prairygirl74 Posted September 20, 2017 #1 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Has anyone used a tour group in St Petersburg other than the one provided by the ship . We are going there next July & I am trying to find a good tour company that is reliable . We did an Eastern Mediterranean last year and I was able to find some very good companys that were cheaper and not as large as the ship excursions . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted September 20, 2017 #2 Share Posted September 20, 2017 A good place to check is the port of call forum: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=192. Also check for reviews on Trip Advisor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted September 20, 2017 #3 Share Posted September 20, 2017 There are lots of options also join the roll call for your cruise thee are probably others willing to share private tours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottishmum40 Posted September 20, 2017 #4 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Can highly recommend Alla Tours, we did a Baltics cruise this year and they arranged our tours in St Petersburg, Copenhagen and Tallinn. They offer a package for more than one port. They were reliable and it was great to be in small groups for each tour. Early entry to places such as the Hermitage before the big bus tours arrive. Everything was booked through their website and they have a messenger system on it which made for excellent communications. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robthens Posted September 20, 2017 #5 Share Posted September 20, 2017 We have used Red October twice. Extremely pleased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John Bull Posted September 20, 2017 #6 Share Posted September 20, 2017 There's a dozen or more excellent local tour operators on the link posted by host Bob. Alla Tours, SPB Tours, Alla Tours, Best Guides, TJ Travel, Red Oktober, Anastasia, to mention just a few. All offer the same visa-free tours as ships' tours, though cruise lines aren't keen to tell you this. I've never seen a bad word about any of them. Some are better than the others at different things, but whichever you choose I'm sure you'll have a great time. You do need to pre-book, because the tour ticket e-mailed to you gets you thro' immigration without a visa. But you don't usually need to pay, or even quote your card number, in advance - they trust you. You pay during the tour. Bear in mind that you can only use your tour ticket to get you thro' immigration for that tour - a tour ticket for Day 1 won't get you thro' immigration on Day 2 - or even for the evening of Day 1. If you want to go ashore entirely independently, without either a ship's tour or a tour with one of those authorised local operators, you need a Russian tourist visa - which is complex or expensive or both, depending on your nationality. JB :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capsu78 Posted September 20, 2017 #7 Share Posted September 20, 2017 (edited) We used TJ Travel and rated them well afterwards- responsive, clean financial transactions and professional. One tip for the Baltics is to book all tours you want through a company based in Russia as you will avoid the VAT tax you will find private tours in the other countries. Also be aware the World Cup is being played in Russia from Mid June through July 15 and St Petersburg is a host city with a venue. Depending on your port of call day, this could be exciting or very crowded with visitors also interested in visiting the same places you want to see. I would work on reservations sooner rather than later, even if it is a year away. Also know that July is "Wedding Month" and one of the charms is seeing photo's being taken at the sites you are at. Edited September 20, 2017 by Capsu78 more content Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted September 20, 2017 #8 Share Posted September 20, 2017 We used TJ Travel and rated them well afterwards- responsive, clean financial transactions and professional.One tip for the Baltics is to book all tours you want through a company based in Russia as you will avoid the VAT tax you will find private tours in the other countries. We also have been very happy with TJ Tours but would also have no problem booking with Alla. Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashland Posted September 20, 2017 #9 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Another vote for TJ Travel...amazing VIP tour for just the two of us...visit of a lifetime experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NantahalaCruiser Posted September 21, 2017 #10 Share Posted September 21, 2017 And another vote for SPB - gave us each a small discount when we got to a full van and our guide was excellent as was the food at restaurants that we were taken to. And like other agencies, they also offer bundled tours at several Baltic ports. The inexpensive walking tour in Tallinn was well worth the price just for the included van ride up to the top of the old town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agnesd Posted September 21, 2017 #11 Share Posted September 21, 2017 We used SPB and were more than happy. The cost was almost the same as the ships, but they were all day tours and beyond wonderful. A small van for 12 of us. We all met on CC and formed a group. Can't say enough about them. Also used them in Berlin. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted September 21, 2017 #12 Share Posted September 21, 2017 There's a dozen or more excellent local tour operators on the link posted by host Bob.Alla Tours, SPB Tours, Alla Tours, Best Guides, TJ Travel, Red Oktober, Anastasia, to mention just a few. All offer the same visa-free tours as ships' tours, though cruise lines aren't keen to tell you this. I've never seen a bad word about any of them. Some are better than the others at different things, but whichever you choose I'm sure you'll have a great time. You do need to pre-book, because the tour ticket e-mailed to you gets you thro' immigration without a visa. But you don't usually need to pay, or even quote your card number, in advance - they trust you. You pay during the tour. Bear in mind that you can only use your tour ticket to get you thro' immigration for that tour - a tour ticket for Day 1 won't get you thro' immigration on Day 2 - or even for the evening of Day 1. If you want to go ashore entirely independently, without either a ship's tour or a tour with one of those authorised local operators, you need a Russian tourist visa - which is complex or expensive or both, depending on your nationality. JB :) +1 on Alla Tours. DON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplesea Posted July 10, 2018 #13 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Has anyone used a tour group in St Petersburg other than the one provided by the ship . We are going there next July & I am trying to find a good tour company that is reliable . We did an Eastern Mediterranean last year and I was able to find some very good companys that were cheaper and not as large as the ship excursions . We too are going next July. Who are you sailing with? We have just got back from doing a Baltic cruise and used a company called Red Sun Tours (redsun-tours.com) which was organised with a group of us from here. Our tour guide was Elena who owns the company and we had a very good time. It was well organised and she was very informative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toofarfromthesea Posted July 10, 2018 #14 Share Posted July 10, 2018 An OT, but somewhat related question. Our Baltic cruise will hit St. Petersburg on May 1st. If that likely to affect our shore tour? We will be using one of the licensed Russian tour companies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ontheweb Posted July 10, 2018 #15 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Another thumbs up for Alla tours. And when we used them, our guide let us know that she had completed all the necessary steps to start her own company. That company is now SPB tours, and as wonderful as she was, I am sure her company is also very, very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogs4fun Posted July 10, 2018 #16 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Another vote for Alla Tours - fabulous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corby114 Posted July 11, 2018 #17 Share Posted July 11, 2018 I highly recommend TJ Tours. We were in St Petersburg last year and really enjoyed the two day tour. Our group consisted of fifteen passengers in a Mercedes van. We saw the major sites and purchased the tour independently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motherof2 Posted August 10, 2018 #18 Share Posted August 10, 2018 We used SPB and owner Vika was just fabulous with helping us plan what we wanted to do, our guide spoke excellent English and was highly educated and intelligent. We’d use them again for sure. We bundled our tours and everyone in our party of 7, including children, loved it. You don’t even have to pay til after the last tour. BAck on the ship we heard lots of complaints from pax who used the ships excursion. We carefully compared what the ship offered and for how much and we saw more things and paid much less than the ship would have charged. The Baltic was a great cruise. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ndhoney Posted August 14, 2018 #19 Share Posted August 14, 2018 I'll second TJ Tours. We just came back from a 2 week Baltic cruise with 3 days in St Petersburg and they were fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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