Kitco

Looks like I paid 50% deposit for my tour as well, but I didn’t worry about it as everything went smoothly and the other Julia our guide was able to adapt things as we went along as needed 😀

we paid the balance in US dollars cash at the end of the tour. Hope this puts your mind at rest!

Reporting back on our excellent experience with Dancing Bear Tours. We were a family of four and arranged a private tour for the 3 days we spent in SPB. I received initial quotes from multiple tour companies and Julia from DB provided us with the best value itinerary for us. They were prompt, reliable, and a pleasure to deal with. DB was flexible when the weather was not cooperative and we needed to switch some outdoors to indoors activities and vice verse. They added a site we requested on the fly without any problem. Our driver, Alec, was fantastic. Our guide Elena was extremely knowledgeable and attentive to all our needs. I would recommend this outfit to anyone.

Glad you had a great experience too, they were also very flexible with us.

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We also used them a couple of weeks ago for a private tour for the 3 of us (including our 12 year old son). Our guide was Tatiana. She was very knowledgeable and was great at getting us in places without queuing. Julia was very helpful arranging an itinerary to suit our needs. We had a ride on the metro and a visit to the Grand Maket (massive model village of various parts of Russia). We also did the usual places. Loved the Church of the Spilled Blood. Because it was very busy we couldn’t get tickets for Catherine’s Palace so went to Pavlosky Palace instead which was interesting but not crowded.

Would totally recommend DB.

 

 

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Glad to hear you had a great experience too, such a shame you couldn’t get in to St Catherine’s Palace as it was definitely one of the must sees. We did the model museum too and the Doll Museum for the benefit of the children!

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Hello everyone, just thought I would report back and I’m glad to say I found them amazing! Julia the owner met us at the port with our guide also called Julia and the driver Igor. They were very efficient and we did not have to wait in any queues whatsoever, and did not get stuck in any crowds in the busy museums. Felt sorry for the crowds :)

We were also taught some basic Russian and tried the Stolle pies which even my children ate! Had good fun at the Peterhof fountains and were patient with my little girl’s frequent toilet needs [emoji849]

We did not need any rubles and used euro coins for one toilet and the rest on credit card, and shouted the guide her lunches.

Glad we went with DB! To those who used them recently, please feel free to share your experiences!

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Thanks, I definitely won’t overpack and might just bring 3 cases instead of 4. And I wouldn’t normally unpack the entire wardrobe first either :)

It’s hard to visualise the kids beds and how it all unfolds, so might just find a video to find out before we go!

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Thanks for your advice people, who helped greatly in enabling me to understand how to store FOUR cases in one cabin. Of course I am not dense enough not to know to store them under the bed, but being a first time cruiser, and the fact I don’t normally store cases under beds in hotels, I really appreciated any extra advice.

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Hi, I’m travelling as a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids) and all of us sharing a DB cabin. Just realised that if we all have a suitcase each, are they all going to fit in the cabin or shall we see if the ship has any storage? We are going on the Regal Princess. Thanks in advance [emoji3]

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We were in St Petersburg last weekend and used Dancing Bear Tours, for 2 different tours for 4 people. On the first day we had a private tour with a guide and driver for 7 hours to do whatever we wanted to do at a cost of $320, we also had an option to have extra hours as we required and was provided with an extended time on our visa. We were met at the terminal at the arranged time by Julia the owner of Dancing Bear who introduced us to our driver Anatoli and guide Anastasia. We had a fabulous tour around all the sites that St Petersburg is famous for without feeling pressurised to go into the museums which isn't our thing. We had some rubles for local spends (like Stolle pie) and we gave what we had left to the driver and guide at the end of the day with the tip.

Our next tour was the following night from midnight to 3am to see St Petersburg at night, we met Julia in the terminal at the alloted time and she introduced us to our driver Alexi. St Petersburg is absolutely fabulous at night and this was a real highlight for us seeing the bridges open and the canal boats racing through.

 

We can thoroughly recommend Dancing Bear Tours based on our experience last week and wouldn't hesitate to use them again when we return.

 

If you get the opportunity to visit the colonnade at the top of St Isaacs I suggest you do it, it's a climb of over 200 steps to the top but the views are spectacular.

 

Julia is fantastic and will tailor the tour to your requirements.

Thanks Mr Seagull for your feedback. As you can see from our rough itinerary above, it also does not involve a lot of museums either [emoji3], and tailored it for our kids!

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I have just paid the deposit using my brand new Revolut card, which I also never previously knew about, so hopefully will not lose anything in fees and make use of decent exchange rates [emoji23]

Our tour will include the Doll Museum , Grand Model Museum, plus Peterhof garden, Hermitage, st Catherine’s Palace, Church of Split Blood, walking round back streets seeing He Cat and She cat (whatever they are!). Lunch is not included but they will take us to have Russian pies and coffee breaks.

They had kindly fitted in the doll museum during the day for us otherwise it would have been an add on, taking the tour into the evening and I was worried about the kids having dinner and bed late only to have to get to the port at 830 the next day. A tip I saw today was to have room service brekkie to save time!

Would be interesting to compare experiences with those who also booked with DB!

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Thanks John, I have actually now ordered a Revolut card so can use plastic with no added fees. We could also bring some Euro’s. The owner from the Dancing Bear tours says they can lend us some roubles if needed [emoji3]

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Cool thanks very much for that ABQCruiser :)

Thanks both, I have cross posted over to the Baltics forum as an afterthought.

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Haven't heard of Dancing Bears.

 

But there are lots of other smaller operators mentioned in posts on this forum that I hadn't heard of either, and like the bigger ones they have all been well-received.

 

 

 

I've come to the conclusion that any SPB operator authorised to provide visa-free tours will do a good job :)

 

 

 

JB :)

That’s good to hear, John. Just came across it on tripadvisor when I was searching for excursions with children. Does $335 sound excessive for a private tour? And what currencies would we take on a Baltic cruise whilst you have the experience [emoji6]?

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Our tour with Dancing Bear is not until late August but, I have customized a tour for two people and found the owner prompt, efficient and very helpful and willing to put up with my qwerky wishes! We are looking forward to our tour and will report back

I was looking to book for late August too and have found them helpful so far, so was just seeking opinions before I book! Be interested to see what you think after your tour.

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Hi there,

Cross posting from my query on the new cruisers section. I've seen rave reviews on this company and it will just be me, my hubby and kids age 6 and 7. Would you cruise critic members recommend?

Many thanks!

Hi there,

I've seen rave reviews of this tour company - it's just me, my hubby and 2 kids age 6 and 7 - anyone toured SPB with them and would you Cruise Critic members also recommend? Tried searching the boards and couldn't find anything.

Many thanks

Yes that’s what I thought, shadow8800. I also have experience of being charged highly for using GBP abroad. Will def look around for a suitable credit card!

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Thanks so much for your replies. Looks like I will stick to local currency. My father in law reckons I will save more if I pay for things in US dollar cash

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Hello, first post here.

I am travelling on a Baltic Cruise with Princess this summer. I am completing the guest details, and on answering the question on what currency I'd like to use, I have a choice between US dollars and my home currency, British Pounds.

I did try searching these forums but couldn't find anything, so any thoughts are welcome!