Our clients say. Russian St.Petersburg Tours

In St. Petersburg: Saturday, July 26th, 2008, 4:18 am (GMT+3) Weather Temperature: 13° C (55° F) • Feels like: 17° C • (62° F) • Partly Cloudy • Humidity: 100% • Barometer: 30.13" Hg (765 mmHg) • Wind: N 1 mph • Sunrise: 4:37 AM • Sunset: 11:26 PM •

We have great pride to tell you that our clients have memories of their stay with us. Some of the take travel programmes, some other combine travel and education, but all of them get what they were looking for at Russian St. Petersburg Tours.

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Glyn Pink group in St. Petersburg Russia

We would like to thank Serge and everyone in his team for their help with our recent trip. They were able to sort airport transfers as well as road and boat trips for us.

The guide was excellent, she really brought to life the history of St Petersburg and helped us get the most from our visit.

I would not hesitate to recommend them to friends and colleagues

Mr. Glyn Pink, United Kingdom
e-mail provided on request.

A really warm thank-you for all that you have done. And please extend my appreciation to all your colleagues too.

That also goes for Zenia, Sigri,Palina and Constantine in St.
Petersburg. And to Galia, Sigri and Ildaz in Moscow.

Every travel plan is always a dream of an individual. I believe a
good travel planner is like a dream catcher. You catch a person's dream of a vacation and you make it come true.

Hi Anastasia,

Just a quick note to thank both yourself and Serge for a wonderful time in
St. Petersburg. It truly has been an amazing experience. I certainly
would recommend your company to any of my friends who may be interested in
coming here sometime in the future.

I would also appreciate it if you were also able to pass my thanks onto
Marina. Marina has been extremely helpful. Could you also tell her that
I had a wonderful time at Peterhof and had no problems with the public
transport? I tried to contact her last night to tell her this myself, but
unfortunately I was not able to get through.

Kind regards,

Catherine Edge, Australia - United Kindgom
e-mail: c.edge @ugrad.unimelb.edu.au

Dear RST, I have been very busy after my return to Puerto Rico. Neverthless, I had in my agenda let you know we are very satisfy with your services. We are very sorry not using other servicies besides the airport transfers and the walking tour by the student(she was excelent).Sincerely although we have read a lot about Russian culture and their actitude towards tourists and foreigns, we really don't feel welcome in St. Petersburg (That was no the case of you and your people), and this inhibit us of a little bit.

That is a problem for us as we are very expresive,cooperative and friendly with strangers. For example we needed some help in the hotel (by the way very expensive) to use the phone to call you and that was uphill. It was not sucesfull and they don't care too much.

Neverthless,in general we had a good time and we really get impress with the sights, especially The Hermitage. You can be sure we will recomend you to future St. Petersburg fans and in case we decide to return to your country,you can be sure we will contact you again.

Receive our best regards from Freddy Giovannetti and his wife Ydelisa

Freddy & Ydelisa Giovannetti, Puerto-Rico
freddygiova@hotmail.com

June 2006

just a quick note to thank you again for your organization. everything went so well, and we had a great time.

best wishes
mark summers, UK
mark.summers @uk.nomura.com

Yes, I had a wonderful holiday. Everything you organised went exactly to plan - and I did my best to make it difficult for you suddenly having two extra people! Kim and Steve Millard were so nice (Australian) I had to ask Lyuba if it would be OK for them to join the group. It made it much more difficult for her because they did not have tickets arranged. But Lyuba smiled her glowing smile and everything worked out! I know they were delighted.

I loved my day spent with you and it was so kind of you to suggest the concert. I really enjoyed it.

The ballet was fantastic with a very good seat. The excitement in the theatre was magic.

But the day spent at Peterhof has to be the best to remember. Beautiful weather, a beautiful place and excellent company. We even heard the practise of the concert for the government later in the evening as we were walking to the boat through the gardens. But the government didn't see the fountains!

We had a lot of laughs too!

It is a great shock to be back to reality again!!!

You have my address and e-mail so do please keep in touch when you can, especially if you ever come to London. But I think you want to go to Holland next - just like Peter the Great!

The Herzen House Hotel was just what we wanted. It is well sited, the rooms were clean, the breakfast simple but adequate. While we were there a lift was being installed and that will make things perfect.
It is also situated near a variety of restaurants.

Eugenia was a perfect guide. She knows her subject thoroughly and spoke from her knowledge and not as though she had learned it off by heart.

The train journey to Moscow was of great interest. The train was not crowded, we were given a good package meal, and we ssw the Russian countryside. We were met by Alexei at the Leningrad Station.

The Ismailova Alpha was also excellent. It is, in a way, a Soviet
style hotel. Lots of security men, four members of the Militia, over
staffed. Rooms were good, breakfast excellent. Buffet dinner in the
Restaurant was just about OK, but there is a Cafe on the 12th floor
which serves all sorts of Russian food at excellent prices and we made
it our eating centre. Only a few people in the Hotel spoke fluent
English.

At first I thought we were too far from Moscow City Centre, but I soon discovered that the Metros is only 200 metres distant and we found the Metro easy to use. Again, we never felt anxious. But it would be difficult to use if you could not read Cyrillic characters.

Galina our guide was very good and we were fully satisfied with her work. One thing: the tour of Red Square meant just that, and did not include the Kremlin. Frankly, Red Square does not need four hours.
Happily, Galina also brought us to Arbat str. One afternoon we met a guide on Red Square who brought us round the Kremlin. She had her official certificate and and at the end she asked only for the amount of money she we had agreed before we began the tour. Her name was Lada. So all went well.

You are quite the perfect Travel Agency, or perhaps it is that you are the perfect Travel manager. I have travelled the world and never met better.

I began to do business with you because of your site. It was so clear and gave so much information that I decided to contact you and I am very glad I did. I attach a photo of a tower in Peterhof.

With many thanks
Michael Nolan
PS When you find a moment sent me some information about staying with a Russian family to learn the language. We had of course our adventure with the Militia. At no point did I feel in the least anxious or nervous. They seemed to me to be big country boys of the sort who join the Irish police.

Michael Nolan (Professor) e-mail: michael.nolan @ucd.ie
Maurice Kennedy Research Centre
Arts B102
University College Dublin
Dublin 4
Ireland

Dear RST,

This is just a small note to you and your Company to thanks you for the superb service you provided on our recent visit to St Petersburg. It was maybe a bit unusual for you to meet an 86 year-old with wheelchair in tow from a cruise-ship (usually young Australians I hear!), but my mother was absolutely delighted with the arrangements. Indeed, we now realise that we could not have achieved a successful visit (following on her last trip some 25 years ago!) without the great help of your organisation.

Elanya was a very pleasant, helpful and supportive guide whose knowledge of the Peterhof and the Hermitage was imparted with excellent English. Dimi too was obviously skilled at tackling the St Petersburg traffic! It was an excellent experience, and we are especially grateful for their patience and understanding with someone of limited mobility.

I plan to return to St Petersburg maybe next year independently with my wife, and I hope that we can use your services again to help us get around.

Meanwhile, I'll recommend RST to anyone thinking of visiting
St Petersburg, most certainly in terms of price, service, support and indeed friendship.

Many, many thanks again,
Colin and Mae Millar
e-mail provided on request
United Kingdom

After months of an Internet correspondence, this trip to St. Petersburg was Irina's and my first face to face meeting and the staff and guide excelled in every aspect, helping to ensure the success of our international relationship.

Our guide, an encyclopedia of knowledge of St. Petersburg, its environs and its history, was warm, friendly and went out of her way to ensure we enjoyed all that your beautiful city has to offer, as well as handling our personal translation needs to the utmost of our satisfaction.

The recommendations by RST for everything from tours, tickets and restaurants were excellent and appreciated. I would further like to commend Nastia for her willingness to answer questions or solve problems during non-office hours. I not only feel that the staff excelled at their jobs, but I come away from Russia and the trip of a lifetime feeling that I have made some good friends. I highly recommend RST to anyone considering a trip to St. Petersburg!

Well I am back to reality and safely home. Thank you for all your help and attention, our trip was absolutely fabulous. Rob and I have traveled all over the world and we really enjoyed and are fascinated by Russia. You can definitely use words from my email on your website if you would like and what type of pictures would you like. I have quite a few! Thank you again, our trip was wonderful and Moscow was a joy as well.

The tour has been wonderful! We are in love with St. Petersburg! Eugenia was exceptional and has a vast and articulate knowledge of Russia and it's history. She also has such pride and happiness in
St. Petersburg it was such a pleasure to get to see the city through her eyes.

I was about to e-mail you anyway to say how pleased we were with the services that you offered us - you were very efficient and helpful with my enquiries and we thought that Eugenia was excellent --- warm, friendly, helpful with excellent English and excellent knowledge of everywhere we went.

We really enjoyed St Petersburg and wish that we had had a little longer to explore it further --- we spent all Monday walking around and saw quite a lot of other local sights including the parade, St Isaac's and the monastry ( well at least x1 of the graveyards!) Thank you for all your help and we would certainly recommend your company to anyone planning to come to St Petersburg.

The tour went very well. The guide was very informative and answered all our questions.

The driver had some trouble finding us at the hotel, but he found us eventually with directions from the guide! Thank you for organising the tour.

We were very impressed by Russian St. Petersburg Tours. They made great suggestions for us with special consideration for our 2 year old daughter (they even found circus tickets for us). Unfortunately, our daughter got sick and could not travel so we had to cancel the trip.

We expected to lose our whole deposit, but they were able to get refunds for almost everything and sent us most of our money back. More important than that, they truly cared about how our daughter was feeling.

We will definitely plan another trip to St Petersburg and will absolutely use RST based on their service and genuine concern.

Dear RST, Thank you so much for all your assistance with our holiday to Russia. The family had a great time and you made the trip effortless and enjoyable.

I want to thank you again for making our trip to St. Petesburg so
enjoyable and memorable. You are a gem! Tamara and Marcia are
delightful people, and Olec and Kate and the other driver were terrific,
too. Annie and I ended up staying quite awhile at the amusement park.
I had fun using hand signals to let the cashiers know which ride Annie
wanted to go on next. We managed just fine, and found our way back ok.

When we got to France, we spent one day on the Normandy beaches near Caen. In the D-Day museum there, they had original films of all the German attacks, including the one on St. Petersburg. We got to see recorded on film the very things you were telling us about, including the removal of statues and paintings from the palaces. They also showed some of the battle on the hillside near Peterhof, and also how they boarded up the big statue of Peter the Great near St. Isaacs, so it wouldn't get damaged during the war.

I want you to know that you provide a wonderful service for those of us who want to travel in St. Petersburg. Everything you did to help us get our visas was perfect, and I can't thank you enough.

If you are ever considering a trip to my country, I would be glad to
help you find your way around. I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, if
you wanted to visit here. You could stay with me, as I have plenty of
room. I also have friends and relatives elsewhere in the States who may be willing to be a host home for you.

I know you will find a way to travel because you are so interested
in it. Meanwhile, keep doing such a grand job at your travel agency.
It is very important work.

April 2005

Dear RST:

Thanks so much for your send-off gift. I will enjoy it with friends and give them full details about my wonderful trip.

I congratulate you and all your team mates on doing an excellent job for me--all the preparations that were so carefully cared for in great detail and the professional way my time with your people was conducted.

I am especailly grateful to Marina Lovi. She was a very fine, personable and well prepared guide. The last day banya flap is no big deal. As you know, I was doing informal research for a writing project and gave some thought to including a banya visit were it to replicate a banya experience of the early 1900s. Meanwhile the visit to Peterhof with Yuri was a fine substitute, and he is to be thanked for making the last minute change so gracefully.

I am back safe and sound with no travel mishaps. Yes, I am in culture shock now that I am once again in my own bed wondering if I actually did spend a week in your wonderful city.

By the way, I loved being with Larissa and meeting other student travelers staying with her. We had no language problem. And the Traktir just downstairs became my "club." I will miss all this enjoyment a great deal.

With best regards, Bruce Graham, USA
e-mail: bruce.w.graham @comcast.net

March 2005

Thanks again for a you kind assistance with our visit to Peterburg. Maria was brilliant all the way. Our visit will result in an article in my
Newspaper Borsen in Denmark.

Regards,
Niels Barfod e-mail: Niels.Barfod @Borsen.dk
Denmark

June 2004
I'm writing to thank you for the superb service we got from your organisation. The ballet on Monday night was superb and the seats the best I have ever had. It made a fitting end to a wonderful few days with fantastic weather, perfect for sight-seeing. We managed to travel on the Metro and to get to Catherine palace and back on public transport, which we thought was a major success. On my previous visit to St Petersburg, I had been part of a tour group so had not appreciated how difficult a city it is to get round when you have no language! But thank you again for making our holiday complete.
Susan Squires , United Kingdom
e-mail: Susan.Squires @btinternet.com

Helllo RST, You may remember in May, we booked Homestay and tickets to Perm by train and Ekaterinberg to Odessa by air. We arrived home safely.

Thought I'd let you know re:Perm area. It was extremely interesting. You can leave Perm by bus and go to within a walking distance of Kungar Ice Caves at Kungar. There is the Hotel Stalagmite right next door. From Kungar, one can take the bus again to Chusovoy and stay extremely reasonable at a Hostel type arrangement.
From there one must take a taxi or hire someone to go to Gulag 36, now an unadvertised tourist site with much potential if it is promoted to Westerners. From Chusovoy a train goes to Verkoturie, the holy city and worth visiting. Next by bus down to Yekaterinberg, stayed at airport hotel and flew to Odessa next day. All this travelling was done without schedule and not understanding language, so you can imagine we got awfully confused at times !!! But what an adventure !!

From Odessa, we took the train to Kiev to fly back to Frankfurt, Germany. This is where the problem started. I kept my money (except for immediate use) in a waist belt under clothing and Joe kept his in a pouch on a leg strap. When the Customs saw the leg pouch, they said he carried like that so it was hidden from them ,even though we showed it to them !! They detered us long enough that we missed our flight AND kept whatever was in the pouch and the pouch, too. It was mostly traveller's cheques, which we thought would be refunded to us by American Experss, but they will not refund anything taken by any Government agency anywhere. So there went our money for Germany !! However, Customs said there will be a court date to get it back, and the best way to get it back would be to pay a fine now to them at Customs and the judge might consider giving it back. Guess what - the "fine" was equal to the rest of the money I had left in my belt !! So, we didn't pay it and considered the other money gone. We were afraid that if we argued too much (which wouldn't have helped anyway) they might take our passport illegally or not, then it would be up to us to try to get it back. We might still be there trying at this time !! That night at the Hotel we met an American who said the exact same thing happened to him right after us, except he was carrying the money for five people of the group of seniors that he was with !! Customs had a good payday !!

Enough bad news. Otherwise we had a very good and educational trip and especially liked Russia. Thank you again for your staff's assistance.

See you in Canada sometime.
Linda and Joe Elder, Calgary, Canada
e-mail: hproc @shaw.ca

I am writing to express the gratitude of my family for the services, expertise, and kindness of both Svetlana, our guide, and Andre, our driver. Both Lana and Andre were excellent guides during our four days in St. Petersburg. More importantly, they helped us during a health crisis with my father. Please tell Lana and Andre that my father is doing fine--fully recovered--and that my family wishes to thank them for everything. We would always recommend your guides after our experience in St. Petersburg.
Jim Fairweather, USA
e-mail: fairwea4 @msu.edu

I would like to thank you for the lovely family you found for us to stay with. We enjoyed St Petersburgh immensely.
We hope if God spares us we will have another chance to come over someime next year. The city is absolutely wondeful. You are lucky people!
Oxana McGregor, UK
e-mail withheld and provided on request to
info@russian-st-petersburg.com

March 2004

I watched ballet "Swan lake" was watched on March 27th.
Thank You for everything. The Ballet was wonderful.

Gerard Bradley, Northern Ireland
e-mail: gerardbradley @hotmail.com

On a short trip to St Petersburg (2 days, 2 nights), we managed to get a real feel of St Petersburg with a City & Hermitage Tour as well as an evening at the Mariisnky Theatre and a short trip to Pushkin village to see the Summer Palace. All of this packed in so little time, thanks to RST's organisation & logistics. The additional trip to Pushkin wasn't part of the initial plan but just one phone call to RST got it all sorted. Quick to answer our specific queries such as arranging an early check-in at the Astoria hotel (which they booked for us as well) or deliver our train tickets to Moscow, RST through Elena Osmakova, provided us with friendly and accurate advice on everything from best seats for theatre to trip logistics. So thanks again to Elena and our guide, Mariana, who was very interesting. In short, we enjoyed our trip to St Petersburg so much that we hope to be back soon, and in the meantime, we will have no hesitation in recommending Educacentre to our friends and acquaintances!

Sabrina and Vivek Chaudhri
from London, United Kingdom
e-mail withheld
and provided on request to
info@russian-st-petersburg.com

February 2004

My business life causes me to travel the world and I have experiences which I would rather not repeat!
I have travelled to Saint Petersburg and beyond on several occasions in the last year, staying in apartments, asking for all kinds of travel arrangements from trains and planes to automobiles!

These guys not only advise me about my itinerary but organise my travel and accommodation, including access to terrific apartments. They help me with my visa paperwork and make all of the arrangement
making a "walk in the park", leaving me to walk in the parks! From guides in far flung places to apartments and air travel, personal guides and itinerary planning, there seems to be nothing they cannot do
and get right EVERY time. Look no place else for peace of mind travel !

Simon Mills FRSA, Managing Director
Ingenuity System Testing Services Ltd
e-mail: Simon @spmills.co.uk

June 2003

Dear RST,
i have enjoyed very much my trip to Russia.
I will come back in August...i think with my girl-friend.
My favourites have been: Caterina palace and the ballet at the theatre!! In August I would like to see the other palaces entirely .. with the parks etc., of course the folklore shows (at Nikolayevsky palace and others) etc. .. I will give you my list with the excursions desired, for the period from 20 August to 26,in this case i think i will ask a professional guide.

We loved having a guide for the first city tour and also for the Hermitage and the suburbs...Peterhof and the others.

When we got to one of the summer palaces, we would have never figured out how to get our tickets or get into the palace without Valentina. Thank you so much for suggesting the Palace tours. They were really magnificent and so different from the city. Michael especially liked seeing the pictures of the palaces before restoration.

We did love the ballet at the Marinski Theatre. It was so wonderful to have a full orchestra with the dancers. In Alaska, if we ever get great shows, they rarely have live orchestras.

I'm so glad we found you on the St Petersburg Times website. Your suggestions were all fantastic and the City Guides, Lana and Valentina, were very helpful and informative.

We have told all our friends about your services and how we went to St Petersburg with just two words in Russian, spaseeba (thank you) and Pribaltiskaya and had a wonderful time.

Thanks again for a great vacation!

Kayla Rocereta
e-mail: rocereta @gci.net

A very friendly and professional atmosphere. All staff members were attentive to my needs. I felt comfortable and well cared for. I will definetely return.

All my enquiries were handled extremely promptly and efficiently by Irina. I felt she was an old friend by the time I arrived at EducaCentre.
My impressions didn't undergo any change when I met you all either. I felt you gave very good support and nothing was to much trouble.
The tuition was excellent too. Elena cemented the grammar into my brain in a very easily understood way. I do wish you were not so expensive and I would be back for a month!!

Joan Fenwick and Mariuska Chalmers
e-mail of Joan is withheld on her request,
e-mail of Mariuska is mariuska_chalmers @yahoo.co.uk
Great Britain

EducaCentre is located in a very good place and the people working there are excellent. Everything is perfect, I am very much satisfied and want to come back.

We were very satisfied with EducaCentre's work to arrange a homestay for our three day visit in St.Petersburg. We would recommend the experience to any traveller.

Course dates : 29/07/2002 - 9/08/2002
I really enjoyed the time I spent here, this is a good place to have "international friends"! If you don't speak any Russian, that's no problem, you'll learn. I learnt fast, the teacher was perfect for it, very patient and helpful to teach me how to prononce and write. Educacentre's staff is all very friendly people, who all speak English, which is very useful.

Course dates : 15/07/2002 - 12/08/2002
I knew about Educacentre from Russian guide on cruise on "Dmitry Fourmanov" ship, and after a year I decided to take Russian course. I must notice good organization and very easy communication via e-mail. Every advice was clear. Our teacher Larissa was excellent: very kind, patient and at each step tried to let us understand completely.

An efficient, well organized place — things actually work ! And a nice atmosphere.

Lars Korslund Christensen, Denmark
e-mail : larskorslund @hotmail.com

The first day I arrived in Peter, I was completely shocked by everything - wow ! I have to leave, I'm very sad because of the very good time I had here ! But I don't recommend you Educacentre if you don't like to have fun and if you don't wanna meet very nice people ! I wanna come back and I will do that !

Francesco Leonardi, Switzerland
e-mail : bodo_8@yahoo.com

Course dates : 10/07/2002 - 25/07/2002
Love you guys, Irina (A), Slava (A), Anastasia (A) !
Aaron Becker, USA
e-mail : middeast@hotmail.com

Course dates : March 2002 - July 2002
I thought it was a very good program, and I was able to make a lot of progress here

Alfred Kueppers, Germany/USA
e-mail : akuep1@yahoo.com

Course dates : 21/06/2002
EducaCentre's staff are very keen to make sure you feel 'at home' and to meet your needs for accommodation, transport and studies. It is a good way to visit the city.

I got excellent tuition and made great progress in speaking and understanding Russian. EducaCentre International Department took great care of me and made quick arrangements for everything. They make you feel of home in St .Petersburg right from the very beginning of your course.

EducaCentre is a fun place to learn Russian and Russian culture. A friendly atmosphere and small classes were a recipe for intense and funny lessons.

And not only did the teacher react to our very individual needs immediately but I also enjoyed playing situations of everyday life.

Especially I liked the very involved and friendly staff at EducaCentre. With loads to see in St. Petersburg the EducaCentre guides knew a lot about the city. And I met some of the most interesting people over here. Don't miss the night life during the time of the White Nights! The Educacentre staff is very friendly and helpful, thanks, guys!

As for accomodation, I lived within a 10 minutes walk from the school. Only the windows facing Nevskij Prospect made it a bit noisy. The meals in my host family were typical Russian, or so I was told. Really good food: Hot breakfast every day and ice cream on warm days. :-)

EducaCenter is and excellent facility to study Russian language, Russian music, people and Petersburg. I'm very glad about that. Many thanks all the crew. All the best.

What I can say is that EducaCentre provided me exactly what I was looking for. As I had actually been long in St. Petersburg and I have friends here. I did not take advantage of Educacentre cultural activities. The staff is great : I still wonder how Slava and Irina could be so patient in helping me to organize everything before my arriving.

Fulvia Lerone, Italy
e-mail : fulvia_lerone@hotmail.com

EducaCentre offered excellent accommodation a very competent teacher, a course which was tailored to my needs. In my opinion, St. Petersburg is a great place to learn Russian, to enjoy theatre, opera and balett.

It was great. We had a great time and learned a lot. The courses were well organized and very focused on your needs and interests. Please feel free to contact me if you have any question.

January 2001

I appreciated the support in whatever
I needed. Wheter it was a place to have lunch or dinner, a sight to see, a bookstore to visit, or a phone connection to check my office e-mail, the staff was always there, eager to try to please.

The best part of my experience was my teacher, Yelena , who thru her vast experience in languages knows what its we learning a new one. Her various tables and methods really helped to break down Russian into manageably pieces

Michael Ryan, USA, e-mail mrya@chevron.com