HELP - St. Petersburg tours, company reqired.........

[dafje]

Anyone have experience with insider tours, petersburg voyages of alex's?

[Birdman123]

We booked with TJ Travel for tours in St Petersberg whilst on P&O cruise to the Baltic in July 2014. TJ responded immediately to our internet enquiry and from that point on all worked exceedingly smoothly. The group visa arranged by TJ worked like clockwork and Elena, our guide, was waiting for us as we disembarked from the ship. She led us on a two day tour which was truly comprehensive and we felt we definitely saw all the major sights of the great city. Elena’s historical and artistic knowledge was encyclopaedic and she had the ability to move us through the various museums, palaces and churches so we covered a huge amount in a short time. Having discussed ship based tours with other passengers on board, we are convinced that we had a far superior experience and we would heartily recommend TJ Travel to others. We were also very fortunate to have a tremendously friendly group of fellow travellers on the TJ tour and this certainly added to that experience.

[The Gidmeister]

I`ll second that, by and large. Most things ran very smoothly, given the plethora of things which could have gone wrong! The only hiccup was the response to my girlfiend`s dietary needs - she ordered vegetarian meals, which never quite worked out. The first day she was given meat soup, the second day a fish course....... Elena, our guide didn`t put much energy into trying to sort it out, though she was, in all other respects, excellent.

[2ashevillesailors]

Hi people. MY partner and I have just booked a Baltic trip on the P&O Arcadia, sailing on 25/07/2014.

I`ve been in touch with Red October, who were recommended as the best and cheapest way to see St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, as there are only two of us, it would cost $1,470 for a two-day tour, which does seen a tad expensive!

So are there any people out there booked on this cruise, who haven`t yet booked all their trips. As they say, two`s company, but a dozen is affordable.........

 

SPB Tour is fantastic. Go to their website and ask to be added to a tour. I believe our tour was Around $240 each last year for a 2 day tour. It was wonderful, the were intelligent, spoke perfect English and protected us as thugh we were family. Ca not say enough good about them. Very happy.

Edited September 8, 2014 by 2ashevillesailors

[love2cruise8]

We researched and decided to go with TJ Tours while in St. Petersburg for 3 days on an August cruise. Simply fantastic all around. We chose the private, 3-day, all-highlights tour. Normally we go with the group tours offered by the cruise line, but felt there was so much to see in SPB that a private tour would be great. Our guide, Elena, was amazing and a joy to be with, as were our drivers--We learned and saw so much, and felt that our guide and driver had our comfort, enjoyment and safety in mind the whole 3 days.

You can expect prompt, courteous, accurate booking and email contact prior to arrival, as well as all the paperwork you will need for Passport Control--we did not need separate visas. Private tours are in a Mercedes sedan, very flexible and customizable. We appreciated being able to get up close where busses cannot go, and being able to bypass lines-we zipped right into each place we visited. Enjoy beautiful St. Petersburg! You will be pleased with TJ.

[Irishbuckeye]

We researched and decided to go with TJ Tours while in St. Petersburg for 3 days on an August cruise. Simply fantastic all around. We chose the private, 3-day, all-highlights tour. Normally we go with the group tours offered by the cruise line, but felt there was so much to see in SPB that a private tour would be great. Our guide, Elena, was amazing and a joy to be with, as were our drivers--We learned and saw so much, and felt that our guide and driver had our comfort, enjoyment and safety in mind the whole 3 days.

You can expect prompt, courteous, accurate booking and email contact prior to arrival, as well as all the paperwork you will need for Passport Control--we did not need separate visas. Private tours are in a Mercedes sedan, very flexible and customizable. We appreciated being able to get up close where busses cannot go, and being able to bypass lines-we zipped right into each place we visited. Enjoy beautiful St. Petersburg! You will be pleased with TJ.

 

I totally agree. We used TJ in August from the Emerald Princess...we couldn't have been more satisfied! We had Maria as guide and Edward as driver in a 16 passenger Mercedes van. They packed a lot into two days!

Brian and Lauralee

[sibbie2]

Hi, my husband and I cruised on the Royal Princess in mid August and were just so impressed with TJ Tours, based in St. Petersburg. The emails, including visa details and costs etc. were efficiently sent and responded to, pre cruise. Paying on the second last day of a 6 tour package (US$630.00) went smoothly and the trust that Tatiana puts in all her customers is to be commended.

 

The meeting places on the pier were easily found and the tour guides were just so patient and caring. The tour guides had to be the best ever, Michael, Sara, Sandra, Marina and in Berlin, either the name was Max or my husband says, Matt. He made our tour one of the best ever done. So informative.

 

St Petersburg was terrific, we left the pier at 7.30am and returned by 7.30pm. The next day, we departed around 8am and were back in good time for departure. There were no worries or insecure feelings at all about being late.

 

The logistics to be admitted to the Peterhof, Hermitage, Catherine's Palace were perfectly handled. The metro tour was different and not to be missed. Our lunches so enjoyable . Our companions numbered about 12-14 and we all enjoyed each others company, the buses used were clean, and well driven by the relevant drivers.

 

We have already informed friends travelling on May 2 2015 on the Regal Princess and they are making arrangements shortly.

 

I know there are other independent tour operators working the same ports, but all in all we loved T J Travel.