St Petersburg Private Tour Recommendation - Family + Accessible tour

Hello

We are a party of 4 (2 teens, 2 adult) with a 2 day cruise stop in St Petersburg in July.

Does anyone have a recommendation of private tour company that caters to family tours and ensuring the tour is accessible as one of my sons needs the use of a wheelchair for long walks.

thank you

If you look down the board there are 3 or 4 big companies very commonly recommended..Alla, TJ, a couple of others. Discussed almost every day. Contact them and see what they can do for you.

I booked my Baltic cruise at the last minute, so I didn't find out about Best Guides prior to my cruise. I can't personally vouch for them, but other families have highly recommended them on this board. http://www.bestguides-spb.com/children-page.html

There are many travelers with disabilities who take Baltic cruises, so I would imagine all of the major tour companies will be experienced in how to best help people in wheelchairs see as much of St. Petersburg as possible. You should email them and see which one you feel most comfortable with.

I would recommend that if you can afford it that you consider booking a private tour for just your family. We traveled with our 3 year old son, and the private tour enabled us to see all of the highlights of St. Petersburg. They skipped the lesser rooms in Catherine's palace, and we were able to stop and feed our son whenever he got bored or whiny. We stayed longer at the things he loved (like running through the fountains at Peterhof) and went quickly through things he wasn't interested in. We were able to skip things we weren't interested in - like souvenir shopping - and add extra time on the first day, when the weather was better than the second.

Our travel needs were different, but I tried in my review in the signature line to include advice for families and travelers with disabilities. One thing to note is to try to take it easy in Tallinn, since there is usually a lot of walking there and it is usually the day before St. Petersburg. Tallinn is a lovely stop, but challenging with travelers with disabilities since cars aren't allowed in the heart of the old town.

Also, you might want to contact the special needs department to try to get priority disembarkation in St. Petersburg, since the custom officials are very thorough on the first day and it can take a really long time to clear the lines. Or, one private tour operator suggested starting later on day one (like 10 am) and earlier on day 2 so you still have the same amount of time in St. Petersburg and can avoid long lines in customs.

I hope you have a wonderful trip - my son really loved it!

Sorry I am so late in replying, probably too late for you but another punter may find it useful. We are just back from a cruise ***** Marina which had 3 days in St Petersburg. My husband is 80 and although mobile cannot walk distances or stand around. We booked a 3 day private tour with GrandPetersburg. This is a smallish company run by Julia. We planned the visit with her in great detail based on our needs and wants. She offers a highly personalised service. The guide Elizabeth was a charming and thoughtful young woman, with perfect English and extensive knowledge. The car and driver Alex were always there for us. We were able to tweak the programme on the day if necessary. All the documentation and pre bought tickets worked perfectly and we paid cash, less than the better known, larger companies, at the end. Julia has been in the travel business for years but now runs her own company. Highly recommended. Cucullus

I am not sure what special needs you have, but I have seen Nina with a wheelchair client on her website, Tzarina Tours. Nina is just about the best tour guide I have ever had! A 3 day tour with Nina and her drivers Serge and Stass was like visiting with a friend. We communicated via email regarding the sights we wished to see, and settled on the price before we came. Her price was very fair, as I had checked with some other guides. She arranged out tour tickets and emailed them to us after we had sent her our passport info. Nina was waiting for us with our name on a sign and a smile and a hug, and she swept us up and away to where Serge our driver was waiting. Off we went to Peterhof gardens and castle which were magnificent. She showed us all of the trick fountains and we had a tour of the inside of the palace as well. Lunch was at a local place in the city that served dumplings (I forget the Russian word.) Then we were back to the ship as we had a ship tour of Katherine's Palace in the evening. Day 2 we saw Peters and Paul's, Church of Spilt Blood, Grand Maket museum, and ate at a local Russian chain for lunch with meat and fruit pies. We then visited 3 souvenir shops that were out of the way with better prices than the ones near the tourist sites and drank free vodka at every stop! We were invited to see Nina's apartment for vodka and snacks, and we stopped at a large supermarket before hand. She prepared lovely snacks with herring and caviar and bread and pickles and tomatoes and taught us to drink vodka!! So much fun. Back to the ship. Day 3 we visited Hermitage and the Impressionist museums. I have visited the Uffizi in Florence and there was many more paintings by Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso at this museum and not nearly the crowds. Off to a local hidden Russian cafeteria for an inexpensive lunch. Then we saw St. Isaaks Cathedral and back to the ship. So, I am sure you are saying, what's so special about Nina? Surely any tour guide would do as well?? 1. Nina was extremely flexible from the original email communication throughout our 3 day tour. We had a choice of her driving us in her car or hiring a private driver. We chose to use Serge and his son Stass as it would be easier to drop us at the sights and then the driver could find a parking place. We stopped several times along the way for impromptu concerts and the police graduation in front of the Hermitage. We never felt rushed. 2. Nina has the cutest personality, always smiling and laughing. 3. Nina was able to get us around the long entry lines and we would quickly go towards the most popular rooms in the palaces and then walk back to see the things we had missed. 4. Nina treated us like family. My husband loved to tease her about anything and everything and particularly her pronunciation of vodka. Since I had broken my right kneecap about 9 weeks ago she took special care of me, pointing out hazards in the road and steps. Also, seeing a large supermarket was great and we compared prices with home (about the same). And the highlight for us was being entertained in her apartment with drinks and snacks and seeing pictures of her family and meeting her cat. 5. Nina knew all about everything ! Her brain is stuffed with history and anecdotes and she had a very patient way of reminding us of important people who popped up in several places (this is a picture of Elizabeth who wanted her palace painted blue to match her eyes and didn't like her son.......etc.) Personally I want to go back to St. Petersburg just to see Nina again! As another reviewer stated, she is pretty spectacular. She made the whole 3 days that we were visiting St. Petersburg beyond terrific.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g298507-d10072993-r499850679-Tzarina_Tours-St_Petersburg_Northwestern_District.html#