St Petersburg with kids: independent vs tours, etc

Hi

We call at St petersburg as part of a P and O Azura cruise this year. We usually prefer not to do tours in favour of finding our own way but unsure what to do at St Petersburg regarding visas/whether it is suitable for travelling alone.

There will be four adults and a child of three travelling, which made me think a tour wouldn't be suitable. Has anyone ever gone to St Petersburg with a family? Also how easy is it to acquire visas?

Thanks

We spent two days in St. Petersburg on a Baltic cruise when our daughters were 12 and 6. We booked a 2 day private tour for our family and I wouldn't have considered doing it any other way with children. With a limited amount of time available and not speaking the language, it was very efficient to have a tour guide and a driver getting us to and around the places that we wanted to see. With just our family on our tour we were able to adjust the itinerary as we went in order to accommodate the kids (particularly my younger daughter). For example, we cut short our tour of the Hermitage because it was far too crowded to be in any way enjoyable for her - if we had been on a group tour then we wouldn't have been able to do that. If you book a tour with a private tour operator then they take care of your visa application for you - all we had to do was provide them with our passport numbers, dates of travel etc. and they took care of the paperwork.

Lisa

Welcome to Cruise Critic...You have chosen a wonderful cruise itinerary..I agree with the post above..a custom private tour will be the best way for you to see this amazing city...We used TJ Travel for our private 2 day tour and it was the best decision we could have made...The amount of things we were able to do and see and the flexibility of making changes on the spur of the minute to see some things we wanted to see like a Russian supermarket, bakery, post office, the Grand Hotel where the celebrities stay, subway ride, and a hydrefoil ride was unsurpassed..Tatiana the owner took care of everything for us and emailed our tour tickets. Once off the ship our guide and driver were waiting for us and we were off on an adventure, also we weren't required to pay a deposit or anything until the morning of our 2nd day tour day. Russia knows how to operate tours...Enjoy this trip of a lifetime!!

Hi

 

We call at St petersburg as part of a P and O Azura cruise this year. We usually prefer not to do tours in favour of finding our own way but unsure what to do at St Petersburg regarding visas/whether it is suitable for travelling alone.

 

There will be four adults and a child of three travelling, which made me think a tour wouldn't be suitable. Has anyone ever gone to St Petersburg with a family? Also how easy is it to acquire visas?

 

Thanks

Hi Purplesquirrel (great moniker)

Since I see that this is your first post here, welcome to our little corner of CC. Since you have already booked your cruise, spend some time on this site, just browsing around and I'm sure you will find answers to almost all of your questions and then probably have more questions. Most of us here have done this cruise and love to give some advice to others to try and help them along.

As as said already, the best way to see St Petersberg is thru a private tour company. They are great and by reading thru many of the posts about them, they are completely reliable, much, much better than any ship's tour and they will make sure you ahve the best time possible on your visit to St Petersberg. With a youngster in tow, any ship's tour will put you on a huge bus with 50-60 others and really won't care if you have a good time or not. Most of the private tours do care. they will have groups no larger than 16 or so, and they will take your youngster into consideration when planning your visit there. Price wise the two options are about the same, but many think the private tours are actually cheaper. We used a company called SPB Tours http://www.spb-tours.com/st-petersburg/en, as have many others on this site, and we just loved them. They are so considerate and are a joy to work with.

In St Petersberg, you simply cannot get off the ship by yourself unless you ahve a Russian visa. The visas on your own are very expensive for a family, and it is very hard to navigate St Petersberg on your own. With any of the private tours, they secure the visa for you, are responsible for you while in St Petersberg, and you don't ahve to do anything except furnish them with your passport number. They take care of the rest.

Again, look around this site, search for things that you wonder about, and ask as many questions as you want.

Here are a few pix of St Petersberg, to help get you started

At Catherine's Palace, you will be greeted by a Russian Band

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe671.jpg

Peterhof is known for their dazzling fountains

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe730.jpg

Everyone visits the church of the Spilled blood

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe647.jpg

One of the features of a St Petersberg tour should include a Canal Boat Tour which will give you a different perspective on this wonderful city

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe774.jpg

Inside the Church of Peter and Paul you will be amazed at the magnificent architecture, and you will view the final resting place of Peter the Great

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europe870.jpg

And the piece de resistance is the Hermitage, where you can view enourmouse rooms filled with some of the worlds greatest pieces of art.

Here is the world famous Leonardo Di Vinci's Madonna with Child

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster944.jpg

Cheers

Len

I totally agree with the previous postings - the only way to go with a child is to book a private tour. Then you can easily control the situation. You don't need visas to go on tours with an authorized tour operator, they will provide you with their tour tickets to go ashore. We used Palladium Travel and we only sent them our names, and passport numbers and received our tour tickets by e-mail within a few hours.

We used Anastasia for our 2 day private tour. We planned our own itinerary, with her help, and all 3 kids in our party had a wonderful time. It's so much easier to move on to the next location if they have had enough of one particular place (something you can't do if on a coach tour with 50 other people). No problems with visas, they email you the tickets which act as your visa. We also didn't pay a deposit or even the balance until the second day when they were sure we were happy with the services they had provided.

I've been looking at this page http://bestguides-spb.com/children-page.html. We’ll see how our first family cruise goes in February and if all well we might go for the kid friendly itinerary with Best Guides in June.

Hi. We call at St petersburg as part of a P and O Azura cruise this year. We usually prefer not to do tours in favour of finding our own way but unsure what to do at St Petersburg regarding visas/whether it is suitable for travelling alone. There will be four adults and a child of three travelling, which made me think a tour wouldn't be suitable. Has anyone ever gone to St Petersburg with a family? Also how easy is it to acquire visas? Thanks

YES!! as Len and others have wisely noted . . . welcome to these boards and doing a private tour would be best. Much depends on the interest for the four adults and especially the three-year-old. Getting the right "pace" or "flow" for your tour will be very, very important.

A personal guide is best and ideal, especially if you can have pre-tour communications and establish that "connection" for what you need and seek to fit your travel style and personal interests. We love having a "CONVERSATION" with our guide. I like to ask lots of questions. Take many pictures. Those factors make all of the positive difference to enjoy and experience things in the best manner. I like to learn the history, how real life works there, the current events, etc. A personal, custom guide/tour is much better than being "forced marched" through a great museum or place in a group of 25-35 people with a guide barking out details to us as we walk quickly by these great treasures. Also, in a large group, it can be hard to hear and understand everything that is being shared, asked.

Price is important, but you will find when you really compare closely, apples to apples, that the cost differences are not that huge among the major, most experienced firms in St. Petersburg. It's about quality and responsiveness! First, outline, in detail, what you need, like and want in what you will send as a request to each potential tour firm. Ask questions, etc. Make it personal and custom to your interests and needs! Don't grab the first firm you write to and assume "that's it" after reading a couple of positive reviews for only one firm. We contacted the top five firms, seeing what they said, how flexible they were, etc. Our firm would e-mail back a detailed spreadsheet that outlined and showed the various detailed costs and options. Some folks will "low-ball" you a basic, lower cost and then hit you later with added fees and extras that you assume were included. If you have a group of four, those total costs over two days are going to be better or about the same as doing a tour through the cruise ship. The key advantage with a private tour is having a tour focused on YOUR personal needs, going at a pace that works best for your interests. The better firms are great in making adjustments like an early admission to the Hermitage, dealing with two people who like to take lots of pictures, adjusting for one person with a healing hip and finding the right shop to buy a Russian-style military hat, etc. Details make an important difference! You get what you ask for and seek!

Here are a couple of other suggestions to help you and other future travelers. FIRST, scroll back through all of the earlier postings. You will see many different items on ports you would visit and/or at the board for each separate cruise line in planning for your upcoming cruise. SECOND, do a search on these boards by each city and you will see lots of postings on various subjects connected with each port stop. Then, after taking the time to get that background, see other experiences, etc., you can post with specific questions in each port city. Be sure to have a title that is narrow to your question so that other can know what you are seeking. There are lots and lots of great people and information here on these boards. Don't be shy in asking follow-up questions. Folks are happy to share more when they know what you are seeking and background on your timing, cruise ship, travel party, personal interests and travel style, etc.

Below are a few of my pictures to illustrate why making it "personal" and custom can be so much better.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 59.067 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 56,924 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Appreciate those who have “tuned in” for these two posts. Don’t be shy and feel free to comment and/or ask any questions of interest.

Lots of beautiful church towers and buildings are located all over in historic St. Petersburg:

Here is an overall view of the size and scale of St. Isaac's interior in St. Petersburg. It is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in this historic city and was dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great. The cathedral took 40 years to construct, 1818 to 1858, under direction of a French architect. During Soviet rule, it was nearly destroyed and was made into a Museum of Scientific Atheism. It has been restored to its religious beauty/role. The cathedral's main dome tops out at 333 feet and is plated with pure gold.:

Private, personal tours can be worth it, especially in St. Petersburg. Here our group of four, with our guide, Jane or Zhenya, we are viewing one of the two da Vinci masterpieces (Madonna Litta or Madonna and Child) at the Hermitage after an early admission. There are only 14 such painting by this artist existing in the world. We did an early admission at the Hermitage, adding to the enjoyment in this spectacular place AND museum. It is both!:

As we entered Catherine's Palace in St. Petersburg, here was the welcoming band.:

One of the many fountains on the grounds of the Peterhof is the Orangery Fountain, depicting Triton fighting a sea monster. There is a cafe there with outdoor seating and super views where we ate outside and had our lunch.:

Showing the spectacular ceiling with the large hanging light chandeliers of the Spilled Blood Church interior in St. Petersburg:

Dear Purplesquirrel,

I'd recommend you private tour with local tour-company, otherwise you will need to get a visa beforehand in Russian consulate, which won't cost you less than 50 EUR per person, including child

Thanks for all your great advice. Sounds like a private tour is the way to go so I'll check out a few of the ones you all suggested. The pictures look great too, looks like a stunning place.

I think once we get St Petersburg sorted I'll start to get more excited about our holiday - every other cruise I've done we've literally just stepped off the ship and made our own way around so this seems like a bit of a chore but I'm sure we'll get something sorted - and it does seem like the best way to see this port.

Thanks again

Jenny

We did a 2 day stop here in summer of 2010 with my parents (4 adults). I highly recommend a private tour and not the ship's tour and also not wandering around on your own. We paid about 10-15% more than the ship's all day tour but saw a lot more and were whisked to the front of every line. Plus if you are tired of one place, you can ask to go to the next place. Our tour consisted of a driver, English speaking guide, and small mercedes van. They customized the tour and stops to what we were interested in. We got to see everything and were so impressed with the ability to do what we wanted, when we wanted and have our own guide. I am not sure if I can list the name of the company here that we used. ?

What ship were you on, and did they give you any hassell because you did not book your tour through them?

Hi, just wanted to send an update as we have now been on our cruise. We ended up going with Best Guides, which someone on here had suggested, and they came up with two four-hour days for us after a few emails back and forth to agree places we'd like to see.

We were met at the dock each day by Masha our guide and a driver who took the five of us around to see some of the main sights, eg. the Hermitage, Catherine's Palace, Cathedral of the Spilt Blood on the first day and Peterhof Park the following day.

Masha was really informative and seemed really passionate about her city, which made the visit even better for us, and she even added a few little extras, such as a visit to a stunning church while mass was going on and a walk down Nevsky Prospect and into some shops, which was a real experience.

All in all it cost us about $600 in total which we thought was excellent value, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Best Guides.

Hi, just wanted to send an update as we have now been on our cruise. We ended up going with Best Guides, which someone on here had suggested, and they came up with two four-hour days for us after a few emails back and forth to agree places we'd like to see.

We were met at the dock each day by Masha our guide and a driver who took the five of us around to see some of the main sights, eg. the Hermitage, Catherine's Palace, Cathedral of the Spilt Blood on the first day and Peterhof Park the following day.

 

Masha was really informative and seemed really passionate about her city, which made the visit even better for us, and she even added a few little extras, such as a visit to a stunning church while mass was going on and a walk down Nevsky Prospect and into some shops, which was a real experience.

 

All in all it cost us about $600 in total which we thought was excellent value, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Best Guides.

Thanks for updating.:) Best Guides is one of the companies on my email list. We will be sailing next summer with our three daughters ages 17, 12 and 10. I love the flexibility of private tours.

Our family doesn't do tours, but SPB is one place where it is a must since there are too many things to see, language difficulties and some problems with the infrastructure. We had a great experience with Palladium travels. We came in on Norwegian sun with a party of seven, including kids (8 and 11)and seniors, so I decided a private tour made the most sense for us and wasn't a huge difference price wise. PT provided a driver, tour guide and a minibus! You could get a group of travelers together in advance, but make sure you have similar interests as there is so much to see and you will need to prioritize. Since it was private, we had a custom itinerary. The office staff was pretty responsive and organized.. Tourism is a huge industry in SP!

If someone in your group has mobility issues, tell them in advance so they can assign a more mellow guide. I wish we had a wheelchair at a few points, esp. Through the sprawling grounds of Peterhof and Catherines palace, but i dont know if it was an option. Ours literally jumped from point a to b, but I suppose we were trying to see a LOT so it's understandable. My Dad had to sit back a few times (hermitage and peterhof) as it was just too fast paced. The guide went in advance to secure tickets so the only time we had to wait a bit was at the hermitage, but that was hardly a wait.

We saw all the must sees, IMO. We even got a private canal tour, which was a nice, relaxing break at the end of day one. It rains a lot so be prepared for that! We got lucky because we went to Peterhof and Catherine's palace on a brilliant, sunny day. The next day we saw church on spilled blood In the rain (don't miss this great example of russian revival architecture.. get your souvenirs in the market across from it. There isn't much time for shopping!) Hermitage (lots to see so decide your priorities- we are not art museum people, so we saw the highlights and toured the winter palace- the guide tried to keep the kids entertained by pointing out some interesting art exhibits in the museum), Peter and Paul fortress, st. Isaacs cathedral.

We saw a lot by driving around SPB and also the surrounding areas. Keep your eyes and ears open at all times.. We received many fascinating history lessons in the bus! The kids retained everything, which was exciting to watch.. We didn't have time for Russian food so ended up having German pies with grumpy service lol. The first day we had to skip lunch due to the fact that our first hovercraft malfunctioned! It was like being In a third world nation.. Not as organized as what we are used to in the US, but all part of the adventure :) I would suggest taking snacks so you don't waste time finding something, ESP. If you have kids. He stopped by a convenience store to get bread and fruit, and that was actually an interesting experience!

All in all, we had a great time in SPB.

We visited SPB with our 3 children and had a wonderful time. We had a tailor made itinerary with Anastasia and it worked out perfectly.

We visited Peterhof . Yusopov's Palace , the Hermitage , Church of Spilled Blood , had a canal tour and we visted the Battleship Aurora. Our guide was very sensitive to our kids' interests and energy levels.

I consider a private tour by far the best option.