Recommended tour companies in St. Petersburg

[easyboy]

While the cruise line (HAL) did provide misleading info prior to the cruise (which led some passengers to believe they had to book a cruise line excursion to get off the ship) the staff was very accommodating when it came to the actual operations in St Petersburg. Folks using private tour companies were able to get off the ship without hassles (from the cruise staff) and did not have to wait for the cruise line excursions. In fact, we were off the ship before any of the cruise line tours.

 

The Russian immigration folks could care less if you have a cruise line excursion, a private tour, or a personal visa. You simply wait in a queue (for one of many processing officers) who review your tour document, cruise card, and Passport. There is some delay as they do enter your Passport info into their own computer system.

 

As to private tours versus cruise line excursions, we found that most private tours cost no more then half the cost of comparable cruise line excursions. And most private tour groups are much smaller then the oft large (40+) cruise line groups. Our own TJ Tour group were 10 passenger,,,transported in a new Mercedes mini-bus that could hold 20!. Watching a cruise line group of over 50 people trying to tour the very crowded Hermitage would have been enough to convince most folks that these large groups are not the way to go!

 

Hank

Appreciate your unbiased insight on your tour. It addressed the most common concerns of first time visitors.

[Hlitner]

Appreciate your unbiased insight on your tour. It addressed the most common concerns of first time visitors.

 

Must admit that we are somewhat biased against cruise line excursions :). Even though we own stock in both major cruise line corporations and like to see folks contribute to the bottom line, we have an internal alarm system that rings (causes a headache) when it detects a "rip off." Many (not all) cruise line excursions are horribly overpriced (not to mention the large size groups) and set our internal alarm ringing. Making an "informed decision" to book a cruise line excursion is a personal decision. But we meet many cruisers who are not really "informed" or are even scared into booking cruise line excursions because of comments (often quite subtle) made by shore excursion staff/lecturers. If the cruise lines fully informed passengers of the various options (both cruise excursions, local tours, and DIY options) then folks could make decisions based on facts. But with the exception of the "Location Experts" provided on some HAL cruises, few cruise ships make any attempt to fully inform cruisers of the options.

 

Hank

[Pet Nit Noy]

Regarding the private tour companies... While the cruise line (HAL) did provide misleading info prior to the cruise (which led some passengers to believe they had to book a cruise line excursion to get off the ship) the staff was very accommodating when it came to the actual operations in St Petersburg. Folks using private tour companies were able to get off the ship without hassles (from the cruise staff) and did not have to wait for the cruise line excursions. In fact, we were off the ship before any of the cruise line tours.

 

This seems to be a consistent pattern from cruise line to cruise line. By the time the ship pulls into port in St. Petersburg, anyone who is going to purchase a ship's excursion already has done so. That means there's nothing more to be gained by being less than fully honest with cruisers. At that point, the captain is likely to announce that private excursion cruisers can clear the ship at will. Even the cruise lines that are still announcing that private cruisers must wait until the ship-excursion folks have departed aren't actually stopping the private tour folks who simply report to exit security.

[easyboy]

Must admit that we are somewhat biased against cruise line excursions :). Even though we own stock in both major cruise line corporations and like to see folks contribute to the bottom line, we have an internal alarm system that rings (causes a headache) when it detects a "rip off." Many (not all) cruise line excursions are horribly overpriced (not to mention the large size groups) and set our internal alarm ringing. Making an "informed decision" to book a cruise line excursion is a personal decision. But we meet many cruisers who are not really "informed" or are even scared into booking cruise line excursions because of comments (often quite subtle) made by shore excursion staff/lecturers. If the cruise lines fully informed passengers of the various options (both cruise excursions, local tours, and DIY options) then folks could make decisions based on facts. But with the exception of the "Location Experts" provided on some HAL cruises, few cruise ships make any attempt to fully inform cruisers of the options.

 

Hank

Well said:)

[southofnorth]

My wife and I booked a one day custom private tour with Nina Kazarina at Tzarina Tours at a reasonable price. I wanted to see things "off the beaten path" like typical bakeries, chocolote, and Russian fashion, supermarkets, DIY stores, Rding the subway, etc. I work in LED lighting and electronics and wanted to see some companies there. Nina did our visas and put together an excursion that started down Nesky Prospect allowing us to choose places of interest along with a few of the conventional sights, then out of the center to the companies and more daily life places. We finished at her apartment in north St Petersurg where she prepared a Borsht and Hors d'oeuvres and taught us about drinking Russian Vodka, before taking us back to the ship. It was wonderful.

Edited August 13, 2016 by southofnorth

[easyboy]

My wife and I booked a one day custom private tour with Nina Kazarina at Tzarina Tours at a reasonable price. I wanted to see things "off the beaten path" like typical bakeries, chocolote, and Russian fashion, supermarkets, DIY stores, Rding the subway, etc. I work in LED lighting and electronics and wanted to see some companies there. Nina did our visas and put together an excursion that started down Nesky Prospect allowing us to choose places of interest along with a few of the conventional sights, then out of the center to the companies and more daily life places. We finished at her apartment in north St Petersurg where she prepared a Borsht and Hors d'oeuvres and taught us about drinking Russian Vodka, before taking us back to the ship. It was wonderful.

Interesting to know another way to tour St. Petersburg. Thanks.

[We-R-Off]

If you look down the board you will see many recommendations for Alla, Red October, and several other companies.

 

We recently returned. We used Alla & were very satisfied. We included the Faberge Museum & in the end we were only a group of 6, which was fantastic.

They don't ask a fellow cruiser to arrange the groups & they guarantee your group of up to 16 people. If less sign up, you benefit.

[Giantfan13]

My wife and I booked a one day custom private tour with Nina Kazarina at Tzarina Tours at a reasonable price. I wanted to see things "off the beaten path" like typical bakeries, chocolote, and Russian fashion, supermarkets, DIY stores, Rding the subway, etc. I work in LED lighting and electronics and wanted to see some companies there. Nina did our visas and put together an excursion that started down Nesky Prospect allowing us to choose places of interest along with a few of the conventional sights, then out of the center to the companies and more daily life places. We finished at her apartment in north St Petersurg where she prepared a Borsht and Hors d'oeuvres and taught us about drinking Russian Vodka, before taking us back to the ship. It was wonderful.

 

Since I never heard of this tour company, Tzarina Tours, I decided to do a bit of research. On their web site, their tours are nothing special, their prices are average and in order to get the advertised, cheapest price, you needed basically, a full bus. The tours for less people went up dramatically and if you toured with just yourself and your wife, I would love to know what you consider reasonable. I did not see any sort of private tour like you mentioned but I'm sure one could be arranged, for more money.

I am not doubting your tour and the success of it, but we are very suspicious of those that come here make ONE post about a tour company most never heard of and then are never seen again.

 

Again, I saw nothing, at all, special about this tour company. In fact no tour offered a subway ride, a canal cruise and only the most expensive one has any lunches included. Just a heads up to others, check things out before you believe everything written,

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Cruisercl]

So, quick question regarding non-ship tours; I know you need your passport to get into SPB but do the tour guides take your passport from you for the duration of the tour?

My apologies if this has already been asked & answered. :)

 

Thanks so much!

[Bollinge]

So, quick question regarding non-ship tours; I know you need your passport to get into SPB but do the tour operators take your passports?

 

 

No. But keep your passport and valuables very safe as pick pocketing is common, as in many big cities.

[Floridiana]

So, quick question regarding non-ship tours; I know you need your passport to get into SPB but do the tour guides take your passport from you for the duration of the tour?

My apologies if this has already been asked & answered. :)

 

Thanks so much!

 

No, you keep your passport and your tour ticket.

 

When you book the private tour before your cruise, the tour company will ask for your passport information. They need it for your 'private tour permission' to enter SPB. Print out the tour ticket that the company will send you via e-mail. Take the passport and the tour ticket to immigration. The tour ticket is in lieu of a visa.

 

We used TJ which gave us exact information what to do. They also scheduled the beginning of our tour very early and we got off fast, off the ship before the ship's excursions. It's NOT a tender port where they allocate tenders. You just walk down to the pier.

 

Our ship never tried to sell us a tour or scare us into buying one.

[easyboy]

So, quick question regarding non-ship tours; I know you need your passport to get into SPB but do the tour guides take your passport from you for the duration of the tour?

My apologies if this has already been asked & answered. :)

 

Thanks so much!

You keep your passport. You might need it in case you are separated from your tour mates in crowded sites.

[Hlitner]

You keep your passport. You might need it in case you are separated from your tour mates in crowded sites.

 

You will also need your Passport to get back to the ship (they check returning passengers Passports in the terminal). Also consider that StP has a major problem with pickpockets and even pickpocket gangs. Passports are a very popular target for pickpockets so they should always be kept in a very secure manner. Consider getting a simple Passport carrier (you can buy them online at many places) which securely hold your Passports under your clothes.

 

Hank

[southofnorth]

Len, will try to address your observations to my post:

 

- I am new to cruising and Cruise Critic. This was indeed my first post. No plans to disappear!

 

- I found Tzarina and Nina after trying to arrange a custom tour at the bigger sites and getting frustrated. Tzarina came up a bit further down the search list. They are a newer company, a few years in business, but Nina has worked many years as a guide.

 

- She charged 200 Euro + 20 Euro (visas) for a very long day, which I thought reasonable for a custom private tour. I think this may depend somewhat on her availability. Her willingness to do a private tour came up after I inquired on the site.

 

- From what I can tell the St. Petersburg Tour Companies are mainly a few large companies that are financially strong and to their credit all seem to do a good job. But the newer entrants also deserve consideration. Competition is a great thing.

 

- In the case of Nina, well, she's sort of spectacular...bubbly personality, lots of energy, understands off the beaten path, out of the box stuff. And I believe regular tours too. You don't have to take my word for it...any Internet search will bring her up - her reputation speaks for itself.

 

BR,

 

Tom

Edited August 17, 2016 by southofnorth

[easyboy]

Consider getting a simple Passport carrier (you can buy them online at many places) which securely hold your Passports under your clothes.

 

Hank

Nice idea. I'll get hold of one.

Better be safe than sorry. Thanks Hank.

[sonia2509]

Len, will try to address your observations to my post:

 

- I am new to cruising and Cruise Critic. This was indeed my first post. No plans to disappear!

 

- I found Tzarina and Nina after trying to arrange a custom tour at the bigger sites and getting frustrated. Tzarina came up a bit further down the search list. They are a newer company, a few years in business, but Nina has worked many years as a guide.

 

- She charged 200 Euro + 20 Euro (visas) for a very long day, which I thought reasonable for a custom private tour. I think this may depend somewhat on her availability. Her willingness to do a private tour came up after I inquired on the site.

 

- From what I can tell the St. Petersburg Tour Companies are mainly a few large companies that are financially strong and to their credit all seem to do a good job. But the newer entrants also deserve consideration. Competition is a great thing.

 

- In the case of Nina, well, she's sort of spectacular...bubbly personality, lots of energy, understands off the beaten path, out of the box stuff. And I believe regular tours too. You don't have to take my word for it...any Internet search will bring her up - her reputation speaks for itself.

 

BR,

 

Tom

 

 

Well said not everyone wants to use the same companies as everyone else. I also tried the 3 main companies in SP and decided on Insider Tours as they at least did customise their tour that we will be on this Saturday. Out of the 3 main companies when I asked about customised tours, one never responded and the other 2 it was the same tours they offered but in different order

 

 

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[Pet Nit Noy]

Well said not everyone wants to use the same companies as everyone else. I also tried the 3 main companies in SP and decided on Insider Tours as they at least did customise their tour that we will be on this Saturday. Out of the 3 main companies when I asked about customised tours, one never responded and the other 2 it was the same tours they offered but in different order

 

Since you wrote 3 of the main companies for a customized tour and two never responded and the third one's idea of customized was the same destinations in reverse order, I appreciate that it stings to receive criticism of your decision making. The vast majority of readers on this board simply do not appreciate how hard it is to arrange for a customized tour when visiting St. Petersburg.

 

Anyone who wants a customized tour, can save themselves a lot of wasted effort and frustration by making contact with the companies that are rated 6-10 on Trip Advisor. Those companies have enough reviews to reassure even though their totals are admittedly far less than the reviews for companies 1-5.

 

For example, the company you selected is rated at number #7 on Trip Advisor with 430 reviews. Of that total, 385 rated Insider Tours as "excellent" and 24 rated it as "very good." There are no negative reviews. Two years ago, when I was first organizing our 2015 cruise, I ended up dealing with White Nights, then rated at #10. (It is now #6)

 

Using my rule of thumb, Southofnorth made a braver decision when he/she booked with Tzarina Tours. It's ranked #22 on Trip Advisor with only 56 reviews. Yet, 53 of those reviews are "excellent" and "3" are very good. There are no negative reviews. Perhaps Southofnorth has a friend who had used the services of Tzarina Tours and could vouch for their quality. Perhaps Southofnorth got a specific recommendation for from one of the biggies who used to employ the founder of Tzarina. (SPB recommended White Nights to us in that manner.) Southofnorth certainly wins for having the most atypical SPB tour, and if my husband and I head back to SPB for our third visit there, we'd be super interested in doing something like that for one of a multi-day port call.

 

I remain perplexed why people warn posters about tour companies outside the short list of 4-5 when those companies never reply and do not offer a customized tour in any but the most limited sense.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Pet Nit Noy

[sonia2509]

Pet Nit Noy you are always spot on with your comments! So far the cruise has been fantastic but it is very wet and cold in Stockholm at the moment. Looking forward to St Petersburg this Saturday and Sunday

 

 

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[Bollinge]

As I have said before, some people here seem to think the independent tour market for visa-free cruise tours is like the lawless Wild West!

 

ALL tour operators who offer visa-free trips are government-approved and licensed, including individual guides who are able to offer their own visa-free tours, but who on occasion sub-contract their services to the bigger companies.

 

Our private tour, with Arctur who are the biggest tour operator in SPB and who do the shorex for nearly all the cruise lines, was conducted by Tatiana, fluent in English and a lecturer in Spanish at SPB University. She is herself a visa-free tour agent and can arrange completely custom tours for an excellent price. If we visit SPB on a cruise again I will book with her directly.

 

Dear old Len the Giant seems to have a phobia about any tour firm without hundreds of web-based reviews who try to undercut the cartel that has existed with the independent big firms like DenRus and Red Oktober.

 

They charged in dollars and refused to cut their prices when the rouble dropped dramatically against the dollar a year ago. Newer, smaller, firms' fees reflected the new exchange rate and they undercut the big boys.

 

With most of the smaller firms, you don't pay until the end of the first day. They are ALL government regulated and deserve a chance. You have nothing to lose.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Bollinge

[Hlitner]

Well said not everyone wants to use the same companies as everyone else. I also tried the 3 main companies in SP and decided on Insider Tours as they at least did customise their tour that we will be on this Saturday. Out of the 3 main companies when I asked about customised tours, one never responded and the other 2 it was the same tours they offered but in different order

 

 

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Funny you mention this issue. When we were planning (at the last minute) our visit to St Petersburg (last month) most of the folks on our cruise CC Roll Call were getting together and using Alla. So being a bit of a contrarian person, and with the hope of avoiding a large group, we simply booked with TJ Tours (they were actually less expensive than Alla). Upon our arrival we were pleased to find we had a large Mercedes 20 passenger mini-bus with only 10 cruisers and our excellent guide. It was really nice having the extra room in the vehicle and dealing with the small group in crowded areas.

 

As to customized tours (we took a normal itinerary), when we had TJ arrange for us to go to the Ballet (Swan Lake) we met another trio (as we arrived at the ballet) who was finishing a full day custom tour with TJ (the 5 of us were the only one's going to the ballet). They told us their custom tour was perfect...and they had even arranged for their guide to take them to a top local restaurant so they could partake in a Russian restaurant dinner. Have no clue what the private tour cost those folks, but all three were raving about the experience.

 

Hank

[4Mast]

We have recently returned from a Baltic cruise on Celebrity Eclipse and while we found that for most stops it is easy to DIY for St Petersburg we used Alla Tours and I cannot praise them enough.

We did the 'Grand Tour' tiring but worth it. Our guide Marina was informative and helpful (how do they keep that amount of knowledge in their heads?) .

 

The tour took in the metro ; various palaces/museums and where possible early entry was achieved. We also travelled from Peterhof by hydrofoil and had a canal trip.

Lunch on the first day was a packed lunch (a couple of Stolle pies I think -one savoury and one fruit) and apple and chocolate bar. Lunch on the second day was at a restaurant - Borsch and Chicken Kiev.

A very good experience -recommended.

[gkkapp]

In June we took our third Baltic cruise. This time we wanted to do something different as we had done the "standard" tour twice. We decide to go to Novgorod, three hours south of St Pete, on the first day and do walking tour of the center of St Pete on the second day. We contacted several tour companies including SPB and Alla. Both those companies said they would get back to us regarding doing a private tour as requested. We are still waiting to hear from them :eek:. Several of the other companies would do it but wanted too much money. Best Guides, often recommended here, really came through for us. We had a driver for the trip to Novgorod and back (6 hours+) and a guide once we arrived there. On day two we had a guide for the day who walked us around St Pete any place we wanted to go plus a trip to the new Central Navel Museum (not usually on tours) and the Peter and Paul Fortress. All this for $400pp :). We felt this was a good price for all we got. Saw things we had not seen before and felt ourselves "Russian" with our stroll down the Nevsky Prospekt.

 

See my post #61 on this thread for more info. I would be happy to answer any questions.

 

<<<Karen>>>

[Giantfan13]

Len, will try to address your observations to my post:

 

- I am new to cruising and Cruise Critic. This was indeed my first post. No plans to disappear!

 

- I found Tzarina and Nina after trying to arrange a custom tour at the bigger sites and getting frustrated. Tzarina came up a bit further down the search list. They are a newer company, a few years in business, but Nina has worked many years as a guide.

 

- She charged 200 Euro + 20 Euro (visas) for a very long day, which I thought reasonable for a custom private tour. I think this may depend somewhat on her availability. Her willingness to do a private tour came up after I inquired on the site.

 

- From what I can tell the St. Petersburg Tour Companies are mainly a few large companies that are financially strong and to their credit all seem to do a good job. But the newer entrants also deserve consideration. Competition is a great thing.

 

- In the case of Nina, well, she's sort of spectacular...bubbly personality, lots of energy, understands off the beaten path, out of the box stuff. And I believe regular tours too. You don't have to take my word for it...any Internet search will bring her up - her reputation speaks for itself.

 

BR,

 

Tom

Just to be sure, I wasn't criticizing or condemning, just trying to point out some basic facts.

 

glad you had a great time and everything worked out well.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Giantfan13]

In June we took our third Baltic cruise. This time we wanted to do something different as we had done the "standard" tour twice. We decide to go to Novgorod, three hours south of St Pete, on the first day and do walking tour of the center of St Pete on the second day. We contacted several tour companies including SPB and Alla. Both those companies said they would get back to us regarding doing a private tour as requested. We are still waiting to hear from them :eek:. Several of the other companies would do it but wanted too much money. Best Guides, often recommended here, really came through for us. We had a driver for the trip to Novgorod and back (6 hours+) and a guide once we arrived there. On day two we had a guide for the day who walked us around St Pete any place we wanted to go plus a trip to the new Central Navel Museum (not usually on tours) and the Peter and Paul Fortress. All this for $400pp :). We felt this was a good price for all we got. Saw things we had not seen before and felt ourselves "Russian" with our stroll down the Nevsky Prospekt.

 

See my post #61 on this thread for more info. I would be happy to answer any questions.

 

<<<Karen>>>

 

Glad you were able to do 'your thing' and see what you wanted to see.

 

You are an experienced Baltic person and you knew exactly what you wanted to see and do. For the most part, most people visiting the Baltics and St Petersburg in particular, want to see 'the sights' you know the main tourist things. It has been several years since we toured, but, at that time, if you wanted to do a private tour or even a group tour and had specific places you wanted to go or see, you just told the tour company who you were using and they arranged that tour. I guess some things have changed? We used SPB tours. We had a set itinerary, but we asked Victoria if we might be able to also include the Grand Choral synagogue into our tour and she immediately made it happen. Maybe things are more stricter now, I don't know, but this used to be the main way and not the odd way in.

 

I can certainly understand why some of the major players are sticking to the 'script' as that is what most of their clientele want. And I can understand why some of the 'lesser' players or new companies will cater to some unusual requests. They want the business and the good reviews. It sort of works well for all involved.

 

My point being which I have stated several times in the past few years, when people book this cruise to St Petersburg, it is USUALLY, a once in a lifetime thing and they want it to be perfect. I've said, if you KNOE you will get that dream come true thing using a well know tour group, why chance on an unknown just to save a few rubles?

Yes, I can see some are more adventurous than others, including myself. I was thrilled with our 2 day tour with SPB Tours and have recommended them highly because of that. They are still one of the top players there and by using any of the top players, you re assured of seeing St Petersburg in a very effective way.

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

[Giantfan13]

Waht

Since you wrote 3 of the main companies for a customized tour and two never responded and the third one's idea of customized was the same destinations in reverse order, I appreciate that it stings to receive criticism of your decision making. The vast majority of readers on this board simply do not appreciate how hard it is to arrange for a customized tour when visiting St. Petersburg.

 

Anyone who wants a customized tour, can save themselves a lot of wasted effort and frustration by making contact with the companies that are rated 6-10 on Trip Advisor. Those companies have enough reviews to reassure even though their totals are admittedly far less than the reviews for companies 1-5.

 

For example, the company you selected is rated at number #7 on Trip Advisor with 430 reviews. Of that total, 385 rated Insider Tours as "excellent" and 24 rated it as "very good." There are no negative reviews. Two years ago, when I was first organizing our 2015 cruise, I ended up dealing with White Nights, then rated at #10. (It is now #6)

 

Using my rule of thumb, Southofnorth made a braver decision when he/she booked with Tzarina Tours. It's ranked #22 on Trip Advisor with only 56 reviews. Yet, 53 of those reviews are "excellent" and "3" are very good. There are no negative reviews. Perhaps Southofnorth has a friend who had used the services of Tzarina Tours and could vouch for their quality. Perhaps Southofnorth got a specific recommendation for from one of the biggies who used to employ the founder of Tzarina. (SPB recommended White Nights to us in that manner.) Southofnorth certainly wins for having the most atypical SPB tour, and if my husband and I head back to SPB for our third visit there, we'd be super interested in doing something like that for one of a multi-day port call.

 

I remain perplexed why people warn posters about tour companies outside the short list of 4-5 when those companies never reply and do not offer a customized tour in any but the most limited sense.

 

What you say is very true, yet TA has been known, MANY TIMES, to (let's see how to put this) Pad the stats for many things. Basically anyone can write a review for anything they want. Having 53 reviews is hardly a way to judge a tour for that once in a lifetime trip, at least, that's how I view it. Even if those 53 write up were excellent, they may just have a large family who love to write good reviews.

 

Again, I am certainly not saying that this company isn't everything they are billed to be, probably so, my point is that 53 reviews, no matter how glowing on TA, is hardly a good basis to book with that company. Glad it worked out, but what if it didn't. How would you (or anyone) feel if they went that way, and the company didn't have a good clue how to do things? You come back ruing that decision. That was just my point. I'm a bit anal anyway. :D:D:D:D

 

Cheers

 

Len