We just finished a Baltic Cruise with 3 days in St. Petersburg. We arranged a private guide and car/driver for all three days. The results were beyond our wildest dreams.
We booked the guide through Timofey (Tim) Kruglikov http://www.tour-petersburg.com. He does tours himself and has several guides on his staff. He was already booked and suggested Ekaterina (Kate) Skvortcova.
First about Tim: He designed a tour based on our wishes, responded to all our emails either instantly or within 24 hours, and arranged for our visa, entrance tickets and camera passes. Everything was done professionally and every request and question we had was dealt with quickly and completely. I worked for ten years in the tour department onboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship, and I have never dealt with a better guide.
Now Kate: By the end of the three days we were calling her “Catherine The Great”. Kate is a professor of Russian Art and History at the University of St. Petersburg (PHD). Her English was excellent and naturally her knowledge of Russian art and history was impressive. With so much to see and do at the many museums and sites, it would be impossible to see/do everything. Kate “cherry-picked” the best, most important, or must see items at each place. Her running commentary put everything into its place in history building one experience on the next so everything fell in place both in a timeline and context (her talents as a professor). She quickly learned what our interests were and tweaked our tour to include those things. Everything was at our own pace allowing more time at things that interested us and moving on when we were not interested. We were never rushed. Kate dealt with every request including finding an out of the way shop to get the things we wanted for the grandkids and a non-tourist Russian café for lunch. In the Russian Museum of Art, Kate really stepped into professor mode and we came out feeling like we got a degree in Russian Art. As I said, Catherine The Great.
The Tour: Thanks to Tim’s excellent planning and Kate’s execution of that plan we covered all the must do things and a few extras. Peterhof and grounds with hydrofoil ride, Catherine’s Palace with Amber room, The Hermitage including the Treasure Gallery, St.Isaac’s Cathedral, Peter and Paul Fortress and Cathedral, the Church on Spilled Blood, the Russian Museum plus we had a nice walk down the main street of town and a compressive city tour with lost of photo stops. We were met on schedule at 9 am each morning and returned to the ship on schedule. Our driver was excellent and the car was a new mini van. The driver stayed with the car the entire time and we were able to leave items there without fear.
The cost of the tour was actually cheaper (and far more enjoyable) than trying to visit the same places on a ships bus tour with the crowds.
Tailored Tours - St. Petersburg
in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea
Posted
We just finished a Baltic Cruise with 3 days in St. Petersburg. We arranged a private guide and car/driver for all three days. The results were beyond our wildest dreams.
We booked the guide through Timofey (Tim) Kruglikov http://www.tour-petersburg.com. He does tours himself and has several guides on his staff. He was already booked and suggested Ekaterina (Kate) Skvortcova.
First about Tim: He designed a tour based on our wishes, responded to all our emails either instantly or within 24 hours, and arranged for our visa, entrance tickets and camera passes. Everything was done professionally and every request and question we had was dealt with quickly and completely. I worked for ten years in the tour department onboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship, and I have never dealt with a better guide.
Now Kate: By the end of the three days we were calling her “Catherine The Great”. Kate is a professor of Russian Art and History at the University of St. Petersburg (PHD). Her English was excellent and naturally her knowledge of Russian art and history was impressive. With so much to see and do at the many museums and sites, it would be impossible to see/do everything. Kate “cherry-picked” the best, most important, or must see items at each place. Her running commentary put everything into its place in history building one experience on the next so everything fell in place both in a timeline and context (her talents as a professor). She quickly learned what our interests were and tweaked our tour to include those things. Everything was at our own pace allowing more time at things that interested us and moving on when we were not interested. We were never rushed. Kate dealt with every request including finding an out of the way shop to get the things we wanted for the grandkids and a non-tourist Russian café for lunch. In the Russian Museum of Art, Kate really stepped into professor mode and we came out feeling like we got a degree in Russian Art. As I said, Catherine The Great.
The Tour: Thanks to Tim’s excellent planning and Kate’s execution of that plan we covered all the must do things and a few extras. Peterhof and grounds with hydrofoil ride, Catherine’s Palace with Amber room, The Hermitage including the Treasure Gallery, St.Isaac’s Cathedral, Peter and Paul Fortress and Cathedral, the Church on Spilled Blood, the Russian Museum plus we had a nice walk down the main street of town and a compressive city tour with lost of photo stops. We were met on schedule at 9 am each morning and returned to the ship on schedule. Our driver was excellent and the car was a new mini van. The driver stayed with the car the entire time and we were able to leave items there without fear.
The cost of the tour was actually cheaper (and far more enjoyable) than trying to visit the same places on a ships bus tour with the crowds.
Bottom line: Book ahead with Tim.