Recs for Warnemunde, Gydnia, and St. Petersburg with children

[dwine10]

My husband and I will be cruising on the NCL Getaway with our two children (ages 6 and 10) this summer. Does anyone have any feedback as to their favorite things to do with children these ages in St. Petersburg, Gydnia, and Warnemunde (we do not plan to go to Berlin)?

 

For St. Petersburg we will likely be doing a private tour. I know about the major attractions that are commonly visited, but was wondering if there are any other less common attractions for children we should consider? Favorite tour company that does family tours? Also it seems that the Hermitage is a difficult place to take children and am curious to know if others have feedback about visiting it with children as I am considering skipping it.

 

Thank you in advance for any input!

 

 

 

 

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[KeithJenner]

We went to St Petersburg last year with our son, who was 11.

 

He likes seeing places, but we knew we had to be careful, as two long days would be pushing it. We made twin main decisions:

 

No Hermitage. We actually aren't too fussed either way about art galleries, but saw that as something which he could potentially find quite hard work.

 

We would just do a one day tour. That meant that we would have a relaxing day onboard before the rest of the cruise. That would work even better on the Getaway as there is lots to do onboard.

 

I am so pleased we made those decisions.

 

We organised a private tour with TJ Travel, just for the three of us. As it was just us, we could put together an itinerary that worked best for us.

 

We obviously had to make some decisions about our priorities. My wife and I have previously been into Peterhof and didn't think that would be that appealing to our son compared to some other places. We also decided to skip Catherine's Palace. Instead, we spent more time in Peterhof park.

 

He really enjoyed the park and fountains, especially the trick ones. We did a subway visit which was great and went into Spilled Blood, which we all thought was fantastic.

 

We were able to get round lots of places as well as that, and not having to wait for others meant we could move around quicker.

 

TJ were excellent at helping us put the itinerary together (although we already had a good idea of what we wanted to do). The cost was obviously more per day, but as we only did one day then it ended up slightly cheaper than a two day tour with a bigger group would have been.

 

Obviously all kids are different and the same itinerary may not work as well for your family, but I think it's a good way to go about it.

 

Finally, on the Star, a local group came onboard to give a show in the evening. If they still do that on the Getaway then I'd really recommend it. Very funny in places, and our son loved it.

[keefu]

I'm cruising on the NCL Getaway at the end of July 17. We're are a family of 4 adults and 2 kids (aged 2 and 4). I've sent emails to 4 recommended tour companies to organise a 2 day private tour in SPB. Looks like TJ Tours are coming up tops.

 

Initially I was going to miss out the Hermitage as I expect my 2 kids would be bored to death but it's one of the major attractions and it's looks like an amazing building. As my wife and myself would only visit SPB only once in our lifetime we added it back into our itinerary for 1.5 hrs so at least we can say we've been there. As our private tour is flexible, we can leave early if the kids become restless.

 

As it's a private tour, the kids will be entertained by the boats ride on the canals, subway ride, and the fountains at Peterhof.

 

 

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Edited March 12, 2017 by keefu

[sunsetbeachgal]

Warnemunde is a cute little beach resort with shops, cafes, food carts, etc. The beach is wide and looked nice, and for us it was all walkable from the ship. I would think just staying in town would be a good day with kids.

 

 

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[gkkapp]

Not much to see in Gydnia. It is the port for Gdansk. Your kids may really love Malbork Castle http://www.castles.info/poland/malbork/ outside Gdansk. It is the largest all brick castle in the world. We visited it last year and really enjoyed it....and we're not kids;). Did it as a ship's tour but it probably could be done as a private tour. Try "Tours by Locals" https://www.toursbylocals.com/ as they may be able to set up a tour with more interests for children.

 

<<<Karen>>>

[gkkapp]

Forgot to mention that Best Guides in St Petersburg offers tours designed for children. Here's a link to their children's tours: http://www.bestguides-spb.com/children-page.html We have been to St Pete 3 times and used 3 different tour companies. We used Best Guides last year for a custom tour for just the two of us and we were VERY pleased with their service. A search of this board should bring up people's experience with Best Guides children's tours.

 

<<<Karen>>>

[Sauer-kraut]

Check out the Molli Train for Bad Doberan its a small gauge steam railway that goes almost through the center of town. There are lots of information on this board for it, and check out TravelAnni's website as well. She has all the details on how to DIY public transportation. http://travelanni.webs.com/

[GradUT]

When we were in Warnemueunde, we rented bicycles for the easy bike trail along the coastline to Kuehlungsborn. The path is wide, flat and VERY lightly used, so it would be a good choice for kids. The ride through the countryside is very scenic.

 

Here's info on places to rent bikes:

 

1. Location and Hours

Alexandrinenstrasse 117 (two blocks from the Tourist Information Office) (9am to 6pm)

Muehlenstrasse 35 (6 minute walk from the Tourist Information Office) " "

 

Full day rental, including helmet, cost 9 euros a couple years ago. You must have your passports to rent bicycles!

 

Here's their webpage--http://www.fahrradverleih-warnemuende.de/

(They speak English, so no worries.)

[dwine10]

Thank you all for the very helpful suggestions so far! I'm reviewing them all.