-Catherine's Palace

-Peterhof fountains

-The Palace Square

-Grand Palace

-Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin)

-Nevsky prospect

-Hydrofoil Ride

If nothing looks worthwhile we may spend the $ and go to Moscow as part of the ship tour.

Perhaps an overnight to Moscow?

if that were me, I'd get my own visa and just walk around and enjoy the culture. if you're not into that then a quick visit to Moscow sounds like a good idea.

Looks like we'll be back to St. Petersburg for two days in August. We were there for two days back in 2007 and enjoyed it however we don't want a repeat of what we did back in 2007.

 

We visited the following places on a Red October group tour.

-Hermitage

-Church of the Spilled Blood

-Catherine's Palace

-Peterhof fountains

-The Palace Square

-Grand Palace

-Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin)

-Nevsky prospect

-Hydrofoil Ride

 

If nothing looks worthwhile we may spend the $ and go to Moscow as part of the ship tour.

You could go back and see the inside of Peterhof, it was great,

Also, St. Isaac's Cathedral,

Peter and Paul Fortress. Many Czars are buried in the Cathedral.

Canal Cruise.

Dostoyevsky's house.

Also, go back to the Hermitage, it is hard to see it all.

If you are interested in doing tours with any of the private tour companies, or the one you might have used before, email them, tell them exactly what you just told us and see what they can come up with for you. You have nothing to lose. Tell them your likes, dislikes etc. and see what they can plan for you.

Many people have used companies like SPB tours, and arranged their own itinerary completely. If you are not sure or don't know, ask for help or suggestions. They know their city and surroundings and can be a lot more helpful than we can be.

Cheers

Len

We had a similar problem so I sent an email to SPB tours who we went with last time and they kindly sent back some suggestions. Or you can suggest to them somewhere where you did not go last time.

You may want to look at our thread about St. Petersburg for pictures and ideas

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1775172

Or a long daytrip to Moscow

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1927687

We can give specific ideas if you can tell us your interests and dates of cruise

If only two days in SPB, will not have enough time for one day Moscow trip--ship docks too late on day 1 and leaves too early on day 2. You could inquire about an overnight trip but would be expensive and may or may not require a visa.

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. Moscow sounds interesting but based on 2 days I'd only be able to do it with the ships excursion.

We find ourselves in basically the same situation as RickT. Going to be in SPB for two days in August and have spent three days previously in SPB about ten years back as part of a cruise port stop.

Beside heading to Moscow, are there any areas to visit outside of SPB that are not part of the normal SPB must see list?

We have done several return trip tours with alla-tour and have been pleased. A suggestion outside of St. Petersburg is Nogorod. Here is a wikipedia description

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veliky_Novgorod

Closer in - Have you been to some of my favorites - Yusopov, Pavlosk, the World war !! monument and museums, Gathcina, the outer buildings at Peterhof, Russian Art Museum, Lomonosov Porcelain. There are numerous other museums to see int the city as well as the interiors of various churches. There is a Synagogue complex and an interesting cemetery. You can return many times and find something new to see. It is a great city. If you reserve a car and driver for the day with alla-tour you can plan your itinerary. Enjoy.

Looks like we'll be back to St. Petersburg for two days in August. We were there for two days back in 2007 and enjoyed it however we don't want a repeat of what we did back in 2007.

 

We visited the following places on a Red October group tour.

-Hermitage

-Church of the Spilled Blood

-Catherine's Palace

-Peterhof fountains

-The Palace Square

-Grand Palace

-Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin)

-Nevsky prospect

-Hydrofoil Ride

 

If nothing looks worthwhile we may spend the $ and go to Moscow as part of the ship tour.

We are in the same situation for a cruise in June and did the same sights with Red October We have signed up for the ship's excursion from Helsinki to Moscow to SPB by train and obtained our visa for that. In the event that is canceled due to lack of interest (and high $$$) we are perplexed as to what else to do. I would enjoy a visit to Catherine's Palace again and the Church of the Spilled Blood but the companies tell me they will only do excursions that last 8 hours or more. Must add other things if the ship's excursion should be canceled and that might be the last minute. Timing could be tight on their being able to help us. Hate to stay onboard in the container terminal!!

We are in the same situation for a cruise in June and did the same sights with Red October We have signed up for the ship's excursion from Helsinki to Moscow to SPB by train and obtained our visa for that. In the event that is canceled due to lack of interest (and high $$$) we are perplexed as to what else to do. I would enjoy a visit to Catherine's Palace again and the Church of the Spilled Blood but the companies tell me they will only do excursions that last 8 hours or more. Must add other things if the ship's excursion should be canceled and that might be the last minute. Timing could be tight on their being able to help us. Hate to stay onboard in the container terminal!!

How about a private tour? Surely you could design your own itinerary?

How about a private tour? Surely you could design your own itinerary?

We will do that if the Moscow excursion is canceled in adequate time to reserve a company. We will just have to add on a venue that we have already visited in order to fill the entire day. That should not be a problem since so many venues are worth a second visit. just hope there is still a private tour out there we can get on short notice. Just have to hope I don't have to spend 2 days staring at the gazillions of jellyfish in the harbor. :D

I recommend a visit to Yusupov Palace. Yusupov was the Bill Gates of Czarist Russia and it was where Rasputin was poisoned. It is a beautiful palace right in St. Pete - it has a music room where men briefly sing for the tourists and the acoustics are wonderful. There are a number of lovely rooms and sometimes it is where the opera and/or ballet performances are held on the ship's evening excursion.

I would definitely second the suggestion to go to Yusopov and my next choice would be Pavlosk Palace and Garden built by Catherine the Great for her son Paul. It is a lovely place to see. You shouldn't feel you have to return to places you have already seen because there is so much more to see in Saint Petersburg. You have also not seen St. Isaacs or Peter and Paul Cathedral which is the resting place of the Romanovs beginning with Peter the Great. A lot depends on what you are interested in learning about.

Looks like we'll be back to St. Petersburg for two days in August. We were there for two days back in 2007 and enjoyed it however we don't want a repeat of what we did back in 2007.

 

We visited the following places on a Red October group tour.

-Hermitage

-Church of the Spilled Blood

-Catherine's Palace

-Peterhof fountains

-The Palace Square

-Grand Palace

-Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin)

-Nevsky prospect

-Hydrofoil Ride

 

If nothing looks worthwhile we may spend the $ and go to Moscow as part of the ship tour.

Hermitage is certainly worth another visit. You could spend a week there and just touch the surface.

Some other ideas depending on your interests:

Russian Museum (Russian art and icons)

Outside the city:

Kronstadt (Fortress naval base and formally closed city)

Longer day trips that will let you see a different side of Russia:

Oreshek (Very famous Monastery. Probably a very long daytrip)

Vyborg