Visiting St. Petersburg has been a long-standing i...

Visiting St. Petersburg has been a long-standing item on our bucket list. We decided that we would use an ocean cruise as the means of travelling there and picked a cruise that included a two-night port stay, giving us three full days to enjoy the city. Even so, we were concerned that reliance on the excursions offered by the ship would not give us the experience we were looking for. Being a part of a group of 20 to 40 people working to a fixed schedule did not appeal to us. We decided to contact Greg Tepper of Exeter International for help.

The Exeter team worked with us to plan a visit that covered all the traditional highlights, while adding in elements that are simply not available to large tours. For example, our visit to Peterhof not only included a walk through the famed gardens and fountains, but also incorporated stops at the grottoes and a thoroughly delightful exploration of the little-visited bathhouse . It was those two additions that made the visit memorable.

Likewise, the highlight of any visit to the Catherine Palace is the Amber Room. Unfortunately, ropes keep you far enough away from the walls to make it difficult to appreciate the artistry of the room, and photographs are strictly forbidden. Our visit, however, included a lengthy stop at the Amber Workshop, where all the amber displayed in the Palace was created. This is something that is simply not possible to do with a large tour. Here we were able to talk one-on-one with the Amber Workshop guide and actually handle the raw materials, examine pieces in detail, and take all the photographs we wanted.



In addition to putting together an excellent plan, the execution was perfect. Little details were carefully thought out, such as making sure that we started our day only after the regular ship excursions had time to complete the lengthy passport control process.

Finally, we enjoyed the services of a wonderful guide for our 28 hours of touring. Luda has 20 years of experience working as a guide, and it all shows. Her knowledge of St. Petersburg is encyclopedic, but she only shared what we showed an interest in hearing. She was attentive to our moods and interests and frequently made adjustments to the plan, both small and large, to better accommodate our needs. We could not have asked for a better guide.