Hello, we are Maria and Polina! It seems now we have been in this business forever. We have been working as professional guides in Saint-Petersburg for more than 15 years. Each of us being an excellent private guide worked for different companies in our beautiful city. We ran tours of different kinds and this way got precious experience. Having decided we are strong enough to work on our own we arranged TourPetersburg Company. Thus, we have been functioning for more than 13 years as an official company at the touristic market of St. Petersburg.
Our aim is not only arranging tours properly or just booking tickets in museums. We are happy to break people’s stereotypes about Russia and Russians. We show the country and the city we live in with love. We would like you to see St Petersburg the way we see it and to fall in love with it forever.
We work very hard. As a result we are happy to say that we receive more and more enquiries every year. We try to pay as much attention as possible to every detail in our work: our tour guides are highly professional and easy-going, our drivers are helpful, polite and attentive, our prices are the lowest among competitors.
We are proud to inform you that we do not have negative comments. Every businessman tells his clients about the personal approach in his work. This is what we try not to proclaim but to practice. Of course, we have standard sample tours to make the process of choosing what is important to see here or not easier for our guests. Then the process of improving the tour begins. We are attentive and flexible to tourists’ ideas and suggestions. We do not want everyone to have one and the same tour. Keeping in mind their wishes, desires and special needs we would like them to enrich the standard sample tour with something unusual that will help our guests to know Russia and the Russian people better, to pay attention not only to interesting and famous museums, spacious parks and magnificent palaces of Saint-Petersburg but also to see our everyday life, sitting quietly in a café watching ordinary Russian people around, for example.
Our goal is to change foreign guests’ perception of Russia and people who live here. That is why working with tourists mostly coming to Russia for the first time we still would like to give them the possibility to choose what they would like to see in St Petersburg. There are several options. Of course, you may have a must-see tour, this is what most visitors do. Also there is always an opportunity to mix it with something not usual as, for example, a visit of the Russian banya. This way the tour becomes a very special experience, nobody will have anything of this kind. We ask and provoke our guests to be brave and extraordinary. They are very grateful for it later!
In the end of the tour our guests say their ideas about Russia were totally different and they did not expect to find here so many well-educated, English-speaking, positive, enthusiastic young people. Most of the tourists are sure Russia is going to be unusual, strange and unpredictable. It is a pleasant surprise for them to realize we are very hospitable, highly professional and willing to communicate and to share.
I am Polina, a professional guide in Saint-Petersburg. I have been in this sphere for more than 15 years already. I have a degree in English and management. The tourist market is constantly developing in our city, and we try to be even ahead of the mordern trends. To achieve it I am happy to deal with your tour requests, to arrange new interesting and non-classical tours, to make your stay here not boring and to welcome you in our unforgettable city.
Phone Number: +7 931 231 01 90
E-mail: info@tourpetersburg.com
I am Maria, a native citizen of Saint-Petersburg. I have been working as a tour guide for more than twelve years. Why have I chosen this job? I like speaking languages (English, Italian and, of course, Russian), meeting new people and sharing my knowledge of history, city and art. I also deal with your requests and try to make the best tours for you. St Petersburg is the city you can visit several times and still there are so many interesting places left unattended. You are warmly welcome to come and discover them and we are here to make your visit comfortable, safe and unforgettable.
Phone Number +7 921 650 20 70
E-mail: info@tourpetersburg.com
August 2014 Maria, thank you again for your excellent private Hermitage, Peterhof and Amber Room tours during our visit to St Petersburg, Russia. August is the busiest time of the year but you were able to move us through the venues and the city with finesse usually at the head of the line. Your knowledge of the history and art of Russia made your St.Petersburg private tours very worthwhile. Your command of English was spot on and entertaining. Hugs from the eight of us.
June 2017 Yesterday we took a private tour arranged by TourPetersburg and it was fantastic! We discussed what we wanted with Polina who was terrific arranging a full day of sightseeing and she truly delivered a great experience. She even bought Russian sweets and sodas for us! Talk about professionalism and going the extra mile for the customer!!! Our tour guide was Maria who was knowledgeable, personable, and a delight. We cannot recommend them enough. We left St. Petersburg wanting to return and have Polina and Maria arrange everything for us.
July 2018 My wife and I took a Baltic Cruise this July. We found out that we either needed to get a visa, take a cruise “tour excursion”, or hire a private tour company. After lots of research, we chose Polina and TourPetersburg. It was the best decision of our trip. I contacted Polina back in March and she was so instructional, accommodating, and sweet. We weren’t easy, as we wanted not only a day trip to see all of St Petersburg’s main tourist attractions, but we also wanted to experience the nightlife. Polina came up with a perfect itinerary! We were picked up at our cruise and saw all the sites we wanted to see (including the hermitage, the winter palace, the summer palace and the Church of Spilled Blood...not to mention the FIFA World Cup fan zone). Everything we asked to see, they showed us. We were then dropped back off at our ship for dinner and a quick nap. Our guide (Maria) met us back at the… More
July 2018 My family spent two beautiful days in St Petersburg with Maria during our Scandinavia cruise. She was extremely informative and organized throughout the tour and even went the extra mile to assist my elderly Italian parents. If you plan to visit St Petersburg, I highly recommend visiting this gem with Maria!
June 2014 Polina was our private guide for two fabulous days in Saint Petersburg. She was extremely helpful (and patient) in the planning process of our St.Petersburg tour package. We were celebrating our son's birthday on our second day, and she made a lunch reservation and even ordered a birthday cake! We were able to see and do the things we absolutely wanted to in our two (short) days in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
July 2017 First, I am somewhat remiss in posting late in that we were there about a month ago. But I cannot give TourPetersburg anything but the highest marks. Maria and Polina and her family and George - our driver were wonderful. The schedule I requested was not easy, but it definitely delivered. We have done three different visits to SP. Once, on our own in 1999. Second, with a group prior to TourPetersburg. I asked to see the special rooms in the Hermitage - the Diamond Room and the Gold Room. Only two groups go at one time at appointed times and with a smaller number of people. You have a private guide/curator. Having Maria allowed us for easily translation. July 12 - We met Maria at 10:00 AM for our tour. We started at the University Embankment; visited the Egyptian Sphinxes (where she showed us how to "greet" them (they are from Napoleon's time) - cover their ears and whisper in the cat's ear. Then the Priviet, Rooslam,… More
July 2018 Visit to St Petersburg for four adults. Contact throughout the booking with `Maria was excellent. From meeting Maria (and Anton the driver) at the port we felt welcomed and in good hands. Maria tailored the tour to our needs and in doing so we saw far more than we would have if we had booked an excursion through the ship. Nothing was too much trouble, Maria even booked a table for lunch at the Peterhof and arranged for us to visit (and ride) on the Metro. We also got to see the kitchens and bath house, which although are accessible to all are not usually included in a standard tour. If you are thinking of booking a private tour in St Petersburg, you need to contact Maria!
May 2019 Hi Polina and Maria, Thanks for a wonderful two days. In spite of the bad weather, we had a great time. We especially enjoyed spending time with Olga and girls and having tea with you and your family, Polina. You and Maria really listened to what we wanted and we now have a much better idea how regular people live in your city and could see how the city has changed over the years. We didn’t feel that we were visiting old history but current life. I thought this would be our last visit but now I am not so sure.
July 2014 We had a wonderful 2-day St.Petersburg private tour with Maria as our private guide, and were so glad to have a small group of four instead of 40, like most people on our cruise! This enabled us to dart around big groups, get into museums early, and no lines for the bathrooms! (Plus, Maria found us all the free bathrooms!) She was very knowledgeable, spoke great English, and was able to adjust the individual tour to our interests. We were able to see all St.Petersburg places to visit and do a LOT. This is an active tour, and we made the most of our time. Thank you, Maria! You are the best St.Petersburg private guide!
July 2017 It was a pleasure to deal with Tour Petersburg! We were interested in different sites as this was our second trip to St Petersburg. Always prompt, Polina responded to our questions and provided excellent suggestions that only a very experienced tour operator could. Our most knowledgeable and congenial guide Elena was a pleasure to be with during our 2 day tour. Our driver Ruslan's skill at getting us around should be mentioned as well. We would highly recommend this company and thank those mentioned for making our trip most memorable.
