Private tour in St. Petersburg: July 11-13

[Bruce3939]

This post refers to the July 8, 2006 sailing of the Navigator to the Baltic.

My friend and I have hired an english speaking guide highly recommended to us by friends who used her in 2005. We would like to find one other couple to share her services. We will be escorted each day we are in St. Petersburg and avoid the crowds of ships tours. We wil be driven around in a Mercedes limosine.

Here is the tour:

Dear Bruce,

Thank you very much for enquiry. I am available for July 11-13th and will be happy to be your guide. There is the information regarding my service in St Petersburg:

• Itinerary.

July 11th, Tuesday

9 am

Meet at the ship

9-30 am

General tour of the historic part of the city, including visits to the Peter and Paul Fortress and to the Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood

1 pm

Lunch

2 pm

Visit to Saint Isaac's cathedral

Visiting a local food market and flee market

7 pm

Either return to the ship or optional evening program (in which case return is 9:30 pm).

July 12th, Wednesday

9 am

Meet at the ship; visit to the State Hermitage Museum

1 pm

Lunch

2pm

Travel to the Fountain Park of the Great Palace in the town of Peterhof

Visiting subway stations

7 pm

Either return to the ship or optional evening program (in which case return is 9:30 pm)

July 13th, Thursday

9 am

Travel to Catherine's Palace in the town of Pushkin (Tsarskoe Selo - Tsar's Village). Inside visit to Catherine's Palace.

1 pm

Lunch

Shopping

5 pm

Return to the ship

This itinerary covers the best of our city and its suburbs; however any changes could be made if you have some special ideas on what to see and where to visit.

Cost of three day tour is:

2pers – $550

3 pers – $448

4 pers – $399

5 pers – $376

6 pers – $367

7 pers – $351

8 pers – $336

9 pers – $314

10 pers – $297

Price includes:

1. Professional guide for three days

2. Driver and vehicle for three days (Mercedes sedan/mini van/mini bus; non-smoking and with A/C)

3. Admission fees to all the museums/sights shown in the itinerary

Price doesn’t include:

1. Cost of lunches (approximately $10 pp per lunch)

2. Cost of evening entertainment

3. Cost of video/photo permissions in the museums (video about $10; photo – about $3)

2. Evening entertainment.

For the evening entertainment I would suggest the following:

• Ballet/opera performance in a theatre.

We have many grand, old or very nice theatres in the city:

Mariinsky (former Kirov theatre) is the best in St Petersburg and equal to Bolshoi theatre in Moscow. Actually, these two theatres are most famous and widely known when one talks about classical ballet (which is basically Russian ballet). The building where the theatre is accommodated is also very impressive edifice from outside (we are going to see it during our tour) and inside. Saying all these nice things about Mariinsky I must mention one negative point about it – it is most expensive theatre in the city. Prices depend on the quality of the seats and could vary from $70 to $140 per seat. I was told that it is usual price for ballet performance in the US either, but when you are in Mariinsky you’ll understand that you are getting more value for the same money here in St Petersburg if compared to an American theatre.

Musorgsky theatre is the second theatre in St Petersburg. Prices vary from $40 to $80 per seat.

Theatre of musical comedy (for ballet performances) - $30 to $60 per seat

Conservatorium theatre is the less expensive - $20-30 per seat.

For classical music we have two places – Big and Small Philharmonic halls. Price will be from $30 to $50 per person

Operas could be performed either in the theatres mentioned above or in special theatre St Petersburg Opera. It is a small theatre (former private theatre). I was once there and found the singers there have very good voices. The opera was very good, so I can recommend it either.

If you have a desire to attend a ballet/opera performance, please let me know because tickets for our theatres could be purchased in one month advance. Somewhere in the middle of July I’ll let you know the play list of the theatres and you could choose what you’d like to see. Of course, if you decided to skip a theatre performance but changed your mind in the last minute when you are actually have arrived, I’ll try to accommodate you in any case but in order to escape additional worries and risks it would be better to have everything organized in advance.

• Folk show.

There are several places where one can see a folk show but the best in the city is in Nicholas palace (former private residence of Grand duke Nicholas, son of Nicholas I). The actors/dancers/singers are truly professionals and I have no one guest who was disappointed with the show. The show itself consists of two parts with intermission between them. During the intermission the guests are offered two sandwiches (but very-y-y small, though!) with black and red caviar and glass of Champaign/wine or shot of vodka. It is not really a buffet (as they call it in the palace) but a sampling. However, it is very pleasant to have some snacks offered. The cost of the tickets for the folk show is $40 per person.

In case with the folk show, I can arrange the tickets in the last minute.

• Dinner in a local restaurant.

We have restaurants with Russian, European, French, Italian, Mexican, Australian cuisines… Most likely if you decided to have a dinner in the city you’d prefer a Russian restaurant. In some Russian Restaurants could be a gipsy band singing…

It would be better to book the table in advance, but it is not a big deal to arrange the dinner in the last minute.

• Stroll along the central streets of the city.

When the tour is over, you can stay in the city – to walk along the streets without hassle, to seat in a sidewalk café having a cup of coffee/tea or beer (the last is very good, by the way) and to pass your evening in leisure.

Please, note, it is persistently advised by the customs to return the passengers to the ship not later then 11pm. The tour itself is usually over not later then 7pm so, till 11pm there are at least 4 hours left for your evening activities.

3. Visa

Visa is not required.

4. Meeting

You will be met by your guide and driver at the ship at 9am. The guide will have a sign with your name which helps to recognize each other strait away.

5. Payment

Any kind of deposits are not required. I trust my guests completely and it is enough to have your e-mail with confirmation of your interest to book my time. When I have the confirmation I mark my calendar for you.

Payment itself is welcomed on the last day of your tour in US dollars cash.

If you are interested in joining us, please email me at: Bruce3939@cox.net.

Cheers

[nearly there]

We won't be in St. Petersburg at the same time as you; we're on the Navigator starting 29 July, so not able to think about sharing your guide. I am looking at the possibilities for tours and had pretty much decided on doing the ship's tours so as not to have the hassle of getting an individual visa. I was suprised to see that your tour guide says that a visa is not necessary. Have you got any other information about how the visa situation works on private tours?

[Bruce3939]

I have to check but I am pretty sure a visa is required for Russia. I was in Moscow a few years ago and needed a Visa.

[souvenir]

Your guide sounds great. Will need a guide later in July. Can you share the contact info? Thanks.

[Bruce3939]

Sure. She was highly recommended by friends who used her services last year. He name is All Ushakova and you can email her at

infor@alla-tour.com. Good luck.

[ethical]

I tried the email you mention but got a failure - didn't go through. Can you check and see if the email is in anyway different.

 

Thanks

[Bruce3939]

My email is Bruce3939@cox.net. If you email me I will respond. Keep in mind I will be away from tomorrow thru Sunday. Thannks.

[HomeLover]

I will be on that cruise, but have done all those things. As for the person who asked about the visa, I have always had one in St. Petersburg. I don't know if this woman has an agreement with the government, but when I did 'my own thing' by hiring a guide from Ost -West, I was told I still needed a visa, despite it was a bona-vide tour company. FYI, Ost-West was very good-I did a 7 hour walking tour and really saw another side of St. Petersburg.

Bruce, maybe we will run into each other on the cruise.