kintzing

Four of us will be on a Viking River Cruise in June this year. We want to travel from the port to the Peterhof. I understand that we can travel by hydrofoil from outside the Hermitage Museeum. Does anyone know how doable this is? Will there be taxies outside the port? Can they fit 4 adults? Approximatly how much money. Any other suggestions would be welcome.

djkbooks

You might want to consider going with a private tour company or guide. Once there, it will be very crowded, and you'd want to be sure of entrance, and also a tour in English.

When we went with Viking, Peterhof was included on the itinerary, rather than Catherine Palace.

We hired a private guide (found highly recommended here on this forum). She would have rented a van (very reasonably) to take us anywhere we wanted to go. Her fee is also very reasonable, and she could not be more charming and knowledgeable. With her various licenses, she was able to skip the entrance lines, even at the Hermitage.

Her website is http://www.tourservice.sp.ru/

djkbooks

Olga met us right on the ship. We used public transportation for our destinations, but as mentioned, she would have rented a van (very reasonably) to go anywhere we wanted to to.

Everywhere we went with Viking, I noticed it was difficult for individuals to get in. All the large tour groups had "appointments" and individuals were left to wait in line behind them. Again, don't you want a tour in English?

chevre

I really encourage you to consider a private tour company or use one of the excursions offered through the cruise. Red October offers reasonably priced private tours with a driver and guide in a van. There will likely be taxis but it may be difficult to communicate. The port is large and industrial and some distance from the Hermitage. Plus, St. Petersburg has the most heinous traffic! I counted 9 car accidents in one day! Our driver with Red October was very, very good.

annaguide

chevre: You are talking of a different cruise River port where the Viking docks is not so large and industrial, but it's quite outside the downtown area. kintzing: You can either ask the reception (on boar the cruiser) to arrange a taxi for You - very easy and reliable. Or You can have a private guide arrange the whole tour. By the way, in this case You'll avoid long entrance lines in Peterhof and will not get lost on the grounds ;-)
http://www.petersburgguide.com - that's one of the ways.

kintzing

I thank all of you for the help. This gives me something to work with. If I am reading correctly, would we want to hire a guide and then take public transportation with the guide? This is all very confusing. We are trying to save a few bucks and possibly have a better experience.