SPB tours, Best Guides, Alla etc… any difference

Can anybody tell me what the difference between the local tour operators in St. Petersburg is? Does each have their area of expertise or are they all more or less the same?

well obviously no one is going to be in the position of having toured with them all.

However they all get good reviews from past travellers so they know how to do their job

Most of them are guides who have set up their own business.There is a "standard" list of must sees which they will all include.

Best advice is to send an email to several and ask what is on offer and how they can adapt to your needs.Your priority may be lower cost and finding tourmates to bring the overall cost down-ask how they can help

You may have walking difficulties-how can they help you

you may have a particular religious interest-can they accommodate you

In other words compare and contrast-you will soon get an idea from the replies which company is sending out the right "vibe"

Can anybody tell me what the difference between the local tour operators in St. Petersburg is? Does each have their area of expertise or are they all more or less the same?

Overall, they are all basically the same as to showing you all the sights in St Petersburg. They all will have a set plan or you can draw up your own, to your liking. They all will accommodate you. price wise, I also think they are all in the same ballpark.

But they all do have their little 'quirks' that separate one from the other. Like some include lunches and some include the canal boat ride.

Customer service is also a big factor. Big outfits, like Denrus and Red October, do not have that intimacy between host and tourist that you will find with some of the other tour groups.

We toured almost 3 years ago with SPB Tours. We used them because, at that time, they did not charge extra for the canal boat tour which we really wanted to do, they also included 2 lunches, one which was a sit down at a real Russian restaurant, which we also wanted to do. But the main reason why we went with SPB was because of the tremendous customer service we received from Viktoria, the owner. She was calm when we needed calming. She suggested things to us, and she never failed to respond to every email we sent her, by the very next day.

Now that they have expanded their tours to other ports, it makes it more accommodating and you can save some money at the same time.

Cheers

Len

You are not likely to find anybody who has toured with more than one company, to enable them to make comparisons. However, you don't see any complaints really about any of them. I agree with the suggestion to email a few and then see which answer appeals. We went with SPB Tours because they made very individual suggestions to suit our interests. When I said my son was especially keen to ride the metro because he loves trains, they suggested including a visit to the railway museum. This was amazing even for those of us who are not enthusiasts!

Agree with the various posts that no one person has sampled and tested each of the different firms. Here's my summary/suggestions:

The honest truth is that there are a number of very good to excellent firms in St. Petersburg. I strongly suggest writing to four or five of the top firms, tell them exactly what you want, seek and love. See what you get back and which one is the "best fit" for your specific personal needs and travel style. Some people are very happy and satisfied with the basic, standard "formula" tour that is offered up. I am, however, NOT a big fan of "one size fits all".

Many, like us, want things to be a little more custom. In our "planning process", I asked lots of questions (after doing some advance reading and research) and got back many good replies (quickly) from Anastasia that helped me get my arms around the many options in St. Petersburg. Getting your trip "flow" and "pacing" is very important for St. Petersburg. We were super happy with how it all worked in having a great mix for what we saw and how it fit together. Another key factor is their "flexibility". Once in Russia and doing the first day, we asked about a couple of "schedule adjustments" and they got things done in a smooth and excellent manner. One item was a request to stop at a shop to buy a Russian-style military hat and I asked about getting an early admission at the Hermitage to avoid some of the bus/mass crowds at the regular hour. Making things custom and personal was very important to us. Some firms are flexible and very responsive. Others are not that way, nor interested or caring. You need to determine what you want and need.

Just like there are many different sizes, styles and types of shoes, the same is true with private tour companies. We don't all wear and have same types of shoes for all occasions and purposes. Below are a few of my visual samples to get folks prepared for the great glories that are there in St. Petersburg.

From our previous travels to these great cities of the Baltics, here are some of my book and research tips. You might grab, maybe from your public libraries or ask for them to do a book transfer they can process for you, such super excellent visual books such as Eyewitness, Insight, etc. Rick Steves, Fodors, Frommers, etc., can work well, too. In my opinion, no one travel book has it "ALL", perfectly and completely for all of your needs. These resources, especially the visual ones, can help you better figure out your priorities, in advance, for what you want to do and see. That early research is very important. Don't wait until you get on the ship to "GUESS" what might be of interest. I always build a "file" on my laptop computer for each port stop with highlights from that reading and then pulling up stories/articles from the travels sections of the New York Times, Telegraph of London, Wikipedia, etc. All of those help to consider your many great options. Amazon can be very good in providing such books at reduced prices, plus some used books websites. Lots of great options!!! Especially in these days of the Internet, it makes things easier to research and plan ahead. You can use Google.com for great access to various text items, plus a wide variety of visuals and maps. One option for some private tour and other local options is to contract the tourism office in each of your ports. You can use Google.com and put in the search term such as "city/port name tourism office". Then follow-up to each of those office by e-mail, ask your questions, get their suggestions, options to consider, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 83,082 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 71,038 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Here is an overall view of the size and scale of St. Isaac's interior in St. Petersburg. It is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in this historic city and was dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great. The cathedral took 40 years to construct, 1818 to 1858, under direction of a French architect. During Soviet rule, it was nearly destroyed and was made into a Museum of Scientific Atheism. It has been restored to its religious beauty/role. The cathedral's main dome tops out at 333 feet and is plated with pure gold.:

Here are some of the fountains and water at the spectacular Peterhof outside of St. Petersburg. The greatest technological achievement of Peterhof is that all of the fountains operate without the use of pumps. Water is supplied from natural springs and collects in reservoirs in the Upper Gardens. This elevation difference creates the pressure driving most of the fountains for the Lower Gardens, including the Grand Cascade.: : [/b]

As we entered Catherine's Palace outside of St. Petersburg, here was the welcoming band.:

Inside Catherine's Palace in St. Petersburg with our personal guide, we view this spectacular reception room, painted ceiling, gold, etc., at our pace and timing schedule.:

Private, personal tours can be worth it, especially in St. Petersburg. Here our group of four, with our guide, Jane or Zhenya from Anastasia, we are viewing one of the two da Vinci masterpieces (Madonna Litta or Madonna and Child) at the Hermitage after an early admission. There are only 14 such painting by this artist existing in the world. We did an early admission at the Hermitage, adding to the enjoyment in this spectacular place AND museum. It is both!:

Here is a wider shot of the Spilled Blood Church interior in St. Petersburg. Its exterior design is more traditionally "Russian" or Orthodox than St. Isaac. Spilled Blood or the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ was built on the site along a canal where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881 and its building was dedicated to his memory. Construction began in 1883 and was completed in 1907. This city's architecture is predominantly Baroque and Neoclassical, but this church harkens back to medieval Russian architecture in the spirit of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. The Church contains over 7500 square metres of mosaics, among the most for any church in the world. It suffered much damage during the Russian Revolution and World War II, but was reopened in 1997, after 27 years of restoration. The results are beautiful!!:

You may, like us, find that despite website statements to the contrary they will not guarantee that a seat-on-bus tour will operate "even if just one person books". And of course it can't be expected to, it wouldn't be economic.

For some ships, particularly the tiddlers, before confirming they will need minimum numbers - with Alla, SPB & TJ, the rate for two or four is heavy, for six it's a few dollars more than the advertised price, it needs a minimum of 8 (10 for TJ) to get the same price as a full van (16).

So wheher others want to book with the same company may influence your choice. We found sharers via RollCalls & Alla came up with others, so we booked with her. We ended up as a van of 12.

The tour was excellent - but from hearing other folks' experiences with the other two operators, we're confident we'd have been equally well-pleased had it been one of those who first came up with the body-count.

Terry - super photos, as usual.

I have photos in the Hermitage with not one person in the entire room, due to the pre-public access offered by most local operators' & some ship's tours.

The contrast between Spilt Blood & St Isaac's is significant. Which is the more beautiful is a matter of opinion - I find those such as Spilt Blood (& a lot of Buddhist temples) to be gaudy, but each to their own.

JB :)

It’s true that there are probably no people who would be able to compare several companies if they are lucky with their first choice. I am traveling with Best Guides for the second time this summer, now with my husband and daughter. My feeling with them is that they are small and cozy, they manage to preserve a very personal attitude to everybody who is traveling with them. I do not know if they are working with big groups at all, or if they are specializing in family-oriented and small group oriented tours, providing excellent, highest quality service.

We used TJ Travel for St Petersburg and were VERY happy!

I contacted several companies to plan our 2 day tour and Olga at TJ answered very promptly and seemed the most willing to customize the tour for us. We were a group of four with some physical limitations so could not follow the set plan that all the tour companies do. They did the Visas for us so we had no problem at the passport control.

Our guide was Alla and she was fabulous - extremely informative, kept us on track and yet was considerate of our need to pace ourselves, she looked after all our tickets etc and even had rubles which we could exchange with her for US dollars so we didn't have to buy any currency. Alla even brought two little fold up chairs that we could squat on when we were in the Palaces, cathedrals, and Hermitage.

The place she took us for lunch was a local 'pie shop' that had the most delicious meat and fruit pies I've ever tasted!

TJ was very responsive, prompt, and answered as many questions as we had before hand. Highly recommended!

We toured both SPB & Berlin last August with ALLA TOURS. We had an absolutely marvelous 2 days in SPB & a wonderful day in Berlin with Alla. Our guide in SPB was fantastic (university professor from whom we learned a great deal) and our driver was also superb. We saw and did everything that we wanted. Alla herself met us at the ship upon arrival and also met with us on our second day of touring.

Others on our ship toured with TJ and were also very satisfied. I think that the tour company you choose depends upon your personal tastes and wishes...they all seem to go to the same venues.

I believe that if the company you choose had many good recommendations on both Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor you will be pleased with your choice.

jill

We used SPb and several people we met on our ship used TJ and we were all happy with our choices. I had researched them all before the cruise and the prices were very similar, so compare the itineraries and see what fits you best.

Sue

I'd echo Bob's experience. TJ Travel gave an amazing tour; lunch in "real" (and delicious) Russian restaurants, and an itinerary that ran like clockwork and covered all the fabulous sites St Petersburg has to offer (the Yusupov palace was a worthwhile closer).

I'd recommend emailing the operators - we found the excellent personal service over email to be borne out in life. I loved St Petersburg.

So one would be wise to look at Alla, SPB tours (and by the way is it that or spelled out?), and TJ tours. Any others come to mind?

So one would be wise to look at Alla, SPB tours (and by the way is it that or spelled out?), and TJ tours. Any others come to mind?

It's often spelled SPb Tours and the website is spb-tours dot com, if you see the owner Viktoria on the home page, you've got the right place. I once landed on a different website when searching for them since their name is so generic. We were very happy with their service.

In addition to SPb, TJ and Alla, I've also heard of people using Red October.

Sue

Hi all,

We just returned from our HAL-cruise on the Eurodam und used TJ Travel in St. Petersburg on May 27th and 28th. Fabulous, what an efficient and personable organisation! Our guide was Viktoria and she really brought St. Petersburg to live. I would highly recommended booking a tour with a maximum of 16 people, can't imagine what it must be like to be in a group of 40-50 people in such crowds.

Viktoria made those 2 days unforgettable. I must add though, that you need to be in fairly good shape to do two 10-hour-days in such a tight schedule. We had the best of times!

Lies

We have just returned from the Baltic Cruise on Celebrity and we had an excellent experience with Best Guides Group. The trip was a present to my mother for her 70 years anniversary. The 2 days we had in St. Petersburg were the highlight of the trip. Our guide Anna had encyclopedic knowledge of everything, but her way of delivering information was easy and with an outstanding sense of humor. Anna and our driver Alexander (who spoke very good English) made us feel the most valued guests of the city. Being a party of 2 we had a priority for entering museums and never had to wait in lines. If before the trip I had some prejudice against the Russian way of providing service based on my independent travelers friends’ experience, now I know a company that really cares about its guests.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Best Guides to my relatives and friends and to anyone looking for an outstanding experience in St. Petersburg.

I am going thru the Baltic/St P's threads to get a feel and feedback for St P tour operators and people's experiences. I read on another thread the comments from TravelWRiter....hmmm...only 5 previous posts? from someone with over 50 cruises??? HMMMM again!

I was quite relieved to see others that have used Alla had very very good experiences. And others have pointed out that when several companies itineraries are compared, there are very few differences in their proposals. When it comes down to it, flexibility, knowledge, and customer service along with value is what makes a private tour more successful than a bus tour (for me). The lunch can be basic....I want to see and experience the city, culture, sites. For now, we are booked with Alla for next year and I am going to continue to research.

Thanks to all who do post their experiences. But I must admit one caution does not throw out the entire consideration.

I read on another thread the comments from TravelWRiter....hmmm...only 5 previous posts? from someone with over 50 cruises??? HMMMM again!

 

.

Nah.

One post, five times.:D

Twice on one thread, and one by reviving a 4-year-old thread :p

And yes, it will have been noticed by a lot of folk that a "travel writer with 50+ cruises" only found Cruise Critic today :rolleyes:

I think we've seen a vindictive little tantrum - one of the joys of anonymity, I guess ;)

JB :)

Just returned from the Baltic cruise. Had a great time. Took the Alla tour. Unfortunately our guide had little to say. Total quiet on the 40 min drive from Peterhof to Catherine's palace and the hour drive back to the city. unless a question was asked. However people who were on Alla tours with different guides had a very good experience. So it's the luck of the draw regarding the guide. This is probably true of any of the companies. Even with a poor guide St Petersburg was beautiful.

We went with the recommendation of our TA, who had personally used DenRus, and so far we have been extremely satisfied with what's happened, a completely personalized tour for 4 of us for 2 days, quick and complete replies to all our emails asking questions and more questions :) and to top it off a nice discount because of our CAA membership.

Just returned from the Baltic cruise. Had a great time. Took the Alla tour. Unfortunately our guide had little to say. Total quiet on the 40 min drive from Peterhof to Catherine's palace and the hour drive back to the city. unless a question was asked. However people who were on Alla tours with different guides had a very good experience. So it's the luck of the draw regarding the guide. This is probably true of any of the companies. Even with a poor guide St Petersburg was beautiful.

This is an example of people liking different things! Your description is exactly what I would prefer! I hate it when the guide never stops talking while travelling. I like them to point out anything of interest, but constant talk really gets on my nerves! It is my main objection to the ship's excursions, because their guides tend to go on and on! I like a guide to talk while touring a site and perhaps a little just before arrival to set the scene.

The tour prices are a fantastic bargin compared to the ship excursions. I used Alla and got immediate responses. she specifically said we did not need to go to a roll call to make sure we had enough. They balanced the buses as people made it thru customs and everyone took off at about the same time. Our bus had a couple of open spots. The 2 day tours I looked at were very close in offerings.

we recently used "Guide-Guru Tours", (www.guide-guru.com), in St Petersburg, and they were fantastic. Great english speaking guide, Yana, is extremely knowledgeable and communicative - highly recommended !

We did a 2 day private tour (just the two of us) using TJ and were more than happy with the trip. Awesome guide, interesting driver (and the back and forth between them was amusing as well). Saw all the sites, learned way more than I needed to, got to go off the beaten track (subway, farmer's market, local (non-tourist) restaurant. Couldn't have been better!

How far in advance of sail date should we be contacting the more popular tour companies? We are sailing June of 2013 and are looking for private tours for our family of 5 in St. Petersburg and Berlin. Is it too early for me to start emailing them now. We are trying to tailor our tours to fit DH and I as well as our 3 kids.:)

How far in advance of sail date should we be contacting the more popular tour companies? We are sailing June of 2013 and are looking for private tours for our family of 5 in St. Petersburg and Berlin. Is it too early for me to start emailing them now. We are trying to tailor our tours to fit DH and I as well as our 3 kids.:)

I started to contact October/November of the previous year.It will be their peak season from now till September so they may be a bit rushed.If you contact them after that you'll probably get a more personal service with them having time to respond to your queries.

I found that they offered to honour the rates for the past season if you booked before January