SPB tours, Best Guides, Alla etc… any difference

[spbstan]

Check with any of the small companies or just guides, you can do tours using public transportation which saves $200 or more, yet get around as or faster than driving. Figure on $15/hour for a licensed guide, and $8-10 per museum or palace, and $5 per person for transportation, $10 per person for a tour ticket if you do now use a tour company. If you are not going into museums, you do not even need a licensed guide, but you need one who arranges the tour tickets and immigration to be able to get off the ship. At the end of two day walking and exploring tour, you will know more about the culture and people than on any expensive group tour. Few of the big group tours allow any contact with locals and to get so many museums and churches in, they are rushed. A two day port call is only 16-17 hour off the ship so using 4-6 hours of it driving means that 8-9 museums and palaces spread out by 20 miles does not mean much time to really explore any of them. The bus tours are even more rushed because little time is left after assembling 50 passengers and disembarking them again for each venue.

You can take a bus right from your terminal for 28 rubles($0.50) that takes you to the subway and from there for 31 rubles to take you anywhere in the city. You will need a sponsor and tour tickets that are registered with immigration before arrival but that is all taken care of by your guide/tour operator. If you plan for it in advance you can stay out and explore until midnight or later but you need to return to the ship to sleep and have the guide pick you up again in the morning of the second day. This is probably the best option for photographers or those interested in a particular subject like history or art, because group tours really can't accommodate personal preferences.

[Bollinge]

I would very much concur with SPBStan above, who is American and lives in St Petersburg.

 

Smaller is better and far cheaper than the ship's tours and the big companies like Denrus and Red October.

 

In fact, I would urge you NOT to go on any ship's big bus tour of SPB, nor any group tour of more than ten people. The reason is that smaller groups get fast access to the museums, avoiding the sometimes mammoth queues, and in some you are even in a separate segregated area of a room as opposed to the bigger groups.

 

It transpires that many of the government-accredited tour guides who work for these big companies can arrange visa-free tours of their own of various kinds, given around two weeks notice to sort out the immigration formalities.

 

So, if you want a pub-crawl or night club tour during the White Nights festivities? Photography of the sights? Church visits? Jewish history? The ethnographic museum or the Battleship Potemkin? Just ask and it can be arranged.

 

Your guide is not expected to chaperone you like a shadow as in North Korea, and there is plenty of scope to wander off on your own providing you arrange a rendez-vous with the guide later. One tour firm gives you a local mobile phone to keep in touch with your guide.

 

The metro is much easier to navigate now the stations have names in latin as well as Cyrillic script, and as Stan says, it's very cheap and clean. In fact the whole of SPB seemed clean compared to England.

[spbstan]

One point that should be brought up, is a personal question to ask yourself. What do you really want from the visit? If it is a list of must-sees to be checked off or is the visit to learn about a new place and its people or figure out how it tickets and have fun. I see most people want the exact same destinations because that is what others suggested but do you really go to those types of activities at home or is art and history your passion and seeing some of the must sees a dream long before someone on a forum said you must see a particular palace or church?

When everyone follows the same path, that path is horribly crowded. When everyone thinks 9 entrances is better than 6 despite the 9 are a rush and the 6 might be what you would like to do as it fits your interests and personality.

When the first companies started doing independent tours in the early 2000s, there were very few crowds because those 30-40 people who booked independently from the ship had destinations to themselves so more could be seen, really seen unlike now when 300 people are in front of you trying to see the small Leonardo da Vinci because 70 vans full of 16-18 people all have the exact same path and timing.

If no one told you what to see would you have spent 4-5 hours out of 16 off the ship driving? I know one family who recently came and did not want anything expect to explore. They did what they wanted and most of that was doing things others on the ship did not even know about. For example the kids were football(soccer) fans and the local team was playing their rival Moscow team. The kids spotted a poster advertisement so all the plans instantly changes and the family went to a world class football game, posting selfies for all back home . Posted images from climbing to the top of St Isaac's Colonnade(385 steps) for the most spectacular views in the city.

That was what they would have done other places because that was how they had fun.

There is a problem with crowding now that so many people are taking identical tours, and it is harder to do 9 major sites now with the crowds that was easy in 2000. Yet cruisers routinely select an itinerary based on how many sights seen, rather than the quality of the experience.

For those who want to take good photos or explore the contemporary society and learn about people they will not know about another way, taking a cookie cutter tour is not going to be very good use of the limited time in the city.

 

The big most advertised companies have become like the big bus tours from the ship, but driving in 18 passenger vans. Once arriving, 1,000 people are arriving with you. That also means those doing something more original have no crowds to contend with and can explore at the own pace and depth of engagement.

Few visitors even have access to the most interesting part of the city, getting to know locals. Very few ever meet someone on the entire voyage who was not paid to entertain them. It seems a shame that the most interesting parts of the city are not experienced

[Giantfan13]

You may have your own order Stan, but when I go to a new place, that has many famous sites, that is what I want to see first. I went to London, I don't want to see some out of the way pub, I want to see the main sites there. THEN, if I have time, or if I ever return, then I may want to experience those 'smaller; places. When I went to Paris, I wanted to see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame etc. I didn't want to see Ripley's Believe it or not, or some other local attraction. I live right outside NYC. When tourists come to NY, they want to see the Statue of Liberty, the Freedom Tower among many other main sites, they really don't want to see the Sex Museum, although it has gotten quite popular, but you get the point. :D:D:D:D

 

So basically if you want to use a smaller agency fine, but don't be talked out of seeing the main sites of this glorious city in favor of some out of the way museum, unless it is your wish.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[spbstan]

Yes, Len, I agree everyone has a little different reason to visit a place. I have been to NYC a hundred times and never went the Statue of Liberty but spent a lot of time exploring and getting to know the local people.

Focusing on history from 1703 to 1917 of St Petersburg and missing out on the people and society is the point of my question in the first sentence.

It is just surprising to me that 16,000 people on a busy port day want to limit their engagement to looking at the same very crowded 8 points of interest. Staying home and getting a photo-book would meet the same goal. Visitors ought to ask themselves why they are going before planning their cruise

[Giantfan13]

Staying home and getting a photo-book would meet the same goal.

 

WOW. I can't believe you really said this.

 

Do you really think looking at a pix of Peterhoff is the same as being right there with the spray of the fountains in your face?. Do you really think being on the top of the Eiffel tower is the same as looking at some video of it?. I am sorry you have never been to the Statue of Liberty, but you are truly missing something special. Climbing all those stairs to the top, peering out threw the crown, just being on the island and peering up at this magnificent attraction, if you think looking at some pix of it is the same, I sort of feel sorry you feel this way.

 

have you never been to sporting event, a football game, a baseball game? can you honestly say it is the same as sitting in your home and watching it on TV.

 

so people here don't have to visit most of the major sites in St Petersburg. They can just look at Terry's pix and be satisfied?

 

Sorry Stan, you are very sadly mistaken.

 

Cheers

 

Len

Edited July 24, 2015 by Giantfan13

[MVPinBoynton]

WOW. I can't believe you really said this.

 

Do you really think looking at a pix of Peterhoff is the same as being right there with the spray of the fountains in your face?. Do you really think being on the top of the Eiffel tower is the same as looking at some video of it?. I am sorry you have never been to the Statue of Liberty, but you are truly missing something special. Climbing all those stairs to the top, peering out threw the crown, just being on the island and peering up at this magnificent attraction, if you think looking at some pix of it is the same, I sort of feel sorry you feel this way.

 

have you never been to sporting event, a football game, a baseball game? can you honestly say it is the same as sitting in your home and watching it on TV.

 

so people here don't have to visit most of the major sites in St Petersburg. They can just look at Terry's pix and be satisfied?

 

Sorry Stan, you are very sadly mistaken.

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

You got that right Len!

[Pet Nit Noy]

One point that should be brought up, is a personal question to ask yourself. What do you really want from the visit? If it is a list of must-sees to be checked off or is the visit to learn about a new place and its people or figure out how it tickets and have fun.

 

Why do you think the two options are an either/or situation? I can learn about the people interacting with my guide as we move from destination to destination. Furthermore, I know more about the people when I understand the historical events that have led to the conditions in which the people live today.

 

I see most people want the exact same destinations because that is what others suggested but do you really go to those types of activities at home or is art and history your passion and seeing some of the must sees a dream long before someone on a forum said you must see a particular palace or church?

 

The answer to your question is "Yes, I go to art museums in my hometown and in every single city I visit. Yes, I go to historical sites because my hometown for more than 5 decades was the capital of the United States of America and I'm used to visiting historic sites." Since that's the case, why do you imagine I'd pass up visiting significant places in St. Petersburg just because they're crowded?

 

I know one family who recently came and did not want anything expect to explore. They did what they wanted and most of that was doing things others on the ship did not even know about. For example the kids were football(soccer) fans and the local team was playing their rival Moscow team. The kids spotted a poster advertisement so all the plans instantly changes and the family went to a world class football game, posting selfies for all back home. That was what they would have done other places because that was how they had fun.

 

Good for that family, but one example hardly is the basis for generalizations? If I'm that soccer mad, I'll buy tickets to the EuroCup or the World Cup and focus on soccer. I won't spend my time in a city of art, culture, and history watching soccer.

 

Few visitors even have access to the most interesting part of the city, getting to know locals. Very few ever meet someone on the entire voyage who was not paid to entertain them. It seems a shame that the most interesting parts of the city are not experienced

 

Sorry, but getting to know the locals is an activity for an extended visit.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[Pet Nit Noy]

... major disappointment for him in St. Petersburg was that we didn't have a choice in where to eat lunch and the places we ate didn't serve any Russian beers).

 

We used the services of White Nights Tours, a much, much smaller organization. Each of the two days we toured with them, our guide would ask us what kind of food we wanted. The answer was "Russian" both days, although we ended up going to a Georgian restaurant. I'm reasonably confident that the guide phoned ahead to make a reservation, but she certainly didn't pre-order a meal. We ordered our own lunch after reading the menu and hearing suggestions from our guide, Asya.

 

For people making their first trip to St. Petersburg, this system might not be appealing since the lunch break was definitely longer than arriving at a pre-determined restaurant and eating a pre-ordered lunch. However, we had already visited St. Petersburg for a three-day visit so we could approach what were days four and five with a more relaxed attitude. (Frankly, the leisurely lunch was welcome especially the first day when we had a twelve-hour day scheduled!)

 

The first day, we ate at Sadko, a restaurant near the Mariinsky Theater. We ordered a bowl of soup and two appetizers to share. The soup was call something like Schii, and is a spicy beef soup. Delicious! Our two appetizers were a crepe filled with sauteed wild mushroom in a light cream sauce and stuffed cabbage. Definitely too much food, but there's nothing we would have been happy to omit. Beer was definitely on the menu -- both draft and bottled options -- but we didn't order any.

 

The second day, we ate Georgian food which emphasizes vegetables a bit more and uses slightly different spices. The restaurant was between the Mariinsky and the Russian Museum. (Basically, the Hermitage has all the European art and the Russian Museum has all the Russian art.) Again, we began with soup. Awesome, but we had to leave some in the bowl because we went crazy and ordered too much because we couldn't decide what to eliminate. Then we shared cold eggplants filled with a walnut stuffing, a meal filled flat dumpling that is the national dish of Georgia, and a hot tomato and eggplant dish. I know the restaurant offered wine; I'm guessing it also offered beer.

 

Here's the URL for the Georgian Restaurant, Aragvi:

http://spb.restoran.ru/spb/detailed/restaurants/aragvi/#_=_

 

Asya, kept asking if we wanted Beef Stroganov, but I can make that at home. We wanted to eat things we didn't even know about and we wanted small plates so we could sample lots of dishes.

[buggins0402]

Yes, Len, I agree everyone has a little different reason to visit a place. I have been to NYC a hundred times and never went the Statue of Liberty but spent a lot of time exploring and getting to know the local people.

Focusing on history from 1703 to 1917 of St Petersburg and missing out on the people and society is the point of my question in the first sentence.

It is just surprising to me that 16,000 people on a busy port day want to limit their engagement to looking at the same very crowded 8 points of interest. Staying home and getting a photo-book would meet the same goal. Visitors ought to ask themselves why they are going before planning their cruise

 

I think I understand where you are coming from Stan. Cruisers seem to run on a continuum, with on one extreme end, those that prefer to take the approach of being students of history and learn while in a port, while on the other end are "social scientists" who want to roll up their sleeves and experience the culture. We personally tend toward to the social scientist end of the spectrum, so felt there was something missing on the tours. Those that tend toward being the students and learning and seeing as much as they can, are usually quite happy with the tours.

 

There is no right or wrong way in how one approaches travel ...but, the tours offered are really set up for those who are the voracious learners rather than those of us that just want to experience a culture.

[la*cruiser]

Hello everyone! Just wanted to share the wonderful experience my mom and kids had with TJ Travel in St. Petersburg last week. St. Petersburg was the masterpiece of their Baltic tour! My friend recommended TJ Travel from her Baltic tour a few years ago, and I am glad I listened to her.

 

First of all TJ put our minds at ease with Regal Princess falce alarm about the possibility of passenger passports being kept on board by ship's officials?! TJ explained the two requirements to pass the Russian customs - a free "blanket visa" they provide, and an original passport. Going through the customs was a breeze.

 

Tour guide Anna and driver Sasha were waiting and what a surprise! Instead of a 12-16 people group Mom and our teenagers got a private tour, just for the 3 of them (at a discounted group price)! Anna was very informative, knowledgeable and protective, even stopped traffic in the middle of street when Mom and kids had to cross. Sasha was very helpful and real gentleman with Mom.

 

There was a delicious Borscht, Beef Stroganoff and tasty icecream lunch on tour-day 1 (included), and fancy pastries snack on day-2.

 

The night Folk Show was tremendous, and my older son got even invited to dance with the pros - steps similar to square dancing. At the end, after all points of the Exclusive Faberge Tour were covered, there was some time left, and Anna kindly offered extra points of interest which enriched even more our St.Petersburg experience.

 

Also, we had a prepaid tour for Helsinki with TJ Travel, which unfortunately didn't happen because of inclement weather, which prevented the ship docking there. TJ Travel informed me promptly of the change of plans, and refunded the Helsinki tour via PayPal.

 

I am already planning a trip for my husband and I with TJ Travel next summer.

Edited August 1, 2015 by la*cruiser

[hun]

Our Baltic cruise isn't until 2017, but I've been starting to read up on the tour operators - it seems most folks are happy with their selection - Alla, SPb, TJ, and Best... Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but it seems that the groups have been smaller (but comparably priced) in the Best and TJ tours?

[la*cruiser]

Can anybody tell me what the difference between the local tour operators in St. Petersburg is? Does each have their area of expertise or are they all more or less the same?

 

My family used TJ Travel for a 2-day St. Petersburg tour in July 2015. TJ were wonderful! We were set for a group tour, but TJ pleasantly surprised us with a private tour (at a group price) with a very caring and knowledgeable guide, Anna, and a very helpful driver, Sasha. They did everything possible so my elderly mom and two sons feel comfortable and have unforgettable memories at St. Pete's. My husband and I will arrange tours with them this year again.

TJ put our minds to peace and Julia answered every question we had in less than 24 hours. They came highly recomended by a friend and they kept their reputation. Last year we had a Helsinki tour with them, as well, but because of inclement weather Princess didn't dock there. TJ Travel returned the Helsinki Tour fee via PayPal promptly.

[GradUT]

Our Baltic cruise isn't until 2017, but I've been starting to read up on the tour operators - it seems most folks are happy with their selection - Alla, SPb, TJ, and Best... Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but it seems that the groups have been smaller (but comparably priced) in the Best and TJ tours?

 

Alla, SPb and TJ all say on their websites that their tours are a maximum of 16 people. (Best Tours does not have this info on their website but says they provide earphones free of charge for groups over 8 people so they obviously do groups larger than 8 people.)

 

I don't think you can assume that any one company will have significantly smaller groups than 16. (Ours with ALLA was 13 people). It just will depend on the number of people who book and the number of guides they have available to work.

 

And, BTW, having headsets (or earphones) is a REAL necessity on these tours. There are so many people in places such as the Hermitage or the Church on Spilled Blood that you would never hear what your guide is saying if you didn't have a headset.

[Got2Cruise]

Correct me if I'm wrong but you can arrange your own group and set a limit. Go to your roll call and start a group. I started a group of a limit of ten withSPB on my roll call when i went. Imo 10 is the perfect amount because the price point is affordable yet the group is intimate

[lcumpire]

I started an excursion with TJ with only 8 people so it can be done

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[hun]

Thanks for your comments !!

Never too early to start planning! :)

[John Bull]

Our Baltic cruise isn't until 2017, but I've been starting to read up on the tour operators - it seems most folks are happy with their selection - Alla, SPb, TJ, and Best... Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but it seems that the groups have been smaller (but comparably priced) in the Best and TJ tours?

 

If you book seats-in-bus I don't think it matters which operator, I think it's a matter of luck how many in your group - up to the 16-seat capacity of the vans.

 

If you arrange a private group (or a RollCall share) in most cases you need at least 8 (Denrus 10) to get the same price per person as their seat-in-bus prices.

So - subject to confirmation - if the size of group is important to you, fixing up your own tour for 8 is the most economic way.

We were 12, no problem with that size of group.

The wireless headphones (Alla, but I think the other as well) were a boon - we didn't have to sit on the shoulder of the guide or fight background noise. It also meant we could wander away without appearing to be rude or disinterested ;)

 

JB :)

[Pet Nit Noy]

Thanks for your comments !!

Never too early to start planning! :)

 

 

The biggest drawback to planning too early is if you're hoping to fill your small group private tours from your roll call, other people may not be ready to commit to joining. You might develop some anxiety as the weeks go by and you see the unfilled spaces on a tour that you've arranged.

 

Happily, the reality is that people welcome someone else doing the work when it comes to arranging. Correspond with the tour providers to nail down the details that mean the most to you: group size, lunch arrangement, any tweaks to the basic itinerary. Begin watching your roll call. When people start showing up -- introducing themselves and talking about arranging tours -- publicize your St Petersburg arrangements and your tour/s should fill up nicely.

[RJB]

We have used Alla twice in SPB, the last time in Aug. and they were very good. Had them for three days and we saw everything we wanted to see and more. Even changed a few stops to get to see other things we wanted to see. Check them out. They have a very good website. :):):)

[Blunkly]

We're researching for our 2017 Baltic and appreciate hearing about new names and experiences, thanks Blunkly!

You're very welcome!

 

No huge knowledge beyond my experiences from last year when I confess to having been uneasy about St Peterburg/Russia so probably spent more time researching there than all other destinations combined!

 

Feel free to PM me if you want to ask about St Petersburg tour or any of the other destinations we visited

[Blunkly]

Must confess that I'm becoming quite suspicious about the influence some posters have in terms of content that appears on these forums!

 

Last year my wife & I did the Baltic Cruise and as I had spent quite a bit of time researching it all beforehand, I outlined in my posts our experience & conclusions.

I mentioned/recommended 2 of the lesser known companies for St Petersburg Tours and gave my reasons for so doing.

The main reason was that all the tour companies seem to use the same pool of drivers, guides etc. so no great difference.

Thus Service/Price should be borne in mind by those planning to book a tour in St Petersburg.

 

A very busy poster firstly accused me of spamming because I had offered the same advice on more than 1 thread.

I genuinely didn't realise this was not allowed and apologised.

The same poster then basically pointed readers towards the better known tour companies and in my reply I restated that they all fish in the same pool etc. and refuted some of the points he made.

 

What really bothers me is that all my related postings have now been deleted and it really smacks of undue influence by some to advance the case of some companies when reference to other companies just happens to get deleted.

 

Perhaps I have better things to do than have over 5,000 postings to my credit but as someone with zero involvement in any aspect of tour business and was simply recounting my experiences suffice to say that I will read many postings in future with an extra dash of scepticism bearing in mind that some views might have been deleted.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Must confess that I'm becoming quite suspicious about the influence some posters have in terms of content that appears on these forums!...

 

...What really bothers me is that all my related postings have now been deleted and it really smacks of undue influence by some to advance the case of some companies when reference to other companies just happens to get deleted.

 

The decision to delete a post lies exclusively with the moderators. Here is the text from Sticky Post #2, from the messages that precede cruisers' posts.

 

"Just a friendly reminder that any questions regarding or discussion of removed posts and threads should not be posted on the boards.

 

Post removals are at the discretion of Cruise Critic Management and all decisions shall remain final. Please review our Community Guidelines for further information.

 

Thanks for your cooperation"

 

I fully expect your complaining post to be deleted and I expect my post reacting to your complaint to be deleted, too. I'm hoping that you'll see this reminder about the CC board policy before it gets deleted.

[hun]

I had noticed that several posts had been deleted (white unmarked vans etc) and I thought it was just my computer! Personally, I had thought they were all interesting information 🤔

[Blunkly]

Can fully understand need to ensure that site isn't manipulated by vested interests but unfortunately it looks as if many genuine, and well intentioned posters, fail to have their views communicated.

 

Truth is that many occasional posters ever read all the Stickys and as a result their posts might not be 100% in conformity with guidelines.

 

Still it would be nice if common sense prevailed and that a genuine judgement call be made on whether poster is genuine etc.