best tour company for private tour of st petersburg

We will be in St Petersburg for two days and would like to splurge in this amazing city on a private tour to take the most advantage of the sites. We are looking to get into the Hermitage early and try to spend more time at sites of more interest to us and avoid the obligatory shop stops. Looking for recommendations for the best company for a private tour for two

We did a 2-day Deluxe Tour with SPB Tour. They are professional and was satisfied by the tour itself. It was a group tour but you can also arrange a tour for 2.

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We did a private tour with TJ Tours and could not have been happier. There were 4 of us and we had a brand new Mercedes van with driver and guide who spoke perfect English. We did not have to pay a deposit and they sent us tickets via email to get us through customs. When we got to the other side our guide was waiting for us. We planned our own itinerary and they took us everywhere we wanted plus more. We wanted to see how the locals lived and went to the food market, the underground and the oldest food store in the city. We also went to local restaurants for lunch both days. When we were picked up on the 2nd day our guide took us to here local supermarket as she knew we were interested in seeing how she lived. We did not have to pay anything until the 2nd morning when we went to a souvenir shop to pay the TJ representative. There was no pressure to buy anything and we continued on our sightseeing day. We had early entry to the Hermitage and our guide showed us the highlights. There were hardly any other people there and that in itself made it worth doing a private tour. We had an amazing 2 days in this beautiful city and it was mainly due to the organisation and people skills of this company.

There are MANY threads on recommended tour vendors on this board. However, I doubt you will find anyone who has used more than one vendor, so there is really no way to determine who is the "best".

Some reading on the board will give you an idea of the vendors and the types of tours and costs they have.

Our little Roll Call group used Denrus. They helped us set up our own itinerary and I don't think we missed anything. Even rode the subway a few stops to see their famous stations. St Petersburg will be a memorable experience. Do use one of the tour companies recommended by Cruise Critic members.

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There are MANY threads on recommended tour vendors on this board. However, I doubt you will find anyone who has used more than one vendor, so there is really no way to determine who is the "best".

 

Some reading on the board will give you an idea of the vendors and the types of tours and costs they have.

Totally agree - many recommended companies on these threads and very few have experience with more than one company. We used Alla Tours (http://alla-tour.com/) and our tours were excellent (we have booked both group and private tours on multiple visits to Russia). Check with several of the recommended companies and find the one that best suits your needs.

We will be in St Petersburg for two days and would like to splurge in this amazing city on a private tour to take the most advantage of the sites. We are looking to get into the Hermitage early and try to spend more time at sites of more interest to us and avoid the obligatory shop stops.

The most popular companies may not be interested in you as a client. You may offer too few people in your group to make the customization worth their effort. That said, there are other companies that deliver a memorable and customized tour. Do not obsess on "the most popular." Put your energy into finding the right match for your specific expectations. Write the exact same email to each of the companies that seem to be willing to customize. (If you want extended stops at specific places, say so. If you want a quick pick-up lunch or a sit down order individually lunch, say so. If you want early admission to the Hermitage, say so.) See what comes back.

After reading the replies, the name of the company that is the best one for you will likely be clear.

Incidentally, my recommendation means you will need to do some research to figure out which stops you want to extend and which you want to omit. Are you at that place in your thinking?

I haven't gone yet, but we are booked in August for a private 2 person tour with Anastasia Tours. Katherine has been delightful work with via email. We are doing a 3 day tour with the middle day in Moscow by high speed train. I did pay up front because there was a 40% discount if I paid by November 30th, which significantly reduced the fee. It seemed pretty reasonable for a private tour to me. I found them based on a CruiseCritic review.

We are in the process of deciding on our 2 day tour in St Petersburg in May and have been in contact with both Tj Travel and Best Guides for our family of 6. Both have good reviews and have been prompt in their replies. At this point I'm leaning towards Best Guides as it is a savings of $40 pp (times 6) basically doing the same stuff.

While we took TJ travel for what was effectively a "vanilla" tour - and would heartedly recommend them if that is what any visitor is after, I would follow Pet Nit Noy's advice regarding a private tour.

Do some research - seriously TripAdvisor is a really useful resource - map out your itinerary and then contact some of the top-rated tour companies (again) listed in TripAdvisor. From this exercise, the company to select for your private tour will become obvious.

We did the 2 days with TJ Travels and thoroughly enjoyed their service. Had a great time.

There are MANY threads on recommended tour vendors on this board. However, I doubt you will find anyone who has used more than one vendor, so there is really no way to determine who is the "best".

 

Some reading on the board will give you an idea of the vendors and the types of tours and costs they have.

Agreed 100 percent.

In most ports it's important to avoid the poor ones, so warnings and recommendations are very important.

But there are no poor operators in St Petersburg :)

You'll be fine with any of them

JB :)

Thank you all for the very good advice. We be contacting several companies with our request and see who is the easiest to work with. For those who have done the group tours, which sites were must sees and ones that skip worthy. Any hiccups that could have been avoided?

Thank you all for the very good advice. We be contacting several companies with our request and see who is the easiest to work with. For those who have done the group tours, which sites were must sees and ones that skip worthy. Any hiccups that could have been avoided?

Our own Order of Merit .......

Hermitage. Worth 90 minutes of anyone's time, much longer for those with interest in art etc. Tour operators can get you in ahead of general admission

Church on Spilt Blood. Very ornate.i

Peter and Paul fortress. Includes tombs of the czars.

Peterhof gardens ( by hydrofoil rather than by road)

Catherine Palace, and its amber room. Rather gaudy for me, but expensively and beautifully decorated.

Canal boat ride. A pleasant break

Subway trip. Some very ornate stations.

Battle cruiser Aurora, which signalled the start of the revolution. But that's just me ;)

An evening at the ballet suits some. The folklore show was more my scene - unashamedly for tourists but a wide range of song and dance (some in story-telling format), some audience inter-action and both subtle and belly-splitting humour.

About 40 minutes after you depart the port your ship passes through the flood defence barrier alongside Kronstadt on the island of kotlin. This was the Russian navy's main base, the sailors were deeply involved in the revolution. There are some laid-up Cold War vessels there.

Well worth reading-up, and being on deck (starboard side) as you pass through

But other will have other preferences ;)

JB :)

Thank you all for the very good advice. We be contacting several companies with our request and see who is the easiest to work with. For those who have done the group tours, which sites were must sees and ones that skip worthy. Any hiccups that could have been avoided?

John Ball (#14) has provided a very nice summary of some of the top sites (and sights!). They'll be busy - but the tour companies have got this down to a fine art - early / timed admission and run with military precision. As to which ones "must" be seen or are "worthy" - that's actually down to your preferences. I heard people on our cruise say that they would skip The Hermitage as "they'd done museums" or the metro, "since a train station is a train station..." :rolleyes:

I can only speak of our experiences, but we wouldn't have changed a thing - save for longer in every place we visited! We actually chose TJ Travel because SWMBO specifically wanted to visit the Faberge Museum. She wasn't disappointed.

We will be in St Petersburg for two days and would like to splurge in this amazing city on a private tour to take the most advantage of the sites. We are looking to get into the Hermitage early and try to spend more time at sites of more interest to us and avoid the obligatory shop stops. Looking for recommendations for the best company for a private tour for two

We used:

Tour Company “I ♥ TRAVEL SPB” Ltd.

Authorized Tour Operator MBT 005578

Tel: +7(812) 9318727 Fax: +7 (812) 6473418

http://www.petersburgguide.com http://www.itravelspb.com

e-mails: contrast@petersburgguide.com info@itravelspb.com

They were extremely professional in arranging everything. The guide spoke wonderful English and wasalso very knowledgeable/friendly. Best of all this was a group of 12, which was much easier to get through the stops.

We did a private tour with TJ Tours and could not have been happier. There were 4 of us and we had a brand new Mercedes van with driver and guide who spoke perfect English. We did not have to pay a deposit and they sent us tickets via email to get us through customs. When we got to the other side our guide was waiting for us. We planned our own itinerary and they took us everywhere we wanted plus more. We wanted to see how the locals lived and went to the food market, the underground and the oldest food store in the city. We also went to local restaurants for lunch both days. When we were picked up on the 2nd day our guide took us to here local supermarket as she knew we were interested in seeing how she lived. We did not have to pay anything until the 2nd morning when we went to a souvenir shop to pay the TJ representative. There was no pressure to buy anything and we continued on our sightseeing day. We had early entry to the Hermitage and our guide showed us the highlights. There were hardly any other people there and that in itself made it worth doing a private tour. We had an amazing 2 days in this beautiful city and it was mainly due to the organisation and people skills of this company.

Hi there. We are also from Australia and going in May on the Baltics cruise, I am trying to organise some tours and I have just read your review and it sounds amazing. Do you remember what you paid for the tour and who was your contact at TJ? Many thanks

We are in the process of deciding on our 2 day tour in St Petersburg in May and have been in contact with both Tj Travel and Best Guides for our family of 6. Both have good reviews and have been prompt in their replies. At this point I'm leaning towards Best Guides as it is a savings of $40 pp (times 6) basically doing the same stuff.

Also planning for 6 for September. Having been working with TJ but see that you found a better price. Can you email me the pricing you got from the 2 companies, gbits@optonline.net. Thanks :)

@gbits- I tried to forward my emails (though you may end up with my whole conversation) ::eek: If you don't receive them let me know and I'll have the kids help me! :)

Our group used Red October a few years ago and had a fantastic 2 days in St Petersburg. Add them to your list to check out

Thanks for all the info. Keep them coming

Has anyone found a company that does private tours for ONE day? Sailing on Disney and we are there till 11pm. The major companies listed only state that they offer private 2 day tours...

[qu]Has anyone found a company that does private tours for ONE day? Sailing on Disney and we are there till 11pm. The major companies listed only state that they offer private 2 day tours...

Best Guides offer one day shore excursions!

Has anyone found a company that does private tours for ONE day? Sailing on Disney and we are there till 11pm. The major companies listed only state that they offer private 2 day tours...

TJ Travel does 1 day tours.

Has anyone found a company that does private tours for ONE day? Sailing on Disney and we are there till 11pm. The major companies listed only state that they offer private 2 day tours...

Almost all of the independent tour operators in Saint Petersburg offer 1 day tours (check-out Alla Tours, tJ tours, Spb tours, Best guides and others).