JeiaMoore

Thanks for he tour infoLondonTowner and for the SPB World Cup info everyone, much appreciated . Have booked the grand tour now with Alla, just hoping now we will be able to get to near everything!

Thank you so much DipBrat, marylizcat, tring, cruisemom42, dogs4fun, gnome12, Got2Cruise - people on this forum are so kind and helpful! :*

After taking everyones advice on board (especially those who have commented on the buildings vs heat, thank you again for your help!), I have weighed up all the pros and cons and we have decided to risk the hot weather and have signed up for a "Grand tour" with Alla tours, which takes us to as many sites as possible.

I'm aware that our trip to St Petersburg may likely be a "once in a lifetime" thing, so I will just have to wear a big sun hat and take a mini fan if the weather is too hot for me, and try to pace myself a bit (if possible!) :o

I am very nervous about the effect the World Cup Final will have on crowds etc but the latest trip advisor reviews for the tour I've booked seem okay so far and since there is nothing I can do about it really, I will just have to hope things aren't too bad and we can get to all the sites :eek:I most want to see.

Tring - thanks especially to you and all your help on both threads, it is much appreciated (let me know if there's anything I can help you with in return). Yes, we are on the Arcadia that is in SPB on July 14th and 15th and are really looking forward to it, I hope you enjoy your own cruise next year! :)

Sorry kitkat343, missed your post.

Thanks for the idea, but we can't afford a private tour :( . I wouldn't risk the Med in the summer, but I hope(d) in the Baltics I could cope. I'm fine with rain or cold :rolleyes: (and I loved previous trips to Norway in May/June with mixed weather!)

It's not the weather as such, it's the combo of hot weather and and having no experience of long guided tours that I'm nervous about! (we are usually DIY people)

Thanks for the replies LHT28 and GradUT

It's forecast to be sunny and around 25 or 26 centigrade when we're there, same as the current temp at home that I'm struggling with (should have put that in the original post - I know everyone has different ideas of hot! :o )

I'm aware forecasts are often wrong and the weather can change rapidly, but I'm just trying to get some idea of whether a more "full on" grand or deluxe tour visiting all those places mentioned is worth it, from people that have done it in similar hot weather, especially if they hate the heat ;) .

(St Petersburg is the only city we are taking an organized tour in, everywhere else we are DIY so coping with the weather doesn't matter.)

I'm hoping people with experience of touring St Petersburg in hot weather will be able to help me :).

I'm visiting there for the first time in July (booked the cruise for the great itinerary and price but stupidly didn't consider the heat :o ). Although I'm reasonably fit, I'm really suffering when walking a lot in the current British heat wave, and I know the Baltics could be even worse :eek: .

Since we are going all that way I know it would be a shame to miss out on the "main" attractions we can see in the 2 days we're there, but I've heard that all the palaces, museums and churches (including Catherines's Palace, Yusupov, St Peters and Paul Cathedral, St Isaac's etc) are understandably not air conditioned and are often very crowded and hot :loudcry:.

For those with experience, are these places really worth rushing around in hot weather and with crowds? If we view the interior of Peterhof (as well as the exterior), is Catherine's Palace quite similar in style? If we see the Church of the Spilled Blood and the Hermitage Museum, are the other churches/museums overkill in heat? :confused: .

I don't want to spend too much time in hot buildings and risk overheating/exhaustion but equally I don't want to waste precious time in a new city, if a place is a "must see".

Thanks for any advice!:D

Thanks for the help tring and the english lady :)

tring- The P and O Explorer tour looks a great low cost option for those who have done SPB before, although from what I understand about the way the ships/independent tour visa works I'm not sure how far you can wander from your "guide"? I think you'd have to check with P and O directly whether you're allowed to visit all those places you listed on your own (although I'm not sure how 1 or 2 guides could keep track of a whole coach load of people, so I might be wrong? :o .)

As I've not been to St Petersburg before, my priorities are to see as much of the "main" attractions as I can see in 2 days without being too exhausted - definitely the Peterhof Fountains and Gardens, the Church of the Spilled Blood and the Hermitage (main building at least) , as well as a city "overview" type tour to see the exteriors of other important buildings/churches and the metro.

I'm young and reasonably fit but I don't cope with heat well :eek: and I've heard that the palaces, museums and churches (such as Catherines's Palace, St Peters and Paul Church, St Issac's etc) are understandably not air conditioned and are often very crowded and hot. So I'm very confused about what to do? :confused:

the english lady - I think a set small group tour might be best cost/value wise and I have heard good things about Alla Tours (amongst others!) but am torn between the Grand Tour vs The Comfort tour, as I don't want to spend too much time in hot buildings and risk overheating but equally I don't want to waste time "shopping" when I could be seeing more important things :rolleyes: .

Tring , £42 for the Explorer and £73 for the Peterhof, hth :).

We have done the Baltic before and loved SPB. We are going back again this year. Last time we booked our tours through Alla and were very satisfied, so have booked again with them. They are extremely well organised, so we are not expecting any issues.

 

 

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Thanks for the info LondonTowner :). Can I ask what tour you did last time with Alla?

Thanks Scriv and Simon-t for the reassurance! :D It's Arcadia we're on (8th July) and we are thinking of doing a tour with Alla Tours, but we have never booked an independent tour before (always done our own thing where possible or a ships tour if not). This is also our first time in Russia and between the World Cup and the new port rules, I'm very nervous about delays! :o

The delay in getting off ship in the Baltic is very worrying! :eek: We are going there in a fortnight and were thinking of doing an independent tour as the small group P and O tours we were interested in are all waitlisted. There doesn't seem to be much difference in cost/itinerary between P and O versus independent but if P and O are going to make it very difficult for us to get off ship - I'm scared we could miss our independent tour!:(:(