Our awesome time in SPB!

As a family of four with two children (21 and 18), we wanted to maximize our limited two days in St. Petersburg. We have extensively traveled the world, and have taken numerous tours via cruise ship shore excursions, Viator, and local tour operators. Our SPB Tours in St. Petersburg were the best we have ever experienced. We chose to take a "Group Tour" of the 2 Day Deluxe St. Petersburg, with the optional evening excursion of the "Fun Vodka Tour."

Our "Group Tour" turned out to be only 17 people, so we had a smaller van/bus, and thus a more personal tour. We were also fortunate that everyone adhered to the "return times" established by our guide. Because of this, we were able to see more sights on Day 1, and had additional sights added on Day 2.

The reason these tours are the highlight of our entire travel experience is our guide, Alexander S. His commentary, expertise, and knowledge of the history of both the city of St. Petersburg and the country of Russia was extraordinary!

Exactly positioning our group, using the visual aide of his tablet, Alexander truly made history come alive!!! He transformed our specific vantage points from the time of Czars, to the Russian Revolution, to the German invasion and horrific aftermath of WW2, to the modern day restoration.

Before booking an evening tour, we had viewed SPB's offered "Folklore Show" and "Russian Ballet" on YouTube. Our older children wanted a more immersive experience with modern day Russians, so we decided to book the "Fun Vodka Tour." We are so happy we did!

We experienced current day Russia, with benefits! Upon entering our van, again with expert Alexander as our guide, we sampled sips (1/8th of a USA-size shot) of different types of vodka and ate both savory and sweet "chasers" as we drove from our ship to downtown St. PB.

We stopped at a souvenir shop, which was much cheaper than any others during the day's excursion. After that, we strolled down the main promenade, Nevsky Prospect (the Champs d'Elysee of SPB), feeling as though we were part of the evening's festivities.

Alexander highlighted both modern and historic sights and sounds along the way, including historically significant monuments, an electric guitar player "jamming" on the streets, a bar with a scale model of SPB, a modern controversy regarding illegal "cat" sculptures, a photo tribute to Putin and recent Russian Olympic athletes, as well as the "Food Hall" (more of a Gordon Ramsay-type culinary display) with every delectable type of food imaginable.

We then boarded our private canal boat and cruised St. PB's waterways at sunset. With warm blankets, a bit more vodka sampling (with orange juice for us lightweights), and Alexander's fun commentary, it was a delightful way to end the evening. We were returned to our ship very happy, with plenty of time to enjoy evening activities onboard.

We woke up refreshed for our second day in St. PB, which was every bit as fantastic as our first. We were also impressed with the personal service of Viktoria, who not only answered our questions before our trip, but also greeted us at the end of our tour to ensure we were completely satisfied. In addition, our drivers Alexei and Dima were very friendly and professional.

Our only suggestion would be to re-name the "Fun Vodka Tour" (which sounds like a Booze-Fest, which it was not) to "Heartbeat of St. PB at Twilight Tour." Keep the same description!

We highly recommend SPB Tours in St. Petersburg. Ask for Alexander (Sacha) for your guide!

Best regards and safe travels,

Terry

I almost hate to ask, but what are illegal "cat" sculptures? If it involves the hurting or killing of cats please ignore the question.

So glad you had a marvelous experience in St Petersburg. We also used SPB tours when we went. Like you we were very impressed with their entire operation and Victoria is a joy to work with.

Did you use them for any other cities?

Cheers

Len

Rosethorn,

Heavens, no! Cats saved millions of lives in SPB!!! Please see the link listed below...

Yelisei the Cat was a sculpture endorsed by the government, representing the appreciation of SPB'ers to cats. Just as throwing coins into Trevi Fountain in Rome assures one of a return trip, throwing coins up at Yelisei assures good fortune.

Years later, someone mounted a female cat sculpture across the waterway, so Yelisei had a mate...Because the sculpture was not officially endorsed, it has been considered "illegal." There is currently controversy regarding the removal of Yelisei's beautiful female partner!

http://english.pravda.ru/history/23-01-2004/4669-cats-0/

Roars and purrs,

Nittany Lioness

P.S.U. Never, ever would I endorse harsh treatment of fellow felines, except of course, on the College Gridiron! ;)

Thanks for a great review, just a question re the Vodka tour as we are interested in this for our evening in SPB next July. On their website it states a minimum of 10 people required for this. Did you organise a group of 10 or did you just sign up in the hope there were 10. There are no other evening tours which appeal if the vodka tour was pulled at the last minute, as we really like the idea of an evening boat ride.

Thanks in advance

We also have seen the cats! Fantastic story! For us it was a part of a children friendly tour. Hope Yelisei's “illegal” girl friend won’t be removed :rolleyes: …

Jess :):):)