from $205,00
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Two Day “Back to the USSR” tour

Price Per Person from 205$
2 days (18 hours)

Duration

For visa free cruise passengers & on-land travelers

Type of the tour

Private Tour

Tour category

min 2; max 12

Group Size

Overview

Please note, this is a private tour. That means you are the only participants on it. The tour price does depend on the number of travelers and the itinerary is fully flexible: press Custom Tour button to see more museums/activities you can add/ replace/ eliminate .

Welcome to The USSR!

Would you like to know how much our country has changed since the Soviet time and what it was like living in the USSR? Take  this tour to get answers to these questions.The Tour includes all must see see  attractions the first time visitor has to see as well as some unique  museumes.As an optional tour, there will be a chance to share lunch with real Russian Family in ttheir apartment  situated very close to the port

We start it on day 1 with a metro visit (it was founded in the Soviet period), then do the Siege Memorial (there we discuss the role of the USSR in WWII), visit Catherine Palace (greatly damaged during Nazi occupation), go to Russian Museum  focusing  on Soviet period collection and finish with vodka museum (to find out more about this most popular Russian alcohol drink).

On day 2 we have a coffee break in the legendary Soviet donut café, visit Museum of Political History of  Russia( to learn more about Soviet period-from Lenin to Gorbachev)  and finish with the Hermitage Museum collection (a chance to see the highlights of over 3mln exhibits collection and hear some stories and legends of Soviet times).

Number of people in your group 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9-12
Price Per Person US $ 460 340 280 260 230 215 205 Upon request

Children under 6 у.о. will be included   for free ; children of 7-18 y.o. and students with ISIC  get  $15 discount off the cost of the tour.

Activity level:
Moderate

Transportation:
Comfortable sedan ( 1-2 people ) ,Mercedes Viano ( 3-4 people ) , Mercedes Sprinter ( 5+ parties)  with a/c ; Wi-Fi ( upon request ).

Guide:
Local, experienced and licensed English- speaking  guide (this tour is available in Spanish, German, French, Italian , Portuguese, Chinese as well  but by slightly different price).

Day 1

9am Meet near your ship in the port / your hotel lobby

9:00 am-11:30 am Travel to Pushkin (25 km from St Petersburg). Visit to the Stalin Metro. & Siege memorial.

11:30 am-1:30 pm Inside tour of Catherine Palace with  Amber Room.Short  walk in the park .

1:45 pm-3:00 pm Driving back to St Petersburg with a quick lunch in a non-tourist place.

3:30 pm-4:30 pm Inside guided tour of the Russian Museum,(soviet art department )

5:00 pm-5:30 pm Guided tour of the Church on the Spilt Blood.

6:00 pm-6:30 pm Russian Vodka museum.

7:00 pm Return to the port/ your hotel lobby

Evening program ( optional )

7.00pm- 8.30pm Dinner with the Russian family in their apartment

9:00pm – return to the port/ your hotel lobby

 

Day 2

9:00 am Meet in the port / your hotel lobby

9 am-11:00 am Second part of the city tour. Coffee break in a famous Soviet donut cafe.

11:00 am-12:00 pm Museum of the political history of Russia.

12:30 pm-1:30 pm Lunch in a Soviet style cafe.

2:15 pm-4:30 pm Hermitage museum inside guided tour (no impressionist department visit)

5:00 pm Return to the ship/hotel

  • Pick you up and drop off either in the lobby of your hotel or near your ship in the port
  • Guide services for 2days
  • Driver services for 2 days
  • Baby car seats for children under 6 y.o.
  • Admittance fees to the museums highlighted in orange
  • Metro ride
  • Bottled water (one bottle per person per day)
  • Rain ponchos in case of rain while visiting Peterhof Lower park
  • Permits for video and photos in the museums
  • Headphones for groups of 6 or more
  • Blanket visas( visa substitute)for cruise passengers or visa invitation letters for on-land travelers
  • Special memory gift
  • The cost of lunches (about $10-15 per person at a traditional Russian pancake or pie house)
  • The cost of possible evening program
  • Port fees ( for cruise passengers )

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Bill, Norwegian Breakaway
Hi Julia,Thanks for the references and the recipe. We will gladly try it. I have been telling all of my office mates about the fantastic trip we had with Elena and Dancing Bear. There are others here who have also done your tour. If we can make it back we will certainly choose your company. Two days was not enough in SPb. I will visit the website and give Dancing Bear an excellent review. Thank you again for making things so nice for my group, all 14 of us loved every second of the trip.
Michele and Wayne, Serenade of the Seas cruise ship
Dear Julia, We have returned home and wanted to let Galina, Vladimir and you know we truly enjoyed our days with you all. You helped us see, learn and feel some of the history and culture of Russia and more specifically St. Petersburg. We have been on many excursions throughout the years. Yours has been our most favorite of all. We are so appreciative of all of the extras and the opportunities to have conversations to get to know you all as well. Thank you for Stopping so we could purchase the Russian Standard Vodka. Seeing the expressions on our sons’ faces made the last minute stop worth it. They were both grinning from ear to ear and have not stopped since. This email does not adequately express all of our gratitude. Please feel free to use us as a reference!
Sue, Navigator of the Seas
Dear Julia,thanks very much for the follow up. We had a fantastic time in St Petersburg. You weren’t joking when you said you had given us your best guide – Olga was very informative and engaging! Absolutely 1st class and we will most certainly recommend to any friends who are visiting St Petersburg. Best wishes
Heather
Hi Julia, I hope you are well. We have returned from our trip to Europe and I just want to say a big thank you for all of your help. Kate was fantastic and the itinerary was perfect for us. We have learned so much about St Petersburg and Russia as a result. Swan Lake was beautiful and the seats couldn't be better! I will not hesitate to recommend your company to anyone who is interested in visiting St. Petersburg and will persuade friends to go even if they haven't considered it! Please send Kate and Peter our many thanks. They were truly wonderful. Kind regards
Harold and Corine
A 1000 thanks Julia to you and you team. We enjoyed every minute. Russia us a great country with freat culture and people. All the best and god bless.
Paul, Pam and Holly, Crown Princess
Julia , you made our trip to St Petersburg very special and we would not hesitate to give your service, your business and the people who work with you our absolute highest recommendation for professionalism, service and knowledge of the region and also the wonderful place we visited. We could not have hoped for or wished for more. If we ever visit Russia again we will most certainly be looking to contact you and Dancing Bear team once again.Two very satisfied customers.P.S please feel free to use the recommendations if it helps. Have a great festive break. Kind regards
Nicky and Jon
Dear Julia Jon and I have such lovely memories of your beautiful city and we always recommend your tour company to friends who are thinking of visiting. Once again, have a very merry Christmas and healthy & happy New Year. Kindest regards as ever
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Kazan Cathedral is one of the grandest churches in St Petersburg with its colonnades of 96 columns embracing Nevsky prospect like the outstretched wings of a gigantic eagle. Kazan Cathedral was  designed and built between 1801 and 1811  by Russian artists, (despite being modeled on St Peter in the Vatican) to house a venerated icon, Our Lady of Kazan.

Chinese Palace which was created at the time of Catherine the Great. It is a unique rococo style residence with a famous bugle work cabinet. It is the only palace in the vicinities of SPb which survived World War II. It is one of the private residences which means that only chosen ones could come there, be one of them. Enjoy this unique architectural miracle, much more impressive inside than from the façade. Feel special as it’s only the second season when you can take pictures inside.

This stunning pavilion was created for the wife of Nicholas I which could relax after grand receptions there. It is located on a man made island and decorated in the style of Pompeii and XVIII century Italian country houses. The pavilion is a dream about Italy, an oasis of Southern paradise in the North of Russia. Only the chosen ones could come here. Join them!

There is a chance to drop to the Amber Workshop to see how masters responsible for the restoration of Amber Room keep creating other masterpieces; there will be a chance to take pictures in the workshop as it is not allowed to do that in Amber Room itself.

A special treasure room with ambassadors’ gifts and private belongings of Russian Tsars-all made of gold and covered with diamonds, rubies and emeralds; it is possible to visit it with the museum guide only, should be booked well in advance

One of the most famous collections of French impressionists and post impressionists outside France is situated in the General Staff Building in St Petersburg – just opposite the main Hermitage Museum Complex ( across the Palace Square) – let us know if you are interested and we will book tickets in advance.

We offer unique, once in your life time experience, which proved to be a climax of St Petersburg visit for many of our guests: a lunch with Russian family in their apartment. Enjoying home cooking and speaking with your host and hostess you will learn and understand a lot about Russian culture, traditions and lifestyle, see the way local people live and discuss with them everything under the sun!

The Pavlovsk Park and Palace ensemble is among the finest royal residences in the environs of St Petersburg. Unlike other famous royal residences Pavlovsk has the unique charm of a private estate. The palace was designed in reserved classical style and will be highly appreciated by true art connoisseurs. During a tour of Pavlovsk Palace you will not only be able to witness stunning state rooms used for official ceremonies and festivities in the palace, but also some private rooms where the family could gather together in the evening.

An interactive museum of Soviet arcade machines that are the core of the collection. There are over fifty of them on display. The ticket includes some tokens to play. The museum will help you to go back in time and learn more about the Soviet Russia. As for your kids, they will be curious to learn what was interesting for their fathers and grandfathers.

One of the coziest and most hospitable museums of our city.

Museum has 12 halls of art space. Interior dolls, theatre dolls, fairy-tale dolls, dolls depicting customs and traditions are on display there. All in all, the museum has over 40000 exhibits. It is guarded by purring spirits – 3 cats that appear when the museum is closed and dolls wake up… The only disadvantage is that you can’t play with the dolls, you can only look at them.

A unique and the first one in Russia art space where exhibits of shadow art are on display. You will learn the history of our city in light and shadow language there, meet Peter the Great, its founder, and even face your own shadow. Are you ready to look at everything and even yourself from a different angle?

Unique monument of the XV century built in Western gothic style. The only civil building in this style that survived in our country. There ambassadors were received, the Novgorod parliament and court sat and the grand dinners took place. Now the Novgorod jewelry collection of VI-XVII centuries is on display there.

Enjoy 14 halls with over 250 Novgorod icons of XI-XIX centuries. Novgorod is one of the centers of icon painting in our country. This exhibition is one of the best collections of Russian icons as it allows to follow the history of icon painting in our Russia.

Stretch your legs and enjoy the public boat ride. You will see views of the Volkhov river and the lake Ilmen which is called the Slavonic Sea because the area round is so flat. It takes 1-1.5 hours.

Kremlin is the heart of the city, the fortress in its center. During the tour you can see St Sophia cathedral, the oldest temples of our country made of stone, the monument to the Millennium of Russia and the place where merchants used to trade which is called “Yaroslavovo Dvorische” – Prince Yyaroslav court.

A functioning Russian orthodox monastery. It was founded in the XI century by Yaroslav, the grand duke who was baptized by St George, hence the name. St George cathedral, a gem of Russian medieval architecture, has unique frescoes and even an ancient graffiti.

Kazan Cathedral  one of the grandest churches in St Petersburg with its colonnades of 96 columns embracing Nevsky prospect like the outstretched wings of a gigantic eagle; it  was built between 1801 and 1811 to house a venerated icon Our Lady of Kazan by Andrey Voronikhin (a serf of Count Stroganov).

Divo Ostrov (the name means Wonderful Island in Russian and the attraction is really located on an island) is the best amusement park in Russia. It was founded in May 2003 and had 17 attraction rides then. Now there are 46 of them. Some of the amusement rides are for adults, some for families and some for kids. Divo Ostrov gives unique impressions to people of all ages. Every adult gets a ticket to his childhood and every child finds himself in the world of his dreams and fantasies.

If you are a passionate train lover, this place is your paradise: it’s the biggest railway museum in Europe, a sort of “Technical Hermitage”.  You can practice driving a train with the help of the simulator here: enjoy 6 real life scenarios! If you come with small ones, there are game zones especially for them. If you finally get bored of trains, you can take a selfie with a sad peasant  in the cold carriage or to practice Morse code with a plaster telephone operator.

Russian museum is the biggest museum of national art in the world and a unique architectural ensemble of the historical center of Saint Petersburg. With its 400000 exhibits it covers the history of Russian art from X century icons  up to XX-XXI century avant-guard art  and soviet  painting. You can see Ilya Repin, Mikhail Vrubel, Mark Shagal, Vasiliy Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich and many others there.

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These stunning pavilions were created in 1830-40 for the wife and daughter of Nicholas I (the daughter’s name was Olga). There the tsarina could relax after grand receptions.  They are located on manmade islands and decorated in the style of Pompeii and XVIII century Italian country houses. These pavilions are dreams about Italy, an oasis of Southern paradise in the North of Russia. Only the chosen ones could come here. Join them!

Agate rooms are a two-storied bath house. The first floor was used to take a bath and the second one had famous rooms where guests could relax afterwards. Their walls were decorated with agate – hence the name.

This unique complex was built by Charles Cameron for Catherine II in the 18th century and was restored only after WWII. It managed to preserve almost intact. Fortunately, this treasure is not as popular with mass tourism as Catherine palace, so if you want to enjoy something truly authentic and not overcrowded, this is definitely your choice.

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The Faberge Museum has the world-class collection of Faberge Masterpieces (including 14 Easter Eggs), gift boxes, Russian enamels etc.The collection is situated in 9 beautiful rooms of Shuvalov Palace. It was opened in November 2013 and founded by the “Link of Times” Cultural Historical Foundation, established by Russian entrepreneur Viktor Vekselberg to repatriate lost cultural treasures to Russia.

The fourth tallest dome construction in the world. St Isaac’s Cathedral used to be the main Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Russian Empire. The enormous decoration of the interior of the cathedral, was created in the Russian Academy of Fine Arts.Gilded bronze, malachite and lapis lazuli together with countless paintings, columns, mosaics, will take your breath away.

One of the best private palaces in the Europe .Its real gem is a home theater. Outstanding Russian singers and dancers performed there.In this palace young Felix Yusupov, the heir of the family, and other conspirators assassinated Grigory Rasputin.  During a visit to the palace you will learn about the plot of Felix and how it was brought to life.

Peter and Paul Fortress here our city was founded in 1703.Peter the Great started a fortress to protect the lands won back from Sweden. Now it is one of the most important 18th century fortresses in Russia and Europe.St Peter and Paul Cathedral is the burial place of almost all Russian Tsars from Peter the Great up to the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his family.

Many metro station vestibules and platforms are adorned with marble, granite, bas-reliefs and mosaics which makes them look like underground palaces. The very first 10 stations appeared after WWII and have various military and Soviet symbols reminding visitors about the glorious victory over Nazi Germany. Owing to the city’s swampy subsoil, most of the lines were built extremely deep underground.

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Catherine Palace Is a must to visit. Inside you will find a succession of interconnecting rooms in Baroque style and somewhere in the middle of that enfilade is the famous Amber Room which was called by contemporaries “the eighth wonder of the world”. The palace was badly damaged during WWII and amber panels were stolen by the Nazi. But they started restoration in 1979 and finished it in 2003.

St Petersburg Siege Memorialcommemorates the hardship that Leningrad‘s (the soviet name of our city) citizens endured during the siege which lasted 900 days (1941-1943) and took away about 1.5 mln lives. The most striking part of the memorial are the tableaux of soviet citizens facing south towards the enemy. It was designed to be viewed from a distance. In the subterranean memorial hall are relics from the siege.

Offers fresh food from all over the former Soviet Union: melons, tomatoes, farmhouse honey, pickles, sour cream, ham and gherkins, not to mention imports such as kiwi fruit. Most vendors offer the chance to taste a sliver before buying. Outside the market are “babushkas” (pensioners) who sell things they have grown at their dacha (summer cottage) or gathered in the forest.

Hermitage Museum one of the most important and oldest museums in the world. It has one of the largest collections of paintings. If you spent one minute viewing each exhibit of the Museum it would take you11 years to see everything. The collection of the French Impressionists is exhibited in the General staff building which is located opposite the Winter Palace.

Most famous for almost 21,000m² of mosaics that cover both the interior and the façade of the building. The mosaics were created in Russia, which makes them even more valuable. It is the only building in our citybuilt in the style of Moscow churches. The church was built on the place where Alexander II was assassinated, hence the name.

St Petersburg boat tours offer a perfect way to see the city under a bit different angle – sailing under numerous bridges along rivers and canals, and listening to curious stories from your guide. St Petersburg boat tours are especially majestic during the White Nights season in St Petersburg.

Alexander Palace was commissioned by Catherine II for her grandson, future Russian tsar Alexander I and later became the summer home of a succession of Imperial heirs, each of whom left their mark on the building.