Here you will find photos and comments from our clients who have been on a tour or shore excursion in St. Petersburg with TJ Travel. To sign the guest book just send us a message and / or photos to our e-mail address – info@st-petersburg-travel.ru
In addition, if you enjoyed your tour or shore excursion please feel free to share your experiences and write a review about us on Tripadvisor:
| We went on the two day tour with Sarah Swanson on May 12-13. We do not have a FAX machine or scanner to do the survey, but we wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed Victoria. She was an awesome guide and nothing was too much trouble for her. She went above and beyond her duties. We were very pleased.Cathy and Hal Hillgren,
NCL Sun 12-13 May |
| I wanted to let you know what a fine day we had recently with Kseniya as our tour guide as we participated in the 1-day shore excursion in St. Petersburg. Kseniya was very knowledgeable and more than obliging in sharing her vast knowledge even though our tour didn’t end until 8:30 pm. We appreciated the special touches of champagne and chocolate on our canal excursion, instead of the hydrofoil, which was not in service at the time. We thank TJ Travel and Kseniya for a “job well done”.Angelika Beyer,
Vision 11 may |
| ATTENTION:TATYANA CHURIKOVA – GENERAL DIRECTOR.Hello Tatyana, My wife and I wish to let you know how much we enjoyed our two-day tour.The itinerary suited us perfectly helped by the good weather we had. Irena was a very good,enthusiastic guide and Viktor’s driving was faultless-he always seemed to find a space to stop and park the car despite the amount of traffic. The photographs we took will be a permanent reminder of an unforgettable experience.Please pass on our thanks to all concerned with the arrangements that were made. Very best wishes to you all. Donald and Florence Morris 12-13 May, Aurora |
| Hello Tatiana & all the other members of your tour company.My name is Craig Bourke from New Zealand & myself & a friend recently toured your wonderful city of Saint Petersburg. We all came from the Norwegian Sun on May 12th&13th .Alex was our guide& Constantine was the van/bus driver. We all got together thanks to the website cruise critic.com .Please give everyone a big thank you as I am sure everyone enjoyed your hospitality & professional attitude immensely. Thanks for a wonderful time in your truly great city.Special Hi to Alexis(Alex) Her lovely face & cherry smile was fabulous to see as she informed us of everything around the city.
Thanks again. Craig Bourke, NCL Sun 12-13 May |
| Dear TJ Travel,I want to add my thanks for our amazing guide, Tatiana, during our day in St. Petersburg a couple of weeks ago. She was wonderful and managed to fit in all of the requests that my daughter and I really wanted to see. She was extremely knowledgeable about every attraction and even knew each building we would ask about as we drove around. We couldn’t have been happier with our day in your lovely city and we will recommend your agency to everyone we can.
Michelle Rageth 18.05 Vision |
| “I signed up TJ active tour. I am very happy with it. Our guide is pleasant, kind, and knowledgeable. As I expected, we went to many places in two days, and the tour guide gave us good grasp of what we are looking at. I grew a new respect to the Russian history and Russian people at the end of our tour. My favorite part was listening to her, an art history major, talking about the paintings (I know not everybody was into this, but I loved it. Who say it is easy to be a tour guide? You can’t please everybody.) The Russian pie lunch was excellent. Try the rabbit pie. Yum Yum! I guarantee everybody will love this one”NCL 21-22.05 |
| Hello Olga,We have just returned from our cruise and I want to write to thank you for all your assistance in arranging our tours of St. Petersburg. We had a wonderful 2 days being shown around expertly by Nellie our tour guide and Constantin the driver. We were all very impressed by the organisation, punctuality, efficiency, courtesy and professionalism of your company. We have recommended your company to our travel agent who was interested to hear of our experience. Thanks for showing us your wonderful city . Regards, Fridolin, Teresa & Sheila 28-29 May, Constellation |
| Dear Tatyana,I apologize that I’ve taken so long to get back to you. We had a wondeful time on the tour and I’ve also had nothing but good words from the other members of our group. Again I want to sing the praises of Victoria and her great stories and sharing some of her family history. I also want to thank Olga for all her help in making the visa applications easy and answering all my questions. St Petersburg is back on my bucket list and when we get back to St Petersburg, I will be contacting you for another great tour.
Thank you again, Judy Morrison |
| Hi Olga,just wanted to tell you how great we thought the tour was. Everything was perfect and you covered all the interests of your great city. Dina our guide was fabulous. Her knowledge of the history and current affairs in russia was wonderful but as a guide she was so personable and our whole group thought it was hard to say good-bye. Whoever is lucky to get her will be very happy. After our tour and talking to people on the boat, many were very unhappy with their guides and that can affect the whole experience. Again thank you for taking such good care of us and I will highlly recommend your travel services.
Fondly, Elaine and Emil Gluck. ( constellation 21-22 june) |
| Tatyana,We absolutely loved the 2-day tour that Victoria (our tour guide) and Constantine (our driver) offered us during our stay in Saint Petersburg. The van was more than comfortable even with the warmer than normal temperatures that we were greeted with. And with our family of six of varying ages, we were especially impressed by Victoria’s ability to cater to everyone’s interests. She was extremely flexible and often offered us a few alternatives of where to go next so we could pack more in if we wanted or could slow things down for a breather. We strongly recommend TJ Travel to anyone interested in a tour of Saint Petersburg. I added a perfect rating for TJ Travel on Trip Advisor and posted this comment there, as well.
Thanks for a wonderful vacation experience! Mike Phlipot |
| Hi TatyanaOur 2 day tour of St. Petersburg with Irina was outstanding!! Her enthusiasm was contagious. She was extremely knowledgeable and made the history of this great city come alive for us. St. Petersburg is truly an amazing city and we will have memories for a life time. Irina is a fantastic guide with a great personality and sense of humour and her love for this city is clearly evident. The entire tour went very smoothly from beginning to end and was definitely the highlight of our cruise.
It was a pleasure working with Olga preparing this itinerary and also meeting you. I would highly recommend TJ Travel. I left my email on the questionaire Irina gave us at the end of the tour and I would be happy to respond positively to any clients questions. Thank you for a wonderful tour Sue |
| We are a Canadian couple would engaged your serves during our recent trip to St Petersburg. We were fortunate enough to have Tatiana and Alexander as our guide and driver. They were superb!! They showed us parts of the city that few tourist have a chance to witness. They were pleasant, friendly, helpful and always fun! They, indeed made our trip a wonderful adventure! If we ever venture back to Russia, we wouldn’t hesitate to contact your company again—maybe even be lucky enough to have Tatiana and Alexander once more!! We can’t think of enough good things to say about them!!Please let them know that we thank them both from the bottom of our hearts!!
Sincerely, Vaughn Pridmore |
| Dear Tatyana,Thank you for all your help in organising our tour around Saint Petersburg.
We had a lovely couple of days and learnt lots of new things. Paul as a guide was very good. He was also kind, friendly and understanding to my special needs. Igor was also an excellent driver and extremely well informed on local things. He was a lovely man with a good sense of humour but was confident so we felt completely safe in his hands. The highlight was at the end when they sang us a special song in Russian, it was a lovely touch and should be encouraged as it finished the tour in a truly memorable fashion! We will certainly recommend your company to other travellers, indeed your details have alrady been passed on to fellow cruisers aboard Arcadia! With Very Kind Regards Sally and Ian 14-15 July Arcadia |
| Hello from California.Just arrived home late Saturday night but still on Baltic time. yug. thank you to OLGA for an absolutely wonderful 2 day tour in st petersburg. bryan and i had a fabulous time. Inna was splendid, professional, knowledgeable and fun. Thank you so much. I’ve already posted blogs on Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic. The restaurants you selected were prefect, friendly, good food and made us feel at home. The 8 other people we met on the bus was continued to see on the ship after we left st petersburg and it was fun to discuss our tours and recall memories. I want to especially thank Olga for her patience. It’s always tricky booking a tour from 5,000 miles away and she answered so many of my emails promptly and professionally. I felt I knew her personally as a friend before I even stepped off of the ship. I only wish I could have met her personally. You have a very professional tour agency and I wish you years and years of success.
We hope to return some day. In the interim, take care. ELAINE Wilson 23-24 July Jewel of the Seas |
| Tatyana,Hello from the Thomas’ in FL. Both my husband and I want to say how wonderful T.J. Travel was in planning our tours in St. Petersburg. Your taking care of all the paper work was a tremendous relief.
Can not say enough about our Tour Guide, Victoria. She was terrific!. Victoria guided us through all the important sites that we had time to see in our two day visit and made sure we understood what we were seeing and answered our questions promptly. Victoria’s command of the English language made a big difference in our enjoying our tour. Alex, the van driver was very good also and his speaking English was a bonus as well. Hats off to everyone at T.J. Travel for a job well done! Myrna and Myron Thomas (13-14 July – Princess) |
| Hello Olga,I am sorry this is a week late but I just wanted to say a massive thank you for the excellent 2 day tour you organised with Vicki and Leon (our driver). Vicki was so knowledgeable on everything on the tour and on any questions we put to her. She tried so hard and succeeded in getting us into places before the crowds and was flexible with the arrangements to ensure all the sights were seen to the best advantage.
Leon worked wonders with the traffic to ensure we were not kept waiting to be collected and transported to the next stop and all with a wide smile!. We hope you know what a brilliant service you provide as we saw so much in the 2 days we had in St Petersburg. Russia lived up to and exceeded our expectations thanks to T J Travel. We have already recommended you to a business colleague who is thinking of an indepentant tour whist in Russia. Once again many many thanks for making the highlight of our cruise so special, Kind regards Gail & Phil Scales 4-5 august Jewel of the Seas |
| Dear Tatyana,We have just returned home from our Baltic cruise and felt the need to email immediately and congratulate you and your team for making our trip very special. Maria was an excellent guide, her command of english was superb and her knowledge was phenomenal. She understood the needs of our group and made us feel as if we were part of a family. By the end of the first day my father was referring to her as his granddaughter!
Igor, the driver, was so kind and helpful. My mother said he was a perfect gentleman, helping us in and out of the car and even putting a step to aid my mother. Although we opted for the relaxed tour we cannot believe how much of your beautiful city we actually saw. The little extras that Maria provided, eg taking us to buy ice hockey shirts, lunch at the famous pie shop etc just gave a gilt edge to the trip. Thank you for making the trip so easy to arrange, you were prompt and professional in replying to our endless emails. You made our entry in to Russia very easy and not as difficult as we had been led to believe. We have already sung your praises to fellow cruise passengers and shall be writing reviews of our trip on several holiday websites. Thank you all again for making our trip so memorable and the highlight of the cruise. Please give our regards to both Maria and Igor both a credit to your company. Sincerely, Sally and Carl Smith 11-12 Aug Arcadia |
| Dear Olga,Just a short note to say that I really enjoyed my 2 day relaxed tour with T J Travel. Everything went according to plan and our guide Olga was absolutely fantastic, she was very informative, interesting and at times funny. She looked after us very well and was an excellent clear speaker and her english was perfect. Leo the driver was also very good, curteous, patient in traffic and looked after our needs with umbrellas. A big thank you to yourself for responding so quickly to my frequent emails and also to Olga and Leo for their care and attention to us. I would highly recommend TJ to anyone who wishes to have 2 fabulous days in St Petersburg. My experience was truly amazing, one I will never forget thanks to you at TJ tours.
Kind regards Lynden Brookes 16-17 august Jewel of the seas |
| Olga.An email to say how much we enjoyed our recent visit to your city – Jewel Of The Seas (28/29 August) – it was excellent!! The organisation from your end was first class and the two day Highlights Tour was fabulous. Driver Dimitri was very professional while our guide, Maria, was simply outstanding!! Both are worthy of special thanks for making our stay so memorable!!
Rest assured that we will recommend your company, without hesitation, to any of our friends who are visiting St. Petersburg and are happy to act as a reference for other UK travellers if needed. Thanks again – excellent service, excellent tour and wonderful memories!! Diane Greeno (on behalf of her group of 4 ). |
| Dear TJ Travel:My husband and I enjoyed a wonderful trip and visit to your city on May 28 and May 29, 2011. As a tour guide we had a woman by the name of “Natalia” and a driver by the name of “Igor”. Both of them were so very kind and helpful to us and treated us like royalty rather than ordinary US citizens. We think of our whole cruise which took us into seven countries, but when people ask us what was the highlight, we both always say it was RUSSIA with no doubt. We saw everything we had hoped to see and then even more. We talk about the special times we had with two extraordinary Russian people and we just want to express our sincere thanks to both of them and to your agency as well.
Please tell Natalia and Igor thank you from us and if possible ask Natalia to email back. We would truly like to correspond with someone in Russia and knowing her and Igor makes us feel a little bit like we know someone living there. Again, many thanks to all of you and may you have a bright happy Fall and Winter. Most Sincerely, Richard and Susan Obenberger |
| Hello EVERYONE at TJ Travel! Tatyana, Olga, and especially Julia, our wonderful guide !!!!My mother-in-law and I had the most amazing day in beautiful St. Petersburg! We could not have been happier with the time we spent with our new friend Julia! ? She went above and beyond the “call of duty” to make sure my mother-in-law’s dream trip, was exactly as she wanted it to be! I will definitely put in a good….no… GREAT word for your company on any forum that I belong to!
Thanks again to all of you for your help both prior to and during our most memorable trip to Russia! Bonnie Thomas (and Shirley Skinner) 8/08 Vision |
| Dear Tatyana,Just to say that the four of us very much enjoyed our visit to St Petersburg, it was the highlight of our Baltic cruise. We were extremely happy with the tour you arranged for us (two day active),and were impressed with the speed with which you made the arrangements: we booked at very short notice. Our guide (Katerina) was extremely knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. Our driver (Alex) spoke some English, and was also helpful and efficient. We really made the most of a short visit! We have had no hesitation in recommending your company to friends who will be visiting St Petersburg on a cruise next summer. You are welcome to quote me on your website, but please do not display my email address or personal details. Kind regards Sharon and family from London (8-9/08 constellation) |
| Hello OlgaI just want to let you know that our group really enjoyed our tours with Ana. She was wonderful and made our visit to St. Petersburg a very memorable one. Please send her our compliments for the impeccable service she provided us.
Thank you for your wonderful assistance in arranging the tours for us. You have made the whole process. We definitely recommend your company. Once again thank you for making our trip to St. Petersburg a memorable one. Thuy Lau |
| We were recently in St Petersburg Russia as one of the calling places on a cruise. My wife cannot walk far and most of the tourist places are vast to say the least. Our visit lasted two whole days and we decided to look for a private tour as my wife could not contemplate a great deal of walking. After some research we decided to engage TJ Tours [traveltospb@gmail.com.] They answered our preliminary enquires promptly and covered all our questions comprehensively and we booked them for the two days car, driver, guide and us. This meant we could tour at our own pace, see things at our own pace, hear what the guide was saying and have the ability to ask one to one questions; our very well informed guide (Irina) even shared the wheel chair pushing chore. We had lunch in small places used by the locals rather than enormous restaurants which charged much for little but paid a commission to the coach guides. All in all we had a very worthwhile two days. Not cheap but you certainly “get what you pay for” and we would heartily recommend these people. As to the city itself – well it is stunning and well worth a visit, the two days usually allowed by tour companies is probably not enough but a second visit could be well worth whileRoger Sprosen |
| Irena, Tatyana and VictorThank you so much for such a memorable tour of St Petersburg earlier this month. Irena was the perfect tour guide, her knowledge of art and its history was incredible and added so much to the tour. The fact that we could change the itinery, spend more time when we wanted and go to other places – ie the metro, made us feel special. Other passengers from the ship loved St Petersburg but hated the way they were rushed around and had no time to do what they wanted. 1.5 hours in the Hermitage!! As there were 9 (actually 8 of us) on the tour, it was also cheaper than the two full day tours from the ship and put us in touch with each other which made our holiday.
Jean Barnes |
| Dear Tatyana and Irena,Just a line to thank you so much for your services whilst we were in St. Petersburg. The itinery and Irena were both excellent – infact we all feel we have been very spoilt. We went on a Thomson tour bus excursion and all said it was awful being herded round in such a large group and that we wish we could have done it with you. Quite a few of my friends have shown great interest in visiting St. Petersburg after we have given it – and you – such a glowing report and have put it on their list of “places we must to visit” and we have strongly advised them to do the tour with you. I have kept your e-mail contact and I will pass this on to them should they visit St. Perersburg. Thanks again – you made out trip to St.Petersburg very memorable and it has been a pleasure to both meet and do business with you.
Our Best Wishes, Marilyn & Terry Uff |
| Julia:Eileen & I wanted to thank you once more for your terrific service and two wonderful, memorable days in St. Petersburg. Our guide Julia could not have been better – gracious, courteous, humorous, knowledgeable (make that extremely knowledgeable!), completely fluent in English. She took in all of our questions and requests with aplomb. She was great! And thanks to Ramon as well for his efficient service – he may not talk much, but he took good care of us! And both of you owners were terrific as well, from start to finish. We are so glad to have met you both. And we must also thank you once more for the beautiful (and completely unexpected) teacup and saucer! We love it; it has already taken up residence in the china cabinet in our dining room. We don’t want to speak for Brian & Carol, but we know they felt the same way. We got home late Saturday, and today has been very busy at work. However, I will get reviews into both Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor in the coming weeks. And, if anyone needs a direct reference, please feel free to have them email me. And keep bringing people to the ‘pancake place’ and ‘pie place’ for lunches – both were great fun, and we loved the food.
Сheers, John & Eileen O’Keefe |
| Dear TatyanaWe are just back from our cruise and would like to thank you for a most memorable trip to your beautiful city. Special thanks to ‘Catherine the Great’ who was so informed, interesting and delightful company. All our friends will soon know about your company and the fantastic service you give and we hope to visit again.
Warmest wishes to all the team Ruth and James Habibi |
| Tatiana,Just a quick note to let you know how much we enjoyed our tour of St. Petersburg. Marina was an exceptional guide. She was Interesting, knowledgeable, personable – and made us feel very welcome. The tour and Marina exceeded our expectations and were definitely the highlights of our trip.
Thank you. Nita and Jane |
| Hi Tatyana:I just wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed our St. Petersburg tour with Ireana. She was an amazing guide, who knew the answer to every question we asked (and we asked a bunch!). Her guided tour of the Hermitage was fantastic, and her knowledge of art was superior. Your choice for the itinerary was perfect! I will strongly recommend your guide service to anyone traveling to St. Petersburg.
Thanks, again, for making our visit so wonderful Lil and Tim Vayhinger |
| Hi Tatyana,I I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful tours thaat you provided for the Bennedettos and me I was so impressed with the knowledge of our guides Alexandra and Peter. Thanks to you and them it made my trip one of the most memorable I have ever taken. I am recommending you to every one I know if they should make a trip to St. Petersburg.
I remain Sincerely. Clinton Creasy |
| Dear Tatyana and JuliaWe are back in Canada and we would like to thank you again for making our stay in St. Petersburg so enjoyable. Your professionalism at time of booking, the perfect organization during our stay, the charm, good humor and knowledge of Maria made our visit an unforgettable event. Victor even though we could not communicate with him was a nice addition to our stay. I would not hesitate to recommend you to our friends visiting your beautiful city. I hope one day I will be able to return your hospitality.
Thanks again and kind regards, Peter Klein |
| Good Morning Tatyana!And Julia And Irena !!!!
Ladies, thank you so much for a wonderful two days in St. Petersburg! I’m sorry it’s taken me a bit to write you, but it’s been a whirlwind since returning home last Monday.All your arrangements, aforehand informations, and assistance in customizing these two days of touring for my group could not have been better!!!!!! And my group was totally bowled over when we had the private boat for the canal tour portion and with the champagne—again thank you for that surprise! We loved the two restaurants for our lunches….the pies place on the first day, and the charming log building place for borscht and stroganoff on the second! Fabulous! While the crowds at the sites were horrific, Irena zipped us right in to see things and back out, so we really maximized our little time in your incredible city. What a perfect overview of your city’s highlights and treasures and introduction to your country and culture. Had my people booked ship’s tours, they would only have seen a fraction of what Irena showed us in the two days there and they would have paid more! Irena was the perfect choice as guide for our group, since so many of us had had exchange student experience. She was such a delight ! Her knowledge of everything from the countryside, to history, to art, anything and everything Russian was phenomenal…..my brain was bursting from all her information, all the sites, and experiences those two days.When I have people cruising the Baltic again, be sure I will calling on you again! … Eva Wallert, MCC |
| We loved the tour and Peter was wonderful. Please feel free to use us as a reference. I will also write something on travel forum. thanks and I hope we return soon.Patti |
| Hello TatianaI would like you to know how pleased and delighted we were with the service we received from your company whilst visiting St Petersburg. Unfortunately the weather was not very kind for us but our visit was not spoiled because of the way our tour was altered to avoid the torrential rain which we encountered in Peterhof.Nina was a joy to be with and her information at every venue was superb, I think she enjoyed being with us as much as we enjoyed her company and Sergy’s. The group had not met our party before we joined the Bus but we all became friends very quickly.I will be posting a report on Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor as I feel more people would benefit from an independent tour instead of the big groups from the cruise companies.
Best Regards. David Smith |
| Hello Julia & Tatyana,We so enjoyed our 2 day (standard program) tour of St. Petersburg with 6 other passengers. The grouping was an ideal size and the others in the group were so congenial. We only wish that the weather had been more cooperative! Nina was very informative, knowledgeable and professional. Her mastery of English is exceptional! She was sensitive to our needs and arranged our tour to best suit us and the weather. We only wish that we could have seen more and had additional time in St. Petersburg….another time!
Thank you for the rewarding experience. Judy & Gary Hall |
| Dear Tatyana,A small thank you for organising our two day tour in St. Petersburg. We could not fault it, exactly what we wanted, good mix of culture and a little of Russian life in a very short time. Irena, our guide, was excellent, very personable, enthusiastic, flexible and interesting. She worked hard and we appreciated it. We are happy to give you a reference if you want to use us. What we liked was the fact you and Irena did what we wanted and did not follow a well worn path as some guides do and then they become automatic with no personality, Irena was natural and enthusiastic and interesting.
Thanks, Gerry Lidgett |
| Dear Tatyana/JuliaWe all did meet up on the Ship and everybody was full of praise for the 2 days of our visit to St. Petersburg. The commentary by Nellie was very friendly and informative and she left nothing to chance making sure we were all together. The Folk evening on the first night at the Palace was excellent, although we were weary after a long day, – the entertainment,costumes and humour lifted our sprits and we enjoyed the dinner back at the ship even more because we had lots to chat about. Our thanks to the Driver (who’s name escapes me) for a safe comfortable drive. Well, we are back into our normal routine. Any prospective clients of yours are welcome to telephone me for a reference on your services. Best wishes to all your team and many thanks for a memorable St. Petersburg
Yours sincerely Bruce Gotting |
| Dear Tatyana,We had a wonderful time in St. Petersberg, everyone of us enjoyed the tours your company provided for us and as there was a sixty years age difference between the oldest and the youngest of our group, that says a great deal for your city and especially for your guide Olga and Victor the driver. Olga was an excellent guide, her knowledge of St. Petersberg, its history and all the sights we were shown was amazing. Olga went out of her way to personalise the tour, for example, when she found out that most of our group were Muslims, the second day she included not only a visit to the Mosque in the city where we took photos of the amazing blue and turquoise mosiacs on the outside of the building, but also alot of information about its history etc. Unfortunately there was a funeral taking place so we could not go inside.
When we went to the Hermitage, which I had visited the previous year, on hearing that I hadn’t seen the Impressionists then, she especially made time for me to view them. Olga had a very special way of talking to the children about how they should behave in the Hermitage for example and sticking close to avoid getting lost that was so pleasant and effective. She also taught us all quite a few Russian words.Victor our driver was excellent also. He drove very safely and was very pleasant to be with.It was so nice to meet you and Julia also, it felt like meeting friends and made us feel very much at ease in your city. When we left Olga and Victor on the last day, we all felt quite sad after enjoying two full days of their company.I am more than happy to alllow you to use this email as a reference and sincerely wish you and your company all the very best in the future. I will definitely recommend you whenever I get the opportunity. Please give our best wishes to Olga and Victor. SpiceyBa and Kind Regards, Christine Thabet. |
| Dear Tatyana,we had a wonderful time with Nina. Not only was she a wealth of information about your history,art,etc, but had such a nice personality that we all enjoyed her company and very much appreciated how much we were able to see and experience and how accomodating she was. I do have her card in case we know of anyone else who will be coming to St. Petersburg.
Thank you again. Jan |
| Tatyana,Just got back from the very same cruise that sailed August 5th. We used TJ Travel, and was thrilled with the responsiveness and thoroughness of them prior to meeting them. We were equally impressed after meeting them. Our guide, Olga, was very accommodating and got our “off beat” sense of humor. We slipped through lines and around big groups for three days, to get the most out of St. Petersburg experience. The ship tried to scare the passengers with security and visa issues.
Julia and Tatyana handled everything. Would highly recommend them. |
| Just thanks from Helsinki. We had a good time in SP due to a well organized tour. Maria and Viktor were great and you really made me feel like Peter the Great.Many thanks again
Peter Klein |
| Hi Tatyana,Just wanted you to know how much we enjoyed our tour with Anna. She was truly outstanding and absolutely the best guide we had during our entire visit. We were so sorry not to have booked the whole three days with you! I was nervous about the late time and not being able to get off the ship without proper documentation. As it turned out, we had absolutely no problems as you expected. Any way, we learned much but never felt lectured. The interaction between her and Hannah was wonderful. She is truly a gem.
Again, thanks for making our visit special. Paul Bullwinkel |
| We have just come back home after our cruise et three days in London I want to announce you our big contentment for our two days in ST Petersburg Program took place perfectly without loss of time Our guide spoke marvellous French and had big knowledge Ceremonies in the customhouse took place without any problemToue my family joins me to thank you very warmly
Jean-Philippe Bainier |
| Dear Julia,We want to let you know what a wonderful time we had in your most beautiful city. Ira was an outstanding tour guide and an absolute delight. She was extremely knowledgeable and has an uncanny way of getting to the front of the long lines. She handled our parents needs with the absolute utmost care and tended to them the whole time. We were more then thrilled with her. I will be posting your information on Cruisecritic.com as soon as I have a free moment to let others know about your company. We were very pleased with everything. Please send Ira our regards and we hope to return and see more one day. We loved St. Petersburg. It was the highlight of our trip.
Thank you again, Ellen & Steve Sax |
| Tatyana and Julia,We thoroughly enjoyed the experience in St.Petersburg and thought our tour guide Nellie (I think that’s how you spell her name) was exceptional. She made the tour very interesting and it was very well planned – her knowledge of the city and communication was very good. There were ten people on the tour, and we all thought your tour and guide was very good – definitely a Worthwhile trip.I will definitely be recommending your company to other travellers going to your Russian city. Speaking to people on the cruise we definitely did the right thing. Thanks again for a great two days…. without your tour and guide it would not have been the same – thoroughly enjoyed it.
Mark Terry |
| Hi Tatyana,We had a wonderful time in St. Petersburg! Our guide, Julian (not sure of the spelling) was excellent, very knowledgeable, friendly, & answered all of our questions. We were amazed by how much we saw & how much we learned. I will always be left with the impression of wide open spaces & gold!The beautiful doll you gave me is now on display in my china cabinet in my dining room, a wonderful reminder of a fantastic city.Many thanks for your excellent care before, during, & now after our trip. I would highly recommend you to anyone & hope your business continues to grow & prosper. You deserve it!
Best always, Catherine & family |
| Dear Tatyana:All six of us had an absolutely wonderful time…..It certainly was a highlight of the entire cruise. Olga was our guide and she she was simply fantastic. Tatyana called her “Knowledgeable Olga”. We didn’t spend one minute waiting in line or waiting for anything at all, for that matter. Our cruise ship was 45 minutes late getting into the port…….and then they made the Independent travelers wait until all the Princess Cruise Excursion Passengers had disembarked. Even with those situations, we still saw twice as much as the rest of the Cruise Passengers.
Your friend, Annette |
| Dear TatyanaYour tour was the best of our whole trip. It was so flexible, and my parents were thrilled with what they got to see, and the bus driver was so good with them. My boys and their wives had a great time also, so it was meaningful to all involved. Please give my email to anyone who wants info about your tours, I will give glowing reports. When I get time, I will also respond to the travel sites.
Thanks again for being so patient! Evelyn |
| Hi TatyanaYes we very much enjoyed the two days of touring in St. Petersburgh. We appreciated the variety and volume of sites that we saw. Our favorite was Catherine The Great Palace. We found our guide Catherine to be very informative, entertaining, and personable. The driver was safe and courteous. Without hesitating we will recommend your tour company to other people traveling to Russia. If we ever have the opportunity to return to St. Petersburgh we would use your tour company, and specifically ask for Catherine and the driver to show us around again.
Thanks Jim Holland |
| Dear Tatyana,You may certainly give My email address to those interested in a recommendation. My wife, who’s Grandfather came from Russia was extremely interested to visit St. Petersburg. She never imagined that it would be so gratifying to visit the Country of Her Grandfather even though it was just St. Petersburg and probably no where near where He was from. Your tour made it especially memorable.
All The Best, Ronnie and Frances Fulton |
| Dear TatianaIt was lovely to meet you at last on our tour of ST.PETERSBURGH.What a jewel you have no wonder you are so proud of the city, I have never been any where to match the splendour and history of your country. The tour guide NELLIE was outstanding in every way, her knowledge was very impressive to say the least and she was able to explain points of history with ease. The two day trip was fantastic and certainly contained a variety of different aspects of the city to see including the underground which I thought was very interesting to the splendour of the churches and palaces. In all a very well thought out programme with something to see and of interest to everyone. Please pass on my personal thanks to NELLIE for being such a wonderful guide the success of the trip was largely down to her personality, and of course the driver without him none of it would have been possible. |
| Hi Tatyanna.The main advantage our group gained from booking a private tour with TJ TRAVEL was ‘NO QUEUES. a personal very professional service,a small intimate group , and a guide with an encyclopedic knowledge of everything we saw.Talking to other cruisers ,we saw more, at a cheaper price and more importantly at a more relaxed pace than the cruise tours.
Thank you for making our Snt Petes tour so satisfyingly memorable Roger and Hazel Morgan |
| Hi Julia & TatyanaWe thought we should write to thank you very much for organising our special trip around St Petersburg last month. In particular we would like you to pass our thanks to Kseniya, our guide for the three days. Her English was perfect and her knowledge of the history, culture, art and antiquities of St Petersburg could not have been better. She made us feel very relaxed, dealing quickly and capably with all the administration associated with visiting the museums, churches and galleries. Also please thank our driver, Mikhail, who did a splendid job transporting us in safety and comfort from one location to the next. He may not have spoken any English (probably as much as we spoke Russian!) but he always had a smile and a good demeanour.
The itinerary was just what we wanted, and it was excellent that Kseniya and yourselves could modify it as we wanted (the Metro really was worthwhile). We are so pleased that we chose to organise a private tour with a small group. Not only was it much more economic, but we saw the large groups shuffling round the main sights and their tours were so impersonal – no chance for questions! We would certainly recommend TJ Travel to anyone who’s planning a trip to St Petersburg.Thank you also for suggesting that two others join our group. We enjoyed their company on the tour and on the ship, and it helped make our visit more enjoyable and affordable.Once again, many thanks for looking after us – we’ll be in touch next time we visit! Kind regards Steve & Jane Bishop |
| Tatyana,We just returned home and we want to thank you again for all the time you took to answer our questions before the trip and for making the 2 days we spent in St Petersburg the highlight of our trip.Julia is an amazing guide – we were all impressed by her knowledge and ability to get us around and into everywhere without having to wait in a line!!! Please thank her again for all of us. If you want a referral from us, just let me know. We all hope you have a great summer season and many more in the future.
It was nice to meet you and thanks again, Jan & Roy Stevenson |
| Tat:It was a pleasure meeting you in St. Petersburg during our recent visit (June 24-26 2009) aboard Oceania’s Regatta (ship) . I just wanted to let you know that our group enjoyed the days spent in St. Petersburg — it was the highlight of our entire trip! We all thought our guide and driver were great! All of us spoke very highly of our guide and will recommend your services to our friends who visit St. Petersburg.
Thank you again, Scott & Phyllis Polo |
| Dear Tatyana and Julia,I am back in London. Rosemarie and I enjoyed our short visit to St. Petersburg. This was due to the fact that our guide Julia and driver Alexander were both wonderful! We were able to visit all the places in our itinerary. In fact, we saw more than we expected! Thank you for the wonderful service your company provided. Rosemarie and I will definitely recommend your company to our family and friends.
Sarah Perry |
| Dear Julia & TatyanaThank you so very much for arranging the 2-day tour of St. Petersburg for my husband and myself on 4/5th. June. We did enjoy visiting your lovely city and were most grateful that you were able to supply us with such an excellent guide and driver. The memories of those two days will remain with us for all time. With sincere thanks once again and our very best wishes to you and your travel business.
Christine & Herbert Blackman |
| Dear TatyanaOur trip now seems a long time ago! Thank you so much for our two-day tour and a particular thank you from all of us to Marina, who made the visit so special – she was charming, knowledgeable and professional and a joy to be with; she is a credit to your company. I have posted a reply on the Trip Advisor site and would be more than happy to endorse your company.
Best wishes Marie T |
| Hi, Tatyana.I’m over 60 and don’t trust travel forums. Anyone can post anything. I do, however, trust my instincts. I don’t know how I found you on the net but I’m certainly glad I did. From my initial enquiry I was impressed with both the speed of your response and the fact that you actually responded to my specific queries. Vacation time is very precious and TJ Travel seems to understand this. I told you what my wife and I wanted to see and you made sure we saw it all…and more. Our guide, Nellie, was extremely knowledgeable and pleasant and her English top-notch. She has an obvious (and justifiable) pride in your beautiful city and a passion for its history and culture. There is no doubt our appreciation of St. Petersburg was enhanced by her infectious enthusiasm. We met up with old friends in St. Petersburg, who wanted to explore the city on their own, without a guide. There’s no doubt that their experience was not nearly as rich as ours. For example, they took a canal cruise but the commentary was only in Russian.
TJ Travel made certain that our canal cruise, on a similar boat from the same company, had English commentary. The itinerary may have been the same, but it was not the same trip! This is just one example of how a competent and knowledgeable guide can add value to a vacation. From your initial responses to my e-mail, to the excellent tours, to the follow-up to make sure we were happy with our guide and tours, thank you. TJ Travel provided me a level of comfort which allowed me to relax and more fully enjoy the wonders of St. Petersburg. Bolshoi spasiba. We have finally gotten “un-packed” and returning our home too something close to normal. The wonderful weather we experienced in St. Petersburg (though you may have considered it too warm) followed us throughout the cruse and into our two day stay in Amsterdam after the ship docked. We were quite pleased with your guide service and transportation in St. Petersburg. We enjoyed Marinna (hope spelling is close) and our skillful driver. Being half-way around the world and selecting someone from the internet could be chancy. Your policy of no deposit and not asking for payment until the second day, convinced us you were the persons we wished to do business with. Your reduction of our per person charge as the other two couples joined us, further confirmed the wisdom of selecting your service. WE LIKED TJ TRAVEL!!! Fromstein |
| We recently traveled on the Eurodam to The Baltic. Friends had recommended TJ Travel for a private tour of St. Petersburg and we could not have had a more positive experience. We communicated through emails and Tatiana, one of the owners, tailored our trip to exactly what we were interested in seeing and doing. She took care of the required Visas and emailed them to us well in advance. Our guide met us promptly at the cruise terminal. The five of us were thrilled with our guide, Marina, who was very knowledgeable, intelligent, accommodating and truly a delight to be with. The van was modern and comfortable with large windows and we had an excellent driver, Viktor. It was so nice not to be on a large tour bus with 50 or so other passengers.We felt the price of the tour to be very reasonable and worth every cent.
Judy Finn |
| Hi Tatyanna.We have just had an amazing tour of St. Petersburg.using TJ TRAVEL .Our tour guide’ Nelly ‘was fantastic. We missed all the crowds and our guide had an encyclopedic knowledge of EVERYTHING..Its nice to deal with a fully professional outfit…………….
Thank you very much……………….. Hazel and Roger Morgan |
| Dear Tatyana and Julia:I write to thank you very much for your services on our trip to St. Petersburg. Every one in our party was thrilled with the itenerary and you were so very well organized. Plus, Nelly was absolutely fantastic as a guide. She knew everything we needed to know, she had us in the right places at the right time, and she has a great knack of getting us away from the crowds into a secluded spot. We always felt like we were our own little group, unbothered by the crowds.
I cannot thank you enough. I was so very pleased with everything. I hope you get answers from the other travelers, but trust me when I tell you, they were very pleased and impressed. Please feel free to have any prospective clients e-mail me and I will happily give them my total reccomendation. If they are thinking about it, have them contact me and I will make sure you have some customers. Again, thanks very much. We had a splendid time and it was very well done. Jon Johnson, Laramie Wyoming |
| Dear Tatyana and Julia,Our two days in St. Petersburg were wonderful . . . . it was a fantastic experience. Our tour guide (Meme)took us to all the places we wanted to visit and was so knowledgeable about the history of each place. It really brought everything to life and we got a real feeling for the culture of your beautiful city. Thank you for being able to modify the tour so that Judee and her mother could attend the folk show, while 4 of us could go to the ballet. We only wish we could have had more time in St Petersburg to savor each delightful moment!!! I am so glad we found your agency. You are the best; not only in the tour arrangements, but with the personal care that you provided from the day we first inquired until the time of our trip.
Best regards to you. Bill and Elaine Allan |
| We would like to thank you, and especially Olga, for the excellent service you provided for our visit on 22nd May. Olga made it a memorable experience and showed us the very essence of the St Petersburg in what was a very short time. She managed to give us a real insight, not only of the city but also of the lives of ordinary citizens and the dramatic changes through which you have lived. And we enjoyed her company very much. Our appreciation also goes to your driver (Roman?) for his talent in spotting the car parking opportunities so cleverly amongst all those Mercedes and Volvos!We will recommend you.
Mike & Gill |
| Dear Tatyana,We had a wonderful time on our tour of St. Petersburg. Marina was very knowledgeable, intelligent, accommodating and truly a delight to be with. Victor was an excellent driver. We enjoyed every moment of the two days and wish it had been longer.
Thank you! Judy Finn |
| Dear Tatyana and Julia,You and Julia made me a hero of my agency, A Vacation of a Lifetime with your knowledge and expertise with my 2 groups of 24 and 15 people. There wasn’t anything you did not know about the Hermitage, Church of the Spilled Blood, The Palace, Petergof/Gardens , etc.. Your layout of our 2 day tour was excellent and flowed, no-one was tired. Your drivers were pleasant and great, navigating us thru the busy streets flawlessly I did not have to worry about the Russian Visas as TJ Travel took care of everything. One of our clients lost her visa, we e-mailed you from the ship the night before we were docking for our 2 day tour and the next morning for our pickup you were there with her visa. This jumped your company up to a 10+.(cannot go higher than a 10 in the USA). Your Air Conditioned buses were clean and comfortable.
I want to thank you and Julia for your smiles, patience and all your efforts in creating a wonderful experience for my group, You took care of EVERYTHING including lunch. I look forward to working with you again in the future. You have my permission to give out my e-mail if anyone needs further information on how wonderful and delightful and so full of knowledge you both are. Marcia Berwick A Vacation of a Lifetime Royal Palm Beach, Florida. |
| In July of 2008, I escorted 25 people on a 2 week cruise with a 2 day stop in St. Petersburg. I contacted Travel to St. Petersburg to arrange for a two day tour of the area. Tatyana was our tour leader and was absolutely wonderful. Her knowledge of the area was faultless. We learned so much from her about the history of the area, but also interesting info that you probably wouldn’t find in a book. She arranged lunch for us for two days. Both were excellent. She could get tickets for the opera, the choir, ect and other entertainment for the evening. She and her company are the very best. I am a travel agent and have been escorting groups on tours and cruises and arranging shore excursions for a very ling time(20 years). Tatyana and her company are the best.I very highly recommend TJ Travel to St. Petersburg.
Sincerely, Leslie Sollee Travel Trends |
| Thank you for your help in planning an excellent 2 day tour of St. Petersburg for our group. Everything took place exactly as you described it. The group was very happy with your services and all of the sights they took in. They especially enjoyed the Russian Folk Show. Thank you again for all your hard work.Warm regards,
Lorilee Larsen Cruises of Excellence |
| Dear Julia,I’m writing this inside the Air France plane about to take off to Paris. I’m surrounded by my family, all of us happy to have finally discovered Saint Petersburg through your inimitable charm and authoritative introduction to the city, its culture, its history and its people.
I’m at a loss trying to say what the high point of the trip was, there were so many wonderful moments… Perhaps, speaking of people, the lunch at Elena’s was the crowning touch. Thank you for all these grand moments. We’ll be back and, in the meantime, we’ll recommend your services to our friends, we know they’ll thank us! Our St Petersburg experience couldn’t have come close to being the same without you… Best regards, Jean-Louis Gassee June 2008 |
| Hello Tatiana,We had the best time ever in St. Petersburg and can’t thank you enough. It was the highlight of our trip. Hope that you are well and having a busy tourist season.
Allan and Beverly Wachtel June 2008 |
| Thank you!I think of you often and would definitely recommend you to others going to Russia – 2 of the best days in my life! What a wonderful tour!
Thanks, Maryanne July 2008 |
| Dear Tatyana,We have finally returned to the US after a wonderful experience on the Regent Seven Seas Voyager cruise through the Baltic. There is no question that St Petersburg was a trip highlight! Thank you again for a wonderful experience touring your city and surroundings for two days. Our family of nine enjoyed the trip so much, incluidng the wonderful lunches at the summer palace, the pierogi bakery, and of course, the tour of the farmer’s market (yum!). I hope that you will add our names to your list of references if you ever need a statement from a past client. We have such positive impressions of your expertise, your trip management, and of course, of our experience in St Petersburg.
Thank you again. Leslie Glaze September 2008 |
| Dear Julia and Irina,Tony, our cousins and I want to thank you so much for making our trip to St. Petersburg in late July so very wonderful. We were looking at our pictures last night and were amazed at how much we covered and what a wonderful trip it was.
Julia, thank you so much for getting our visas organized, answering so many questions, and so graciously helping us plan our two days in St. Petersburg. I know it was a lot of work, but everything went just perfectly! I’m so happy we were able to meet you for your wonderful tour of Yusipov Palace. You’re amazing! Irina, thank you so much for so tirelessly showing us all around your beautiful city. Your knowledge of the city, the art in the museums and the history was incredible! You are a wonderful guide. Both of you worked to give us an extremely hassle free and wonderful trip. From the bottom of our hearts, we are eternally grateful. Please feel free to use us or this letter as a recommendation for future guests. Sposiba and best regards, Joni and Tony (New York) July 2008 |
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