Safety for a solo female traveller

Hello all,

I'm hoping that you may be able to offer a little advice.

I am sailing on MS Eurodam on the 23rd May on their Baltic Tour stopping in:

Copenhagen

Talinn

Helsinki

St Petersburg

Kiel

Warnermunde

I am a fairly experienced traveller but this will be both my first cruise and my first solo trip. I don't intend taking up the cruise tours in most places, partly because they seem over priced and partly because I quite like looking around independently. I will book tours for SP mainly because there is so much to see, but haven't decided between the cruise organised or a private tour yet.

Are there any tips that you can offer for a solo traveller for any of the above locations?

Many thanks,

Bev

Hello all,

 

I'm hoping that you may be able to offer a little advice.

 

I am sailing on MS Eurodam on the 23rd May on their Baltic Tour stopping in:

Copenhagen

Talinn

Helsinki

St Petersburg

Kiel

Warnermunde

 

I am a fairly experienced traveller but this will be both my first cruise and my first solo trip. I don't intend taking up the cruise tours in most places, partly because they seem over priced and partly because I quite like looking around independently. I will book tours for SP mainly because there is so much to see, but haven't decided between the cruise organised or a private tour yet.

 

Are there any tips that you can offer for a solo traveller for any of the above locations?

 

Many thanks,

 

Bev

Hi Bev, I have been travelling solo all over the world for over 20 years and can honestly say that I have never had a bad experience in Europe so don't let worry spoil your holiday. I have never really thought about it but now realise that I do take a few precautions, even at home ie. stay in well-lit areas where there are other people; keep your bag in front, never on your back - a back pack leaves your hands free but it is inviting trouble; don't carry any more cash than necessary - I withdraw a small amount of the currency from an ATM and carry a chip-and-pin debit card which is acceptable just about everywhere. On holiday I always have two cards with me, one of which I leave on the ship or in the hotel, then if the worst happened I would still have access to money.

Have fun, I always do.

Happy cruising, :)

Anni

I'm not a female. I've also never been to Kiel. But based on how my experiences were for the other ports on your list, I think you should not expect any issues in any of them as long as you use the normal common sense one should use in any large city. I did my Scandinavian/Russia cruise solo. I did tours in St. Petersburgh, but in the other cities, I did my own thing (walking from the ship and using public transit or walking where I wanted to go). In all cases, I never found myself in any neighborhoods that I considered unsafe to be in. Not that I tried to find them. But if you're out to explore the common sightseeing areas in these cities, you should be just fine. There will be other people around you in almost all areas.

Thanks that is very reassuring. I just felt it would be sensible to check before firming up my plans.

You'll have no trouble in Scandinavia.

I walk here alone at night and have never had any problems -hardly even been scared!

I am a 30 years old solo traveller and felt safe everywhere I went. I was on the Eurodam last year and I loved it. I didn't travel to Helsinki. I like to be independent and explore on my own but I did take some guided tours. In St. P. it is hard to get a visa without being associated with a tour company, and when we weren't in tourist areas some of the locals were intimidating. Even with the guide present they still approched me with inappropriate offers. I used the company SPB and would highly recommend them. The group was small and my guide was excellent. I didn't take anything with me other then my VISA (credit card), camera and my passport into St. P. I didn't need anything. Everything was paid for by the tour compnay. In Tallinn I also went with SPB (partly because I got a deal with booking multiple tours with them). It was a short morning tour and our guide (Trinn, who was born and raised in Tallinn) was excellent. I didn't know much about the city and wanted to learn from a local. Again our group was small and I felt safe walking around after the tour was over. I used SPB again in Berlin because I wanted to see the city and because of the drive there I knew my time would be limited. Again, it was excellent. The price was good. I paid $500 (I think, it may have been less) for two days in St. P., Tallinn and Berlin. I thought that it was a good deal.

In Copenhagen and Stockholm I felt very safe and used the hop-on-hop-off buses and boats. Stockholm visitors centre offers free city tours as well. I loved Stockholm

In Kiel I took the train to Lubeck, which I highly reccomend going to (I am already planning to go back to Lubeck soon). The visitors centre has great resources like a self guided walking tour, or a tour on a bus. I recommened the walking tour. It was 4 or 5 hours, and welll worth it. One of my favorite stops on the curise. There is a deal with the train system that (and I can't remember that well because someone else took care of the details ) if you travel with six people you pay one full price and then the other 5 only pay a small amount (I can't remember, but I think it was under $5). the only catch is the you have to travel with them. When we got to Kiel we split up and then met later to travel back together.

I hope this helps,

Kristen

That is very helpful, thanks for such a detailed reply. I'm really looking forward to the break and everyone keeps telling me that a cruise is a good option for a solo traveller.

With the simple sensible precautions mentioned by others, you'll be fine.

Be aware - but not paranoid ;).

For St Pete's, you really need a tour in order to avoid the grief of applying for a visa, as well as other factors - the cryllic alphabet, the pre-public access to the Hermitage, the queue-busting arrangements at Catherine Palace, etc ad infinitum.

Local operators' tours have the same visa-free status as ships' tours (beware misleading cruise line literature to the contrary), and offer much smaller groups, much more flexible arrangements, quicker through the traffic, and an altogether much more personal experience. You do need to pre-book (for immigration purposes) but you don't pay anything til you're there. We had an excellent tour with Alla Tours, but SPB,TJ Tours, Best Guides, Red Oktober, Anastasia, DenRus all have equally good reputations. I think DenRus uses 30-seater buses, all the others use 16-seater minibuses ("vans" in American), ships' tours are in full-size coaches. Local operators offer full one/two/three day tours, ships also offer half-day tours. The same total itinerary is a little cheaper using local operators, though that's not the prime consideration.

The visa-free status of tours offered by the ship & by local operators is only good for that tour. For instance, a one-day tour ticket for Day One doesn't cover you to pass through immigration again in the evening or on Day Two.

Do consider an evening tour or function as well.

If you want to visit Berlin from Warnemunde, that's best done on a tour because of the distance & time constraints. Alla & SPB & mebbe other Russian operators offer Berlin tours, though you'd not get a discount for just the two tours.

Spend the bulk of your excursion budget in St Pete's (+ perhaps Berlin).

I don't know Kiel, but the other ports are easy to DIY

Yes, cruising is a good way for solos to travel. Much more a floating community than a floating hotel, friendly & out-going people. Smaller ships are generally more friendly than larger ships. We've never sailed Holland America, but at 2000 passengers, Eurodam is a mid-size ship.

What are your dining arrangements? If you've chosen traditional dining (same time, same table, same companions each evening), cruise lines usually put singletons together on large tables. A great way to meet people, I'm envious that singletons' tables are usually the most lively & amongst the last to leave the dining room. They also tend to arrange to go ashore mob-handed.

If you're allocated an unsociable table (perhaps the only stranger on a table with a family), don't be afraid to ask the Maitre D after dinner to switch you to another table. There's always some table-shuffling.

Cruise lines also usually arrange singletons' get-togethers, such as a brunch.

Great part of the world for cruisin', have a good one.

JB :)

Thank you. The only trip I've booked so far is an evening trip to the Hermitage which is via the cruise line but the consensus for daytime seems to be to book a local tour company and the same names keep cropping up which is reassuring. I thing StP will be the only place I will book tours for and I'll wing it for the others. I don't think I'll bother with the lengthy trip to Berlin. Being based in the UK I can easily take a weekend trip there, the few hours I would get just doesn't make sense given all there is to see.

On the matter of dining it seems that everyone has a slightly different opinion! I think I will stay with my main dining booking for now and see how I get on. If I'm not keen on the table I'll change or move the anytime dining. I plan eating at the Tamarind (pan Asian) restaurant at least twice in any case!

Many thanks for all your tips :)

(Berlin) Being based in the UK I can easily take a weekend trip there, the few hours I would get just doesn't make sense given all there is to see.

 

Many thanks for all your tips :)

I concur 100%. :)

Understandable that some of those based in other continents may want to take the opportunity to visit Berlin, but from the UK it's well worth a city-break of 3 or 4 days.

JB :)

Being within 2 hours by plane to anywhere in the Baltic, I think I would just explore on my own since all these destinations, including St Petersburg are very safe. When ships are active however there are pickpockets in some specific spots in St Petersburg, otherwise it is very safe, much more than the reputation.

All the ports have public transportation so getting to the heart of the cities is not a problem, the short stays in each port, is a problem fore getting the best sense of a city. Most people who come have never been to Northern Europe so they try to cram everything into a few hours but you have many more options and if you want to learn about a city or culture, you have the option of just going out and meeting locals which is the best way. Guides usually have a canned lecture where even the laugh pauses are practiced so if you want to learn, meet the locals without tourist industry employees in the way.

The cities that are the most walkable include Helsinki, the German towns near the port, and Tallinn. Helsinki and Tallinn are both lovely cities, that are easy to get around with highly concentrated areas of interest.

You can come to St Petersburg on the ferry without a visa for 3 days so a long weekend of culture and exploration might be better done on a getaway, maybe the fall when the cruise ships do not have the venues so filled with crowds.

A couple comments on other posts, one is the suggestion for "early opening" of the Hermitage in St Petersburg. Don't. It is not what you would expect. When it is open for tour operators when ships are in port, only a single roped off path is permitted, no exploring or seeing the vast array of subjects and topics the museum covers. It means 6,000-14,000 people from ships are all herded through one path in the hour before the public allowed in. They get to see everything so spread out and there is much less crowding.

Another was a misstatement about one of the tour operators using 30 passenger buses, that is in error, they use 16 passenger limits.

The one new feature of the city that will be in demand is the new fabulous Faberge Museum. It will be one of the primary destinations, along with the Hermitage but access is somewhat limited and ships will not be allowed to bring groups, too much of a security risk. You should, if you have any interest in the wonder new museum, try to arrange to visit. I was there in the initial private presentation of the museum and it is going to be a major attraction in a city of many world class attractions. The palace and the collection is stunning.

You can arrange for a free time, "supervised" tour, one where a tour operator's employee is around, to cover the visa free entry to the country and then just wing it on foot and public transportation from the port. The passenger terminals, there are 6 in 3 buildings, have a worker's shuttle that can take you to the nearest metro station, 28 rubles on the subway for 6 minutes and you are in the heart of the historic city center.

Even late at night, being alone in any of these cities is going to be safe.

Hi,

Thanks for a valuable contribution, but I have to take you to task over a couple of points you refer to in my own post.

 

A couple comments on other posts, one is the suggestion for "early opening" of the Hermitage in St Petersburg. Don't. It is not what you would expect. When it is open for tour operators when ships are in port, only a single roped off path is permitted, no exploring or seeing the vast array of subjects and topics the museum covers. It means 6,000-14,000 people from ships are all herded through one path in the hour before the public allowed in.

 

We had early admission on an Alla tour.

We weren't amongst 14,000 or 6,000.

Or even 1,000.

Or even 100.

I have photos of complete rooms of exhibits with not one person in sight. We did see, through upper floor windows, a huge line outside waiting in the rain for the general opening.

I have also seen photos on Cruise Critic taken by other members - again, no crowds.

There was no roped-off path - we were free to wander but naturally stayed in the same rooms as our guide, to listen to what she had to say (through wireless headphones).

We didn't just have the place to ourselves for that one hour - because folk tend to view the exhibits in a given order,

we kept about an hour ahead of the crowds throughout our 3 hour visit. Un-hurried & un-crowded.

The only time we saw crowds was at the end of our visit when we walked through them on our way out via the entrance.

 

Believe me, your criticism of pre-public admission is totally unjustified - it is a huge advantage.

(as was walking past the long line at Catherine Palace)

 

Another was a misstatement about one of the tour operators using 30 passenger buses, that is in error, they use 16 passenger limits.

 

I commented that "I think DenRus uses 30-seater buses"

Their own website confirms that for their half-day tours "The maximum number in one group is 30 persons"

 

 

I do my best to be accurate.

And if I correct any other contributor, I am even more careful to be absolutely sure that I'm right. ;)

JB :)

I am sorry if you took the factual comments, from someone who deals with the situation daily in the summer, as a personal affront.

Early opening and closed days opening are requested by the ship's port agent and if granted, it is available for companies who have contracts with the museum to join in. Alla, did not have contracts so she got the vouchers from a 3rd party.

The port accommodates between 1 and 8 large ships a day during the summer and by far the majority of passengers and crew visit the Hermitage. That is where the figures came from and they are commonly known. The ship agents use that time for their group tours to the Hermitage but some programs, like 1/2 day are done both morning and afternoon.

The security staff, over 1,000 mostly older women who cover one room or hall each are not fully staffed in the morning until the general entrance so those rooms without security rooms, are not available to be viewed. How do they know which rooms to staff? Early entry appointments are for approved routes and rooms asked for in writing by the port agent. The routes are set and wandering off is not allowed. The lights are not even on in most of the 1015 rooms.

If you had no other visitors sharing your tour, you might have gone through after the large ship tours and the 120 other tour companies that can use that time also once it is is open for the port agent.

One single experience on one visit might have left a different impression but it was just luck of timing it you were only with 100 people in the Hermitage, just before and after, and the approved path would be very crowded indeed.

It is certainly not the norm to have an empty museum and without security.

Regarding your singling out one company as using 30 passenger vehicles, the discussion was 2-3 day tours, not specialty brief group tours. An honest comment would have been "all companies use larger vehicles or specialty group programs like the ballet and folkloric or evening river cruise tours". Some one would have gotten the wrong impression if they assumed you were addressing their question.

I am sorry if you took the factual comments, from someone who deals with the situation daily in the summer, as a personal affront.

Early opening and closed days opening are requested by the ship's port agent and if granted, it is available for companies who have contracts with the museum to join in. Alla, did not have contracts so she got the vouchers from a 3rd party.

The port accommodates between 1 and 8 large ships a day during the summer and by far the majority of passengers and crew visit the Hermitage. That is where the figures came from and they are commonly known. The ship agents use that time for their group tours to the Hermitage but some programs, like 1/2 day are done both morning and afternoon.

The security staff, over 1,000 mostly older women who cover one room or hall each are not fully staffed in the morning until the general entrance so those rooms without security rooms, are not available to be viewed. How do they know which rooms to staff? Early entry appointments are for approved routes and rooms asked for in writing by the port agent. The routes are set and wandering off is not allowed. The lights are not even on in most of the 1015 rooms.

If you had no other visitors sharing your tour, you might have gone through after the large ship tours and the 120 other tour companies that can use that time also once it is is open for the port agent.

One single experience on one visit might have left a different impression but it was just luck of timing it you were only with 100 people in the Hermitage, just before and after, and the approved path would be very crowded indeed.

It is certainly not the norm to have an empty museum and without security.

 

Regarding your singling out one company as using 30 passenger vehicles, the discussion was 2-3 day tours, not specialty brief group tours. An honest comment would have been "all companies use larger vehicles or specialty group programs like the ballet and folkloric or evening river cruise tours". Some one would have gotten the wrong impression if they assumed you were addressing their question.

It's always dangerous to disagree with a local. ;)

But my own experience of a crowd-free Hermitage (and I said "not even 100" other people) is mirrored by others who've visited on other cruises & who we've spoken to or who have posted on Cruise Critic.

Every one of them has said that they were virtually alone through most of their visit, I've not seen or heard a single comment to the contrary.

Here's a photo taken by a Cruise Critic member on another cruise

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1805655

Agreed that the Hermitage is vast, I don't doubt you are correct in saying that many of the 1000+ rooms aren't open pre-public hours - but even if they were all open, how many rooms could one possibly see in an hour?

Sorry, but your 6.000 - 14,000 passengers being herded along one roped-off path gives a very distorted impression.

This typical July ship schedule .(acknowledged that such schedules aren't always complete)

http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Russia/664-St_Petersburg/July_2014/

shows 47 ships visiting during that month, a maximum of 5 ships on any one day & an average of under three, with average total passenger numbers per day of under 5,000. Most are in port for two days, so that's an average 2,500 potential visitors per day, most of whom don't take pre-opening tours of the Hermitage. Most of the crew don't even get shore leave, & those that do will have been in St Petersburg many times - I doubt more than a dozen would visit the Hermitage on a given day.

But again, I don't need to look at statistics - I've experienced it, & so have others.

The discussion was actually about safety, not about 2-3 day tours, and it meandered (as these threads tend to do ;)) into a general discussion about tours by local operators.

It would have been misleading for me to say that all local operators use 16-seat vans, because I was aware of comments by some who'd toured with DenRus that they'd been in 30-seat buses. So I merely pointed out that "I think Denrus use 30-seater buses" - enough to alert folk to check. And to find out that in fact they use both for tours.

But for an evening show, we are agreed that the size of what is merely transport is unimportant. In our case it was just two of us in a car.

We all try to give accurate information & impressions, & that's what I did.

With respect, despite your being a local & involved in tourism, I'm content that my posts give much the more accurate impression of what passengers are likely to experience on a pre-public visit to the Hermitage.

I also do my best to advise Cruise Critic members about my home city of Southampton. Naturally I know a great deal more about it than those who've made one visit. But I am mindful that those who only visit are much better-placed to see Southampton from the perspective of the prospective visitor, and that their impressions & opinions are often of greater value than my own.

JB :)

It's always dangerous to disagree with a local. ;)

 

Agreed that the Hermitage is vast, I don't doubt you are correct in saying that many of the 1000+ rooms aren't open pre-public hours - but even if they were all open, how many rooms could one possibly see in an hour?

 

JB :)

I have a mixed opinion about this. My first visit to the Hermitage was in winter. We just strolled around like the museum belonged to us, occasionally bumping into some Chinese group which almost ran by some paintings worth spending an hour in front of them. Two times we met Russian school groups which was absolutely charming. But other than that we were almost alone there. So when we took the cruise and wanted to return to the Hermitage the manger of Best Guides tried to talk us out of it, saying that in comparison to winter time in summer the Hermitage will be overcrowded and we will not be able to see it properly. But we were really dreaming about the Hermitage so finally we decided on an early admission. And I should say - despite all the warnings it came as a little shock for us. There really was quite a crowd at the entrance. However we got in quite smoothly and inside it was not so bad. I did not notice any special route. Possibly that was due to our guide Inna who led the tour so nicely that all we had to do was to follow her. (Inna was our guide in winter as well, and when we booked the cruise we asked Best Guides to give us the same guide. Inna is absolutely wonderful!) At some point we noticed that crowds around us were growing and Inna explained that it was already the general working time of the museum. Then Inna took us to some rooms which we did not see during our first visit and they were not crowded at all. Most probably it happened because they were off the main route. For instance we had a look at the 18-19th century English paintings, walked through the antiquity collection and saw the Russian applied art exhibition. So, as you see, my experience is special. But for what I noticed in early admission hours there were less people than later, at least along the main tour rout.

As for the price - the early admission really added something to the price of the tour. I do not remember how much, but we decided it was worth the money and looking back I think it was a right option to take. (Unless you have a possibility to come to the Hermitage in winter of cause :))

Hello all,

 

 

Are there any tips that you can offer for a solo traveller for any of the above locations?

 

Many thanks,

 

Bev

Oh, Bev,

you must not even think about any unpleasant things. We are two ladies and we have traveled quite a lot. There was no easier trip than the cruise we took this summer (just remembering how nervous I was before the trip makes me smile now). The ship (we were on Celebrity Eclipse) just felt like home. All the ports were nice and very easy to find your way around just using a map. In Helsinki, Stockholm and Tallinn you can take a Hop-on-Hop-off bus if you like. You obviously can get lost in St. Petersburg, but this is the only port where you must take a guided tour anyway unless you have got a Russian visa. I had an experience of applying for this visa and it was a nightmare. For just a two day visit it is not worth the time. And it is also quite expensive. It is much better to join a little group with a private company. They are nice, flexible and provide high quality tours. At least the references about most of them are very nice (which was fully proved by my own experience with Best Guides).

I have a mixed opinion about this. My first visit to the Hermitage was in winter. We just strolled around like the museum belonged to us, occasionally bumping into some Chinese group which almost ran by some paintings worth spending an hour in front of them. Two times we met Russian school groups which was absolutely charming. But other than that we were almost alone there. So when we took the cruise and wanted to return to the Hermitage the manger of Best Guides tried to talk us out of it, saying that in comparison to winter time in summer the Hermitage will be overcrowded and we will not be able to see it properly. But we were really dreaming about the Hermitage so finally we decided on an early admission. And I should say - despite all the warnings it came as a little shock for us. There really was quite a crowd at the entrance. However we got in quite smoothly and inside it was not so bad. I did not notice any special route. Possibly that was due to our guide Inna who led the tour so nicely that all we had to do was to follow her. (Inna was our guide in winter as well, and when we booked the cruise we asked Best Guides to give us the same guide. Inna is absolutely wonderful!) At some point we noticed that crowds around us were growing and Inna explained that it was already the general working time of the museum. Then Inna took us to some rooms which we did not see during our first visit and they were not crowded at all. Most probably it happened because they were off the main route. For instance we had a look at the 18-19th century English paintings, walked through the antiquity collection and saw the Russian applied art exhibition. So, as you see, my experience is special. But for what I noticed in early admission hours there were less people than later, at least along the main tour rout.

 

As for the price - the early admission really added something to the price of the tour. I do not remember how much, but we decided it was worth the money and looking back I think it was a right option to take. (Unless you have a possibility to come to the Hermitage in winter of cause :))

Yes, it was GuideDiva's emphasis on crowds that surprised me. Perhaps we were a little lucky, but the image conjured-up of crowds by GuideDiva's post goes way beyond being unlucky.

Like you, we saw no roped route. But then like you, we were automatically following our guide & we weren't looking to divert.

Other rooms could have been roped-off, or locked & bolted (or guarded by a platoon of armed soldiers for all I know :D) cos it made no difference to us.

The greater number of people you encountered late in your tour may well have been down to taking a different route because of your previous visit.

JB :)