TJ Travel for St. Petersburg tours?

Has anyone had any experience with TJ Travel for tours in St. Petersburg? It is run by Julia and Tatiana. They have a registered license number, and seem to be very professional. Just wondered if anyone had any feedback.

Thanks!

We (8 of us) were in St Petersburg on 6-15&16-2009 and used TJ Travel and had the best possible 2 days.

Tatyana answered all the questions we had prior to the trip and provided detailed instructions and the forms and information we needed to get through Russian customs with no problems. She was there to meet us as soon as we cleared customs.

Our guide was Julia (not the Julia of TJ Travel) and she was amazing.

She got us into every place without ever waiting in line and provided outstanding information on everything we saw. She was also a joy to spend 2 days with.

I would try to have the Russian meat pies for lunch one of the days. Julia took us to a great pie place!

Another nice thing is, you don't have to pay anything until you get there and they give a discount for cash!!!

There site is www.travel-stpetersburg.com

Have a great trip, Lee

We (8 of us) were in St Petersburg on 6-15&16-2009 and used TJ Travel and had the best possible 2 days.

 

Tatyana answered all the questions we had prior to the trip and provided detailed instructions and the forms and information we needed to get through Russian customs with no problems. She was there to meet us as soon as we cleared customs.

 

Our guide was Julia (not the Julia of TJ Travel) and she was amazing.

She got us into every place without ever waiting in line and provided outstanding information on everything we saw. She was also a joy to spend 2 days with.

 

I would try to have the Russian meat pies for lunch one of the days. Julia took us to a great pie place!

 

Another nice thing is, you don't have to pay anything until you get there and they give a discount for cash!!!

 

There site is www.travel-stpetersburg.com

 

Have a great trip, Lee

We had a prompt email from them and really liked their tour offerings for 2010. The pie place sounds great, too. However, we are a little concerned because they are so new. The people that we are touring with have concerns about that. Glad to hear you had a wonderful tour with them.

I sailed on the NCL Jewel in June and use TJ travel while in St. Petersburg. Couldn't have been happier with them. We had a small group of 6 and were able to see and do everything we wanted. We had a comfortable large van with a driver and tour guide. Our guide, Julia(not the same as the company Julia) was great. We were met at the pier and took off for 2 full/tiring days of sight seeing and history learning. She had her special ways of getting into all the crowded musems quickly and easily. We were amazed. I would never want to do the big tour groups again after this experience.

Julia and Tatyana from TJ Travel were very helpful in getting us information, answering our questions and helping us create a wonderful port of call. They even reassured me as a nervous cruiser that we would be back tot he ship on time!!

The cost seems high before you go, but well worth it. When you figure that it includes entry fees into everything, car/driver/guide, and two full days of personel service, it's a great deal.

I would highly recommend this company.

Some one asked for info on TJ travel: Here is what I have. We had no trouble with them and they were very helpful.

web site: www.travel-stpetersburg.com

email: traveltospb@gmail.com

tel : +7921-953-23-78

tel: +7921-324-46-40

These 2 ladies are who I worked with:

Julia Ivanushkina

Tatyana Churikova

Oh I forgot to answer: yes they have a Russian license. The info is posted right on their website.

Ditto the other positive comments on TJ Travel. Very professional and organized. We had a great two days with them and would highly recommend them. Much better than the ship tours. We used them in May from a Celebrity Constellation cruise.

We used TJ Travel when we were on the Norwegian Jewel in June. We had a group of six and the cost was half the price of the equivalent tour offered by the ship. Our guide was Julia (again not the boss!) and she was marvellous. We saw everything and she made a detour for us to ride the Metro and visit the Siege of Leningrad monument (plus the pie shop) and we by-passed the long lines at the Hermitage and Peterhof. Highly recommended,

We just booked the Sun out of Dover, England in August 2010. I will be traveling with my husband and two friends. Just starting our research and came right to cruise critic for results. Thanks. I was happy to see that you had good results with this group. I will be following up with them. Any and all advice on what to see and "not to see" will be appreciated.

Thanks. :)

WE will be traveling to St.Petersburg on the Vision of the Sea Sept. 7th 2010 and am looking into this group and have been happy with the quick reply and answering of all my questions.... we are also looking for anyone that would like to share the tour....

I am also considering TJ Travel. They were one of the first to reply to my inquiry and the price/itinerary looks good. They give a 5% discount if you pay in cash, too. I am glad to see the positive reviews for them!

Manetamers, it sounds like we're both looking to book a group tour for our Sept 7th sailing, hopefully we can decide on one and book it. I think TJ Travel's response I got indicated they would honor their 2009 prices for 2010 if booked prior to Jan 1, 2010.

We booked with Tatyana for June of next year and I've been thrilled by here courteous and immediate and professional responses to all my questions. We had a group of 8 almost immediately on our roll call and the tour looks amazing, cost is great too! And, they are honoring 2009 prices for 2010 bookings with early reservation too!

NC Mtn Boys, great logo ;)

We booked with Tatyana for June of next year and I've been thrilled by here courteous and immediate and professional responses to all my questions. We had a group of 8 almost immediately on our roll call and the tour looks amazing, cost is great too! And, they are honoring 2009 prices for 2010 bookings with early reservation too!

 

NC Mtn Boys, great logo ;)

Thanks, J18. ;)

I heard back from a few more tour operators today, and am heavily leaning toward TJ. Their prices are less than the others and the itineraries just as good. And I agree, they are courteous and immediate. I am just wishing that I could get a group together for certain. There are not as many people on our roll call...it's a September sailing and our stop in St Petersburg is just one full day. But I am going to reserve a tour anyway (likely with TJ Travel), and pay the price for two if I have to (gulp!), and hope that I can get others to join in.

we are very interested in the tours of St. Petersburg....and if we have more the prices are better.... let me know what you book ... you do not have to pay up front until the tour is over... and you would save on a cash deal by 3% or so..... anyway ...:o my e-mail is Manetamers@sbcglobal.net

There you go...I'm sure you'll be able to fill the tour!

Good Luck!

After receiving replies from Denrus, Alla, TJ Travel, SPB, Masha, and Red October, we booked our one day St Petersburg tour for Sept 7, 2010 with TJ Travel. All providers responded timely to my request. TJ Travel's initial proposed itinerary seemed to best conform to what I had listed in my tour request that I may like to see. I know the other companies would alter the itineraries per my request, but TJ Travel was the first to respond and the prices just seemed to go up from there with the other companies. TJ Travel does not require a deposit, are honoring their 2009 pricing for 2010 if booked by Dec 31, and offer a 5% discount if paid in cash on tour day. They were also the least expensive quote I received, beating the others by as much as $100+pp for their proposed itineraries, many of which were a hodge podge of what I had requested, and other things I had not, but to me did not quite meet the variety of TJ Travel's proposed itinerary. My final itinerary includes:

City Tour

Church of the Spilled Blood

Canal/River Cruise

Hermitage

Hydrofoil to Petergof/palaces

Shopping/strolling the "Nevsky Prospect"

Tour time is 8:00am to 7:00pm. I would have liked to have seen one or two other things, but there's only so many hours in a day and our ship calls there for just one day. If we or TJ Travel can't find others to accompany us on our tour, we're prepared to pay the full price for 2 people, as it'll be probably a once in a lifetime experience on which I don't want to skimp.

I see many comments on the other tour companies/agencies, but I have been very happy thus far with my dealings with TJ Travel and expect future dealing will be just as personable...after all, they don't yet have our money, and won't until tour day! There are a lot of companies competing for our tour dollars, and TJ Travel earned ours.

I have been following this thread and it's been very helpful. After the good things I read about TJ, and the complete lack of response from all but one of the other major tour companies, I fired off a request to TJ. I received a reply from Tatyana within a few hours! with a list of tour itineraries and prices for groups ranging from two to sixteen.

On site which isn't on the two basic tours they offer, but one I would like to visit, is the Siege Monument. I E-mailed her asking if going there was possible and she again quickly answered assuring me that it would be worked into whichever tour I opted for.

I also noted the 5% cash discount. As of now I think we'll book with TJ.

We booked with TJ a couple of months ago for next June due to all the points that NC Mtn Boys stated even though we're there for 2 days. Tatyana has been 'spot on' with responses and information almost immediately.

FYI, I had inquired with SPB at the same time I inquired with the other tour companies. They responded somewhat later and then when I asked a question there was quite a delay so we booked with TJ. SPB wrote me quite some time later asking if we were still interested and I wrote back we've made other arrangements. They have written back twice more asking if we've decided yet and I have had to write back strongly telling them we've made our decision and to correct their records...frustrated that they don't seem to get the message!:cool:

Does anyone have any more recent experience of T J Travel? We are visiting StP in August and planning to use them.

Does anyone have any more recent experience of T J Travel? We are visiting StP in August and planning to use them.

Have you contacted them, at all??. Just don't go by some one's recommendation. YOU need to contact the tour group and see if you feel comfortable with them. People like myself sort of get turned off by 'form type letters' that several of the tour groups send out. We like a personal; touch where we feel the people doing the tour really care if we have a great time in their city. Some of the tour groups have gotten a bit too big, and people are becoming like cattle to them and that 'personal' touch isn't there. that's why each year you have more and more tour groups being formed.

And to answer your question, no I haven't heard anything aobut that particular tour group.

Cheers

Len

Yes, Len, they are one of five companies from whom we have had a quote for a two-day tour. Two ex-tour guides who started their own company last year, still small enough to provide a personal service. We are inclined towards using them but it would just be nice to hear from someone who has used them recently.

K

Got nothing to add since we're going the end of June and by that time it'll probably be too late for you to book.

We're all very excited about this tour because we've had such great responses and been able to arrange the two days exactly how we wanted including coming back to the ship for dinner then going out for the canal ride that evening!

We will be cruising from Dover on the 15 August 2010 on the Norwegian Sun and will be in St Petersburg on the 21st August 2010 for two days.

We will be a party of four, 2 adults (I'm 46 and my wife of 44) and two children (aged girl of 16 and a boy of 13).

Anyone else on this group? What do you recommend as regards shore excursions? Are the NCL tours OK? Expensi ve when compared to shore excursions? Can you give me some ideas and prices?

We will be cruising from Dover on the 15 August 2010 on the Norwegian Sun and will be in St Petersburg on the 21st August 2010 for two days.

 

We will be a party of four, 2 adults (I'm 46 and my wife of 44) and two children (aged girl of 16 and a boy of 13).

 

Anyone else on this group? What do you recommend as regards shore excursions? Are the NCL tours OK? Expensi ve when compared to shore excursions? Can you give me some ideas and prices?

Hi Tromba

We are going on the same cruise Norwegian Sun 15 Aug out of Dover. Looking for the same info found a few tour operators. The tours are nearly all the same so grouping is the only thing as price seems to go down when booking as a group.

This TJ looks promising.

Will

Australia

We are booked with TJ Travel for Aug 17 & 18....Will report back to all of you that are interested as to how everything went....So excited...Just counting the days..this time in two months will be in "Russia"...:D