We will be in St. Petersburg with the Century for two days. The excursions offered by the ship are of course expensive. So I checked Alla Tours, but they will also charge 250 Euros per person for two days which is even more than the ship charges.

I know that costs & salaries are really low in St. Petersburg, so they are making HUGE profits.

Does anyone know about an alternative to explore St. Petersburg?

I have been looking into that too as we will be there in June for two days as well. Denrus tours are pretty good and their 2 day package is around $280.00 USD so its a bit cheaper. Conversely a Russian VISA is $75.00 pp so I think there is no cheap alternative. I'm resigned to just shelling out the money. Conversely, at least for us, the other ports are self doable. Most have a main town center where the best attractions are and are easily reachable by shuttle bus or taxi.

Hi,
Don't forget that ship is charging this sum from about 45 people. If you are asking for private tours, just your couple is supposed to pay for the minivan and guideservice. Entrance tickets are also rather expansive. We've been to the private tour last year. Believe me it is impossible even to compare the service we got with the ship service. Will be glad to answer any of your questions.

I would look into Red October also. It may not be cheaper but it may be more personal. Most people say they see more on this typ eof tour compared to ship's tours.

It is my understanding that Red October will obtain a group visa for you so you do not need to get an individual one.

RO, like most private tours is quite expensive. However it is personalized and it is limited in size to your own group.

OP:
Go with Alla or Red October. This is a unique opportunity to see the wonders and you won't do it too many times if any at all. Never mind Russian cost & salaries. Moscow has become the most expensive city in the world, and St. Petersburg is not far behind. Besides, those making good $ must share with mafia.

Speaking of expensive cities Helsinki, which is a stop on most Baltic cruises, has surpassed Tokyo as the most expenisve city in the world.

When I checked recently, Moscow was #1 and St. Petersburg was #8 as most expensive cities and I am hitting both this summer. Not sure if there is a new report out but this was the case 6 months ago.

Hey Larry,
Not to argue but out of curiosity I decided to find a proof what I heard on the radio that Moscow is now the most expensive city. Here it is:
http://www.mercerhr.com/pressrelease...ontent/1142150

I also looked and it appears St. Petersburg is #12. Helsinki is #25. Last year I hit Osaka which is #6 and was #2 when I went:

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0933749.html

Strongly recommend private tours in St. Petersburg. You will see more with a private tour compared to a ship's tour.

Thanks for the updates. I saw somewhere that Helsinki was #1 but that info, I must think had to be wrong as its now way down there.

Hi,
I've heard about alla tours and Red October. As I know people were really satisfied with the service. I would also advice to check-out Anastasia Company http://www.anastasiaworld.com.
We highly recommend her service. The tour was very personalized and flexible.

Cruiser56. Try emailing them if you don't mind. I just tried and for the second time in 3 days it seems their email is down.

Traveller,
I will be in St. Pete's at the end of May on X's Constellation. I have a group of 7 and I booked with Red October. To date the experience has been very enjoyable. I have a U.S. contact that I communicate with (both by email and phone). We have customized the tour and can change "as we go" if we so desire. We have 2 very full days - 10 hrs. day one and then 8 hrs. day 2. Total $301pp. I looked at the ship's tours and they appear higher. It is hard to get the same 2 fulls days with the ship. Also, we have our own guide and driver for 7 people and not the larger group on a bus. We even dropped the 60 min. break for lunch and will box lunch it and eat on the road. Mind you, not glamorous, but saving a little time. They even scheduled the Folklore show for the first night at $63pp. That price is comparable to the ship's price.
Everything I read on this site encouraged me to go the private tour option in order to customize the two days.

Good luck and have a great cruise.

Thank you all very much. These are very helpful tips. We will probably go with Alla - although I know, if we pay 1000 Euros for 4 persons, the guide will get 25 Euros and the driver 15 and the rest goes somewhere else.

Of course guide, driver and other employees get paid from your money you pay for tour. Why is this a surprise? Did you think they should be paid by Russian government?

The point is the disparity in the money distribution.

Red October wil create a customized itinerary. They also have excellent drivers. Whe I was in St. Petersburg I witnessed 9 car accidents in a single day. It is the worst driving I have ever witnessed and was glad our driver was so competent.

Could not more higly recommend Olga

http://www.tourservice.sp.ru/

Her rate is ridiculously reasonably, she met us on our ship both days and accompanied us into the city, then arranged reliable transportation back to the ship (for $10).

She is a licensed (in all the venues) tour guide and provided brilliant commentary for all the places we visited with her. And, she knew the best places to shop and dine.

I "found" her here on Fodor's, and she is getting very popular, so I would recommend communicating with her forthwith...

Note that we booked Olga not only because the "excursions" were pricey, but also because much time would be wasted in between...and by the time we got to St. Petersburg, we could not have been more relieved to get away from the "group" tours.

Olga is well educated, charming, knowledgeable and otherwise positively delightful. She is totally flexible and we could not have been more pleased with her.