Reviews › Three days in St. Petersburg small group tour were outstanding!

Three days in St. Petersburg small group tour booked with Alexei. Elisabeth (Lisa) guide was outstanding!

If TripAdvisor offered seven stars that would be my rating of Elisabeth (Lisa) - our Russian tour guide who was beyond excellent!. She is knowledgeable, high energy, a sensitive, insightful, assertive co-ordinator, effective facilitator with the museum ladies rules. She kept us on schedule despite the crowds at Peterhof and Catherine's Palace. We entered the Hermitage before the crowds so it was like a private tour for our group, She explained candidly the history, culture, magnificent sights with personal charm. We learned so much!

Alexei - general manager of MaxiBaltTours -  had been so thorough and responsive in arranging this visa free tour that I was somewhat apprehensive to learn it would not be led by him.

Below is our 3-day tour itinerary. Our small group was 12 people in a private van with safety and comfort, driven by Vadim. All visits were pre-arranged.

Sep-4

9:00 am Meeting at the ship.

City orientation tour with a boat ride, Farmers’ Market visits.

Guided tour of Peter and Paul fortress

Traditional Russian lunch (included)

guided tour of the Church on the Spilt Blood

guided tour of Yusupov palace tour of Faberge Museum

5:00 pm Return to the ship.

Sep-5

9:00 am Meeting at the ship

Hydrofoil ride to Peterhof with a metro visit

Guided tour of the Grand Palace (Early entrance, before official opening hours) Stroll along the Fountain Park

Drive to Pushkin

Traditional Russian lunch (included)

Guided tour of Catherine Palace with the Amber Room

Drive back to the city

5:00 pm Return to the ship.

Sep-6

9:00 am Meeting at the ship

Guided tour of the State Hermitage Museum (Early admission. In order to minimize the flow of tourists inside the museum, the Hermitage authorities reserve the right to adjust the entrance time slot).

Winter Palace Staterooms. Italian High Renaissance art, Rembrandt's paintings, the collection of Dutch and Flemish masters etc.

Traditional Russian lunch (included)

Guided tour of the General Staff Building. Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art collection.

Guided tour of St Isaac’s Cathedral

5:00 pm Return to the ship

Price pp: $380 plus gratuity for guide and driver.

We are typically independent travelers. However we have benefited immensely as world travelers to by carefully choosing outstanding local tour companies from a short list of on line respondents. i.e. Trip Peru (Condor Travel) for Macchu Picchu and Champion Tours in Cairo for Luxor, Cairo and Alexandria.

We never could have navigated on our own. the logistics/ transportation of St. Petersburg, a city of 5 milion/ environs, with foreign language/currency/ visa requirements. This tour immersed us in the culture, architecture, history, museum treasures, palaces, gardens, of highlights in an unforgettable three days! Photography without flash was permitted everywhere.

The only regret we have is limited opportuntiy to interact/meet/mingle with the Russian people. - due to time constraints and possibly the guides responsibility to protect us from any incidents of pickpockets/tourist predators. So we unable to respond to the question "what were the Russian people like?".