Insider Tour
Insider Tour
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Established in 2003, Insider Tour offers a unique perspective on all things Russian - history, architecture, arts, and present day life. All tours are conducted by experienced career tour guides with your unique interests matched with your tour guide's area of expertise. Fully licensed. No visa required for cruise guests. We offer tours in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Novgorod, and across the Baltics.
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5.0
689 reviews
Excellent
645
Very good
42
Average
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Terrible
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Tkaraman1
Istanbul, Türkiye11 contributions
Jun 2019 • Family
We have used this agency for a 2 day visit of St. Petersburg.
They have shown us the old Tsar houses and explained us details about the lifestyle of the era.
They have also shown us the city in itself and have brought us on a boat ride that was amazing.
Our familly speaks French and they were able to provide us a guide who speaks French and could explain everything well.
The car/bus they have provided was very clean and modern and the driver was always there waiting for us.
Overall a very good experience.
They have shown us the old Tsar houses and explained us details about the lifestyle of the era.
They have also shown us the city in itself and have brought us on a boat ride that was amazing.
Our familly speaks French and they were able to provide us a guide who speaks French and could explain everything well.
The car/bus they have provided was very clean and modern and the driver was always there waiting for us.
Overall a very good experience.
Written 8 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Oksana
Ottawa, Canada19 contributions
Aug 2019
This excursion exceeded our expectations. As a family of 4 (including an elderly person with some mobility challenges) we needed to have a personalized, private experience at an accommodating pace and with guaranteed tickets for our wish list. Our two day tour included entrances to Catherine's summer palace, the Hermitage, Peter and Paul Fortress, St Isaac's, Church on Spilled Blood and the Fabergé museum. Plus stops at several viewpoints, easy and safe walking transfers at our pace, and so much more. Our tour guide Katherine /Ekaterina/ was very knowledgeable about history, culture and the arts at each stop, and resourceful in terms of the tour logistics. The Mercedes mini-bus was clean, new and very comfortable (my husband may have had a nap en route) and the driver was excellent.
Written 20 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
teamspud2018
Rugby, UK11 contributions
Aug 2019
Fantastic and eye opening tour of imperial and present day St Petersburg. Great driver and guide. Very knowledgable, prompt and efficient. Would highly recommend. Family of four tour in a people carrier over two days coming off a cruise ship. Privately arranged using recommendation from friends.
Written 16 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ranko s
2 contributions
Jul 2019 • Friends
We were 2 couples to participate to the privet shore excursion with French guide .
It was the exact experience we were expecting !!
Very good driver Alexi
Very compétant guide Ekaterina .
Both very agréable and doing ther best to please us . We recommande strongly this tour.. we enjoyed every minute of those two full days .
It was the exact experience we were expecting !!
Very good driver Alexi
Very compétant guide Ekaterina .
Both very agréable and doing ther best to please us . We recommande strongly this tour.. we enjoyed every minute of those two full days .
Written 17 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Buf0rdT
Red Bluff, CA14 contributions
Jul 2011 • Friends
Last summer (July, 2011) we visited St. Petersburg, Russia on a Holland America cruise. We passed on the ship sponsored tours and booked a private two day tour for four with INSIDER TOUR, an excellent decision.
Our guide Elena Orlova was wonderful. She provided excellent commentary in very good English everywhere we went. As we traveled between the incredible architectural highlights, we enjoyed just visiting with her about life in present day Russia.
Our driver Igor, yes Igor, was a jewel. He seemed to appear whenever we needed him which was frequent due to occasional rain showers.
The tour included lunch each day at authentic and excellent restaurants that provided prompt service. The Russian cuisine and drinks were very good, well presented, interesting and tasty. An adventure in dining!
The tour included all the major sights and we got to visit a number of other interesting locations about the city as well.
All communications were promptly answered and arrangements completed without complications. We would not hesitate to recommend the services of Insider Tour and would certainly use them again ourselves.
Our guide Elena Orlova was wonderful. She provided excellent commentary in very good English everywhere we went. As we traveled between the incredible architectural highlights, we enjoyed just visiting with her about life in present day Russia.
Our driver Igor, yes Igor, was a jewel. He seemed to appear whenever we needed him which was frequent due to occasional rain showers.
The tour included lunch each day at authentic and excellent restaurants that provided prompt service. The Russian cuisine and drinks were very good, well presented, interesting and tasty. An adventure in dining!
The tour included all the major sights and we got to visit a number of other interesting locations about the city as well.
All communications were promptly answered and arrangements completed without complications. We would not hesitate to recommend the services of Insider Tour and would certainly use them again ourselves.
Written 9 March 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
donna p
texas1 contribution
Jun 2011 • Couples
All arrangements were completed online .. had direct correspondence with one individual .. she helped us arrange three full days of experiencing St. Petersburg with all the highlights we requested, making maximum use of time and traffic. I was a bit hesitant to book online and deviate from the cruise resources, but WOW, are we ever glad we did !! The whole experience was so smooth. Our guide and driver met us each morning and delivered us back in time to attend evening events on board or in town. Our tour guide was OUTSTANDING .. her knowledge of both history and art was exceptional. Had we NOT booked with Insider Tour we would have seen only half of what we did! We wholeheartedly recommend this company .. professional all the way !!
Written 21 November 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
triphungry_8
Boston , Massachusetts16 contributions
Jun 2011 • Couples
My wife and I had a great day in St Petersburg with Alexandia from Insiders Tours. Our Royal Caribbean Cruise allowed only one day in St Petersburg. We wanted to make the most of it and include specific things beyond the regular day cruise tours. We had a great, personalized tour of the major tourist sites including the Hermatige. But we also had a chance to see the major shopping streest, ride the subways and shop and eat at "local" businesses. The day combined what Alexandria thought we needed to see, along with our specific interests. We were picked up in a new VW Van and left the port while others were still trying to form tour groups. Would do it again and if you could find another couple, (total of 4 people), it would be price competitive with the "group tours"..
Written 7 May 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
WAwanderer
Tacoma, WA14 contributions
Jun 2011 • Couples
Insider Tours was excellent...our guide was extremely knowledgeable, punctual, organized and responsive to changes. We learned so much more than what was available in any tour book. It was supremely "hassle free"...no time restrictions, at our own pace, on our own agenda. We saw so much more than going the "bus tour" route.
It was worth every penny. We even were able to sample more local "food" and ate where the locals dined, exposing us to a more "true to life picture" of living in St. Petersburg. We were so glad we picked Insider Tours!! We recommend them to our friends
It was worth every penny. We even were able to sample more local "food" and ate where the locals dined, exposing us to a more "true to life picture" of living in St. Petersburg. We were so glad we picked Insider Tours!! We recommend them to our friends
Written 4 March 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RVS798
Princeton, NJ66 contributions
Jul 2011 • Couples
We were on a Baltic cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line with another couple in July 2011 and we hired Inside Tour to arrange our two days of sightseeing in and around St. Petersburg. It turned out to be a very wise choice. Though by no means cheap, it was less expensive than the cruise line would have charged us for a comparable tour -- and we had the services of an excellent English-speaking guide (Olga) and driver all to ourselves. We prearranged our itinerary so that we had more time at the Hermitage than standard tours would have allowed, and we could spend as much or as little time as we wished at each of our destinations. Also, we didn't have to change any money; Olga fronted us the rubles we needed (for admission fees, lunches, snacks, etc.) and then we reimbursed her in dollars at the end. We are altogether very pleased with Insider Tour and would highly recommend this organization's services.
Written 4 March 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
global-traveller48
London, UK546 contributions
May 2016 • Couples
We had booked the 2 day extensive tour, and it certainly was. We returned to our ship each day absolutely exhausted, but also exhilarated by what we had seen and the amount we had seen. The 2 of us were collected on time each day by our driver Alexander in a great and very comfortable Mercedes, and he steered us round all the sight brilliantly and well driven. Our guide Mira was superb and was an art historian, so she knew far more than most guides would and was able to give vignettes about what we were seeing. She was also excellent at avoiding the large tours - taking us to see something else and then returning when the masses had gone. there were so many occasions when we had whole rooms to ourselves, including in the Hermitage. it was also good not to have to spend hours having lunch. yes, we could have, but why waste that time when you could see more? We had eaten so much on the ship anyway, so we asked just for a salad or sandwich & so we didn't waste more than 30 mins each day for this - our choice. The Catherine and Peterhof Palaces are a must, but so are the various stops in St P too. We loved the street walk we did, and the subway, as well as the many less well known churches we saw. The Hermitage is overpowering, but the architecture there was just as good as the art - for us at least.
Can't recommend this company too highly. Everthing worked - and on time too. Because we were with them, we hadn't had to apply for an independent visa. The ship's berth was quite a way out of St P so if you were on your own you wold need to get a taxi to get into the city. They were also so trusting as I paid in cash on the first day.
Do book with them!
Can't recommend this company too highly. Everthing worked - and on time too. Because we were with them, we hadn't had to apply for an independent visa. The ship's berth was quite a way out of St P so if you were on your own you wold need to get a taxi to get into the city. They were also so trusting as I paid in cash on the first day.
Do book with them!
Written 17 May 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello is there the possibility when booking one of the tours to add an hour of 'free time" to just explore a park or market? Also if we add the dinner option, can we have this dinner alone as a family or is the tour guide is required to come along? Thank you!
Written 2 August 2019
Absolutely! You can add free time and do any changes to the itinerary you may desire. You can also dine alone. We help all our guests create their personalized travel experience.
Written 3 August 2019
Hi, I'm travelling to Moscow and Saint petersburg. we are 5 . We want a guide for our trip. Moscow trip (JUly 22 and 23) St. Petersburg (24,25,26) we want to visit the golden ring as well
Written 12 June 2019
Dear Mark S,
By all means - we can arrange such a tour for you! You can find more details like detailed tour descriptions, timing, pricing, reservation and cancellation policy by visiting our website that you can find on our TripAdvisor page (sorry cannot post a link here due to TripAdvisor policy).
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask!
Written 13 June 2019
Yes, This is Robert Grundy from Shallotte and I did write this review, despite the efforts now of the Insider Tour to call it Spam.
Written 23 March 2018
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your question and for confirming this negative review was indeed written by you.
The reason we had to suspect this review was not legitimate is twofold:
• We tried to contact the author of this review for almost a week via TripAdvisor but all our requests to get in touch with our office to get a refund were ignored.
• At the end of his tour the real Mr. Robert Grundy as we know him rated our tour “5 stars” and with very positive commentary when he gave his signed written feedback form to our guide.
After several days of searching for the answer we had to conclude that the review was without merit.
Written 26 March 2018
Hi, E. What would you like to know about this attraction?
We are scheduled for this tour next week.
Do you have to pay for this in cash or do they accept credit cards?
Written 8 August 2017
Hi, E. What would you like to know about this attraction?
We are scheduled for this tour in a week. Do you have to pay for this in cash...or do they accept credit cards?
Written 8 August 2017
They take cash or credit cards. If you are in a mixed group they will need the currency to be the same. So 1 person can't pay by credit card and the rest by cash. Has to be all the same.
Written 25 August 2017
If you book an evening activity through them, do they provide the transport from and to the cruise ship? (Example: ballet show). Is it part of the fee.
Written 21 April 2017
Dear ChuckGee,
We do arrange evening performances for our clients complete with tickets and transportation both ways. Please note that we arrange private, available only for yourself transfers and not public bus transfers used by multiple tourists at the same time (like your cruise line does, for example).
I hope this answers your question.
Written 22 April 2017
HI Rachel, I am booking with Insider Tours for a trip in May. I am planning the Grand Slalom with them in St. Petersburg. I was wondering which tour you took? How much walking was involved? I know they are long days 9-10 hrs but how much of that is riding vs walking?
Thanks
Written 22 January 2017
Dear cannsyl,
If you decide to book a private tour with Insider Tour you will have the ability to design your own itinerary. We can customize every element of the tour day to suit your travel style, including your preference for walking. If you choose not to customize our standard tours presented on our website, then you would be looking to spend approx. two thirds of your time ashore walking and one third driving around as a rough estimate.
Hope this helps! Please be sure to let us know which tour you decide to book and how to modify it to suit your wishes.
Have a great day!
Written 23 January 2017
Wwe will be in SPB via cruise for 2 days in August. Last year we spent 5 days in the citi and saw a lot with privat and group tour arrangements. This year we would like to visit siege museum and learn about citi during WW2. Also we would like to revisit Russian museum, because we had a chance to see only part of exposition in Mikhailowski Palace, and we heard that 20th century exposition and Benua Wing are very interesting expositions too.
We have visas, but time is very limited and we would like to spend it productively.
Written 9 July 2016
Dear notanline,
Thank you for your online enquiry. All of your desired changes are possible with us and we will be happy to arrange this tour for you. Please contact us via our website (you can find the link at the top of this page) to proceed with your tour reservation.
Written 12 July 2016
Ben F
Munich, Germany
How much time for shopping does the St. Petersburg Two Day Grand Slalom tour offer? I want to see as much as I can, but also want to be able to purchase souveniers for myself and family.
Written 18 June 2015
Hello, Ben and thank you for your question!
All of our itineraries can be accommodated to allow time for shopping thanks to our flexible approach. We can realistically squeeze out 1/2 hour if you prefer to keep the overall tour duration as is. If you prefer to have a longer shopping opportunity we can always add more time to your tour to satisfy your needs.
So as you can see it is very customizable and can be changed any way you want.
If you do decide to retain our services please do so via our website.
Have a fantastic day!!
Written 19 June 2015
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