We will be on a cruise with 3 days in St. Petersburg next June and are checking into private tours, which all seem to be pretty much offering the same things. We (4 of us) have an interest in Grand Maket Russia, which no one offers and also more historical information and seeing some neighborhoods and "Back Door" kind of experiences. Does anyone have experience with Rick's recommended Peterswalk company for multiple days? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I have narrowed down my list of private tour operators to 3 companies after researching 7 and they all charge $385 pp plus tips for their 3 day packages. Sounds kind of like a forced march across St. Petersburg to me. We are used to doing our own thing in ports, for the most part, but have decided against getting a private VISA for St. P. so will rely on the private operators. Thank you .
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
The companies that offer the 3 day packages all also have the option of a customized tour. E-mail them to ask about their rates for seeing the places that interest you.
If the rates for 3 full days of customized touring are too high, you may want to do 1 or 2 days of their set tours, then the rest customized. But for 4 people it may not be too expensive to do a fully customized tour.
Posted by
OP
New Hampshire USA
12 posts
Thanks for the reply. I did just email them to see what they can come up with for 3 days that includes most of the major sites, but also some off-the-tourist track ideas involving history, culture and authentic neighborhoods. Their max. group size is 8 people, and I should be able to muster 4 more through the Roll Call on Cruise Critic. I'll report back on what I get for a reply.
Posted by
2 posts
My experience was as a solo traveler in 2014 so it may be outdated. That said, I took the free walking tour and had the guide all to myself in mid-May. She started the tour by asking what I wanted to see and we went from there. As I recall she even paid my subway fare.
I was a bit disappointed in the options for non-Russian-speaking tours considering the popularity of St. Petersburg as an international tourist destination. Only 1 canal trip and nothing else reasonably priced. The on-off bus ran on a 2-hour loop that had no obvious schedule.
Hope things have improved. Recommend the Peterswalk tour.
Posted by
OP
New Hampshire USA
12 posts
Hi Kirby,
Thanks for your reply. We have booked with another company called sbp-tours and will be doing a 3-day tour in St. Petersburg and their group tour is a max. of 16 people.