st petersburg tours

[borgerboy@aol.com]

any info on ways to visit clubs in st. petersburg with out visa? looking at "alternative evening programs" with some of the shore providers, but it looks like minimum group must be met.

[neilrr]

any info on ways to visit clubs in st. petersburg with out visa? looking at "alternative evening programs" with some of the shore providers, but it looks like minimum group must be met.

 

Hey borgerboy - Sorry to burst your bubble, but they are very strict in Russia. You are covered under the ships visa for organized ship tours up to 72 hours. If you go with a tour operator they are to provide the visa. Part of the reason is that as we drove through St. Petersburg there are some "rough" areas and they do not want to take a chance on tourists getting hurt.

 

We were suppose to do the Summer Palace Reception and Dinner in St. Petersburg and the government cancelled the tour - so we were stuck on the ship that evening - with no point to the "overnight" stay, as they will not let you off the ship.

 

I would work with the ship or a tour operator for "evening programs" or make your own fun onboard.:p We did go to the Hermitage -- don't miss the Gold Room -- the diamonds are fabulous... Remember that needs to be booked far in advance...

 

Have a great trip...

[MarkBearSF]

A couple of years ago, we used a local gay tour guide, http://www.gay-tour.ru/

 

Nikolay was very good. The cost for his services as a private guide were a fraction of the price of the ship's group tours. I can recommend him for tours beyond the gay nightlife (there were basically 2 bars). One of the great joys was jumping ahead of a massive line at the Hermitage as he waved his badge.

 

If you use him, you WILL need a visa. Although the ships make it sound extremely difficult, it's not bad. Since there's a consulate in SF, we were able to do it ourselves, but there are services to help. Once you have a visa, you're not tied to your group. (They look cool in your passport too!)

[Doonan]

St Ptersburg has so much to see with the Palaces, Hermitage etc etc etc .... by the evening you are ready to have an evening with dinner on the ship.

 

Visa is easy to get but the catch is the cost of the visa ... expensive and a good percentage of the total cost for a 2 day tour.

 

We organised a two day private tour ... it was very good and great value ... we were going all day and saw all the main sights and even had a ride on the train. Lunch we got them to take us to local restaurants so we had local food and vodka. We booked with http://www.denrus.ru/

... could not have been better. The best part this does not require a visa.

 

They do evening style cultural tours as well (as does the ship) ... but we did not do these ... can only do so much in a day.

 

Also we were on HAL and the docking is a bit away from town. Not sure even if you had a visa how you would get to parts of the city or back again ... did'nt notice a lot of cabs but then again I was not looking.

 

If it were me I would just go to St Peterburg and enjoy the history and culture ... fantastic.

 

Neil

[MarkBearSF]

St Ptersburg has so much to see with the Palaces, Hermitage etc etc etc .... by the evening you are ready to have an evening with dinner on the ship.

 

Visa is easy to get but the catch is the cost of the visa ... expensive and a good percentage of the total cost for a 2 day tour.

 

We organised a two day private tour ... it was very good and great value ... we were going all day and saw all the main sights and even had a ride on the train. Lunch we got them to take us to local restaurants so we had local food and vodka. We booked with http://www.denrus.ru/

... could not have been better. The best part this does not require a visa.

 

They do evening style cultural tours as well (as does the ship) ... but we did not do these ... can only do so much in a day.

 

Also we were on HAL and the docking is a bit away from town. Not sure even if you had a visa how you would get to parts of the city or back again ... did'nt notice a lot of cabs but then again I was not looking.

 

If it were me I would just go to St Peterburg and enjoy the history and culture ... fantastic.

 

Neil

 

If I recall correctly, the cost of the visa was something like $235 - including the cost of the visa, our total for a private tour was still a fraction of the cost of the ship's tours and about a third less than the going rate for third party small group tours (DenRus, Red October, Alla, etc)

 

We met our guide outside the gate. There were cabs at the terminal that took us there (5 rubles?) One issue with the location and late nights - the terminal is on an island that has a drawbridge that connects it with downtown St Petersburg. The bridge goes up each night at 1:00 and then lowers briefly at 3:00 - so you have to time your access to not get stranded.

 

Mark

[neilrr]

St Ptersburg has so much to see with the Palaces, Hermitage etc etc etc .... by the evening you are ready to have an evening with dinner on the ship.

 

Visa is easy to get but the catch is the cost of the visa ... expensive and a good percentage of the total cost for a 2 day tour.

 

We organised a two day private tour ... it was very good and great value ... we were going all day and saw all the main sights and even had a ride on the train. Lunch we got them to take us to local restaurants so we had local food and vodka. We booked with http://www.denrus.ru/

... could not have been better. The best part this does not require a visa.

 

They do evening style cultural tours as well (as does the ship) ... but we did not do these ... can only do so much in a day.

 

Also we were on HAL and the docking is a bit away from town. Not sure even if you had a visa how you would get to parts of the city or back again ... did'nt notice a lot of cabs but then again I was not looking.

 

If it were me I would just go to St Peterburg and enjoy the history and culture ... fantastic.

 

Neil

 

Doonan - Neil - I knew I liked you when I read your name -- same as mine...:p

 

I agree it is very busy when you are in St. Petersburg and after a full day I am rather skeptical to go out at night on our own -- the port is in a very seedy area and even driving toward the Hermitage I would not want to be out there at night -- especially not knowing the language. That is why we wanted the cocktails at the Palace and dinner in St. Petersburg excursion which unfortunately got cancelled.

 

I will be honest I am generally a daring sole - in Paris, Barcelona, Nice, etc.. here, I would tend to use greater caution. The second day we took the tour of the city which was wonderful... Don't miss taking pictures of the brides and grooms around town -- they were beautiful... We also bought a cute set of Russian ornaments for Christmas...

 

Hope Borgerboy has a wonderful time...

[borgerboy@aol.com]

thanks for the info everyone. i will take the advice to enjoy the daytime sights and plan on being ship board in the evening. my travel companion "lives for the specialty restaurants" and with only 7 nights, we are a little sort on dining time.

i hear what you're saying about the safety issue. a few years ago i took the bus from tallinn to st petersburg (on a whim) and was lost most of the 3 days i was there. so being able to see the summer palace and hermitage on a tour without having to guess which metro stop to get off and not getting taken for a ride (literally) by a cab driver will be welcome.

[Doonan]

One issue with the location and late nights - the terminal is on an island that has a drawbridge that connects it with downtown St Petersburg. The bridge goes up each night at 1:00 and then lowers briefly at 3:00 - so you have to time your access to not get stranded.

 

Mark

 

Hi Mark ... I did'nt realise about the bridge .. that would be a nice surprise.

 

Neil

[neilrr]

thanks for the info everyone. i will take the advice to enjoy the daytime sights and plan on being ship board in the evening. my travel companion "lives for the specialty restaurants" and with only 7 nights, we are a little sort on dining time.

i hear what you're saying about the safety issue. a few years ago i took the bus from tallinn to st petersburg (on a whim) and was lost most of the 3 days i was there. so being able to see the summer palace and hermitage on a tour without having to guess which metro stop to get off and not getting taken for a ride (literally) by a cab driver will be welcome.

 

borgerboy - I think that is a wise decision re: the safety issue -- By the way we loved Tallinn, Estonia and N. Europe -- it was a pleasant surprise. We are looking for a E. Med trip this year, but the fares are so high -- even on the combo air/cruises...

 

Next year (2012) we got a GREAT deal on an Oceania repositioning cruise that leaves in June (6/11 - unusual) - It included the air, gratuities, 14 day cruise, SBC, etc.. on the Regatta. It leaves from Miami - so we can just drive down and park. I think they were also giving the hotel and transportation to Miami - we took a credit for those things. We will end in Barcelona and then stay a few days before flying home -- Barcelona is a "FUN" city...

 

Also, are you originally from Borger, TX??? My parter is originally from the Amarillo area... I noticed you had Austin as your home city...

 

Take care and have a great trip...

[idlemind]

We used Nicolay as well for a tour, got our visas before we left, booked a hotel since we were there overnight, then had an awesome two days and one night in st. petersburg and didn't have to worry about getting back to the ship at night. I recommend doing it this way if you are adventurous. We never felt particularly unsafe, although there aren't many english speakers so I would definitely recommend getting a guide for while you are there.

[Harry Cane]

I'm pretty adventurous when it comes to travel, but I don't think St. Petersburg is a place I'd try to navigate on my own. Especially at night. Plus the visa issue is such a hassle, and expensive, you could get an evening program for the same price.

 

We did a standard tour with Anastasia last year and they were great. We thought about doing an evening tour, mostly to see the city at night, but I was afraid we'd be too tired from what we figured would be an intense day. I was right.

 

In looking at the different offerings I remember seeing that one of the big tour operators did an evening gay outing. I did a little research and found it again--it's Red October. Not sure if you've already seen this.

 

http://redoctober.us/FORMS/Gay-Lesbian%20Optional%20Evening%20Program.pdf

[borgerboy@aol.com]

hi neil, oceania cruise sounds great, and ending in barcelona for a few days is perfect. finding a good repositioning cruise to europe so late in season is a real score. i'm planning a week in barcelona in sept including a few nights in sitges during bear week.

yes, i am from borger. which town is your partner from? i live in austin but enjoy getting up to the panhandle when i can.

[borgerboy@aol.com]

thanks harry,

 

i submitted a request form to red october about the night tour, but never heard back. i guess i will try again, but i'm holding off as we're leaning more toward day tours and then enjoying the ship at night.

[PROCRUISE]

thanks harry,

 

i submitted a request form to red october about the night tour, but never heard back. i guess i will try again, but i'm holding off as we're leaning more toward day tours and then enjoying the ship at night.

 

We used Red October for both days when we docked in St Petersburg. We loved the way we were able to tailor our itinerary to things we wanted to do like taking a ride on the metro to see the fabulous artwork in the stations and visiting a farmers market. After 12 hrs of touring each day, we just wanted to relax on the ship at night. We did use the Red October USA website and never had a problem. Hope you enjoy your tour(s) in St Petersburg!:)

[neilrr]

hi neil, oceania cruise sounds great, and ending in barcelona for a few days is perfect. finding a good repositioning cruise to europe so late in season is a real score. i'm planning a week in barcelona in sept including a few nights in sitges during bear week.

yes, i am from borger. which town is your partner from? i live in austin but enjoy getting up to the panhandle when i can.

 

Hey Borgerboy -- That is too funny - bet you thought no one would figure that out that you are originally from Borger..:p My partner is originally from Wellington. We usually go to the Panhandle for Christmas. We have only missed two Christmas visits in the past 27 years (I was a baby when we met :)). We didn't go last year, as we were caught in a 4 foot snowdrift (in Hedley, no less) for 4 1/2 hours two years ago. Instead, we went on the Ruby Princess this past Christmas (no snow or ice), but we will be going back to Texas this year (air prices permitting). Most of the family is in Amarillo now (our home base when we are there).

Drop a line if you are going up for Christmas - we can meet for a holiday cocktail...

 

You will love Barcelona. They love Americans and gay people. Everyone treated us so nice. The hot area is called Example (people call it "Gay Example"); plenty of Restaurants, Bars and Hotels. One of the nicer hotels that caters to gay people (though that is not a must for us) is the Axel chain. We are considering it for next year. You may want to check it out. Also, on the internet - type Gay Barcelona and you will find a wealth of information. There is so much to do and see there. I was ready to move there.:)

 

We are really excited about that repositioning cruise on Oceania. It was so nice - including air, gratuities (for 14 days) and SBC. We are still looking for something for this summer, but the air fares are killing the trips to Europe. We hope they have a "Happy Hour" special, as we are somewhat flexible in the summer, as we both teach. A little birdy told us the ships are half-full without the U.S. bookings and a few ships are coming back as we speak.

 

Take care; talk to you soon...

[johhnnyt]

We used Red October for both days when we docked in St Petersburg. We loved the way we were able to tailor our itinerary to things we wanted to do like taking a ride on the metro to see the fabulous artwork in the stations and visiting a farmers market. After 12 hrs of touring each day, we just wanted to relax on the ship at night. We did use the Red October USA website and never had a problem. Hope you enjoy your tour(s) in St Petersburg!:)

 

 

I can honestly say I never had a better tour in my life than the one we had with Red October. We had a guide named Helen who was absolutely the best you could have imagined. Access to everything without waiting in line for anything. She had more knowledge on any painting in Hermitage than most art historians had. Excellent insights to everything we saw. Although there was just 4 in our group, the tour with them cost less than the ships two day tour and we saw so much more.

[soldham]

If you did decide you want to be out in the evening Denrus (and I am sure others) offer a 4 hour personal car and driver for up to 4 people if memory serves for about $225.00.