Private Baltic tours for child with autism

We will be sailing from Copenhagen in July 2016 on NCL Star.

Our son (11 at time of trip) has high function autism (as does his dad).

I am looking for private tour ideas for our little family of three. We need good communication with the guide (we only speak English) and the ability to be flexible. For example, if Ethan is really enjoying a location we would like the ability to stay longer; if it's a trigger for him (too loud or too crowded) we need to be able to move on.

At his age I expect him to behave in museums, churches etc but I do want to include things that would interest most 11 yr old boys. His primary fascination is "anything electronic/screen"... sigh. Obviously, the electronics will not be part of the tour. He enjoys science too. Education mixed with pleasure is our goal.

The ports we are calling on are:

Warnemunde, Germany

Tallinn, Estonia

St. Petersburg, Russia

Helsinki, Finland

Stockholm, Sweden

I am not a timid traveler. I enjoy seeing new sights, trying new foods and experiences etc. That said, I am not sure I want a DIY/on your own exploring in the Baltic region. Hence, I think the private tour idea sounds best. Ethan and Wayne will go along with most of my ideas as well, but neither would seek out adventure on their own.

I'm open for suggestions! (Companies, tourist spots, activities etc...)

Thanks!

Robin

I don't know of any guides or tour companies for Stockholm.

As for activities one thing I could think of that could work is the museum of technology.

http://www.tekniskamuseet.se/1/start_en.html

Next door to TM you have The police museum: http://www.polismuseet.se/en/Other-languages/

I have other popular sights listed in the thread linked in my signature.

...regarding science, any specific type of science? Technology, history, nature?

private guides in the Baltics tend to be rare /very expensive

St Petersberg I would suggest contacting several of the well reviewed companies mentioned on these boards about a private tour for your family

however best guides has been mentioned several times as specialising in child friendly tours

We are doing private tours in many of these ports. All of the individuals/companies we've been working with have been very flexible with the itineraries. We don't have kids in our group, but we have some special requests.

Copenhagen - Guided Tours Copenhagen, the private tours arm of http://www.copenhagenfreewalkingtours.dk/ - contact Benjamin at guidedtourscph@gmail.com

Helsinki - Happy Guides Helsinki - http://happyguidehelsinki.com/

Warnemunde (Berlin) - Heidi Leyton - http://heidileyton.com/

Tallinn - Traveller - http://www.traveller.ee/

In Stockholm we are not doing private tour as we have 2.5 days there and are doing 2 group walking tours through http://freetourstockholm.com/ plus a archipelago tour through http://www.stromma.se/en/stockholm/excursions/day-trips/archipelago-tour-with-guide/ .

All of the major tour companies in St. Petersburg can arrange a private tour for your family of three. In support of the previous posting mentioning Best Guides, here is their description of their family tours: http://www.bestguides-spb.com/children-page.html . Even if you choose a different company, there may be ideas on this page of activities for your family.

I think your son might really enjoy visiting the Lennusadam SeaPlane Harbor Museum in Tallinn. ( http://www.lennusadam.eu/et/ ) . The sea plane name is a bit of a misnomer, since it is more of a general military museum with a lot of fascinating hands on exhibits, including a submarine you can explore and a flight simulator inside of a plane (my 3 year old really loved making the plane crash into the trees). Kids also love the simulated weapons and radio controlled boats at the museum. There is also an icebreaker ship outside that you can explore. It was a really interesting museum, and a highly enjoyable way to conclude your day in Tallinn for both adults and children.

If your son enjoys water, many children really like running through the fountains at Peterhof. Just please bring a change of clothing if it is a cold day, as the fountains are far from the entrance.

In St. Petersburg, we greatly enjoyed our lunch at Stolle; they are very kid friendly and have delicious meat and dessert pies. Their menu is available online in English at http://www.stolle.ru/en/adresa . Please note that not all of their pies on the menu are available everyday, and they will tell you the daily selection upon arrival.

In Stockholm, a lot of children enjoy visiting Vasa, and if your son likes animals he might want to consider Skansen (they have a really nice open air lemur exhibit you can walk through).

In Copenhagen, the Tivoli gardens are usually a hit for children, and is quite lovely at twilight.

If it would be appropriate for your son's condition, please try to involve him in the planning to see which activities would be most interesting to him. You can either show him guide books, pictures or let him watch rick steves Europe to see which attractions appear to be most interesting for him.

I would strongly encourage families to book private tours in St. Petersburg. But in most of the other port cities (except for Germany if you are visiting Berlin) you dock very close to the main attractions, and there is excellent public transportation. We were able to easily DIY all of the cities besides St. Petersburg with a 3 year old in tow, so it is generally possible for families to tour independently. However, you are the only one who has a full understanding of the effects of your child's autism, and know best whether or not this would be a good option for your family.

I'd contact the local tour operators, see what they suggest in terms of itinerary and how much it would cost, and then decide if you want to hire a tour guide or visit these cities independently.

Please also note that the main buffet on the Star can be overwhelming with guests cutting in line, and it can be quite difficult to find seating. I would imagine it would be very difficult for a child with autism during peak dining hours. Check the daily planner for alternative dining venues for breakfast - especially on your first day in St. Petersburg, Stockholm and disembarkment day, as these mornings tended to be extremely crowded. Normally only suite passengers can order hot food for breakfast, but perhaps you could speak to the disabilities office if this would be a better option for your family to see if they can help accommodate your needs. You may also wish to speak to them about disembarkment in St. Petersburg - if they are unable to grant your family priority disembarkation and you are not booking a suite, you may wish to start your tour later on day 1 in st. Petersburg to avoid the crowds since visa processing takes a long time on day 1, and is much faster on day 2.

Thanks to all for the replies so far!

KitKat, we ARE booked in a suite (yay!!) so we do have dining options. We also got the 'free' UDP, UBP, Shipboard credit and DSC.

Hubby and I just got home last Friday from a 12 nt. on the Dawn.

We are not big breakfast people so getting out for morning tours is t a problem. (More worried about the crazy time difference, but we will fly in a few days early)

I sent an email to Best Tours but the reply came back with a three day itinerary, so I'm waiting for a new reply.

Ethan's main issue with his autism is crowds and noise and he is socially much more immature than his peers. (However, I love his extended innocence! ;) ). We are very fortunate that he doesn't have issues with new things or schedule change. He is even getting good at trying new foods although he seldom likes the new foods, he does try them.

In terms of the time change, we flew overnight to Copenhagen, and arrived midday. We visited Tivoli Gardens on the first night, and it was so fascinating for my son that he managed to stay up to a normal bedtime on the local time in Copenhagen, and we didn't have any trouble with him handling the initial time change to Europe (he had some trouble when the ship sailed back from St. Petersburg and the time started changing again, but it was much less stressful than expected).

I'm very glad you booked a suite - it will make a world of difference to get priority disembarkation and have easier food options. We booked our cruise last minute (4 weeks out) and all the suites in good locations were taken, but I was just grateful to have gotten to take the cruise at all. I hope you have a wonderful time with your family!

Also be aware that the lemur exhibition requires double entrance fee.

First pay to enter Skansen and then pay again to enter Skansenakvariet where the lemurs are. I think Skansenakvariet can be pretty crowded.

Skansen can occasionally also be crowded, especially on Tuesdays from late afternoons to around 9-10 in the evenings from end of June to early August.

This is due to live television broadcasts and occasionally also live performances.

The museum of technology is probably not a good place if you want to avoid noises.

Historical museum could perhaps be of interest? Quite large with large halls so I don't think it will be that crowded and not so loud either.

They are closed on most Mondays though if you visit outside the period of June 1 - August 31.

http://historiskamuseet.se/misc/menyer-och-funktioner/menyer/globala-menyn/inenglish/

 

The museum of technology is probably not a good place if you want to avoid noises

Thank you. It is tough to describe, but if it is something that has his interest, usually noise doesn't bother him. However, stationary crowds and noise set him off and it can take a couple of hours to calm back down. The worst experience we had with this was when he had a total meltdown in a line at Walt Disney World. That is when we discovered this issue. Previous trips had been ok because both his dad and I were with him and he was in a stroller most of the time or being held. This particular trip was right when he turned four and dad had to stay home and work.

It literally took five hours for him to calm back down and be able to eat and finally go to sleep. He wasn't diagnosed with autism at that time, but it was clear his reaction to the crowd wasn't just a temper tantrum. (And thank God for my knowledge of Disney and how they help those with disabilities.)

Anyway... I digress.

Glad to her the time change wasn't too bad for your family KitKat.

Robin

You have taken on a huge challenge and although I cannot help you with what you are looking for, I just wanted to wish you the best and hope you can find exactly what you are looking for.

Cheers

Len

Thanks Len. It's just our life and we will not be limited by a label. :)

We will make some accommodations for Ethan, but it is a high priority of mine that he learns to negotiate the real world so he can be successful as an adult, and what better way to do that than show him the world and how others live? We have already been discussing how to say "Please" and "Thank You" in various languages. It's amazing how much people appreciate even that small effort.

When DH and I were in Aruba on this last cruise, I said "Danke" (thank you) to the woman at the cash register and her face totally lit up.