Port #4 of our Baltic Cruise
Travel Notes
Preparation
As soon as I booked our cruise, I knew it was important to lock in a tour with a highly rated tour company. One of the main reasons we booked this cruise was to see a Russian city and I didn't want poor planning on my part to ruin the experience. Remember how I mentioned that we created our own itineraries for each port city and dodged the group tours? Not something we did for this port. Exploring the city on your own is only possible in Russia if you plan ahead and take all the steps necessary to have visas in hand. I would NOT recommend this for the average tourist who has never been to Russia. Trying to navigate Saint Petersburg in ten hours would be overwhelming and would not give someone the full appreciation or the historical knowledge one could reap from tour guides educated on such extensive history.
No need to hassle with applying for a visa, this company provides full visa coverage. Many tour companies will have groups of upwards to 50 people. We've all seen them, like a herd of cattle following a guide with a headset microphone, waving a numbered paddle to keep the group together. No thank you. I could not imagine doing a ten hour outing with that many people and dealing with our rambunctious two year old. After a bit of research, I came across SPB Tours and boy am I glad I found them.
Their tours are either private or small groups, depending on your preference. We chose the private tour to give us more flexibility with Brecken. Communication with the company before our trip gave me the time to approve a suggested itinerary and give them any input into what we did or did not want to see. Having the ability to structure a custom itinerary for our family was great! Our private driver and personal guide met us at the port and hurried us off to our first sight. It was a busy and tiring day, but wow, the sights we saw were fabulous and the historical information given to us by our guide was extensive and fascinating.
Private Tour Itinerary:
07.00-07.30 Meet at the ship
07.30-09.30 City sightseeing tour covering the major sights and photo stops.
09.30-11.30 Guided tour of the State Hermitage Museum with early admission, before the official working hours.
12.00-12.30 Hydrofoil to Peterhof
12.30-14.30 Tour of the Peterhof Fountain Park and Upper Gardens. Lunch in a local restaurant.
14.30-15.30 Drive to Pushkin, also known as Tsars' Village
15.30-16.30 A visit to Catherine's Palace with the Amber Room
16.30-17.30 Drive back to the city
17.30-18.00 A visit inside Church on the Blood
18.30 On board the ship
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