Help - Might need to trim our itinerary in St. Petersburg

[GoofingOff]

Folks,

Would love some advice here. We are a group of 11 - 3 generations including children who are 2, 4, 5, 9, 11. We are trying to plan our tour in St. Petersburg (working with Anastasia currently). Right now, our 2 days in the city consists of two 8 hour days. I am concerned that may be too tough for us, mainly due to the little ones, and might need to cut one or two sites.

Below is our current itinerary over the 2 days. What would you cut if you had to? Please include your reasoning. I appreciate your time. Thank you!

City Tour

Tsarskoye Selo tour (City of Pushkin).

Peterhoff tour

Canal cruise

Hermitage

Savior on the Spilt Blood

Peter and Paul Fortress

[Grannycb]

We travel with a 5 year old from time to time. She's a good traveler but there is no way she would be up for that kind of schedule. We'd all be tired and frustrated halfway through the first day. How are you going to handle naptime? Are strollers allowed at the various places on your schedule? Is there any way for the younger children to stay with a babysitter? Maybe family members could trade off watching them so others could see more? These concerns may not apply to your family but thought I'd mention them.

[MercedMike]

Well, there are sooooo many things to do in St. Petersburg. You have to pick and choose in any case. With little ones along, you have to pick and choose even more.

 

Frankly the "City Tour" showed nothing I was interested in. However, it is probably mostly some time in the van so might be a time for the kids to nap. Can it be scheduled in the middle or late in your tour? Many companies do it first thing in the morning normally.

 

Churches and fortresses -- we have seen jillions of them all over the world. If you are not burnt out on them, then they may be interesting. The Church of the Spilled Blood has good historical interest.

 

Peterhof and the Hermitage are -- literally -- MILES of walking. You may have to slow down for the kids, or cut out parts of the tour.

 

Most St. Petersburg tours are extremely hectic and fast paced, because there is soooo much to see in the city. The little kids would never be able to keep up the pace. That is why it is important to have a private tour that will move at your speed, and be prepared to cut things out if it is getting to be too much. Be sure your guide understands exactly how old the kids are and how active they like to be.

 

But St. Petersburg is going to be an amazing time, especially for the older ones!

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[GoofingOff]

Thanks. That was sort of helpful.

 

We travel with our kids a lot and know how to manage. I am really asking, for those that have been to the sites below, what you'd cut out if you had to?

 

So far, I've gotten that the City Tour is so-so. Any other suggestions? Is Peter and Paul Fortress on the low end of priority?

 

City Tour

Tsarskoye Selo tour (City of Pushkin).

Peterhoff tour

Canal cruise

Hermitage

Savior on the Spilt Blood

Peter and Paul Fortress

[Grannycb]

I've been thinking about your family on tour in St. Petersburg. My answer above was a first impression. Now that I've thought about it and done a little research I might have found something to help you. Have you seen this? It's from a search in the Family area of CC. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=556148&highlight=petersburg

The link to the NY Times article didn't work so I searched that out. http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/russia/st-petersburg/overview.html

Of particular interest was a comment on things another person with small children did.

Other articles about traveling with children in St. Petersburg:

http://www.travelforkids.com/Funtodo/Russia/stpetersburg.htm

http://www.travelforkids.com/Funtodo/Russia/russia.htm

These won't tell you what to trim from your tour but might give helpful tips.

Have a wonderful cruise!

[MercedMike]

Thanks. That was sort of helpful.

 

We travel with our kids a lot and know how to manage. I am really asking, for those that have been to the sites below, what you'd cut out if you had to?

 

So far, I've gotten that the City Tour is so-so. Any other suggestions? Is Peter and Paul Fortress on the low end of priority?

 

City Tour

Tsarskoye Selo tour (City of Pushkin).

Peterhoff tour

Canal cruise

Hermitage

Savior on the Spilt Blood

Peter and Paul Fortress

 

I think that the thing you have to do is to research them all and do your homework, and then decide what is for you.

 

The three things that really are world famous and get the most rave reviews are The Hermitage, Catherine's Palace, and Peterhof fountains.

 

The Hermitage -- beautiful, wonderful, awesome. But it is a huge palace filled with works of art of all periods. Is that of interest to you? It was one of our priorities. To others, and especially to kids, it may be entirely ho-hum. There are lots of pictures from the Hermitage at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/baltic.html.

 

Peterhof. We did not do this, but it is another palace ... are you doing the inside, or just the garden with the fountains? Again it depends on what you like to see. If you like water features this one is world famous.

 

Canal cruise. Can be restful. Will the kids relax and enjoy it or be bored?

 

Church on the Spilled Blood. A beautiful cathedral - but like a hundred others in Europe. Is it what you want to see?

 

Peter and Paul Fortress. We did not go there but I understand it is a fortress, palace and museum. It is not on most folks priority list. I don't recall seeing any rave reviews about it.

 

So, you see, the reason we can't tell you which to cut from your list is that it is really up to YOU and what YOU want to see. Each one of these things, and a dozen other things not on your list, are major tourist attractions and world famous. You can't do them all. You have to balance YOUR priorities with the time available to you and the ability of your kids to stand up to hard touring!

 

;)

 

Whichever you choose, I know you will have a GREAT cruise!

[Drifting Happily]

We travelled last summer with a 13-year old, but in Russia we had a 4- and 10-year old in our group. They loved the Peterhoff garden and fountains. There are 'trick' fountains that if you step in a certain place, you'll get sprayed. Great fun for the kids on a hot day!

 

All of the kids did just fine on a two-day excursion. It's long and tiring for everyone, but well worth it. The parents of the 4-year old did do a lot of carrying.

 

The City Tour, Canal tour, and to/from Peterhoff were great nap times. The Hermitage was a bit hard, but necessary for the rest of the group. If I were to get rid of one thing, it would be Peter and Paul Fortress. It's where the royalty is buried, but not of much interest to kids.

[kestrel]

Peterhof: Both kids and adults will love the water fountains in the garden. Kids will definitely have fun at the trick fountains.

 

Church on the Spilled Blood: It's impressive both inside and outside. The tour won't take long; therefore kids should be able to manage just fine. There are some shopping opportunities outside the church. Kids will love to have some souvenirs.

 

Hermitage: This is going to be tough especially for the little ones. I don't think they will be interested in the art collections, and there would be a lot of walking. If you must see Hermitage, you probably want to limit the time there.