St Petersburg 3 day tour with Alla Tours

Hi, has anyone done a 3 day tour in St Peterburg with Alla tours. Looking for our cruise next year & I have emailed Alla about their 2 day group tours but because we are in port for 3 days they will only offer the 2 day ones as private tours which are expensive. They have suggested their 3 day one which looks good & a good price, my only concern is getting back to the ship on the last day in time for sail away. We are due to leave port at 6pm & Alla tours say they get back for 5pm on that day, is this about right. Has anyone ever had problems getting back in time. Thanking you in advance

Alla is very reliable and well regarded on CC. If they say they will get you back they will make sure to.

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We had absolutely no issues when we toured with Alla..

Great guide (Marina) and small groups.

We also toured with Alla. They said they would get us back at 5pm for a 6pm departure and they did!

We very much enjoyed our tour with Alla. They delivered on EVERYTHING they promised.

There are several very large, well established tour companies in SPB, and it is highly unlikely that any of them would return late from a tour since it would destroy their reputation, which they have spent many years building. I would only assume they would be late if there were major, widespread transportation problems, which would certainly also affect the ship tours. Alla is one of the well established companies, so I wouldn't worry about booking a tour with them. I would be a little more concerned about the risks of booking a tour with a newer firm, since they have less to lose than the older, well established tour companies.

We also booked with Alla and would thoroughly recommend them.

We also booked with Alla and would thoroughly recommend them.

Same here - have booked several tours with Alla, both group and private. Her tours are excellent and I highly recommend her!

Hi, has anyone done a 3 day tour in St Peterburg with Alla tours. Looking for our cruise next year & I have emailed Alla about their 2 day group tours but because we are in port for 3 days they will only offer the 2 day ones as private tours which are expensive. They have suggested their 3 day one which looks good & a good price, my only concern is getting back to the ship on the last day in time for sail away. We are due to leave port at 6pm & Alla tours say they get back for 5pm on that day, is this about right. Has anyone ever had problems getting back in time. Thanking you in advance

You need not worry - you will have no problem whatsoever with Alla returning you to your ship in time. :)

Hi, has anyone done a 3 day tour in St Peterburg with Alla tours. Looking for our cruise next year & I have emailed Alla about their 2 day group tours but because we are in port for 3 days they will only offer the 2 day ones as private tours which are expensive. They have suggested their 3 day one which looks good & a good price, my only concern is getting back to the ship on the last day in time for sail away. We are due to leave port at 6pm & Alla tours say they get back for 5pm on that day, is this about right. Has anyone ever had problems getting back in time. Thanking you in advance

I'm not sure I understand ~ we are also on a cruise next year that stops in SPB for 3 days and are only planning on doing a 2 day tour. I have been communicating with TJ Travel and it has not been an issue at all. I did sent Allan an inquiry today because in looking at tours in some of the other ports they had 1 or 2 that were a little more appealing to me and if you are going to book them it makes sense to do all your tours with the same company. Havent heard back yet but if its going to be that much more I will stick with TJ Travel

Yes, that is absolutely correct. Both Alla Tours and SPB tours will not let passengers whose ship docks in St. Petersburg for three days take one of their two day general fixed price tours, even if they want to add a private 3rd day tour! You either have to take one of their three-day fixed price tours, or arrange for a private (customizable) three-day tour which is very very expensive. I'm not sure why they have these rules.

In my case, as we are docked in St. Petersburg for 3 days in June, I was interested in planning a fixed price 2 day general tour, followed by a private 1 day Jewish heritage tour. Fortunately, both Best Guides and TJ Tours are able to accommodate me! Their prices are very competitive with one another, and our third day will not only encompass a Jewish heritage tour, but also give us a chance to "live like a Russian," including shopping, going to a grocery store and/or farmers market, taking a metro ride and arranging lunch with a local family. (Alla Tours would not do that for us, and SPB said they would try and "work on it.")

Also, we structured the third day private tour so that our return to the ship will leave us plenty of time before departure.

Just ask questions, and I'm sure you'll find the right tour company.

Hi, has anyone done a 3 day tour in St Peterburg with Alla tours. Looking for our cruise next year & I have emailed Alla about their 2 day group tours but because we are in port for 3 days they will only offer the 2 day ones as private tours which are expensive. They have suggested their 3 day one which looks good & a good price, my only concern is getting back to the ship on the last day in time for sail away. We are due to leave port at 6pm & Alla tours say they get back for 5pm on that day, is this about right. Has anyone ever had problems getting back in time. Thanking you in advance

When cruisers worry about getting back to the ship on time, the focus is always on them. While I understand that, a tour in St Petersburg is unique in that, I suspect, there will be problems for the tour agency if they get their clients back late.

Each cruiser's ticket is for a specific time slot. If a tour company were to violate the terms of the ticket -- if they were to keep their clients beyond the registered hours on land -- I'm assuming the Russian government would not look kindly on the tour company. The company's license to issue tour tickets might very well be at risk.

So, bottom line, both parties are interested very interested in keeping to the schedule.

IF you're concerned that 3 days of touring in St. Petersburg might be too much, keep in mind that the Alla driver will probably let you stay on board the minibus at certain places on the tour. We took a 2 day tour and my husband sat out the Hermitage, along with another man who didn't feel up to more crowds and walking.

IF you're concerned that 3 days of touring in St. Petersburg might be too much, keep in mind that the Alla driver will probably let you stay on board the minibus at certain places on the tour. We took a 2 day tour and my husband sat out the Hermitage, along with another man who didn't feel up to more crowds and walking.

There's also an internet cafe in the Hermitage if your party needs to split up. My 3 year old was delighted with a piece of cake, and I watched him while my husband got to see his favorite works of art (we started with my favorites since we knew a 3 year old wouldn't last forever in the Hermitage)