St Petersburg options?

I'm considering booking one of the Scandinavian cruises including St Petersburg, but there are issues around St Petersburg that I don't fully understand.

I'm not at all keen on organised tours, partly because of the high cost and partly for other reasons, but am I right in saying that it's pretty much unavoidable here because of visa issues?

Does anyone have experience of the cost of the P&O tours, what they're like, and whether there are any other realistic alternatives please?

We did this trip on a Princess cruise. We normally do our own thing on cruises but we’re very pleased we took the organised tour because of the huge amount of people at the Hermitage. We had a brilliant guide who apart from being very knowledgable, navigated us around the best exhibits. The tour included our visas and was over two days. Really worth doing.

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I'm considering booking one of the Scandinavian cruises including St Petersburg, but there are issues around St Petersburg that I don't fully understand.

 

 

 

I'm not at all keen on organised tours, partly because of the high cost and partly for other reasons, but am I right in saying that it's pretty much unavoidable here because of visa issues?

 

 

 

Does anyone have experience of the cost of the P&O tours, what they're like, and whether there are any other realistic alternatives please?

Private tours are cheaper than ship tours. Alla Tours have a great reputation and use small minibuses - there is a lot of getting on and off buses. No other way - only ship or private tours as they get a block visa. You can get your own visa but it is a lengthy and costly process I believe.

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Private tours are cheaper than ship tours. Alla Tours have a great reputation and use small minibuses - there is a lot of getting on and off buses. No other way - only ship or private tours as they get a block visa. You can get your own visa but it is a lengthy and costly process I believe.

 

 

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We did the 3 day grand tour with Alla, it was excellent and it included the visa.

Thanks. Any idea of the costs please?

We chose SPB Tours who at the time were #1 on TripAdvisor. They were outstanding and we had a small group of 6 so although it was organised it felt very personal and we were able to add in requests - for example I wanted to go to a supermarket and she asked us if we wanted to go to a farmers' market. We did the Highlights Tour which was 16 hours over 2 days and tbh I wouldn't have wanted to do any longer and we didn't miss any of the sights we wanted to see. It cost $200 pp I think. They also arranged for us to have a driver for the evening and arranged for us to have a visa, so we we were able to do our own thing round the city centre which might be the kind of thing you'd enjoy.

Hi

P&O also do a tour where they drop you off at 3 different places for a couple of hours so you can do your own thing. I didn't hear any good reviews of it. In fact most people we spoke to said they wished they had done our tour. They found they hadn't made the best of their time there. We did the 2 day SPB tour, cheaper than P&O and our lunches were better, got in to places faster - no waiting. Guide was excellent. $200 sounds about right but so worth it. we saw everything except the faberge museum. You can pay on the day but like the rest of the people on our tour we paid before we started the cruise. They even gave a bottle of prosecco to someone who celebrated a birthday on the tour. It was run professionally and efficiently.

BTW we met a couple who had diy'd Russia when it was the USSR. They said it was possible to do this, challenging but possible.

I would go back to St Petersburg in a heartbeat, but now I've done the 2 day tour I would probably concentrate on places I want to see in more depth

Hope that helps

Cruise ship passengers are visa exempt provided you are accompanied on any tour by a licenced tour guide. The can be either a ships tour or one by a land based tour company. Your tour ticket gets you through the immigration.

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/russian-visa/for-cruise-ship-passengers/

Brian

What I'm really looking for is something as little like a tour as possible (I hate being herded around) and at as low a price as possible.

Love the other destinations on these cruises, but I'm beginning to wonder whether booking one might be a mistake because of the high cost of tours in St Petersburg (which I'm pretty sure I'm not going to enjoy anyway because of the lack of freedom to explore).

Docco

On your own you need a visa. Price listed on a web site £108.40 plus additions

On a ships tour you do not need a visa, but you cannot just wander off and do your own thing.

Private tours are available,the guides are freelance so they take work from all tour companies.

When we went, we hired a private guide, a driver, and student,to push my partners wheelchair, for two days.

We had a fabulous time, and will do it again.

So to get through the dock, you need to have a visa, or be on a tour. That costs.

So cheap it ain't, value for money debatable, but full on stunning and wonderful it most defiantly is.

Not to be missed

We went with Royal Princess couple of years ago.....any ORGANISED tour will sort your visas out......I still have the email address of the guide we had...at the time she was an independent operator. But now has her own company called REDSUN-Tours....but she still does private tours for very small groups Couples etc......if you want her PERSONAL email .message me.....To give you some idea of cost...the ship charged £200 per day each....she charged £200 for the 2 days...pick you up at 8-30 /9.o. back around 5-30/6. Can also do ballet trips or folk lore in the evening....drop you at ship to change then off to wherever....All tailored to suit you......I have given her name to dozens on the FB site and everyone who booked her were absolutely delighted..... And can absolutely GUARANTEE yu will not be sorry

The bottom line here is there is no cheap way to do St P. on your own. Private companies offer better value than ship's tours and you can personalise them to your own requirements. We used SPB a few years ago and told them the things we wanted to see and they arranged it accordingly. Can't remember the price but as it was a few years ago probably would not be helpful anyway. We posted on cruise critic roll call and got a few others to help split the cost - we had a small mini van. It meant we went straight to the head of the very long queue at the Hermitage and other places, plus got taken to a local restaurant for very reasonable lunch. I think you need to decide what are your 'must sees' and the cost you are prepared to pay and then do some research into the costs for ships v private tours.

The bottom line here is there is no cheap way to do St P. on your own. Private companies offer better value than ship's tours and you can personalise them to your own requirements. We used SPB a few years ago and told them the things we wanted to see and they arranged it accordingly. Can't remember the price but as it was a few years ago probably would not be helpful anyway. We posted on cruise critic roll call and got a few others to help split the cost - we had a small mini van. It meant we went straight to the head of the very long queue at the Hermitage and other places, plus got taken to a local restaurant for very reasonable lunch. I think you need to decide what are your 'must sees' and the cost you are prepared to pay and then do some research into the costs for ships v private tours.

We also did SPB tours in June of this year. They have an easy to use website which gives the tours available and the costs. I agree an excellent tour but it isn't a "cheap" option. There are no alternative ways to visit St Petersburg and it is not possible to just wander off ship and have a look around as there are very stringent security guards to pass through and they definitely check the required visa. The other Baltic ports are wonderful but this itinerary is quite expensive and to do it without disembarking in St Petersburg would, in my opinion, be a mistake.

We have been to SPB twice, first time five years ago and this July on Cunard. Both times we did two day tours with Alla Tours. Both days included lunch and we also added the Faberge Museum visit onto the first day.

Can’t fault them. Their tours include a lot more than the ship tours, but cost less.

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I'm considering booking one of the Scandinavian cruises including St Petersburg, but there are issues around St Petersburg that I don't fully understand.

 

I'm not at all keen on organised tours, partly because of the high cost and partly for other reasons, but am I right in saying that it's pretty much unavoidable here because of visa issues?

 

Does anyone have experience of the cost of the P&O tours, what they're like, and whether there are any other realistic alternatives please?

For a PRIVATE TOUR that is tailored to WHAT YOU WANT...at a very reasonable price (half the cost of ship) try email.....el.semenova@rambler.ru She is first class and I fully guarantee you wont be sorry.

What I'm really looking for is something as little like a tour as possible (I hate being herded around) and at as low a price as possible.

 

Love the other destinations on these cruises, but I'm beginning to wonder whether booking one might be a mistake because of the high cost of tours in St Petersburg (which I'm pretty sure I'm not going to enjoy anyway because of the lack of freedom to explore).

Sounds to me like you are free spirits like ourselves. We went on a Viking river cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow in May and had two nights in hotels in both St Petersburg and Moscow. We did see s a lot on Viking's trips, but under tour conditions. We also saw and did a lot during both of our hotel stays and it was both far cheaper than the same venues if done with a tour and also far more pleasurable.

I suggest you look carefully at the post number #7. I have heard of the tour were you get free time in each of 3 venues and it sounds very good to me, given we know those locations from our May visit. You would though have to do your homework regards what is available and what you want to do at those places ahead of time rather than just roam around, which I suggest the people who had said they did not make best use of their time on that trip probably did not do. That can be said of all cruise stops IMO. I would suggest you did a tour on one day and that trip with free time on the other day. Though of course nothing stops you spending one day on the ship.

Alternatively, and I think this is worth giving serious thought to - you could go on an independent land holiday to Russia. St Petersburg is very tourist friendly, but Moscow less so. We were glad we went to St Petersburg first on that grounds. We had to get a visa for the river cruise and visas took time to apply for, but is quite possible to do as the official agency were quite happy to answer questions and you could get your form checked for a small fee before going to the visa centre to have finger prints etc. taken and giving your application form in. The official agency can be found from a link on the FCO site and it will cost less to apply direct to them than use a private company to process visas and all they can really do is check your forms before application.

Lots of advice is available on the forums of CC's sister site Trip Advisor.

Just got back from the Baltic and a 2 day stop in St Petersburg.

Due to the cost of the "Get it yourself visa" we opted for 2 P&O excursions, full day on day 1 and half day on day 2.

Both were excellent, and our Russian guide was knowledgeable and very interesting.

So after deducting the £300 it would have cost for our visas the tours didn't work out expensive IMO.

Fantastic city, and fantastic area (Baltic) so definitely go, and Tallinn was just amazing!!

Just got back from the Baltic and a 2 day stop in St Petersburg.

 

Due to the cost of the "Get it yourself visa" we opted for 2 P&O excursions, full day on day 1 and half day on day 2.

 

Both were excellent, and our Russian guide was knowledgeable and very interesting.

 

So after deducting the £300 it would have cost for our visas the tours didn't work out expensive IMO.

 

Fantastic city, and fantastic area (Baltic) so definitely go, and Tallinn was just amazing!!

However, I’m sure you would have got more value for money had you booked with one of the recommended tour operators.

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However, I’m sure you would have got more value for money had you booked with one of the recommended tour operators.

 

 

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That certainly seems the way to go. I’d still rather have the overnight stay in Tallin, Copenhagen, Stockholm or Helsinki though. I’d happily exchange any one of the last three for St Petersburg. If relations with Russia continue to deteriorate that may happen anyway!

That certainly seems the way to go. I’d still rather have the overnight stay in Tallin, Copenhagen, Stockholm or Helsinki though. I’d happily exchange any one of the last three for St Petersburg. If relations with Russia continue to deteriorate that may happen anyway!

We went to SPB in 2013 and returned this July so we could revisit. Tallin was the least favourite of our stops, so we found a great itinerary this year that didn’t stop there.

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We went to SPB in 2013 and returned this July so we could revisit. Tallin was the least favourite of our stops, so we found a great itinerary this year that didn’t stop there.

 

 

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I'm surprised. I did a Baltic cruise a few years ago, and Tallinn was my favourite stop.

I'm surprised. I did a Baltic cruise a few years ago, and Tallinn was my favourite stop.

I have limited mobility and thought it very disabled unfriendly. Found it very crowded and fairly expensive. Have been to many other beautiful cities in mainland Europe which we prefer, like Bruges and is far more accessible.

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Did a Baltic cruise earlier this year and used a company called Red Sun Tours which was excellent. I would highly recommend them.

The Baltics is possibly one of our favourite cruises and Tallinn one of our favourite port of calls.

I always say it was worth the price of the cruise just to see and experience St Petersburg.......wonderful city......and I dont say that about many places...VENICE being the only other one