gruezi

I have read the St. Petersburg threads but still feel I need more opinions/info before I proceed. We have been talking about taking a trip to St. Petersburg for years. Since we are living in Zurich, the flight will be easier from here than the US and so we are thinking of going this late March early April or in June - the time frame is dependent on school holidays.

We are a family with 2 teenaged daughters. The girls have traveled a lot. The eldest is very interested in history and art. The younger, less so, but patient and seems to do well in palaces and churches. We are pretty active but don't like to run ourselves ragged and enjoy a good meal and time to integrate what we've seen.

Some Questions:

How many days to visit without feeling we missed alot or being completely worn out? Would it be really silly to just see St. Petersburg this trip?

Weather and crowds in March versus June - any thoughts?

Would you recommend booking this trip on our own and hiring a private tour guide once there, or should we go through a group tour? There is a local travel agent planning a trip for a group of 24 people March 20th -24th which sounds good but we've never done a tour before.

Many fodorites recommend Olga at tourservice. Any recent experience with her or someone else you would recommend?

What do you think of the idea of a cruise to see St. Petersburg with perhaps some other Baltic cities? Do you recommend a particular line? It seems most of the cruises only spend a day or two in SP - I am thinking this is not long enough??

We prefer a clean, comfortable hotel with good location, safe water and good food and have no idea what this would/should cost. Any recommendations?

I found lots of good information here on what to see in St. Petersburg but certainly welcome any further insights and experiences anyone may have.

Favorite books? I like to read a bit before and during, fiction and non-fiction, pertaining to the city. I have read Peter the Great and Nicholas and Alexandra...any more suggestions?

Dining ideas?

Thanks for your help!

boom_boom

You won't find a cruise in March on the Baltic. But if a cruise in the summer is of interest, we used Oceania and had 3 fabulous days in St. Petersburg. I would not have wanted any less time them, another day or two would have been even better.
Ports included Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Tallin.
We used Victoria from Red October and she was great. Would love to go back.

katya_NY

March can be kind of yucky in St.P- it can be fantastic, too! I would strongly consider June, even with the crowds. We intentionally do not bring kids to St.P in March, because it is basically a crap shoot- it could be snowy and murky, or it could be lovely. We don't want to run the risk.

I would say that in a 6-7 day trip, you can see everything most tourists are interested in seeing. Moscow is a fantastic contrast if you have more time.

nytraveler

St Pet is perfectly doable on your own - and it's probably better that way - since you want to be able to pick your own hotel.

You can easily tour around the city by yourself (cabs are cheap -esp for 4 people). And your hotel can arrange tours outside of town for you.

I wouldn't risk March - way too much chance of still being heavy winter. (I was there once in mid September and several days the high was around 40 - and the locals were all wearing winter coats.)

Odin

I like Russian cities in the winter, with all the snow (you can see people sunbathing in the winter by the River Neva) but since you are in Zurich it might not be that interesting. St Petersburg is a great city for walking and June is a lovely month to go. In fact I like Russia in any month.

I was in St Pete 2 years at Easter, which was end March/beg April. There was no snow but the last day it started to snow. There was a mix of sunny days and overcast days.

Easter is late next year, April 27 for Russia and Russian independence day is 11 June.

gruezi

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful input on this - seems equally divided between March and June... also sounds like we would need at least 4-5 days.

Any experiences with Olga at Tourservice out there?

Any other advice/opinions sincerely welcome...

Thank you all.

Gruezi

gruezi

ttt

Kempinsky_Eugenia

Gruezi,
Time of visit. March is very risky – it can be snowing and rainy and slushy outside. June usually gives you good weather and quite a special attraction called ‘White nights’. You can walk around all day and night enjoying the city. Besides the usual tours you can take a nice boat ride along rivers and canals of St.Pete and I am sure it will be a jam of you trip. Of course there are many more tourists in the city in June rather than in March so some of the most popular museums can be crowded. But if you take a private tour having your private licensed guide and a car with driver you may expect avoiding all possible crowds in the museums.
I wouldn’t recommend you any group tour – it is such a pleasure to explore St.Pete at your pace. Hiring a private guide for couple of days (city tour, Hermitage visit, tour to the suburbs) is highly recommended for several reasons:
Usually the guides are very knowledgeable and friendly so they give you much of information about the city, its history and culture and entertain you as well, take care of you security and help you to get oriented in the city. The tour with private guide becomes real pleasure. I advise you to find a guide in advance for two reasons:
First, good guides are usually booked in advanced so if you catch “the last minute train” you don’t get the best. Second, it is much better if you exchange several letters with your guide before coming – you can ask all needed questions, see if the guide offers you anything interesting and so on. It is always a good idea to call the guide so you can check the language.
The hotel tours usually are quite expensive so I suggest you to find the guide by yourself.

Working with travelers I see that people prefer to spend 4-5 days in St.Pete. It is pretty enough to see the most important sights and not too long to get tired. Let’s see for example:
1st day the city tour with inside visits of Peter-and-Paul fortress, St.Isaak’s cathedral and Savior-on-the-Spilled Blood church. May be visit of Yusupov palace in the afternoon
2nd day Hermitage visit and the boat ride in the afternoon
3rd day Peterhof by the hydrofoil
4th day Catherine’s palace and Pavlovsk
Accommodation. There are so many different hotels in the city – big and small ones. Renting a private apartment is another opportunity.
Rooms in the 4-star hotels (like Ambassador, Helvetzia, Angleterre, Petro Palace and others) are about 250-400 USD per night.
Mini-hotels are usually cheaper – 120-170 USD per night.
Some places for example Pushka Inn (very nice small hotel) offer family rooms for about 350-430 USD per night.

Books – Natasha’ Dance by Orlando Figes, The land of Firebird by Susanne Massie, the Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean.

Food. Here are the names of the most popular places to try Russian food - Stolle, Teremok, Elki-Palki, Khutor Vodograi, Hermitage café, Demidov restaurant, 1913 god, Lucky shot…. You can check the web-site www.restoran.ru – much of information about all dining places in St.Pete (choose the English language by clicking the English flag).


Enjoy your trip!

Odin

June is obviously much better time to go but the hotels are more expensive during White Nights and are booked up quite a bit in advance.

chimani

Hi gruezi,

Hope you don't mind my hanging on to your coat tails.

How do the experts rate May as a time to visit? I had planned to go Nov 2007 but not everything goes according to plan! So now it's next year, and I'd quite like to avoid the "White Nights" season if I can.

Maybe late May/early June? Will the Mariinsky Ballet be at home then?

Any thoughts would be welcome.

gruezi

KE - thanks for your valuable input...

Chimani - no problem, maybe we can get a few more posters to give their opinions... I am really not sure yet what I'll do. Keep me updated on your plans!

Gruezi

Kempinsky_Eugenia

Chimani,
Late May/early June is perfect time to visit St.Pete.
There is an International Festival ‘The Stars of the White Nights’ run by Mariinsly Theater – all the best ballets and operas are shown. This year it was opened in the middle of May so the same is going to be the next year.


Enjoy your trip!

NanBug

Hi, Gruezi.

I visited St. Petersburg about 20 years ago in March.

I thought I was used to cold after living in upstate NY where minus 40 degree wind chill days happened on occasion.

But I can say, without a doubt, that the days I spent in St. Petersburg were the coldest I've ever been in my life. Truly. I remember them like they were yesterday. Absolutely bone-chilling.

Go in June. It's a spectacular place, and I can't wait to visit again. In warmer weather, of course.

Odin

It's not like that anymore. I went in March couple years ago and there wasn't even any snow.

No doubt about it, May/June is much better, but if there is no choice then any month would do.

gruezi

brrrr. Nanbug you are making me cold thinking about it...

gruezi

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful advice. So far thinking of moving trip into early April although it may still be cold/wet. I am worried about crowds in the summer and we may have other plans for travel that won't include St. P.

Also, we are leaning toward going alone instead of with the tour (although I heard great things about the tour from someone who went last year - I just don't like the flight schedules since it's not direct and basically wastes a day on each end) but hiring a guide for a few days. I'm still looking for suggestions on guides, but may forge ahead with what I've already read about here on fodors. My husband is in Moscow next week on business and will ask his colleagues there advice before we make a final decision.

Thanks again and please add any thoughts...