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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Name: Marion Hanan                    Date: May 18, 2011    09:24 Thank you very much. I received the tickets and will be ready for the pick up at 5.25pm today. What a wonderful country you have. Just loved St. Petersburg and Moscow has been wonderful. Thank you for your efforts on my behalf. Name: Alexandru Opris                    Date: May 18, 2011    09:21 Dear Slava Thank you for your email. We had a fantastic time in St. Petersburg. Olga and Alexei were great and made us enjoy every minute of our tours. Olga is the best guide we have ever had and we have seen quite a lot of the world up to now. Sergey arranged everything very well. We will be back for sure and we will contact you for other visits. If you agree, we can mention your agency on the travel blog of my wife. Name: Anne Docherty                    Date: May 6, 2011    04:43 Hi Sergey, Just a short note of thanks. We enjoyed our visit to Tsarkoe Selo and Pavlosk very much. Svetlana was a very able guide and Dimitri a great driver. Tell Svetlana we didnt get lost in the metro system!! If we travel to St Petersburg again we will certainly be in touch and will recommend your company to any friends who may visit. Thanks Anne and Efric Name: Maya Karanouh                    Date: Apr 25, 2011    05:31 Hi Slava, I hope all is well and thank you to Parallel 60 and Sergey for arranging our tour. Marina our tour guide was great, and everything went very smoothly. Take care Maya Name: Erik Levine (USA)                    Date: Apr 16, 2011    06:02 Hi Sergey, Your driver met me on time at the hotel and the drive to the airport was uneventful (as it should be!). Thank you very much for your service. You have yourself a new customer for my return voyages. And, hopefully, someday in the future as a tourist where I can spend more time enjoying the wonderful sights in Russia. Erik Name: Jim Gillet (UK)                    Date: Apr 7, 2011    02:56 Slava, Had a great time. Guide and driver first class in St. Petersburg. Guide good in Moscow. Drivers not so cheerful. Pick up driver from train offered no help although I suppose they don't have too. I think you should give your clients more info about the train. Are drinks included, are meals included etc? Know one could speak English. Hotel in Moscow fine but no non smoking rooms reserved. Also maybe a indication on the expectation on tips for guides and drivers. Obviously it's not obligatory but an average idea might be good. All told- very good indeed. Regards Jim Name: Norbert Kuhl                    Date: Mar 14, 2011    02:14 We had some very good days in St. Petersburg and we got a lot of good impressions, experience and understandings about Russian Culture. In respect of the persons took care about us let me say it in short words, it was perfect, they were always friendly and very obliging. The performance was perfect and we really appreciated the service provided to us. If I would be asked for a recommendation of guidance in St. Petersburg I will recommend your company. Thank you to all of them once more. M F G/Best regards Norbert Kuhl Name: Mary Plevey                    Date: Feb 26, 2011    21:03 Dear Slava, Thank you again for a wonderful tour.Natalie our tour guide was excellent and Alexander the driver was extremely good and also full of knowledge. This was my second tour with your company and everything both times was perfect. Winter was quite beautiful in St Petersburg It is to be recommended. Name: Michael Jacobsohn (USA)                    Date: Jan 24, 2011    03:09 Slava, Both your guide and the drivers who took us to the palaces were excellent. The guide was extremely informative and entertaining, and the drivers were timely and considerate. Serge was helpful and professional. I would recommend Parallel 60 to others. Thank you again. Michael Name: Norman Harriet and Sylvain Carignan (Canada)                    Date: Nov 30, 2010    08:33 Slava, Thank you for a great tour of St Petersburg. Everyone has enjoyed themselves, Marina and Helene were amazing ambassadors of the country. Andrew was a great driver through out the 5 days while we were traveling through St Petersburg. Norman I would also like to thank you for the great trip to St Petersburg, I believe everyone had a great time and it will be in our memories forever. Make sure o pass on our appreciation to everyone who made this tour possible especially Marina, Helen and Andrew. Sly GK- Flyers ice-hockey team NATO Canadian Contingent Name: Mary Plevey (USA)                    Date: Nov 3, 2010    06:05 Dear Galina, I also wanted to thank you for my tours in July They were wonderful Both the guides, Nataly in St Petersburg and Tatiana in Moscow ( where we had such heat) were so knowledgable I felt I did not have enough time in these cities to see everything Best Regards Mary Plevey Name: John Dawson (Australia)                    Date: Sep 30, 2010    23:31 Good morning Slava We are presently sitting at the airport awaiting our flight to Paris. We cannot leave your city without thanking you and your efficient and courteous staff for helping us to have such a wonderful stay. We will be happy to recommend your company to our friends. Kindest regards John and Florence Dawson Name: Beth and Rob Halle (USA)                    Date: Sep 30, 2010    23:27 The tour we took with Sasha was so wonderful. Catherine s Palace was beautiful and she answered all our question and then some. We had such a great time with her. She is knowledgable and a perfect guide that seems to enjoy her job and loves her city so much. We will reccommend her to everyone that asks. If anyone needs a referance, please feel free to refure them to us. My husband and I loved our time with her. Sincerely, Beth and Rob Halle USA, New York Name: Drew McAdam (Scotland)                    Date: Sep 7, 2010    08:43 Hi there, its Drew McAdam here... the chap who was providing the mind reading entertainment and spoon bending for Brian Souters group. Im sorry it took me so long to write, but you would not believe how busy I have been since I returned. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for the great help and support you were for me when I was out in the wonderful, wonderful St Petersburg. You treated with me with courtesy and polished professionalism, and made my visit all the more enjoyable. I really want to thank you for that. I would not hesitate to recommend you to friends and family. Thank you once again for a sterling job well done. very best wishes, Drew McAdam. Name: John Callahan (USA)                    Date: Aug 20, 2010    00:05 Dear Galina, We returned to the US last week. I wanted to write you and tell you how much we enjoyed our shore excursion on July 27th. Svetlana was an outstanding tour guide. She was very easy to listen to and she gave us an amazing amount of information about your city and its history. Our grandchildren are Swedish and speak English as a second language. We were unsure about how much of Svetlana s talks would stay with them. When we got back to Sweden, we were amazed at how much they remembered about the places we visited. Svetlana also was very accommodating in altering the tour schedule when our grandchildren became hungry and finding a restaurant which would allow the grandchildren to eat what they wanted and give the rest of us some traditional Russian cooking. We hope to return to St. Petersburg in the future to see more of your amazing city. When we do, we will certainly contact your company to show us around the city. In the meantime, we will strongly recommend your company to anyone who visits your beautiful city. Thank you again for your help in creating some beautiful memories for our family. Sincerely, John Callahan Name: Yves Rouleau (France)                    Date: Aug 11, 2010    06:23 Bonjour, We would like to thank you and Specially Olga for the great visit we had. We have been treated like kings for 2 days... Yves Rouleau and familly Name: Judith Williams (USA)                    Date: Aug 10, 2010    10:11 Dear Galina, I would like to thank you for helping us to have such a wonderful time in St Petersburg. The visits you organized including the restaurants we dined in were all excellent. Everything ran like clockwork and having tickets which meant we often bypassed long queues was a bonus. Please pass on a special thanks to your excellent guide Sacha. Her command of English and knowledge of the places we visited made our visit very special. We cannot praise her enough, a lovely lady very professional with a wicked sense of humor. We would not hesitate to recommend your agency to any visitors to Russia. We were on a cruise and only had 2 days in St Petersburg so needed to make the best of our time. It was straightforward to organize our excursions through you and the fact that we did not need a visa because we used your agency made things really easy. Thank you once again and pass on our sincere thanks to Sacha. Please re-assure her that none of us caught a cold as she was very concerned because we got soaked in a very heavy rain shower whilst visiting Catherine Palace. I have put a review recommending your agency into TripAdvisor. If you would like me to send a testimonial anywhere else then please get in touch. Many thanks Judith & Mike Williams and Gerald Naylor & Lorraine Naylor Name: John Getty (USA)                    Date: Aug 2, 2010    05:07 Hello Galina, We all enjoyed the tour of St. Petersburg tremendously! Nataly was excellent and so was Alexander, we enjoyed them greatly!! Sorry I could not meet you, but I understand. Thanks again for everything, John Getty Name: Sarla Patel (USA)                    Date: Jul 21, 2010    10:19 Hi Slava We are back to USA. We had great trip. Both your guides in Moscow and Guide in St. Petersburg were great and so were the drivers. thanks -sarla Name: Jason Crosswaite (UK)                    Date: Jul 12, 2010    08:49 Galina, I would just like to thank you for taking the trouble to deliver in person my ticket for the Pushing tour last week. Your assistance was greatly appreciated. Regards, Jason Crosswaite Name: Elaine Ridgeway (UK)                    Date: Jul 12, 2010    08:48 Dear Galina & Team, I just wish to thank all of you at parallel 60 for am excellent trip and service, Nataly was exceptional in every aspect of her duties, her English flawless and knowledge of the history and areas we visited was superb, but her attention and care of her clients was without doubt out standing, and we can highly recommend her services to other potential clients you may have in the future, and will also recommend your company. Andrew should also be mentioned here as well he also, was courteous, polite and very patient given the traffic he has to contend with in the city centre. My mother who is 82yrs was treated with care and consideration as were we all. So a big thank you to all concerned for the exceptional care and attention to detail which made you trip to your beautiful city should an unforgettable experience. Best Regards Elaine, and family. Name: Glenda aned John O Neill (Australia)                    Date: Jul 9, 2010    07:32 Dear parallel 60, I am writing to tell you we had a fantastic time in St Petersburg. Your driver Demetri met us at the station, and took us to the hotel where we met Alexandra. Our Hotel accommodation (hotel Moscow) was veru comfortable, and very convenient to local restaurants and for walks along the river. The drivers Demetri and Mikhail were very courteous, and always at the right location for each place of interest. Alexandra was an amazing guide who was able to tell us so much about each place we visited as well as about St Petersburg in general. Her knowledge was outstanding, she was able to tell us not just about the historical facts but also about the intrigues, scandals and family conflicts that made the places so special and interesting. Her English was fantastic and we were able to converse freely. Thank you so much for organizing this tour for us, we will remember St Petersburg, with its unique palaces, cathedrals and museums fondly forever. Thanks again, Glenda and John O Neill Name: Kasturi Ranga (India-USA)                    Date: Jul 5, 2010    00:06 Thank you, Slava. I was going to write this weekend- we just returned yesterday, after the Baltic cruise, the trip to india and finally, the Ireland stopover. I cannot find words to thank your company for the absolutely fabulous arrangements throughout the trip to Moscow and St Petersburg. We were very impressed with the guides as well, especially Jane in St Petersburg. Everyone in the group was thrilled with the whole russian experience. We had no idea of what to expect as none of us had been to Russia before, but we know we wnat to come back, and have you plan our trip once again !! Will send you pictures in the next 1-2 days. Thanks for all the wonderful arrangements, once again, and I will be very happy to write you and your company a reference letter if someone wants to hear more ! best wishes, kasturi Name: Doris Herusch (Canada)                    Date: Jul 4, 2010    23:59 Dear Galina, Just a short note to tell you that we were very pleased with our trip, and your organization of it. We will certainly recommend you to others. The one negative was that there was no air conditioning in the hotel in Moscow. I guess that we in North America are spoiled in that respect. If you want clients from North America you might consider looking into this. Thank you again, Doris Herusch Name: Myrto, Ellen and Friedbert Gelati (USA)                    Date: Jun 2, 2010    23:57 Dear Galina, Just a quick word to thank you very much for organising our visit to your wonderful city. Both our guide Alexandra and our driver Timur were excellent. We were particularly impressed by Alexandras dedication, attentiveness and sense of humour. Our itinerary was well chosen, and gave us a good introduction to the many sights and experiences that St.Petersburg has to offer. We look forward to coming again and seeing more of this exceptionally beautiful Imperial Capital! Best regards, Myrto , Ellen and Friedbert Name: Alan and Helen Jarman (Australia), part 2                    Date: Jun 2, 2010    23:47 Hi Slava! We re not quite home yet -- currently in transit in Seoul waiting for our flight -- but you can certainly feel okay, as we quite fell in love with Russia and all the arrangements you made were just wonderful! Our little problem, of course, is the kind of thing one tells at the dinner table for months afterward, having a better time with each telling. What no one at the shipping company knows -- but YOU know this -- the Russ, which was the ship we sailed on, turned out to be the one we asked you about first, as its itinerary was just perfect for us -- three days in St Petersburg and three and a half in Moscow.... but you couldn t get us a cheap berth on the Russ, so instead we settled for the other ship, which cut out a day in St Petersburg and gave us more time than we needed in Moscow. Well, as things turned out, we sailed on the ship we wanted but only paid for the cheap berth! And we got a whole extra day in Petersburg, which is certainly a nicer city than Moscow anyway! So everything worked out better than we could have imagined. The Cruise Director of the Russ, Anton, was so nice to us that I will send the company a thank-you email when we get home.... we got two free shore cruises in Petersburg and a ride into town in Moscow, and, of course, he insisted on a cabin upgrade, even though we kept saying that wasn t necessary. All in all, the Petersburg experience and the cruise was one of the happiest times we had in the eight week holiday. And Moscow is a knockout! We re proud that we learned to use the metro like veterans, even though there s not much English to help us along.... and we had fantastic weather right up to yesterday, which was our departure day. With the quick ride into Red Square courtesy of the ship, we actually did six hours of sightseeing on that first afternoon, so we ended up doing everything we had planned to do in Moscow... even filing past Lenin s body in the Mausoleum! We loved Russia and couldn t be happier with how everything turned out. So please forget all about that one little problem, which was the shipping company s mistake, anyway.... did I mention to you that in the Russ s handouts they gave two different times for the departure from St Petersburg... so they re very sloppy on times, it seems! After this experience with us, they will probably be more careful in future! But, anyway, they re a great company, very helpful and friendly and they do try hard... everyone on the cruise was full of kind words. All the best, and we ll write again when we re settled back into our home routine. Alan and Helen Name: Alan and Helen Charman (Australia)                    Date: May 25, 2010    01:56 Hi Slava! This is just to let you know that we are in Moscow and everything is okay. That little problem (clients were late for the ship departure) really didnt amount to anything, really, and the ship company took full responsibility for the error. They treated us very well, and by the time we left port the next day, it was all forgotten. So I dont want you to worry about it... it was their fault, not yours, and they did everything they could to make things right. We had a great trip, and are delighted with the Moscow hotel... very luxurious, more than we expected. Will write to you again from Sydney, but right now I must contact home, since the holiday ends in less than two days. Thanks again for everything, and please dont feel bad about that one little problem... it was nothing, really. Alan and Helen Charman   Name: Eunice Glosson (USA)                    Date: May 24, 2010    08:16 We are back home from our trip to St. Petersburg and want to thank you for our very nice tour experiences. Our guide Alexandra and driver Andrew did a wonderful job. We had a memorable day. Please let Alexandra know that we all appreciated her wonderful tour. Regards, Eunice Glosson   Name: Friederike Diehl (Germany)                    Date: May 17, 2010    07:34 Sorry about difficulties with the adress and tel. number of our hotel. The guide you send us, arrived in time and we enjoyed the trip to Pushkin. With our guide we were very content ; he spoke an excellent german, was very friendly and best informed. best greetings Friederike Diehl     Name: Bruce Delaney (Canada)                    Date: May 3, 2010    09:30 Just wanted to say thank you for the Russian tour,Hotels Transfers and guides were great. Language was a challenge but fun. We learned a great deal about Russian Culture and History.I would highly reccomend this tour and your Agency. Thanks Much,Bruce Delaney     Name: Michael Scholes (UK)                    Date: Mar 29, 2010    04:01 Dear parallel 60, Just a brief message to say how much I enjoyed my day at the three Palaces. Please pass on my thanks to Alexandra & Dimitri -- I saw everything that I hoped to see. As well as being very enjoyable I learned a great deal about the history of the sites and their contents as well as the royal occupants. It was certainly amazing to see how beautifully these have been restored after the tremendous damage during the war. Thank you again for your excellent organisation Regards - Michael Scholes   Name: Mike Belton (UK)                    Date: Mar 3, 2010    01:39 Dear Andrei, Thank you so much for taking the time to arrange our tour agenda. The guide and driver were first class as we had a really great time. Thanks again for all your help, it is truly appreciated. Best regards, Mike Belton SGS Minerals Services   Name: David Lilley and Heidi Clapp (UK)                    Date: Feb 4, 2010    00:38 Dear parallel 60 team, Just to say the tour was flawless and guide exceptional ! Thanks very much David     Name: Alexander Butiu-Viski (Romania)                    Date: Jan 18, 2010    07:23 Hello Slava, I apologize for this very late reply. We are home, a lot of things to do, I hope you can understand. I called you just before taking off, but nobody answered. I did it to thank you. We had one very best vacation and Piter became our most favorite place in the world (and believe me, we have seen a lot). Every step in Piter, one can breathe history and culture. It is amazing! Your proposal was excellent. And the services from Svetlana and Dimitri were all we could expect. Today we should have been on our way back to Piter, but it was postponed for at least a week. I think we will be back next Monday and hope to stay until end of March. We will keep in touch to plan for end of March a new vacation (there still are so many things to see!). Just one condition: to have again the services of Svetlana and Dimitri. I will call you when back to Russia. Best regards, Alex     Name: Normand Harriet (Germany)                    Date: Nov 27, 2009    06:03 Slava, Thank you , Thank You for an incredible trip and assisting me with everything while we were in St Petersburg. Marina and Helen were amazing and I have learned so much about your beautiful city of St Petersburg. The bus drivers were great and they made sure we arrived safely to all of our destinations Victor and I cannot spell the other drivers name I do apologize . It would have been nice to meet you maybe next time. With all of our photos some of the guys will be making a cd with all of the photos I will send a copy to you. I have forwarded your name and company to everyone here in GK for future trips to Russia. I sent your email to everyone who visited St Petersburg on this trip you may receive some emails. If you ever decide to visit Germany please let me know and you are always welcome at our home. Yours Truly Normand Harriet   Name: Irene Yates (USA)                    Date: Oct 27, 2009    07:12 Hi???we had a great time, and this was due in large part to the excellent efforts of Alexandra and Andrew. Both are very talented and helpful, and they worked hard to tailor the tours to what we were most interested in. The organization was perfect, with tickets delivered on time to the hotel, and both of them very punctual. Our overall impression is quite positive, and we would recommend your company without hesitation to others who travel to St. Petersburg. Also, I have posted a similar review on www.tripadvisor.com. Many people visit this site for unbiased travel reviews (in case you have not heard of it) so hopefully this can help spread information quickly about your company. Have a nice day. Best Regards, Yates Irene Name: Talia de Lavalle                    Date: Oct 12, 2009    08:00 Hello Slava,I am planning a family trip to St. Petersburg and Moscow during January .........is it toooo cold ? is there a possibility for a spanish guide ? ages from 76 to 12. Thank you   Name: Scott Allen (Canada)                    Date: Sep 10, 2009    04:53 Hi Slava, Just a quick thank you as the Hollands are back and, despite the weather (nothing we can control), had an excellent trip in St. Petersburg. Everything worked out very well and they were very, very pleased with the drive and guide that they had. Your arrangements were first class and I sincerely appreciate your handling our valued clients. Regards Scott Allen, CTC Owner Manager Worldwide Central Travel (2007) Ltd.     Name: Karen Parkes (UK)                    Date: Aug 4, 2009    05:50 Dear parallel 60 Im now back in the UK after a great trip and just wanted to say thank you for all your help in organising our holiday. I very much appreciated parallel 60s professionalism and personal approach. You found us the right river cruise to Valaam and Kizhi to fit the Dates we were able to travel, and the practical arrangements such as the transfers to and from the airport worked perfectly. Checking in for the hotel and river cruise was easy (not always my experience when travelling in Russia!). The staff in the hotel Moskva and on the river cruise were helpful and friendly, making sure that we found our English-speaking guides, for example. The guides themselves (Anastasia in Valaam and Elena in Kizhi) were well-informed and engaging. Contrary to some of the other feedback, I found the quality of the meals on the river cruise to be quite high. If I need to arrange another visit to Russia, I will not hesitate to contact you and I recommend your agency to other travellers. Regards Karen Parkes   Name: Pragna Modi (USA)                    Date: Jul 13, 2009    20:54 Dear parallel 60 Thank you so much for your help. tour to russia was really good we enjoyed. we really like tour guide Julia she was great. she know her work and history. looking fwd to working with you. Pragna Patel     Name: Charles Fleischer (USA)                    Date: Jun 23, 2009    07:25 Dear parallel 60, We took care of the river and canal tour. Thanks. I would like to comment about the Valaam tour. The ship and its people were wonderful. The service was excellent. The food was terrible. That was the only down side. The guide you arranged for at Valaam (Anastasia) was fantastic. I would recommed her to everyone. She is extremely knowledgeable and obviously loves the orthadox church. She presents the area with great love and passion. If you can give her a pat on the back, it would be well deserved. We had a grand tome and I hope we can come again. I also saw your tours on a train from Moscow to a town near lake Bykel and a sailing tour of the lake. These are two seperate tours and is tere a way to combine them. Thank you again for everything. I will recommend my friends to you and the Valam tour. Best Ragards, Chuck Fleischer   Name: Helen Gringolts (USA)                    Date: Jun 9, 2009    22:08 Hello parallel 60 team, I wanted to thank you and others at Parallel 60 for helping me make the trip to St.Petersburg a very pleasant experience! Your very knowledgeable tour guide, Alexandra, and the driver, were very professional and punctual. The three days we spent in your gorgeous city, will be the most memorable trip we have ever! taken Thank you again for all your work helping me organize it. Please, send my thanks and best regards to Anastasia and Lena as well. Helen Gringolts and 5 others!     Name: Ellie Goldstein (USA)                    Date: May 25, 2009    06:29 Dear parallel 60 team, We leave in AM. Just to let you know that Marina was an excellent tour guide. We appreciated her knowledge, congeniatilty and personalized attention. Our driver Nail was also very good We will certainly will recommend you and your company to our friends and contacts Ellei JC Goldstein MD Clincial Professor of Mediicne UCLA School of Mediicne     Name: Lisa Blanken (Norway)                    Date: May 8, 2009    04:22 Dear Slava Bochekov, On behalf of the hole group I would also like to thank you. It was a very nice tour and everybodye enjoyed it very much. Also you help regarding the late organizations where great. I have no remarks on the tour. The English was clear and we have seen and learned a lot. Best regards, Lisa Blanken   Name: Yagmur Guldere (Turkey)                    Date: May 6, 2009    07:22 Dear Slava, I was actually planning to send you an e-mail, but you were faster)) So here is our post-program evaluations: Our guide Svetlana was very helpful and knowledgeable. The driver was very good as well, always at the right place at the right time. The program was very satisfying and comprehensive for a 2-day tour. No complaints there. As for the restaurants, the place where we had lunch on 1st day (cant remember the name) had good food and nice waiters but the service was really slow, plus we couldnt find place inside the main hall. Last night, after the tour, we went to the Cafe Literaturnoye for dinner, and it was fantastic. As the prices of these two restaurants are on par, you may consider switching to Cafe Literaturnoye for lunches if you have the chance to do so. As for the Orangine Restaurant at Peterhoff- that was fabulous. The food, the waiters, the view, everything was excellent. So overall, we were really satisfied with the tour. The only complaint we have is that our feet are hurting pretty bad, but I think that???s our own fault because we could spare only 2 days for your lovely city, which deserves much more. Friends and colleagues at the Embassy are asking about our tour and we???re telling them the things I wrote above, so don???t be surprised if you receive a few calls from our Embassy for similar programs. Again, thanks a lot for the excellent work, and I hope we???ll have other opportunities for working together with your company. (If you are arranging tours in other parts of Russia, like Lake Baikal for instance, please let me know.) Best regards, Yagmur     Name: Viki Cooper (UK)                    Date: Apr 25, 2009    03:43 Hello Slava, Just a note to let you know that we really enjoyed our trip to St.Petersburg and that Stanislav was an excellent guide.He certainly knew a great deal about his subject and we now feel that we have had a good education in Russian history.(Also a few Russian words!) We will certainly recommend your services. Thankyou again, Best wishes, Viki and Colin Cooper Name: Regina Leow (Malaysia)                    Date: Mar 23, 2009    04:45 Dear Anastasia, My family enjoyed themselves very much! They informed that the tour in Moscow was very nice, although too short...and the tour guide was excellent! Many thanks for all your help...     Name: Hunter Crowder (UK)                    Date: Mar 19, 2009    02:43 Re: St.Petersburg weekend city break on March 14-15th, 2009 Yes, everything was great. The hotel was very convenient and the owners were very helpful and nice. the guide was EXCELLENT. I will recommend your services to any of my colleagues who come to Petersburg. Thank you, Hunter     Name: Svetlana Libus (USA)                    Date: Jan 15, 2009    07:42 Hi Slava, Thanks for writing me - I was planning to, but it has been busy: coming back to work, my son is living for Washington for internship etc. I really want to thank you for great services you provided. Our tour guides were wonderful: very knowledgeable, flexible, great personalities. Kids loved them! Thanks again, and great wishes for 2009. Russia has changed a lot - it is so much better: clean, friendly, great food, and iwe could feel a great holiday spirit everywhere. You can not find anywhere in the world this time of the year. I hope to come back next year for holiday season with my husband.     Name: Paul Gilligan (Ireland)                    Date: Jan 15, 2009    07:23 Dear Lena Thankyou very much for everything. Marina was an excellent guide who was very informative and we were very pleased with her and the arrangements you made for us. Sincerely, Paul Gilligan     Name: Maria Kubin (Germany)                    Date: Jan 14, 2009    02:15 Let me take this opportunity to thank you very much for the excellent guide you sent us during our visit in St. Petersburg on December 29, 2008. Vera was very knowledgeable, and together with the driver, she managed to show us very important aspects of this wonderful city.   Name: Laurem Unglass (UK)                    Date: Dec 9, 2008    09:54 Hi Slava, Well i would have to say that the whole group loved the guesthouse in Suzdal. We were actually split over two different houses that were at complete opposite ends of Suzdal. 6 people sayed with Zina, and 5 others, including myself stayed with her Sister Ira. They made us feel very welcome and although they only speak Russian, i managed to communicate and get my point across to them (they are both full of energy). They had actually prepared breakfast for the first morning we arrived as well as the next day which was amazing. We then took taxis to the other house before meeting for the walking tour at 12:00. The people who stayed in house number 2 (Iras) got a lift by her husband to the Monastery where we met the others. Later in the evening we again took Taxis back ti Zinas for Dinner. The food was fantastic. As for the Walking tour. The guide was excellent but maybe a tour of the Kremlin as well as the Monastery would be a little better as this is one of the main sights in Suzdal. Overall i thought both the Guesthouse and the walk were very good and would like to stay here again.     Name: Jacqui Aldridge (UK)                    Date: Nov 24, 2008    02:02 We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and were treated very well by Marina - who is very knowledgeable - and also by our driver Slava! I wanted to make sure I told you this myself but I do hope that in the meantime Marina passed on my feedback to you because i asked her to make sure she told you that we were very pleased with the tours and the service. I will certainly reccomend your company if I hear of anyone I know visiting St Petersburg in the future and I will definitely be in touch with you if we make the decision to visit Moscow in the future. Thank you again. Best regards, Jacqui   Name: Alfonso Muralles (Guatemala)                    Date: Oct 7, 2008    08:23 Tour to St.Petersburg, river cruise to Valaam, Golden Ring of Russia Dear Slava, We are back home after a wonderful trip to Russia. The tours handled by Parallel 60 were operated in a very professional way: all meetings and transfers on time, 3 very good guides, good accommodations and meals. Honestly, from a tour operator to another tour operatour: I hope that our clients go back to their countries as satisfied as we did from yours. Two comments made with the aim of the search for improvement of your services: A payment of 280rubles per person for a boat transfer in Valaam caught of by surprise. It will be good to mention that the such transfer is not included. With our lack of knowledge of the Russian language, and the lack of knowledge of the English language from the front dest staff at the Vladimir Hotel, it took us time to make them understand that our dinners and lunch were included. Everythig else was just perfect! Mr Arturo Duarte, Embassador of Guatemala to Russia, has mentioned that the Embassy will be contacting Parallel60 for future tour services they may need. Spasiba and kind regards, Alfonso Muralles   Name: Hans Van den Bersselaar (Netherlands)                    Date: Oct 7, 2008    08:16 Dear mr. Bochkov, We had a nice weekend in st. Petersburg. Partly for business, partly for leisure and due to the sunny weather. No worries: we will recommend you to everyone who wants to go to st. Petersburg from the Netherlands. But maybe some little recommends to upgrade your quality: 1- Driver and Tania (the guide): Perfect ! 2- Bustour and boattour: Perfect and flexibel ! 3- Dinner: below what we expected, although we realise that we did???nt pay very much for the total tour. I think for business-people you better ask and bring some more. 4-In your mail you gave me your telephonenumber: Please give next time the complete international reachable number. I could???t phone you yesterday when we lost the driver and waited in front of the restaurant. 5-Maybe you give also numbers of guide and driver. Please, consider this as fine-tuning. We are in general very happy with the tour ! Regards, Hans van den Bersselaar     Name: Ben Allin (USA)                    Date: Aug 21, 2008    06:58 River cruise Moscow - St.Petersburg on July 29th-August 7th Hello. This is Ben Allin and I just wanted to make a few comments on our trip on board the Motor ship “Lenin” The trip was great overall but there were a couple of things I wanted to point out. First of all, in Moscow you have down for us on July 29th, that we would be seeing the Tretyakov Gallery. That never happened as that was an optional tour that we had to pay for ourselves and they had no idea that it was part of our trip. What happened? That was something we really wanted to see and was part of the excursions that were supposed to be included in the tour. But, on the other hand, the last day a trip to the Peterhof’s fountains was included which you did not mention at all so that was a surprise and was great to see. Another thing that would have been really nice to have known before we left for the tour, was that on board there was a “Pirate’s Dinner” what we were supposed to dress up in Pirate costumes. If we had known about that ahead of time, it would have been fun to bring our own and could have joined in the fun. As it was, we had nothing that could even remotely resemble a pirate’s costume so we could not join in. Also there was a ‘Talent show’ that we knew nothing about and that would have been fun to have prepared something ahead of time. I realize that you probably had no idea that either of these things were going to happen but it would have made the time on board a bit more fun. It was no big deal as we had fun anyway. One final note is that at the last day, you have down “end of cruise” it would have been good to note that the checkout time for the boat was 10:00 AM. I had no idea when we were supposed to leave the ship and I had a pick-up scheduled for 12:00 which was way too late. Thanks for a great cruise as we had a nice time overall and going to Peterhof made up for not going to Tretyakov Gallery. We will recommend you to our friends that may be going to Russia in the future. Name: James and Sarah Wallace (USA)                    Date: Jul 28, 2008    05:56 Tour On May 3-6th I wanted to commend for working with us to make our customized 4 day tour St. Petersburg so memorable. Rest assured, we will be recommending your agency to our friends and colleagues. Thank you     Name: Donald Gibson (USA)                    Date: Jul 28, 2008    05:53 Tour on March 22-27th THANKS SO MUCH FOR MAKING OUR ST. PETERSBURG STAY WONDERFUL. Marina was a pleasure to be with. Pasha was a breath of fresh air. Julia and you were so hospitable. And Feodor was just CUTE. THANKS. We really had a great time under your care. I hope we will have many opportunities to meet again. Please send me Pashas email address. Hes a remarkable young fellow. I d like to stay in contact with him. Greetings from sunny, but cold, San Francisco. (I m making blinis this weekend, in an effort to recreate Julia s feast.)   Name: R.J.Fensterman (USA)                    Date: Jul 28, 2008    05:46 River cruise on June 2-7th I m not sure about the cause of the change for the River Cruise return time. I made my air eservations based on a 7 AM 7 June arrival back in SpB at the the end of February. None of our subsequent emails mentioned any change to that time. I believe we were both surprised to see it posted on the ships bulletin board on 2 June for 10 AM on 7 June. Your solution was probably the best possible answer to the problem, and I am thankful for your quick thinking and action. The ride back to the Azimut hotel went well, but not exactly smooth, since the first 20 miles were on an unpaved logging road.The driver arrived early and was very helpful at the hotel, both with the luggage and the reservations, despite knowing very little English. I didnt catch his name, but please extend to him our appreciation for his services. I will need a receipt for the 6500 Rubles; we did purchase Trip Insurance, and I will need a receipt for the drive to recoup that extra expense. You did warn me that the River Cruise would be mostly for Russian people; but I must admit I was expecting some English-speaking travelers and staff on board. We only found 2 other people on board who spoke English: an American from Alaska, and his companion, a lady from Ekaterienburg. The guides were excellent, however; in particular, Svetlana in Valaam, who was extremelyhelpful and friendly. At the risk of sounding like the proverbial Ugly American, I must comment on the accommondations and food on board. Defintely not up to Western Standards, not at all. The room was the size of an RV inside, particularly the bath room. The salads and deserts and bread were quite good, but the main courses were not really edible -- with the exception of one supper, and the BBQ in Mandrogi. The breakfast buffet was an absolutely fiasco; fortunately, the hot water boiler was opposite our room. so we could make coffee in our room in the mornings.The trip to Peterhof was also a bit of problem. There were only 4 of us on the tour, and we ran into a 3 hour traffic-jam on the way there. The guide was probably the poorest guide we encountered; her English was not particularly good, her attitude was hostile and surly; the driver did a much better job adapting to the circumstances than she did. But Peterhof was worth all the trouble. That, in many ways, sums up our entire 23-day Russian odessey: there were a lot of hassles, but the sheer beauty of what we were seeing in Karelia, and the friendly attention of the guides more than made up for any of the discomfort we felt. In many ways, it became a microcosm of Russia itself: sometimes the bureaucracy and the crumbling infra-structure and the unfairness of it all gets to you: but then a complete stranger goes out of her way to help you, and when you part, she says Christ be with you! and you know she really means that. And you realize, despite all its faults, this is no ordinary country...   Name: Susan Rowe (USA)                    Date: Jul 28, 2008    05:32 Tour on May 26-29th I just wanted to let you know how much Diane and I enjoyed our tours with Marina. She was an excellent guide with a wide range of knowledge and a great sense of humor. I d recommend her to anyone and wish that I had more time in St. Petersburg to take additional tours. Nicholas was also excellent. He drove through the crowded streets extremely well and was very solicitous of our comfort.   Name: Belinda Chandler (UK)                    Date: Nov 15, 2007    08:30 As for the tour itself it was extremely well organised. Our hotel was cost effective and in an excellent location and we were able to walk to restaurants in the evening. The driver was lovely although possibly the only comment I could make is that it might have been nice to be able to ask a few questions on our way from the airport about what we were seeing just to help us orientate ourselves more as we arrived. Sergei was very friendly but didnt have very much English. I must say though that what absolutely made the holiday for us was your excellent guide Julia. There didnt seem to be anything she didnt know and she really helped us make the absolute most of our time in St Petersburg. She even seemed to be able to get us to the front of the queues at the attractions and we felt like VIPs! Please pass on our sincere thanks to her from all of us. I feel uncomfortable that we didnt give her a tip and I wondered if you felt it would be appropriate to send her a small gift from the UK? We had a lovely holiday and it has been very pleasant dealing with you and thanks again for looking after us so well.   Name: Liisa Salo (Finland)                    Date: Nov 15, 2007    08:25 I m very happy to give you feedback about our trip. We had very, very good trip and had fun too.First we appreciate a lot that you helped us with checking. That was good customer service. Here below is detailed information. BOAT Exactly what we hoped, not a luxury boat, but cosy, not huge like Viking Line s and Silja line s boats, between Helsinki and Stockholm. M S Vissarion Belinsky had old fashion atmosphere. It was good to notice that it smoking was not allowed on board. Cabins were clean and enough room for two people and quests. First night we all slept well. It was warm, but the second night was rather cold. None of us touched any air-conditions switches. Anyway we could sleep, but not so well. On your website there is mention that there is sauna on the boat, but there was not. Personnel told no sauna. RESTAURANTS and BARS Personnel were friendly and helpful, so no complains except meals, which were not very delicious. On Saturday there was arranged a long dinner table for a big group and they had special menu. We looked quite envy, when the waiters carried different kind of meals and fruits etc. So for the next time I would very happy if we can order advance such a luxury menu at least for the second evening. GUIDED TOUR in VALAMO We participate in the morning walking tour with the American group. It was really good. Beautiful views and buildings. The path from skiita to another was not very easy for Americans (a little bit older people than us), so the walking speed was slow. Therefore we left the group after 2-3 hours and continued by ourselves. First we took a tractor lift to the Main Monastery, it was really fun, sitting on tracto s trailer, where had been potatoes before us. Before returning to the boat we visited other skiitas with a taxi. SUMMARY Like I told in the beginning of the mail, trip was good, relaxing and we had a lot of fun. Weather was beautiful, no crowded of tourists on the island. Perfect trip, except few small things mention above.   Name: Jon K.Smith                    Date: Oct 16, 2007    00:07 To Whom It May Concern: I decided to travel to St. Petersburg after taking a basic Russian course at Indiana University. After doing some initial research about how to enter the country and plan travel arrangements I knew that I wanted a company to support my travels. Slava Bockov happened to be the first person in Russia that I contacted. I am quite deliberate in my decision making but I knew from my first exchange that I wanted his firm to handle all the arrangements. He answered my initial email almost immediately and that was quite impressive considering the time difference. His command of English made both written and verbal communication perfectly clear. After I engaged Slava he became more of a partner in my travels than a basic service company. Everything from visas, transport, living arrangements, was handled seamlessly. Sight seeing, entertainment, and recommendations to see the special places only known to locals were all provided for me. I spoke very basic Russian when I arrived and needed to rely on others as I was a stranger in a very beautiful city. I never once had to worry or be concerned for anything. I have traveled extensively and St. Petersburg remains my favorite place ??? the entire experience which lasted about seven months afforded me an opportunity to explore an amazing city knowing that any problem or concern would be taken care of by Slava and his team. I would recommend them to anyone thinking of traveling to St. Petersburg. My chances to travel have been less as I focus on my career but would welcome any inquiries from interested parties. Kind Regards, JK Smith Director of Business Development National Yellow Pages Media and Yellowword1.com, Independence, Ohio, USA   Name: St.Petersburg branch of KARL ZEISS                    Date: Aug 13, 2007    01:48 Travel company <parallel 60> organized the excursion program for our partners during the Conefernce <Laser Refractive and Periocular Surgery>, held in St.Petersburg on June 6, 2007. We asked them to make some non-standard and interesting tour, as our Belgium guests came to Russia the first time after 20-year break and <parallel 60> did exactly what we wanted. First of all I would like to say that the website www.parallelsixty.com is highly informative and up-to-Date. The manager Vyacheslav proved to be very professional and responsive. He made several options of the tour and helped us to select the most appropriate one in our case. Our guests Dr.F.Guzz and his wife were very pleased to have such a wonderful introduction of St.Petersburg, they were thankful to the guide Julia for her high professionalism, great English and so interesting stories. The driver was also good as well as services in the restaurant. St.Petersburg branch of <KARL ZEISS> express its thanks to the management and staff of ???parallel 60??? and looks forward to working together in the future. Director of St. Petersburg branch of KARL ZEISS Seredkina O.A., Department of Medical Equipment of St. Petersburg branch of KARL ZEISS Glazova E.M.     Name: Eric Michard (France)                    Date: Jul 5, 2007    07:43 A propos de l appartement de Mokhovaya 45 alors l appartement, acceuil sympa ,tres bien situe dans la ville, en inconveniant, je dirais le rez de chaussee, la salle de bains petite   Name: Ksenia Zaitseva                    Date: Jul 4, 2007    00:51 Hello Slava, The excursion to Pushkin and Pavlovsk on June 30th, 2007 was very good. The car was good and comfortable and the driver was carefull, so the journey was very pleasant. Our guide - Julia did a great job. She spoke very good English, her guidance was interesting, informative and very professional. Everything was well organised. Even the weather was good! Thank you for everything.   Name: Ines and Uwe                    Date: Feb 14, 2007    12:13 Dear Slava, many thanks for showing us around interesting places related to Dostoyevski and his characters despite of the frosty temperature in February...   Name: dorothy nickson                    Date: Feb 4, 2007    13:31 thank you very much for organizing excursions for us, loved the hermitage most of all. We should soon come back to this wonderful city.   Name: peter sandes                    Date: Jan 27, 2007    07:32 good info, very efficient communication Name: Dr.Chiu                    Date: Jul 3, 2007    04:23 Elena, We enjoyed our trip to St.Pe very much! It is indeed a very beautiful city. Thankyou very much for the arrangement; everything you arranges in St-Pe was very smooth. If any of my friends or my company ever need the services in the future, I surely will recommend you.     Name: Michelle Denbeste (California State University)-1                    Date: Jun 24, 2007    11:54 Dear Slava, My walking tours on May 29th, 2007 were good. I thought that the communism tour was better than the revolutionary tour but this may be partly because I already knew a great deal more about the revolution side of things....   Name: Joseph and Bonnie DeWald (1)                    Date: May 21, 2007    07:48 Dear Travel Agency, I would like to comment on the wonderful experience that my wife and I had using your agency on our recent trip to St Petersburg. I have been a resident of Moscow since last September and I have had several business trips to St Petersburg but never really saw much of the city. During work hours I have the luxury of employing an excellent assistant and translator who makes my life easy here in Russia. One of my concerns in traveling socially in Russia was not having my assistant with me. Your agency removed that worry and created a wonderful experience for my wife and me. Some highlights were: The driver was early for each time we were scheduled to meet him. In addition he made sure we knew where we were going when we exited the car and even walked us right up to the platform at the train station when we left and helped us with our luggage. Julia, our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and enthusiastic about showing us the city and the Hermitage museums over two days. She was polite and remembered our names even before our first meeting.   Name: Samuel De Jeenes                    Date: May 21, 2007    05:24 Trans-siberian trip was fun, thks u   Name: Frank Delobute                    Date: Apr 10, 2007    09:05 parallel60 is a team of well-trusted guys, they helped me a lot in organizing my moscow tour, will use services in the future. thanks again for excellent job   Name: morganusvitus                    Date: Apr 4, 2007    05:28 The site looks great ! Thanks for all your help ( past, present and future !) Name: basini marie                    Date: Mar 1, 2007    11:19 Dear Slava, We have been very satisfied of the services you provided us.They were in line with your proposal: timing,quality and kindness. Our french speaking guide,Mrs Larissa PALAGUINA,was very competent and kind. Thank you for everything, kindly yours,Marie   Name: timothy silverston                    Date: Dec 14, 2006    10:24 you are impressively fast, thks, highly appreciated Name: tristan                    Date: Nov 2, 2006    07:57 fast and easy service, thks, fellows Name: Michelle Brante                    Date: Sep 30, 2006    06:42 thanks for organizing the excursions on Sep.25th, really enjoyed it. Name: Tom Hilfins                    Date: Sep 11, 2006    23:34 nice resource, will be contacting you in regards with travelling to Russia

June 2007

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.

July 2006

Dear Anastasia,

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.

And you managed to do just that for us.
I will write to you later.

Do keep in touch.
Best wishes, Ananya Dutt, India
e-mail: inannarules @rediffmail.com

July 2006

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

June 2006

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

June 2006

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!

Jill Tyrrell, United Kingdom
e-mail provided on request.

May 2006

Dear RST

Thank you for your kind inquiry about our trip.

It was most enjoyable and the arrangements you made worked out excellently.

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

May 2006

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

Irina and I have nothing but praise for the people we dealt with at RST!

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!

Sincerely, Bill Palmer, USA
tunesmith @wyoming.com

Hi RST,

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.

Best,
Mary Tosh, USA
e-mail: mtosch01@hotmail.com

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.

Regards, Jennie Burke, USA
e-mail: crooklets@msn.com

April 2006

All of us really liked the tour very much. No complaints at all.

Joshua First, United Kingdom
e-mail: joshuafirst @gmail.com

March 2006

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.

Best regards,
Veerle Van Meel, United Kingdom
VMeel @uk.partylite.com

January 2006

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.

Ed , Jane and Lydia Ebinger, USA
e-mail is provided on request

December 2005

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.

Brian Souter, United Kingdom
e-mail: lynn.robertson @stagecoachgroup.com

June 2005

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.

The timing of this was perfect, as we could see how it all fit together.

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.

Sending Fond Regards,
Renee Waun (and Annie)
revmom+ @pitt.edu

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

May 2004

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.

With best regards,
mspavie @tin.it
Marco Spavieri

May 2003

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

November 2002

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.

Leslie Brooke Ridlon, USA
e-mail : leslieridlon@hotmail.com

August 2002

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. 

Fusun Mutlu, Turkey
e-mail : fusunmutlu @superonline.com  

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.

Justin Valentine, e-mail : justinvalenti44 @hotmail.com  
Ashli Simpson, e-mail : ashli_simpson @hotmail.com 
USA

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.

Charpin Pascal, France
e-mail : squalyto30 @aol.com 

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.  

Claude Michele, France
e-mail: larafol @hotmail.com 

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 

June 2002

Course Dates : 25/06/2002
Marina, our guide was excellent ! 

Manuel & Janette Krupsaw, USA
e-mail : mikeksc@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. 

Garry Turkie, UK
e-mail : garturk@garturk.com  

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.

Wolfgang Koenig, Germany
e-mail : wolfgang.koenig@freduenberg.de 

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. :-) 

Gerd Schreiter, Germany
e-mail gerd-schreiter@hotmail.com 

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.

Irene Schmitz-Wildner, Germany
Phone/Fax 02152/2197

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 

December 2001

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. 

Bernd Holthausen, Germany
e-mail : Bernd.Holthausen@t-online.de 

July 2001 

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.

Matthias Mormino and Tosi Beatrice lmormin@tin.it 
Italy

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