35 Best Local Tours in St Petersburg

From the very start on meeting Alexei in the morning and our guide Diana the service was exemplary. We had a simply fantastic 2 days in their company and it is difficult to know how we could have fitted more in. Diana was knowledgeable friendly and happy to amend the day to accommodate any of the groups needs. Our group tour consisted of 10 people from 3 different families, with a variety of interests but we found something for everyone. We arrived in St Petersburg on Brilliance of the Seas with Royal Carribean and despite the caution in their Royal Carribean's literature the visa-free process through border control was easy with just a passport, sea pass card (from the ship) and our maxibalt tour ticket. There was absolutely no problems - this had been our one concern prior to arrival but it absolutely wasn't an issue. Being in a small group was the best, as in busy museums such as the Hermitage we could use our "sneaking skills" as Diana put it to by pass any queues and maximise our use of the time available. During the two days we had lunch at two local restaurants (included in the tour price) where the service and welcome was on a par with Alexei and Diana's. Gift shopping whilst not imperative was made easier and cheaper by their knowledge of good shops off the beaten track where prices were much lower than the peak tourist areas, but quality was fantastic.

The tour we had included the Hermitage, Yusopov's palace, Catherines palace (inc the amber room), the fountains at Peterhof, St Peter and Paul's Fortress and Cathedral, a hydrofoil trip, a metro trip, plus my personal highlight "The Church of the Spilled Blood" which is an iconic building. Diana was always on the lookout for things to make our visit even more memorable - for example we had a short stop at one of the summer houses at Catherines Palace to listen to a 6 man choir sing a traditional Russian folk song which was unbelievably good and would have been missed by all the larger group tours.

My sister is going to St Petersburg next year and I have already told her there is no option but to contact Alexei!

The message is quite simple, if you go to St Petersburg, then you must go MaxiBalt!

My wife and I had an excellent two-day visit to St. Petersburg, thanks to Alexei and Maria. (Note for disclosure purposes: This was a private tour rather than one of the group itineraries. Our time was limited because we were on a cruise.) The proprietor (Alexei) listened to our priorities in advance, made great suggestions, and then drove or walked us around with insightful and enjoyable (but not overbearing) commentary. Alexei clearly loves his home city and conveyed that to us. The fact that he had spent a year as a grad student in the US made his remarks and responses all that much more meaningful. The only times Alexei did not stay with us was when he turned the job over to Maria for Catherine’s Palace on the first day and the Hermitage on the second. Maria’s tours were wonderful. She asked about our main interests before we walked into the Hermitage. We knew this could only be an introduction to the museum’s amazing holdings, so we had picked out our points of focus rather than follow someone else’s “top ten”. We wanted to spend our time on two of the major collections, combined with an architectural overview of the palace. Without knowing in advance about our interests, Maria quickly calculated the best walking paths including temporary shows that were in different wings from the permanent exhibits. The walking paths alone would have been worth the admission but there was much more. No matter what the painting, Maria had well-informed answers to our constant and unscripted questions. It was a memorable experience. After the Hermitage, we had a great time celebrating with Alexei and Maria over traditional dumplings. Until the next time!

My wife and I concluded our Russian river boat vacation in St. Petersburg and extended two days at a hotel to spend more time is this beautiful city. I had contracted with MaxiBalt Tours in advance of arriving in Russia for private guides for the Faberge and Hermitage museums. The services promised were delivered and could not have been better. Alexei Volkov, himself, coordinated both tours personally and the guides he provided were extremely knowledgeable and made sure we saw what we wanted to see. We never felt rushed and on this, our 2nd trip through the Hermitage, we were shown through doors and hallways so as to avoid much of the crowd. At the end of our last tour, Alexei showed us to a restaurant (somewhat hidden) where we enjoyed a nice lunch with him. All in all, Maxibalt Tours went above and beyond to leave us with very good memories of St. Petersburg.

My wife and I concluded our Russian river boat vacation in St. Petersburg and extended two days at a hotel to spend more time is this beautiful city. I had contracted with MaxiBalt Tours in advance of arriving in Russia for private guides for the Faberge and Hermitage museums. The services promised were delivered and could not have been better. Alexei Volkov, himself, coordinated both tours personally and the guides he provided were extremely knowledgeable and made sure we saw what we wanted to see. We never felt rushed and on this, our 2nd trip through the Hermitage, we were shown through doors and hallways so as to avoid much of the crowd. At the end of our last tour, Alexei showed us to a restaurant (somewhat hidden) where we ejoyed a nice lunch with him. All in all, Maxibalt Tours went above and beyond to leave us with very good memories of St. Petersburg.

I had the pleasure of visiting Elena's household with my American friends. She came highly recommended for a visit to a traditional Russian family. Elena turned out to be truly a gracious host and on top of that, she is an expert chef! We were treated with borsch, pies with cabbage filling, cookies with nuts and raisins, curd patties!!! Besides the delightful culinary experience, Elena is also a professional interpreter, very well-traveled, including numerous visits to the US so she could easily relate my American companions. She is also very well-versed in Russian history and culture. In addition to her family's cozy atmosphere, an additional bonus is the location of her apartment where every building in her neighborhood is a piece of art. To cut a long story short, the experience was unforgettable in every respect!!!!

We wanted to feel a bit closer to the people and city and this was the prefect way to do so. With language being a barrier it was hard to talk to locals. Before the night we were asked about allergies and preferences or dislikes. The directions were clear and easy, we took a bus.

Elena greeted us outside the apartment to give us some history about her family and the building. Inside we met Sasha and the cats, and were given a tour of their beautiful home before sitting down to canapés and vodka, local dishes with wine, dessert with Russian coffee or tea and we stayed much later than we ought as the conversation was lively and covered every topic possible. It was a warm and cosy evening.

We left feeling we’d made new friends and seen just a glimpse behind the doors of St.Petersburg. A must do experience!

We,a group of 7 people of friends and relatives, had an excellent two-day visit to St. Petersburg. We were on a cruise and instead of using the excursion arranged by Royal Caribbean, we booked our own from MaxiBaltTours. This was a private tour with a van and a driver. The owner Alexei gave us great suggestions in advance to choose the best way to see as much as possible the city within our limited time, yet everything run smoothly. The guide Elena was so nice and patient to help everybody. She was well prepared and spoke excellent English. She was very knowledgeable and well informed about the all historical events and the great art works. Thanks to Alexei and Elena, we experienced a most enjoyable and unforgettable tour in St. Petersburg.

Our guide Constantin and our car driver Nikita were on time to pick up us from our Hotel. They took us through the city with a nice new Van and Constantin told us many interesting stories about the city while traveling to Catherine Palace. There we had not to wait to enter in the palace and to admire the magnificent arquitecture and art of this incredible perfect restored palace. Constantin explained us a lot of details concerning the history of Imperial Russia in a perfect German language. We enjoyed a lot this tour and got safe back to our hotel. We can recommend everybody to get the services of this agency, Thank you very much: Andrea, Pauline and Carlos

Daria is an excellent guide and very knowledgeable. We also got a couple of freebies not included in the tour as she granted our request to see the Carriage museum at Catherine's palace, and also had our driver stop for us at the war memorial at our request on the way, where I got an excellent video of the interactive monument. Very happy, one of the highlights of our trip. Also, Paul's palace in Pavlovsk is not to be missed, one of the best palaces to be seen in Russia.

Meeting Elena and her family and enjoying a delicious home cooked meal in her lovely apartment was a St Petersburg highlight for me.
I booked the dinner for our group of four Australian friends and it was more than what I hoped for. As well as our experience of being in a St Petersburg family apartment, Elena generously shared some of her family history and answered all our questions.
Thank you very much Elena and Sasha. It was an evening I will always remember.

Christina’s commentary was knowledgeable and informative. She actually got our tour into a couple of extra special little performances. Obviously she knew her way around and how to beat the lines. Very professional. Max greeted us prior to taking off on the first day and was there to greet us on the last day. He cares about the client’s experience. The driver was super. Highly recommend this company.

We had a wonderful private tour with Arina. She was waiting for us at the meeting point and told us a lot of interesting things about the buildings and the art. We had a private entrance, avoiding long waiting lines, so this was really great.
Arina also shared some nice insights in the culture and ways of living of the locals during the coffee break. We loved it!

Amazing food and interesting talks in an old apartment right on one of the most elegant street in the center of Petersburg. I have been guest of the owners multiple times over years, and every time it has been the greatest pleasure. They love to take care of their guests, and share with them much more than food. That is a whole experience, highly recommended.

This was a small group tour (in fact it was only us and an additional person) of Pushkin over 5-6 hours. We had Olga as our guide and she was brilliant. She gave the right level of information and told us stories to keep us entertained. Highly recommended!

We were met like old friends and treated to the performance of a gorgeous trick performing cat!

Sasha and Elena are interesting conversationalists and the food was hearty, tasty and truly Russian!

We hope to be back someday.

Elena is a gem! She's a great conversationalist and we were so happy to spend an evening with her and her husband.

She cooked a delicious traditional Russian dinner with all the fixings (i.e. vodka).

Highly recommended!!

Yammy piroshki etc., served by a friendly host in the old style apartment in the center of the city. The walk to the Taurida gardens was nice, despite the cold weather. Highly recommend this place.

Tour guide Sylvia is very warm and passionate, professional as well, guiding us detaily thru majors sites of St Petersburg

We did not ‘skip’ the line up: queued for an hour to get in. Otherwise a great tour.