Group tours:
(1) Max group size is: 16 people per van for St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Riga, Gdansk and Klaipeda; 20 pax for Warnemuende; 26 pax for Stockholm, Berlin and Oslo.
(2) It is our office responsibility to compose the groups.
(3) Group tours have guaranteed departure no matter how many people are booked.
(4) Group tours have a flat rate price which never changes no matter how many participants there are (from 2 pax to maximum).
Private tours:
(1) Group size is determined by the tour participants.
(2) Group is composed by the tour participants. Our office will help in composing the groups by providing information about private groups open for tour sharing.
(3) We inform our private tour groups if there are guests interested in joining their group. However, we never add new participants without the group permission.
(4) Price of a private tour depends on the group size. Please keep in mind that if your private group does not reach your desired number of people or some tour participant(s) cancel the tour at the last minute, your tour price will match your actual group size.

Our 2-day St. Petersburg Grand Tour is a very busy program involving a lot of walking and requiring much energy. Still, the tour has a great balance of sightseeing and time for rest while driving from place to place. The most strenuous parts of the tour are visits to the Hermitage (about two hours of walking) and the Peterhof grounds. In case you prefer something more relaxed or have limited mobility, you may consider our 2-day Comfort Tour.

We will be glad to add a short visit to the Grand Choral Synagogue to the program per client’s request. It will be a picture stop for about 5-10 minutes during the City Highlights Tour. Please note that visiting Synagogue is not possible on Saturdays, therefore, if the City Highlights Tour falls on Saturday, the stop will take place on the other day.

Since 2019, none of our group tours takes you to the Peterhof Palace. However, most of them (except for the 2-day Royal and 2-day Comfort Tours) include an inside visit to the Catherine Palace. Both of them are the most famous and beautiful palaces in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, but they are also very much alike: both were constructed in the middle of the 18th century to the design of the same architect (Francesco Rastrelli) and are decorated in the same architectural style – Russian Baroque. We strongly believe that it would be a pity to spend your limited time in our city on repetitive sightseeing, so we include only one palace at a time. In their turn, 2-day Royal and 2-day Comfort Tours have other special features to please you with.

We are glad to be of service to you no matter what transport you are travelling on. For tourists staying in hotels, we will be happy to make a private tour arrangement with all the necessary pick up and drop off transfers. Please contact us regarding the availability.
* Note: You will need to obtain a Regular Russian Visa on your own.

The Gold & Diamond Room Tours are NOT included in our standard itineraries. Although these exhibitions are very interesting, they are not the top sites we suggest visiting during such a limited time that you are staying in the city. We never include the Gold & Diamond Room Tours into our group excursions. However, we can add one of these tours to your private program upon request.

If you don’t want to participate in the Subway Ride due to various reasons, you may stay in the van while the rest of the group is on the metro tour. If you are on a private tour and all members of your party don’t want to go to the metro (subway), we can easily skip this activity all together.

The boat will have both inside and outside seating. It is important if the weather is rainy or windy.

Unfortunately, we cannot arrange a wheelchair for the entire trip. However, it will be possible to take a wheelchair for the Hermitage Tour per your request without any additional charge.

The guide will use a microphone in the van and on the boat. In other places you will get earphones and receivers to hear your guide better.

Yes, we provide car seats for children. Please make your request at the time of booking.

It’s a pity to say but we are authorized to provide tours in any language except Russian. No tour operator working with foreigners is allowed to offer tours in Russian. It seems quite strange, but this is a protectionist policy of the state museums: excursions in Russian must be conducted by the museum guides. If we hire Russian guides for you in all the museums (a different person in each), the tour price will get much higher.

The hydrofoil is the speed boat sailing between St. Petersburg and Peterhof summer estate and back. It is the fastest way to get from one point to the other (only 30 min).
* Note: Hydrofoil does NOT sail to Tsars Village.
The boat ride is a slow sailing along rivers and canals of the city allowing to view the beautiful architectural ensembles of the city, its squares and bridges from the water level. It’s a 1-hour sightseeing excursion.

Early entry to the Hermitage is a special arrangement for the start of the tour before the regular opening time of the museum. The time for our groups to enter the museum is given between 9:30 and 10:00 am, while the main flow of the visitors will gain the access to the museum collections not earlier than 10:30 am. Thus, our clients have an exceptional opportunity to enjoy the museum treasures without hassle and crowds!

Our private tours are flexible and all the changes clients might wish to make during the touring days will be accommodated if possible. It is important to know that such changes might affect the tour price!
Our group tours don’t have much flexibility. They cover the sights shown in the program. Any changes can be made only if the entire group agrees and time permits.
*Note: Sequence and timing of sights visited may vary based on days of the week, tourist congestion in the city, and capacity allowances mandated by museums. However, the content of every program will always remain as previously stated.

All our group tours in St. Petersburg include a visit to the Hermitage museum. Until recently most of the Hermitage art collection used to be located in the Winter Palace. However, in 2014 the General Staff building was restored and the Impressionist and Modern Art collections have been moved there. Unfortunately, our group tours (except for the 3-day St. Petersburg Grand and 2-day St. Petersburg Royal Tours) do NOT take you to the General Staff building to see the Impressionist exhibits. This can be arranged only per your request as part of a private tour.

All our St. Petersburg tours (except for the 2-day Comfort Tour) involve a lot of walking and in general are pretty strenuous. Please contact us if you have any doubts. We will be happy to recommend the most suitable tour program for you.

All our tours in other cities (except for the 12 hour Berlin Grand Tour) include hours of walking, at times over uneven surfaces, and may not be suitable for guests with walking difficulties.
The 12 hour Berlin Grand Tour is mainly vehicular and includes only picture stops with 5-15 minutes of walking at the Berlin wall, Holocaust memorial, Check Point Charlie and Brandenburg gates.

Full prepayment for the tour package is required 1 month prior to your first port with us or within 72 hours after you receive a confirmation letter from your personal manager, whichever is later.

Please refer to the disembarkation instructions to know where to meet your Alla Tours guide in each port of call. You will recognize our representative/your guide holding the ALLA TOURS sign.

We suggest that our clients book evening tours well in advance. These are very popular and a shortage of tickets is quite possible. However, we will try to accommodate your request even on the day of your arrival. Yet, in this case we cannot guarantee the availability of tickets or the quality of seats.

Ballet: Usually we book/purchase seats in the stalls. If they are not available, we’ll contact you for your alternative preferences.

Folk Show: There’s a free seating, so you’ll be able to choose the seat(s) yourself.

Folk Show: There’s no particular dress code for the Folk Show; it’s an informal and amusing event.
Ballet: Smart casual clothes would be most appropriate. There’s no need to dress up. If you’d like, you can bring some light fresh clothes with you and change in a van or a restroom.

There are three possible scenarios for the transition between your day and evening tours:

(1) Should your day program end with a lot of time to spare (2 hours or more), we’ll take you back to the ship for some rest before your evening program for which we’ll pick you up at the port terminal about 1 hour prior to it;
(2) As a rule, there is a time gap of about 45 minutes between the end of the city tour and the beginning of the evening program. In this case, instead of going back we will take you to a local cafe in the city for a coffee break at your own expense (credit cards are accepted). After that we will accompany you to the Nickolayevsky Palace/Theater/Faberge Museum;
(3) In the worst-case scenario where your day tour finishes right before the night program, your evening tour will start immediately after it. Please be assured that it happens very seldom (only 2-3 times per season), but we would like you to know about this possibility.

Full prepayment for the Ballet and the Folk Show evening programs is required.
Ballet: We suggest that our guests make the choice and the prepayment for the ballet evening tour at their earliest convenience to ensure that the tickets are not sold out completely and that decent seats with a good view are still available.
Folk Show: The payment is to be made along with the payment for your St. Petersburg Tour/Multicity Tour Package.

Yes, you will see all the sights we advertise, although the order of sights visited during your excursion may not coincide with the sample itineraries shown on our website. The schedule may vary depending on closed days of the museums and the actual arrival and departure times of your particular ship. Last minute changes may take place due to the specific entry times given by the museums for our tour groups.
Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg: Due to the unprecedentedly large numbers of guests in our city during the high season and the limited capacity of the Catherine Palace, in very rare cases this sight may be substituted by another palace. Please be assured that you will be informed of any changes well in advance.

We guarantee to get you back to your ship in time for sailing. In over 10 years as a private, independent tour company, we have never missed getting any of our guests back to their ship in time for sail away in any of our Baltic ports of call. However, were something "hypothetically" to occur, Alla Tours would pay for 100% of all costs associated with delivering you quickly to your next port of call.

We include lunches in our group tours in St. Petersburg and light lunches in the Warnemuende area. Tours in other cities don’t include any meals. Most of the lunches offered on our group tours are set meals and, due to time limitations, it’s not possible to order something different from the menu once you arrive at the restaurant.

ST. PETERSBURG
Our private tours don’t include lunches. Lunches may be provided by request. Please contact us for more details.
All our group tours in Saint Petersburg include lunches. See their descriptions below:

Our 1-day Intro Tour includes a sit-down lunch at a local restaurant with a set menu - traditional Russian soup, main course (as a rule chicken or turkey, but, sometimes, beef or fish), bread, dessert, tea/coffee, or a soft drink.
Our 2-day Grand Tour includes two different types of lunches. On one of the days you will enjoy a sit-down lunch at a local restaurant. Set menu offers typical Russian soup, main course (as a rule, chicken or turkey, but sometimes beef or fish), bread, dessert, tea, coffee, or a soft drink. On the other day you will have a packed lunch consisting of two sandwiches (chicken and ham), some sweet treats, juice and bottled still water. Picnicked in the Peterhof Park or consumed while travelling between summer estates, our packed lunch is a great timesaver for your sightseeing (On the Grand Tour you indeed must be prepared to see a lot :)
On our 2-day Royal, Must See and Comfort Tours you will enjoy two traditional Russian lunches at local restaurants. You will get a chance to try different Russian soups, main courses (as a rule, chicken or turkey, but sometimes beef or fish), bread, dessert, tea, coffee, or a soft drink.
Our 3-day Grand Tour includes sit-down lunches at local restaurants with a set menu - traditional Russian soup, main course (as a rule chicken or turkey, but, sometimes, beef or fish), bread, dessert, tea/coffee, or a soft drink.
Our 3-day Two Capitals Grand Tour includes two different types of lunches. There will be a sit-down lunch at a local restaurant one day in St. Petersburg and on your only day in Moscow. Set menu offers typical Russian soup, main course (as a rule, chicken or turkey, but sometimes beef or fish), bread, dessert, tea, coffee, or a soft drink. On the other day there will be a packed lunch consisting of two sandwiches (chicken and ham), a roll, some sweet treats, juice and bottled still water. Picnicked in the Peterhof Park or consumed while travelling between summer estates, our packed lunch is a great timesaver for your sightseeing (On this tour you indeed must be prepared to see a lot :)
* Note: If you have any dietary restrictions, please advise at time of booking, and we will do our best to provide you with an appropriate meal if possible.

You are welcome to take some food from the ship to make sure you won’t get hungry. There’ll be no problems bringing snacks through immigration.

The booking procedure goes through the TOURFINDER available on our website. You will be required to enter your ship details in order to get the availability of the tours on your dates. Afterwards you will be able to book the tour(s) following several simple steps.

Group tours:
The deadline for booking our group tours is 7 days prior to your arrival in the port. However, we do our best to accommodate last-minute requests. We won’t be able to start a new group tour within 7 days of your arrival, but there might be free seats still available in some of existing groups.

Private tours:
If you plan a private tour, we suggest that you book your trip about 1 month in advance to secure a private guide and vehicle. If it’s a last minute request, we will confirm the booking only if we have one of our guides and cars available.

You will be able to print your tour confirmation documents (including your tour tickets) once you are fully booked and confirmed with Alla Tours. For this you need to complete the booking forms for each member of your party in your Personal Account and make the payment.

Please refer to the disembarkation instructions to know where to meet your Alla Tours guide in each port of call. You will recognize our representative/your guide holding the ALLA TOURS sign.

ST. PETERSBURG
Your guide will wait for any late departing guests for 30 minutes after the meeting time shown on your tour ticket. Our port manager will wait for late guests for another 30 minutes (or till the disembarkation is over, whichever is later) and will be happy to call a taxi for you to join your group.
OTHER PORTS OF CALL
Due to the limited tour time in these ports, guides and drivers can wait only up to 10 minutes after the scheduled departure time. The tour group will then leave the port. We kindly ask our guests to be punctual in consideration of all tour members from your ship who wish to begin their tours on time.
Missed tour: If you are late for the excursion and your group has already left, it means that, unfortunately, we will not be able to pick you up and let you join the tour. To our regret, no refund will be made in this case.

If the ship is delayed, we’ll be aware of this issue and will wait for you and do as much of the tour program as possible - it’ll depend on the working hours of the museums included in the itinerary.
If we cover the entire program, even in a shorter time span, no refund will be made.
If the ship doesn’t call into port at all - we will make a 100% refund for you.

Full prepayment for your tour(s) is required 1 month prior to your first port with us or within 72 hours after you receive a confirmation letter from your personal manager, whichever is later. You are more than welcome to make it with the help of our online payment system. We accept only Visa/MasterCard; no foreign currency conversion fee will be applied if you use a card in US dollars and/or Euros. Once the booking is completed, we will provide you with the necessary instructions.

CANCELLATION POLICY
(1) 100% refund if the ship doesn’t call into a port;
(2) 100% refund provided that you cancel your reservation in writing at least 72 hours prior to your arrival at the port;
(3) 75% refund will be made if the cancellation is received within less than 72 hours prior to your arrival at the port;
(4) No refund will be made if the cancellation is received within less than 24 hours prior to your arrival at the port;
(5) No refund will be made for any theatre performances (Ballet, Folk Show, Russian Musical Seasons) once your ticket is purchased by Alla Tours;
(6) No refund will be made for the Sapsan high-speed train tickets once they are purchased by Alla Tours.
Note for points 3 and 4: While we, unfortunately, cannot reimburse you even in case of a medical or any other emergency, we will gladly assist you with a letter to your insurance company (per your request) stating that you did not participate in the excursion although it had been paid by you in full.

Group tours:
Our group tours are all inclusive. You won’t need to pay any extra fees.
Private tours:
Your tour cost (invoice) will cover all expenses except for your lunches. If you have ordered your lunches through our office, the cost of meals will be included into your total tour price.
Tips: Kindly note that tips are not included in the tour price and cannot be added to your credit card charge. They can be provided in cash (any currency convenient to you) directly to your guide (10%) and driver (5%) at the end of the tour. Tips are strictly optional, although greatly appreciated by those hosting you through your tour.

You may be assured that no foreign currency conversion fee will be applied if you use a card in US dollars and/or Euros. Please check with your bank for any other possible fees.

The payment for the whole tour package is made online 1 month prior to your first port with us or within 72 hours after you receive a confirmation letter from your personal manager, whichever is later.

Our tour covers all camera usage, both inside and outside of all the venues as per the itinerary.

We suggest a 10% gratuity for the guide and 5% for the driver, given separately.

Unfortunately, you cannot add your tip to your credit card charge. Gratuity is to be paid in cash directly to your guide/driver.

Here are some ways to purchase Russian rubles:
(1) You can order Russian rubles at your home bank. This way you’ll get a good exchange rate and, more importantly, you won’t spend your time searching for ATM machines in order to get the local currency upon your arrival in St. Petersburg. The last won’t be too complicated but will help to use your time for sightseeing only.
(2) You’ll be able to exchange US Dollars to Rubles onboard your ship. However, they will have the least favorable exchange rate. This, on the other hand, isn’t a huge loss because you need require just some 20-40 USD if you are on a group tour.
(3) You can use ATM machines in the port and on your tour route. So you’ll definitely have a chance to get some rubles if needed.
If you are on a private tour and didn’t book lunches though our office, you might need Russian rubles. Be aware: credit cards are accepted mainly by expensive restaurants which always involve a long service. As a rule, the majority of our guests prefer to have something simple and fast for lunch. This could be served in a cafe where credit cards are rarely accepted. So, you would need about 50-70 USD per person for your meals and other small purchases.

All souvenir shops accept major credit cards. However, we suggest having small amount of local currency for each country you visit. You may need some cash to pay for small articles like water, soda, ice cream or post cards/stamps and to visit restrooms if needed.

Yes, we make special offers for Cruise Critic members. Please contact us for more information.

Discount for children and teenagers of 7-17 is 10% per person. A local student/school ID will work just fine.
Students aged 18 years and older require an International Student Identity Card (ISIC) in order to claim their student discount. Unfortunately, a local university/college student card will not be sufficient as the ISIC is required by Russian museums, not Alla Tours. The guide will check your ISIC on the morning of your tour. Please make sure you have it on you.
For more information on the ISIC, please go to: https://www.isic.org/

Casual comfortable clothes and shoes are recommended. St. Petersburg, just like all the other cities in the Baltics, has unstable weather. It might change during the day and, therefore, it’s best to dress in layers. Please check with the weather forecast before you disembark.

All the churches you will go inside are museums and don’t require any specific dress code.

Folk Show: There’s no particular dress code for the Folk show; it’s an informal and amusing event.
Ballet: Smart casual clothes would be most appropriate. There’s no need to dress up. If you’d like, you can bring some light fresh clothes with you and change in a van or a restroom.

Some shopping time can be accommodated at the group’s request, time permitting. Please let your guide know if you are interested in some shopping opportunities.
Apart from this, you’ll have a chance to shop when you are on the tour around the city; inside the museums and nearby museums - there are plenty of street vendors. So, those who are interested in shopping will find some opportunities.

All souvenir shops accept major credit cards or foreign currency in cash: US Dollars and/or Euro. All street vendors accept foreign currency and many of them accept credit cards as well. However, we suggest having Russian Rubles for payment for small articles like water, soda, ice cream or post cards/stamps.

(1) 100% refund if the ship doesn’t call into a port;
(2) 100% refund provided that you cancel your reservation in writing at least 72 hours prior to your arrival at the port;
(3) 75% refund will be made if the cancellation is received within less than 72 hours prior to your arrival at the port;
(4) No refund will be made if the cancellation is received within less than 24 hours prior to your arrival at the port;
(5) No refund will be made for any theatre performances (Ballet, Folk Show, Russian Musical Seasons) once your ticket is purchased by Alla Tours;
(6) No refund will be made for the Sapsan high-speed train tickets once they are purchased by Alla Tours.
Note for points 3 and 4: While we, unfortunately, cannot reimburse you even in case of a medical or any other emergency, we will gladly assist you with a letter to your insurance company (per your request) stating that you did not participate in the excursion although it had been paid by you in full.