Esperance tour company for St. Petersberg

[alibee]

Has anyone ever used or heard of this company for private tours in St. Petersberg? Any onformation would be appreciated.

[joramrose]

No.

right now, I am looking at Red October, DenRus and Nota Bene. Does anyone have any experience with either DenRus or Nota Bene, both of which are cheaper than Red October, which I understand is a very good reliable company.

thanks

joan

[Andee]

When I researched this issue in 2003, I found RO and Denrus to be quite close in price. When we asked to make some very minor changes in the suggested itinerary, RO was very cooperative, but Denrus became very unpleasant to deal with and significantly raised the price.

 

Sorry, but I haven't heard of Esperance or Nota Bene.

[alibee]

My sister-in-law did the same cruise last summer that we are doing this summer (Radisson Seven Seas Voyager) and used Esperance, but I have not seen it mentioned on this board.

Red October seems to be the tour company of choice and I have e-mailed them.

 

Does anyone know if Red October also does a one day tour to Moscow from St. Petersburg and if so whether they take care of the visa for that too? I know radisson does a one day shore excursion and that is my alternative.

[Zimmy]

Our travel agent suggested Esperance. She has used them many times and finds them to be reliable. She also says that their guides are wonderful. On her suggestion, we have booked with them for three days in St. Petersburg.

[Sampras]

Our travel agent solicited three quotes from tour companies in St. Petersburg through Virtuoso, and we selected Esperance as the most comprehensive and accommodating to our special requests. We may be paying a bit more, but I am pleased with the choice.

[Sampras]

Sorry, Sampras again. Although costly, Esperance was nevertheless less expensive than the Crystal Symphony excursions, as we are a party of four traveling together.

[alibee]

To Zimmy and Sampras and anyone else who has used or is using Esperance:

Esperance requires paument to be made three weeks in advance by wire. Did they require that of you too?

 

I also noted that Esperance's price is substantially higher than Denrus or Red October, although I do iundertsand that their service may well be superior.

[Sampras]

You are correct, Alibee, that payment for Esperance is required prior to departure. We did a bank transfer through our travel agent. The independent bids I have received for excursions into Berlin all request payment in cash at the end of the tour. Trusting they will so up . . .

[alibee]

Sampras,

 

What ship are you sailing? Crystal? Only an assumption since the itinerary includes Berlin. We are on the Radisson Voyager leaving July 30th.