This was my birthday treat! Our tour guide, Helena (I think) chatted with us before we set off and worked out a route to fill in the bits we'd not seen, as we'd spent 3 days sightseeing already. She was very knowledgeable and we still managed to learn new things about St. Petersburg. We were very lucky in that it had actually snowed the day before the tour, so Yelagin park looked beautiful under a layer of snow, although there was not enough snow for a sleigh ride (carriage ride instead). We had chance to warm up with a warm drink in a souvenir shop after the carriage ride, which was very cold, despite wearing thermals. The vodka museum was out last stop, with an interesting tour about the history of vodka in Russia , followed by a tasting. Special thanks to the driver, who was the best (and safest!) we'd had during our stay.

In spite of the lack of snow (and pouring rain fro most of the day) we had a fantastic excursion with our guide (Victoria) who was very knowledgable and professional but told everything in the sort of way that made the trip feel like we were going out in town with a friend. Our driver was excellent with good English and a great sense of humour which we appreciated. A less experienced team could have been phased about how to fill the time but it was never a problem and we would recommend this excursion.

Great experience. A private tour always gives you more flexibility, more attention to details. We are a group of 4 and we enjoyed everything. Our guide was Helena (Yelena?) and she was absolutely fantastic! Her knowledge about St Petersburg and almost every building in the city is astonishing. We are so lucky she was our guide. Our driver was also a very gentle man. I forgot his name but he was so polite, so great with navigation. All in all the tour was fantastic.