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St. Petersburg - ALLA, TJ's, Best Guides........PRIVATE vs. GROUP -

martyap

By martyap,
in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea

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martyap

martyap

Posted
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I am looking at all three companies for August, 2019. Their group tours max at 16 passengers, 12 for Best Guides. Alla seems to be the highest in cost and TJ's the lowest......but all similar.

Here is my question....... when I priced out ALLA their "private" tour (rather than the 16 person group tour), based on 8 passengers, did not cost that much more per person.....actually a total of $50pp including lunches. I am wondering if the more private option would offer more flexibility, less time wasted, etc than the usual 16 passenger group excursion. Would it be worth the extra few $$.

 

 

Thanks

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ljandgb

ljandgb

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Absolutely. Less time waiting to herd people. Less time waiting for everyone to go to the restroom, order lunch, etc, etc. This makes you more nimble, able to change plans on the fly.

 

If you don't have 8 people traveling with you, you can post on your cruise's roll call here to find fellow travelers.

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Earl Rosebery

Earl Rosebery

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The smaller the group the better. We were 6 and that was plenty.. With larger groups, you are always waiting for someone and you are obliged to use headsets to listen to the guides. You probably will only go to SPB once; make the best of it.

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Ashland

Ashland

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Yes the less people the better...ours with just the two of us with driver and guide from TJ Travel...was just amazing...talk about flexibility...on the spur of the moment changed/added as we wanted to. A perfect 2 day visit.

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kitkat343

kitkat343

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We did a private tour with just two parents and our 3 year old son, and it was really worth it. We were able to skip through some of the sites to see the highlights (such as the first few rooms in Catherine's palace and then the Amber room) and stay longer at destinations our son was interested in. Given the fact that St. Petersburg is a once in a lifetime destination for most, I'd say go with a private tour if you can easily afford it to maximize your limited time in this gorgeous city.

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Hlitner "Live from...." Rare

Hlitner

Posted
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We would go with Alla or TJ Tours in a heartbeat and have long recommended those two companies. As to the size of your group, the smaller the group the better. In fact, a private guide/vehicle for a family group is the ideal way to tour. When we last were with TJ Tours we had a group of about 10 and our guide often made decisions after explaining options and asking us to vote :). This was especially nice when we had to decide where to eat lunch.

 

Hank

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martyap

martyap

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We would go with Alla or TJ Tours in a heartbeat and have long recommended those two companies. As to the size of your group, the smaller the group the better. In fact, a private guide/vehicle for a family group is the ideal way to tour. When we last were with TJ Tours we had a group of about 10 and our guide often made decisions after explaining options and asking us to vote :). This was especially nice when we had to decide where to eat lunch.

 

 

 

Hank

 

 

 

Exactly what we decided....Alla for 8 of us

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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vplsh

vplsh

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We did the small tour with Best Guides and there were only 7 of us, my husband and me along with a family of 5 from the same ship. We were able to get in and out of places quickly and didn't have to wait in any lines. I highly recommend them!

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  • 2 weeks later...
kentuckycruiser

kentuckycruiser

Posted
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We did a TJ tour from the Zuiderdam in July of 2018 and we had 15 in our group. The group worked well together, mix of families with older children and couples. SPB is sooooooo crowded that everyone was dealing with a level of crowds no matter if you were with a private tour or a small group. Now I could have done without a 2 hour walk through St. Catherine's gardens in the high heat. We had a nice lunch the first day "in the countryside" and a terrible lunch the second day in the city. Both we paid for ourselves. The Mercedes van had AC but European AC is not American AC. I was glad we didn't do the hydrofoil. It seems great when reading about it, but I bet it was a hot ride.

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KittyloverCA

KittyloverCA

Posted
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We did a TJ tour from the Zuiderdam in July of 2018 and we had 15 in our group. The group worked well together, mix of families with older children and couples. SPB is sooooooo crowded that everyone was dealing with a level of crowds no matter if you were with a private tour or a small group. Now I could have done without a 2 hour walk through St. Catherine's gardens in the high heat. We had a nice lunch the first day "in the countryside" and a terrible lunch the second day in the city. Both we paid for ourselves. The Mercedes van had AC but European AC is not American AC. I was glad we didn't do the hydrofoil. It seems great when reading about it, but I bet it was a hot ride.

 

Yes the hydrofoil was pretty uncomfortable!

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manonabike

manonabike

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We chose Alla for SPB. It was just my wife and I and our 2.5yr old. We were able to tailor our itinerary in advance so we could see specific things, including Peterhoff with the Hydrofoil back (it was fine in June). We could be flexible for when the little one was bored or tired. Got to see everything we wanted in 1 day and the guide and driver were fab. They even sorted out the car seat so it was hassle free. Private all the way!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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heliwoman

heliwoman

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Just got back from the Breakaway and we did TJ Travels for STP. We had 21 people in our family and they were fantastic. The vehicle was a mini bus - plenty of room for everyone. The kids were ecstatic as there was WIFI on the bus. The tour guide, Daria, was wonderful. I highly recommend her - easy to understand; willing to stop and go were we wanted (ie more time at Peteroff and the water fountains). Bottom line: do a private tour.

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KittyloverCA

KittyloverCA

Posted
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Just got back from the Breakaway and we did TJ Travels for STP. We had 21 people in our family and they were fantastic. The vehicle was a mini bus - plenty of room for everyone. The kids were ecstatic as there was WIFI on the bus. The tour guide, Daria, was wonderful. I highly recommend her - easy to understand; willing to stop and go were we wanted (ie more time at Peteroff and the water fountains). Bottom line: do a private tour.

 

That is a big group!

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dabear

dabear

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We did a group of 16 in July, 2018 off the Eclipse with Alla. The group was interesting , fun and courteous with no waiting. Had a great tour , tour guide and highly recommend them.

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