- 03 Nov 2017 -
richard e
Our guide Irena was quite amazing, she was the most knowledgeable guide we have ever had. Highly recommend this, we were Lucky and we were just a group of 4 and that made it a private tour. Kudos to a job well done.
- 09 Oct 2017 -
Roseanne G
This was a fantastic tour and our guide Elena was absolutely wonderful! She did an absolutely amazing job of fitting all the sights in as promised in this tight two day timeframe. In contrast to some of our other group who had a different tour guide and did not get to see the subway system which shouldnt be missed. Its a marvel of engineering and decorated like a museum. The information overall was overwhelming and the sights unparalleled. We had just been to Buckingham and Kensington palaces in England and after seeing the Russian palaces, the English ones are very poor in comparison. This is a city you could spend months in exploring and so this tour shouldnt be missed especially if you can get our guide Elena!
- 28 Sep 2017 -
Hector V
The tour guide was very knowledgeable on all aspects of the tour and very detailed in her explanations. I highly recommend the TJ Travel which handled our shore excursion. St. Petersburg is a must see place.
- 22 Sep 2017 -
Nancy Byrne I
Everything about this tour was first class. Booking and confirmation, follow-up to be sure we got all the required paperwork. The van we rode in: 2 seats on left, then an aisle, then a single seat on the right. Nobody had to sit in the middle. Very comfortable. Our guide Nina was a wonder, with an encyclopedic knowledge of Russian history and the places we visited. We decided on this tour because Holland America did not offer a 2 day tour that included a visit to the Faberge Museum. Cheaper than HA's offerings too. No issues with the visa, getting through immigration, etc. would definitely book with La Vacanza Travel/TJ Travel again.
- 12 Sep 2017 -
wfschwind
We booked this tour about 3 weeks before we left on our Baltic Cruise. The tour operator, TJ Travel, promptly responded to our email inquiry and after the booking provided detailed instructions and forms for obtaining the required visa and instructions about the Immigration and Customs process in St. Petersburg - better than the ship's instructions as it turned out and significantly less expensive than the ship's tour. T and J was a first class operation.
We chose this tour in large part for the Faberge Museum component. It should not be missed. Also, the early entry to the Hermitage before opening to the general public is also a must. After 2 1/2 - 3 hours of relatively peaceful and unhurried touring of the Hermitage we saw the huge crowds including other ship/private tours trying to enter and move throughout the museum.Our guide, Helena, was extremely well organized and juggled our schedule on both days to take advantage of the weather/conditions. When there are up to 6-8 ships in port discharging 3000-4000 excursioners each - together with the normal tourist flow - organization and coordination with the driver is a premium. Our driver, Vadim, was always at the pick up point before we arrived and moved us skilfully through the heavy traffic.
Helena was a wealth of knowledge about all of our stops and the vast amount of museums and sites to see in St. Petersburg makes a quality guide a must. She fit the bill. As there were only 9 of us in a Mercedes Van - we moved quickly and efficiently through pour schedule. The small number made it easy for Helena to be comfortable with us and share stories and information about Russian history and culture.Her breadth of knowledge was amazing - she was proficient whether we were at the Hermitage, the Faberge Museum, the Peterhof, Catherine's Palace or the Subway an extremely interesting part of the tour. At all of the sites we visited Helena was in the lead and got us jump the line status - whether it was a Museum, Palace, Church or the Hydrofoil.
I highly recommend T and J Travel for this tour and you would be fortunate to have Helena and Vadim as your guide/driver.
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