Anastasia tours

[scamper01]

We are planning to use Anastasia in SPB next April. Any feedback on her tours would be appreciated.

[Shadowstar]

We used Anastasia Tours this June and were very happy with her service. We found her to be very organized, very flexible and very reliable- a true professional. However, I truly believe that the success of your tour lies in the hands of the actual tour guide to a great extent. Our tour guide was Tatiana "Tanya" and our driver was Sergay- both were excellent. Tatiana was a fountain of knowledge and and a pleasure to spend two days with. Sergay was a skilled driver who took us around safely and took great care of all our belongings we left in the van while we went around. If you have any other specific questions I will be happy to answer them for you.

[kcbarker]

Anastasia was great. We spent three days in her care just two weeks ago. I would not hesitate to recommend her services. She was knowledgable, organized, and flexible. In St. Petersburg, our guide was Svetlana who was wonderful. She skillfully navigated us through the different palaces and chose resturants where we savored the cuisine of St. Petersburg. On our day trip to Moscow, Anastasia, herself, accompanied our group. All in all it was a most memorable three days.

[Sanger Cruiser]

We also used Anastasia last week. Our tour guide was Jane and our driver was Slava (I don't think he spoke English). They were there waiting for us as we disembarked. From the time the van started moving until they dropped us off back at the port she was telling us all about Russia and building or areas that we were passing. She will tell you at each stop if you can take pictures or if you need to purchase a photo pass. We brought food to eat from the ship so the day at Peterhoff we sat outside the cafe at a little table and ate while the rest of our party ate inside. It was a beautiful day for a picnic so this worked out well. She had to pay for the rest of the party's lunch because the cafe only took Rubles, so the next morning we had to go looking for someplace that was open for them to get rubles to pay her back for lunch and the photo passes. I would say if you had everyone in your party bring a lunch it would give you a lot more time at some of the sights. She did give us a little time the second day to do some souvenier shopping. I would recomend this company.

[PINEY10]

We used Anastasia in early August and it truly was the highlight of our trip. We had Anna and Slava (the driver). It was magnificent. All was perfectly arranged and they had it so that we had early admissions to the museums. We customized the tour we wanted and that was good for us--we saw much more than most of the planned tours that are provided by the other tour companies. Anastasia could not have been more responsive to any of our needs or requests and made every effort to make sure we were happy (and we were)! We were able to get into the museums early and when they realized huge amounts of cruise line passengers might soon be descending upon a place we were able to change plans and go at a less crowded time. Anastasia is a jewel and I would recommend her highly!

[RachelG]

We had Svetlana (Lana) as our guide too. She is wonderful. She is really so knowledgeable. Anastasia will work with you to see what you want to see and customize to whatever you want at a highly affordable price (less than if we had done the ship's excursions for the same stuff).

[TLCOhio]

We are planning to use Anastasia in SPB next April. Any feedback on her tours would be appreciated.

 

On July 31 and Aug. 1, we used Jane as our guide in working with Anastasia and her agency. It was great, super wonderful! I started in January working with Anastasia looking at different options about how best to use our time and get the flow correct for our two days in St. Petersburg after doing a super long trip through our cruise line in visiting Moscow on July 30. This planning was vital. We went through several variations on our "plan". Each time I would e-mail Anastasia, she was quick with her reply, plus excellent background on what worked, what wouldn't, why, etc.

 

We started at 10 am July 31 by going outside of the main city to Catherine’s Palace. It had its Amber Room and other spectacular inside parts of the palace that only photos will give a small sample of the greatness there. Then to the Peterhof. WOW! Those outdoor fountains are like nothing ever seen in the world during our wide travels. Then by quick hydrofoil to a docking next to the Hermitage. WOW times fives! Such sights from both the water and as we drive around! We then in the later afternoon and early evening visited their two most historic churches, St. Issac and Church of Spilled Blood. Both are very, very spectacular when learning the details are so important, just as Jane did. In between the two churches, it was a private, nearly an hour long cruise around the canals of St. Petersburg. Just the four of us and Jane. We saw as much as most would normally see in two days during this initial, one-day time period that was not rushed or too tiring. We were super energized and ready for much more the next day. That second day, it was an early admission to the huge Hermitage Museum, seeing a key historic palace, plus more sites and sights in the heart of this historic capital. Plus, a little shopping, too, on the way into the heart of the city.

 

The four of us were at the doors of the Hermitage a hour ahead of the normal 10:30 am opening time, allowing the added opportunity for getting inside the five-building museum without needing to battle the long lines, crowds and congestion that normally frustrates most visitors there. As the first of the below photos show, it is just the four of us with our guide in this large room with its two precious Leonardo da Vinci paintings and other unique treasures. Also shown below is the super grand main staircase that Catherine the Great had built to show the world her taste and power from the “new” Russia that Peter the Great had built on the Baltics. My new 10-20mm wide-angle lens captures such spectacular sights so well that a normal lens would only record a smaller, much narrower sampling. The Hermitage is huge with an even larger collection that can only be shown in a limited manner. But, the “best of the best” is truly world-class, plus the buildings, rooms and architectural details themselves. There are a large number of great Rembrandts, many Impressionist paintings by the usual suspects and massive number of Matisse paintings, etc., etc., etc. It is a massive museum, but of a quality and scale that merits its ranking as one of the two best in ALL of the world. The various rooms are spectacular with wood floor of unique designs, plus other rooms using unique materials and craftsmanship. The scale of these various rooms and hallways are impossible to express in words or even pictures.

 

After the Hermitage, it was lunch! We had box lunches prepared ahead by the ship that we brought along that am. Our driver had the van parked and set-up with the seats switched around facing each other with a table swung up. For this “picnic” experience, our views around us were Palace Square, Alexander Column and the General Staff Building. As the photo below shows, the sky was perfectly blue and beautiful. It was not a bad place for a quick lunch break and a little different setting than normal. Plus, it saved time and costs battling in a crowded dining establishment. Then, it was to Yusupov Palace. This is the place where Rasputin was murdered in 1916 and the family that owned it was the richest and most powerful in Russia for several centuries. There were some other groups going through this huge palace, but for most of the time, it was just the four of our guide and us. We were doing a unique, private tour with no hassles from the noise and confusion of being herded through in a cattle-style manner. Our guide, Jane, was so totally wonderful and great. Her art and historic knowledge has been wonderful, giving meaning and depth to the history we say and experienced. Her English perfect. We worked on our plan over several months and it was perfect. PLUS, total flexibility to take the pictures we needed, ask questions, learning added background, etc. We didn't like what Jane and Anastasia did, we loved it!

 

Hope this helps. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[dock]

Hi there. We used Anastasia on 10th and 11th August. Guide was Julia, wonderful person and really knowledgeable. Our driver was the strong, silent type and I do not think he spoke english, but he was very efficient and a safe driver. The tour was awesome . There were 9 of us. My only caution would be not to shop at the store they take you to. The Faberge eggs were way more( double) than the market place at Spilled Blood.