St Pete Tour for Someone w Mobility Issues?

We will have two days in St. Petersburg in July 2016. Have read great reviews of many tour operators but have not seen any tours specifically stating they are appropriate for someone with mobility issues. My husband can walk but needs to rest periodically and does not do stairs well. I would like to save the expense of having to do a private tour, if possible. Does anyone know of a company that does standard tours that address mobility issues? Thanks for your help. Marilyn

On our recent Baltic cruise, a couple on our roll call booked a 2 day Comfort Tour with Alla Tours. One of them has difficulty with walking and climbing, and that tour is less strenuous. It is on Alla's website.

:) On most tours, no matter which tour company, you can look forward to miles and miles of walking, along with numerous, large and lengthy staircases.

The key is to remember that most of these Palaces, Basilicas, and other historic sites, were constructed in the 17th-19th centuries, and there was no effort to appease any mobility issues. Some of the buildings have been updated a little with an eye to this issue, but don't expect much.

I had a very recent severe knee sprain, while touring St. Petersburg, and for me, it was two days of torture, despite all the splendours on display. There are places to sit and rest, but guides will insist on keeping the group moving.

Very tough for the mobility impaired, but not impossible.

K

If a private tour is completely impossible, you might want to let the tour operators know ahead of time about your husband's issues. Some of the tour companies try to match families together on group tours, and maybe they can do that for your husband if others with limited mobility want to tour on the same dates.

I would say that a private tour in St. Petersburg was invaluable for our family (we were traveling with a 3 year old so we had different issues). But it was wonderful to be able to take breaks and rest whenever our son needed to, and not have to worry about the group's needs. St Petersburg is really a spectacular destination, and you don't have much time there so a private tour really can help you maximize enjoyment. You can focus on exactly which attractions you want to visit, and structure your day visiting the things that are most important to you first.

Also, you might want to consider a canal ride in Copenhagen and St. Petersburg since they are really enjoyable and you can sit (in St. Petersburg it was recommended on TripAdvisor that you try to get off the Neva River and on the smaller boats that could go into smaller canals, but we weren't able to arrange this so I don't actually know if it is better)

Also, please note that Tallinn is another wonderful destination but can be a bit tricky for people with mobility issues. There are cabs in the port, and you can take one to the top of Toompea Hill and just walk down if he is capable of handling that much walking. Or there are pedicab tours you can hire for as little as a half hour or half a day at any of the major venues (the pedicabs weren't available when we disembarked but arrived later in the day), or there is a tourist train that is primarily for kids but still a pleasant ride you can take. The train embarks at Kullassepa street just next to tourist information centre, and leaves whenever it is full for a 20 minute ride through the lovely historic streets.

we did a private tour for just the 3 of us and it made a big difference being able to get closer to the sights in a minivan along the canals.

We arranged a slightly shorter day-met guide at 10am instead of 8 and that meant immigration queues had quieted down by then.That 2 hours less per day brought the cost down as 4 hours less of guide and transport time but we still saw a lot[price worked out $70 per person more than a standard tour with 16 people]

Whichever company you choose make sure they arrange for a wheelchair in the Hermitage[provided free of charge by museum] There are small service elevators which your guide can point you to get from one floor to another

Peterhof gardens is trickier as the paths are mainly gravel so wheelchair not as useful but there are plenty of places to rest

The canal trip is very relaxing but there are about 20 stone steps to get down to water level and no hand rail[at least not at the stop we used]

May I ask who you did the private tour with? Marilyn

May I ask who you did the private tour with? Marilyn

we used Anastasia but to be honest most of the tour companies mentioned on here get great reviews eg Alla TJ best guide SPB etc

contact several and explain your requirements re mobility and you will soon find which is the company prepared to work with you to make your trip special

Thanks everyone for your help with this. Marilyn

I have mobility issues too and did the Comfort Tour with Alla. They provided me with plenty of information beforehand and arranged to go into places via more accessible entrances. I took a manual wheelchair with me as there would have been quite a lot of walking otherwise. It was fantastic and the driver and guide were very helpful.

Thanks LondonTowner! I am going to email them this weekend. Marilyn

We’ve been to St. Peter two times. The first time was in 2013 and at that moment our daughter was only 3. So we also had some restrictions:rolleyes:. Initially we planned to join a mini group but after all we decided for a private tour. Thanks that we were able to make our days shorter and stop for rest whenever it was necessary. Our guide was really flexible and ready to meet all our needs. Any way it’s worth the money. I have to say that even 3 years ago it wasn’t too expensive but now taking in consideration current rub rate it shouldn’t be expensive at all. We booked with the Best Guides.

Good luck!

Jess :)

I have mobility issues too and did the Comfort Tour with Alla. They provided me with plenty of information beforehand and arranged to go into places via more accessible entrances. I took a manual wheelchair with me as there would have been quite a lot of walking otherwise. It was fantastic and the driver and guide were very helpful.

My mom was with us on our Baltics cruise earlier this year and while she doesn't have any specific mobility issues, she's almost 80 and she gets tired and needs to rest every now and then. But the rest our our large family group wanted to see and do as much as possible:D

We were taking SPB's deluxe tour, the most intensive, but got a wheelchair for mom and she did just fine, the guide and driver were extremely good about making things comfortable for her. We brought our own wheelchair but SPB can provide one if you give them sufficient notice. We all took turns wheeling mom around, the palaces and museums have elevators and getting to the upper floors wasn't any problem. BTW, we didn't do a private tour but one of the regular group tours, we had a van for 16. Hope this helps the OP.

I just want to add that the Hermitage museum provides wheelchairs free of charge. As far as I understand they have plenty of them and there is no need to reserve it in advance.

Jess :)