Barbara

In late August, my husband and I took a cruise through Northern Europe. The highlight of our tour was a two day stop in St. Petersburg, Russia. We were amazed at the contrast between the obviously poor living conditions of the general population and the art/architectural treasures that were in abundant display. The only way we were able to get around and see as much as we did is through the services of a local tour guide, Laura Lazibnaya of Red October Travel. She was fabulous! We got her name from several other travelers that extolled her virtues over the internet. It was our first time to use any kind of tour guide and we were a bit nervous about using her. We shared the cost with two other couples we met over the internet and things went splendidly. If you are going to go to Russia, send her an email. She's at [email protected] or [email protected]. The web site address is www.redoctober.spb.ru.<BR><BR>Her rates are very reasonable and her staff is incredible.<BR>

sandy

Barbara, did you need to get Visa with a private guide, I was told if you take the ships tours, no visa needed. Was just wondering about private tour. Thanks

why

Sandy, do you expect an answer? Do you think Barbara was there? It's just another advertising. Call Russian embassy or consulate to know for sure.

Jesse

In Russia, if you do a private tour - you must get your own visa.<BR><BR>If you do a ship tour - they get a visa that covers the entire group.<BR><BR>Though I would double check with Russia because with the changes insecurity today - this information may be out of date (it was accurate for last summer).<BR><BR>Call the Russian Embassy in Washington D.C.<BR><BR>St. Petersburg is an amazing city. Hope you like it.

Kris

Sandy, what Jesse stated isn't exactly true. I booked with Laura last year when she was working with West-East tours in St. Petersburg, she started up Red October after we returned. We did not need a visa to tour with West-East but you did with a lot of the companies that do private tours so ask the tour organizer when you contact them. We really enjoyed the tour with west-east, they were extremely professional and very informative.<BR><BR>Whether you book with West-East or Red October or another company, I would highly recommend a private tour over a ship excursion. We were able to fit a lot more into our day than the ship tours. The private guide we had bypassed the lines so in the one day we went with them we saw Peterhof, Strelna, Yusopov Palace, St. Isaacs and the Church of the Spilled Blood along with some shopping and lunch with a Russian family.<BR><BR>Last year when we were there they were discussing eliminating visa requirements for cruise passengers. I never saw anything that confirmed it however.<BR><BR>If you take the ship tour you do not need a visa.<BR><BR>You can find visa information at www.ruscon.com (Russian Consulate) or www.russianembassy.org. We applied for visas because we wanted to spend a day on our own, they were $70 each and we applied directly through the mail. You do not need to use a visa service if you are a cruise passenger because the cruise line should be able to provide you with an invitation.<BR><BR>There was a lot of discussion about Laura and west-east last year on www.cruisecritic.com's boards so you may want to check out that site.