St. Petersburg, Russia - Hermitage tours

Traveling this summer on the Regal 11-day cruise through the Baltic mainly to see the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Trying to plan for the 2 day stay to see the artwork, but don't want to see the other typical sights as I've seen most on a previous cruise (and always regretted not going to the Hermitage). Any suggestions on how or which tour to take that would let me see a lot of the Hermitage without following the herds and crowds? If you take a ship tour, can you break away after the normal tours, stay longer, and get back to the ship on your own. Suggestions welcome & Thanks.

Try looking into a private tour. There are several reputable companies who do tours to the Hermitage. They may be willing to customize one for you. We used SBP, and they were great. Check out Tours By Locals too.

The local private tour organizers will set up a tour for just you if you want. SPB, Alla or any of the others. Also, post on the Roll Call, you never know you may find someone with similar interests to help split the cost.

I am assuming you have a passport from the U.S. or some other country that requires a visa to enter Russia. If so, you will need to take a tour from an licensed tour operator which will provide you with visa free entry. The conditions for visa free entry requires that you remain with the tour operator. You are not permitted to leave the tour and stay at a site on your own. If you want to tour on your own you will be required to apply for and receive a Russian tourist visa.

When we were at the Hermitage a few years ago, it was so crowded there was a steady stream of people just passing by the exhibits. You could not stop very long and look. If my memory is correct access is very restricted within the building. Also, the lines waiting to get in were very long. Certain tours have priority access.

Check out SPB Tours, Alla and there are some others.

We went on a ships tour last year (different cruise line not Princess). We got early entry to the Hermitage and it made a great difference. The signage in there was all in Russian, I wouldn’t have found it easy to Navigate without a guide, we spent about 3 hours there, the guide was great made sure we dodged the crowds and didn’t move us on too fast

We used PJ tours, and included the Hermitage among a number of other stops on our two days in port. As others said, we weren't permitted to tour without a licensed guide.

The bigger companies contract 'early entry' to these major sites, and each group is assigned a different route through the museum. Our group went straight to the Egypt room, and had it all to ourselves for 20 minutes or longer. By the time our route took us through the Amber room, etc. it was wall to wall people, all listening intently to their headsets and shuffling along.

We found PJ to be reasonably priced, the vans clean and comfortable, and the guide easy to understand. Food allergies limited our enjoyment of the meals offered, but we managed.

Once upon a time we had the same issue as the OP. So we simply got our own Russian Visas and went downtown to the Hermitage on our own. Why waiting in line we were approached by a private guide (who used to work as a guide inside) who we hired. He got us in the Hermitage for the Russian admission price (a few pennies) which just about paid his fee and we got to go where we pleased. Another option is to simply go on your own (with the aid of a decent guide book)...but again you would need to go through the trouble and expense of obtaining a personal visa.

Given the current hassle (and cost) of getting Russian visas we think the best option is to simply hire a private guide/driver before your trip/ You can arrange this through any of the highly recommended tour companies like TJ Travel , Alla, etc. Although the cost of your guide will be expensive, you will not have to obtain your own Visa since you are covered by the Group Visa from your tour company. Simply e-mail the top tour companies and tell them what you want...and they will get back to you with proposals and the cost. Expect to pay about $300 pp for a one day tour (for 2 persons).

Hank

Traveling this summer on the Regal 11-day cruise through the Baltic mainly to see the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Trying to plan for the 2 day stay to see the artwork, but don't want to see the other typical sights as I've seen most on a previous cruise (and always regretted not going to the Hermitage). Any suggestions on how or which tour to take that would let me see a lot of the Hermitage without following the herds and crowds? If you take a ship tour, can you break away after the normal tours, stay longer, and get back to the ship on your own. Suggestions welcome & Thanks.

Find a good tour company with extended time at the museum. White Nights has one that has an extended time that we have chosen for our visit in July. As other suggested, you may be able to customize a tour with one of these companies, but it won't be inexpensive. Hopefully the ship will be in port on days when the Hermitage is open.

If you can set up a private tour that will let you spend all day at the Hermitage, then ask on your roll call if anyone else would like to join you. This could reduce the cost per person for the day.

We chose a half day Princess tour of the Hermitage which included the Impressionist Collection. It's housed in the old barracks on the opposite side of the square and our tour spent equal amounts of time viewing both wonderful collections. The group was small and interested in art. Our guide was exceptional and allowed plenty of time for private exploration as well as offering wonderful descriptions and instruction. We would be tempted to do the same tour again if we ever returned.