St. Petersburg Shore Excursion

This St. Petersburg shore trip includes two full days tours. You will experience life as a local with a ride on the famous Metro, a canal cruise, a hydrofoil ride across Finland Bay, a visit to the local market and dinner in the home of a local family. You also visit famous sites such as the Hermitage Museum, Peterhof with the Grand Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress. Experience St Petersburg like a local.


After passing through customs at the port you meet your private licensed guide and your day begins with a city driving tour which includes photo stops at major attractions. During the tour you see the Square of Arts, the Russian Museum, the Cathedral of Our Savior on Spilled Blood, Griboedov Canal, Nevsky Prospect, the Palace Square, the Winter Palace, the spit of the Basil Island, the Menshikov Palace, the Senate Square, the Bronze Horseman, St. Isaac's Cathedral, Peter and Paul Fortress, the Palace Embankment, the Field of Mars, the Summer Garden and Smolny Cathedral. During your city tour you have the chance to ride the famous Metro which carries 2.3 million locals and guests each day. The most impressive Metro stations look like grand palaces.

Following the city tour is a lunch break (meal not included).

After lunch you board a canal cruise (public boats) for a chance to glide under St Petersburg's many bridges and see the city from a totally different perspective. Have your camera ready!

This afternoon you visit the Peter and Paul Fortress. Peter the Great founded the city of St. Petersburg in 1703 and the Peter and Paul Fortress was the very first building constructed. The Fortress forms an irregular hexagon stretched from West to East with six pentagonal bastions at the corners. The Fortress was never besieged, it was destined instead to become the main political prison of the tsarist Russia.

Today the fortress is one of St. Petersburg's major tourist attractions and an emblem of the city. It houses the St. Petersburg City History Museum.

Before dinner there is a stop in a local market so you have the chance to see where locals shop. Please note that purchases are only possible if you have Russian Rubles.

This evening is a highlight to the two day St Petersburg shore excursion. You will have dinner with a Russian family and try traditional Russian cuisine, so you can see how local people live with your own eyes. You will be welcomed as honored guests. Sitting around a hospitable dining table you will taste traditional home-cooked dishes, learn more about local customs, talk heart to heart and ask your most interesting questions. The hostess will offer you a variety of dishes made from her own recipes which differ from family to family. Included with the meal are local soft drinks as well has house wine and vodka.

Please note: If your private party is more than 12 people, you will be divided to visit more than one family.

Your second day begins with a tour of the famous Peterhof including the Grand Palace and the Lower Park with it's fountains. Built to rival France's palace at Versailles, you are sure to be impressed.

Peterhof is St. Petersburg's most famous and spectacular estate, a jewel of Russian art. This town of parks, palaces and fountains was called Petrodvorets in the past. The Grand Palace was built by Peter the Great and became the exquisite summer residence of the Russian tzars. The location on the shore of the Baltic Sea made it an ideal place in the warm summer months. From the Great Palace three monumental cascading fountains lead to the Lower Park, a real masterpiece in itself, with 173 fountains on its grounds.

After visiting Peterhof you board a hydrofoil (public boat) to cruise across of the Bay of Finland back into the city. These high speed boats offer comfortable seats with panoramic windows. Back in St. Petersburg you have a break for lunch (meal not included).

After lunch you visit the State Hermitage Museum. This massive museum is located in six historical buildings of St. Petersburg. The buildings themselves are architectural beauties and many think the most impressive part of the museum. These buildings include the Winter Palace, which is the former residence of the Russian emperors, the Small Hermitage, The Old Hermitage, the New Hermitage, the Hermitage Theater and the General Staff Building.

The Winter Palace was erected between 1754 and 1762 for Empress Elisabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great. It is the largest edifice built in the high Baroque style.

The Small Hermitage was constructed between 1764 and 1767 and the Old Hermitage between 1771 and 1787. These buildings were meant to be used by Empress Catherine the Great for her own apartments and for her personal collections of art which she purchased in Europe.

The New Hermitage was built between 1839 and 1852 and became the first building in Russia designed to contain and exhibit museum collections.

The collections of the Hermitage includes over 3 million items from prehistoric to modern times. Magnificent works of art embracing prehistoric culture, Egyptian art, the art of Antiquity, Scythian gold, and great collections of Western European sculptures and paintings (Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Raphael, Rembrandt, Poussain, Manet, Renoir and others) are displayed in the 400 halls of the museum. Luckily, with your private guide you will see the most important pieces.

Mobility: NO wheelchairs

With these private St. Petersburg shore excursions, our partners in Russia provide everything you need to satisfy Russia's entry requirements. You will NOT need to purchase a separate Russian Tourist Visa.

Russian law requires that cruise passengers taking Private Shore Trips have the following documentation:
1) A valid passport
2) A photocopy of your passport
3) Proof that you have purchased an escorted tour arranged by a government licensed agency authorized to receive foreign cruise passengers inside the St. Petersburg port area. Our partners in Russia provide a Visa-Free Entry Voucher as proof of your tour.

To process your Visa-Free Entry Voucher we will need the following information for each person in your private party at the time of your reservation.

-Full name as listed in the passport
-Passport Number
-Passport Expiration Date
-Date of Birth
-Nationality
-Gender

Special Note- Your cruise line may tell you that you must purchase an expensive Russian tourist visa to get off the ship if you are not taking their big bus tour. This is not true. The visa they refer to is only for passengers who plan to go ashore unaccompanied by an authorized guide. With the Visa-Free Entry Voucher our partners in Russia provide, you are required to depart and return to the port with the tour we have organized for you. You do not have the option to stay in St. Petersburg and return to the ship on your own. Visa-Free Entry Vouchers are sometimes called a "blanket visa".

Four Week Notice- To obtain the needed Russian Tourist Visas we can only accept reservations with a minimum of four weeks notice.