Alla Tours in other cities?

[janetmojo]

I was wondering if anyone has used Alla tours in cities other than St. Petersberg?  They sent me a very nice comprehensive list of the tours they offer for our Baltic cruise on the Apex this summer and I already feel like I am behind in planning for this trip.  It will be our first visit to all of these cities and I am just wondering if letting them handle it is a good way to go?

[lynncarol]

Been years since my folks plus my husband and I toured with Alla in St Petersburg. Because we were so enthusiastic, my mother recommended Alla tours in Germany to friends of hers.  As I recall, they weren't that happy with it. But perhaps that has changed in the ensuing years.

[Tricialy]

We did a 5 city tour with them in 2014, and we were pleased.  We toured Berlin, Talinn, Helsinki, St. Petersburg (2 days) and Stockholm.  We didn't even pay for the tour until we got to St. Petersburg.   I can see people not being happy with Berlin, it's quite a drive, but we couldn't go to Germany and not go to Berlin. The tour itself was good, it's just a longer ride than most people realize from the port.

 

[trosebery]

Most of the big SPB companies offer tours in other cities, but really, they're just contracting out to local guides. It's not the same experience as in Russia, where you have a guaranteed small group, headphones so that you can hear everything your guide is saying, a dedicated driver with door-to-door service, etc. Some tours will be excellent with small groups (last cruise we went on, two friends of ours booked the Alla tour in Copenhagen and they were the only people to do so, so they had a private tour with an excellent guide!), others will put you on big tour buses with 20 other people and your guide will be wrangling strays all day and hard to hear in the crowd.  So read the details of the tours in other cities carefully. And note that with the exception of SPB (and Berlin, if you're going to Berlin), most other Baltic cities are very easy to explore on your own.

[carlsbadbruin]

We're also cruising the Baltics this summer and plan to book a guided tour only in St. Petersburg. The other ports seem easy to do on your own. 

[John Bull]

1 hour ago, carlsbadbruin said:

The other ports seem easy to do on your own. 

 

Yep 🙂

 

[ontheweb]

18 hours ago, carlsbadbruin said:

We're also cruising the Baltics this summer and plan to book a guided tour only in St. Petersburg. The other ports seem easy to do on your own. 

When we used Alla in 2007, there were not tours by her or any of the other Russian groups except in St. Petersburg. And I agree all the other ports are easy to do on your own.

[knuyens]

We are using Alla tours in 3 other ports besides SP because we enjoy the history, information, and being able to see more in less time with time left over. 

[Sweetsue5680]

On 2/18/2022 at 8:43 AM, knuyens said:

We are using Alla tours in 3 other ports besides SP because we enjoy the history, information, and being able to see more in less time with time left over. 

Exactly!

[billco]

On 2/20/2022 at 6:44 PM, Sweetsue5680 said:

Exactly!

We are cancelling all of our upcoming Alla tours. Not going to support Russian economy.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, billco said:

We are cancelling all of our upcoming Alla tours. Not going to support Russian economy.

I understand what you are saying, but Alla is not the cause of this war.

 

I remember when Paul Simon recorded the album Graceland with Black musicians from South Africa. He was condemned by some as there was supposed to be a boycott of South Africa because of their racist policies. But he was helping the very people that the government's racist policies were harming. Sometimes we have to differentiate between regular people and governments. JMHO

[knuyens]

Please remember that Alla tours are run by people not governments. These same people have had no ship tours these past 2 years due to Covid and now do to One man’s decision another season is likely gone. A photo of and video of Russian people in SP protesting and being arrested for standing up to Putin speaks volumes. They now also pay for the sanctions we impose on their economy to try and reverse his decision. A difficult time for some and deadly time for others! I pray for the people of Ukraine. 

[knuyens]

SPB is out so booked Gdańsk Poland and Warnermonde Germany with Alla. May have spaces for Private tour in Gdańsk. 

[milolii]

I’m not sure how you would pay for a tour from Alla Tours at this point.  I don’t think you can.  I also don’t think any Russian tour company any can do business with operators in the EU.   Or any other of the countries in the Baltic.
 

Edited March 3, 2022 by milolii

[edinburgher]

Warnemunde is especially easy to DIY.  It is both a seaside resort and a suburb of Rostock.  Very popular with Germans for weekends and holidays, and residents of Rostock for an outing or a beach day.

 

Ships dockj less than 5 minutes walk from the train station. You can see the station from the ship.

 

We bought a day ticket and took the train into Rostock, (on arrival had to switch to a tram to reach the historic centre,) axplored there then returned to Warnemunde for a lateish quick lunch onboard before heading out again to explore this very attractive little beach resort. As we used two trains and two trams, the day ticket offered a saving, plus we did not need small  change to pay each time..

 

To reach  the town and beach, you walk through the train station and across a little bridge.Probably max 5 minutes.  From there you choose your own route around town.  There are many really cute little cottages and a long beach and promenade. And many independent little shops, cafes and restaurants.  If you want to head to the beach area first,, walk in the direction of the lighthouse which you should be able to see.

 

There should be many images and info online.

 

That was one of the best days we enjoyed. I really do not think you would need a guided tour here.

Edited March 6, 2022 by edinburgher

[knuyens]

On 3/3/2022 at 12:57 PM, milolii said:

I’m not sure how you would pay for a tour from Alla Tours at this point.  I don’t think you can.  I also don’t think any Russian tour company any can do business with operators in the EU.   Or any other of the countries in the Baltic.
 

Hello Ken, 

Thank you for your message! 

This information is correct, but I must mention that in spite of the fact that Alla Tours specializes in St Petersburg tours and our company was started there 15 years ago, since 2019 our company is based in the EU (in Riga, Latvia to be more specific). There will be no issues with the payment. 

Any and all questions are welcome! 
Have a nice day! 

[knuyens]

3 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Warnemunde is especially easy to DIY.  It is both a seaside resort and a suburb of Rostock.  Very popular with Germans for weekends and holidays, and residents of Rostock for an outing or a beach day.

 

Ships dockj less than 5 minutes walk from the train station. You can see the station from the ship.

 

We bought a day ticket and took the train into Rostock, (on arrival had to switch to a tram to reach the historic centre,) axplored there then returned to Warnemunde for a lateish quick lunch onboard before heading out again to explore this very attractive little beach resort. As we used two trains and two trams, the day ticket offered a saving, plus we did not need small  change to pay each time..

 

To reach  the town and beach, you walk through the train station and across a little bridge.Probably max 5 minutes.  From there you choose your own route around town.  There are many really cute little cottages and a long beach and promenade. And many independent little shops, cafes and restaurants.  If you want to head to the beach area first,, walk in the direction of the lighthouse which you should be able to see.

 

There should be many images and info online.

 

That was one of the best days we enjoyed. I really do not think you would need a guided tour here.

Out June 18 arrival on Voyager is 1-9. Our tour is  Best of Gdansk and MALBORK Castle Tour [private] ..in case anyone would like to join. 

13:00   

Arrival in Gdynia port

13:30 - 13:45 

A warm meet and greet with your local guide and driver outside the Gdynia port gates

13:45 - 14:30 

Scenic drive from the port of Gdynia through the Polish countryside to Malbork Castle

14:30 - 16:30 

Guided Tour of Malbork Castle (Muzeum Zamkowe w Malborku) - the Castle of the Teutonic Order, supposed to be the largest brick castle in the world, when measured by land. During the tour you will discover this elaborate example of a Gothic brick-build castle and visit the Courtyard, the Grand Master's Palace and the Cloisters of the High Castle

16:30 - 17:00 

Scenic drive to Gdansk

17:00 - 19:00 

Walking Tour in the Old Town of Gdansk. Strolling around cosy cobbled streets to see Long Market (Dluga Street), Neptune Fountain, City Hall Building, Amber Street (Ulica Mariacka) and picturesque city Motlawa river waterfront with the famous Crane (Zuraw)

19:00 - 19:30 

Drive back to the Gdynia port

19:30 - 19:45 

Arrival at the pier

[wblotner66]

On 2/24/2022 at 12:24 PM, billco said:

We are cancelling all of our upcoming Alla tours. Not going to support Russian economy.

they are not based in Russia anymore and do not support the war. I received a message from them stating how they stand behind Ukraine.

[knuyens]

Have booked all 5 tours with Alla. They respond same day or next day to all my inquiries and with amazing web site with excellent descriptions of tours with detailed itinerary for each stop you can print out.