Best private tour in St. Petersburg, Russia

[BJzink]

I want to plan a Northern Europe cruise next summer. I really want to see the Amber Room (yes I know it is a replica), and would like to know if the tour companies listed all include it in their usual tours? Thanks very much.

[TargetsMom]

I want to plan a Northern Europe cruise next summer. I really want to see the Amber Room (yes I know it is a replica), and would like to know if the tour companies listed all include it in their usual tours? Thanks very much.

 

Yes, with the 2-day SPb tour.

 

k.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

I want to plan a Northern Europe cruise next summer. I really want to see the Amber Room (yes I know it is a replica), and would like to know if the tour companies listed all include it in their usual tours? Thanks very much.

 

Alla Tours offer Amber Room on the Grand European Tour.

 

http://www.alla-tour.com/tours/

 

Another highlight for us was a ride on the subway. Each metro station is a beautiful work of art and St Petesburg subway is one of the deepest in the world.

 

http://fotostrasse.com/st-petersburg-metro/#.V2WVK_krJdg

[MsK64]

Hi! We are interested in booking a private tour in St. Petersburg, Russia. Had anyone used a specific tour company to book a private tour? What are the must see attractions (we will have two older teenagers with us)? We do not want a tour that is too long as we like to walk around on our own a lot. Thanks!

 

I'll echo others who've responded by recommending SPB Tours. They are very well-reviewed and get high marks from TripAdvisor. We thought they were terrific, and in St. Petersburg, they have relatively small groups. (ours was about 10 people in a mini-van) The tour guide was very informative and friendly and willing to tweak the itinerary if that's what the group agreed on. If you're determined to do this with just your own family, I believe they also offer private tours. All the info is on their website.

 

As far as doing it completely on your own, besides getting the visa yourself, you'd also have to arrange all the entrance fees and tickets for the various places you want to go. (and the transportation to and from) And in Russia, that's not as easy as it sounds. If you're not with a tour group, you may find yourself waiting on very long lines.

 

Whatever you decide, enjoy. It's a wonderful city to visit!

[packercruising]

We used SBP Tours and purchased a multi port package. The tours were excellent and the guides were fantastic. When the NCL Star skipped Stockholm due to weather, a credit was posted to our credit card before we even had a chance to ask.

 

Personally, I thought the highlight of all the tours were the personal stories of the guides; first living behind the Iron Curtain, and then how they experienced the collapse of the Soviet Union and East Germany. This was true in Warnamunda, Tallin and St. Petersburg.

 

Something to consider. These tours, particularly St. Petersburg can be grueling. Too many palaces. I would trade the last few palaces we saw for a nice coffee and chat with the guide about growing up in Russia. Maybe go to a grocery store and see how life is different from your own.

 

The SPB bus in St. Petersburg had great WiFi on board and the group was only about 15 people. Nice size.

 

One of the things we got with SPb that we could not have gotten from a ship tour, one of our lunch breaks was a stop at this neat little pub. Did anyone here that used SPb have Svetlana for a guide? She was about half our age and walked twice as fast. :)

[CGinMTL]

Another vote for Denrus.

 

I think the Baltic cruise is the most hectic & port intensive cruise I have ever done ( 20 +).

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But it is also one of the best cruises I have done.

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The main thing about Russia.

Yes, do a private tour

any company mentioned above is great and you will get great value ( it is expensive, but how often will you be in Russia).

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For other ports, use Rick Steve Baltic ports. And you can do walking tours in most of them.

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as for the "teenager" comments. I think it needs to be clear what is involved on this trip.

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this trip is about, History, art, culture........ not "fun in the sun"

[ALW2]

Thank you everyone for all of the advice and tour information. We have traveled extensively with our kids overseas and have taken many, many cruises but haven't had to deal with getting visas before. We usually just do our own research and explore on our own. I think we have got it all figured out now. We used a travel agent to book our cruise and he recommended a company called ShoreTrips to book a 2 day tour of St. Petersburg. It turns out the company they use in St. Petersburg is TJ Tours! I am waiting to compare pricing of the tours if I go directly through TJ Tours or the other company. If they are the same, I will use the company as they offer a few more assurances and payment options since they are based in America. They are going to customize a private tour for our family of 4 so we can adjust our plans on the fly if we spend less or more time at some of the locations. We are also able to combine a few tour ideas into one this way. So happy that we will be able to do a private tour instead. The pricing isn't that much more than with a group - it seems once you get past the 3 person mark the price goes down. I love the idea of going to a grocery store and some more local places to get more of a "taste" of less touristy St. Petersburg. Now on the figure out if we want tours in any other cities on our cruise!

[mek]

Glad you figured it out.

[siegi1230]

Hi,did any of you have any experience with a wheel chair going on any of the tours?

[bennybear]

One more vote for SPB! I was so disappointed with the ships tours missing the treasure room in the hermitage and not letting you go inside the amazing church of the spilled blood that The next trip I arranged a private tour that included those and a canal tour and a visit to a local market, a ride on the amazing subways, a hovercraft from Peterbhof, behind the scenes of the fountains, and a local lunch among other things. Victoria was amazing to deal with and I ended up having so many who wanted to join, that we set up four tours. They were incredible in customizing for me! And their Berlin trip was also great.

[countess5]

I want to plan a Northern Europe cruise next summer. I really want to see the Amber Room (yes I know it is a replica), and would like to know if the tour companies listed all include it in their usual tours? Thanks very much.

 

Your Jaw will still drop when you see it.

If I said "what the ****" one more time every time I turned a corner of entered a room, I was going to smack myself. :D

 

It is all unbelievable.

[ALW2]

By the way.... we ended up saving hundreds of dollars booking directly through TJ Tours rather than the American tour company (which uses TJ Tours) that my travel agent was recommending. Because our kids are students and we mentioned CC we received a significant discount. Our private tour for just our family for 2 days is less than the ships tours (and not much more than a larger group tour) and we are doing much more. TJ Tours has been wonderful to work with. I can't wait to see St. Petersburg! PS: Our tour included the AMBER room.

Thank you everyone for all of the advice and tour information. We have traveled extensively with our kids overseas and have taken many, many cruises but haven't had to deal with getting visas before. We usually just do our own research and explore on our own. I think we have got it all figured out now. We used a travel agent to book our cruise and he recommended a company called ShoreTrips to book a 2 day tour of St. Petersburg. It turns out the company they use in St. Petersburg is TJ Tours! I am waiting to compare pricing of the tours if I go directly through TJ Tours or the other company. If they are the same, I will use the company as they offer a few more assurances and payment options since they are based in America. They are going to customize a private tour for our family of 4 so we can adjust our plans on the fly if we spend less or more time at some of the locations. We are also able to combine a few tour ideas into one this way. So happy that we will be able to do a private tour instead. The pricing isn't that much more than with a group - it seems once you get past the 3 person mark the price goes down. I love the idea of going to a grocery store and some more local places to get more of a "taste" of less touristy St. Petersburg. Now on the figure out if we want tours in any other cities on our cruise!

[Brigbound]

By the way.... we ended up saving hundreds of dollars booking directly through TJ Tours rather than the American tour company (which uses TJ Tours) that my travel agent was recommending. Because our kids are students and we mentioned CC we received a significant discount. Our private tour for just our family for 2 days is less than the ships tours (and not much more than a larger group tour) and we are doing much more. TJ Tours has been wonderful to work with. I can't wait to see St. Petersburg! PS: Our tour included the AMBER room.

 

 

Awesome! I know you will enjoy your tours. It is an amazing experience and sight to behold! Don't forget to price the Amber, nesting dolls, and faberge-esque eggs! Prices seemed to vary widely depending on where you are.

[countess5]

By the way.... we ended up saving hundreds of dollars booking directly through TJ Tours rather than the American tour company (which uses TJ Tours) that my travel agent was recommending. Because our kids are students and we mentioned CC we received a significant discount. Our private tour for just our family for 2 days is less than the ships tours (and not much more than a larger group tour) and we are doing much more. TJ Tours has been wonderful to work with. I can't wait to see St. Petersburg! PS: Our tour included the AMBER room.

 

Ask for Alla as your tour guide, she is outstanding. She lives in Florence Italy in the winter and then goes to ST. Petersburg, her home town, in the summer.

We were ther just last month.