Private Peterhof - Russian Versailles (Visas Included)
Private Peterhof - Russian Versailles (Visas Included)
Built by Peter the Great to rival Versailles, the town of Peterhof is renowned for its opulent palaces, fountains and parks. It lies on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, 22 miles drive west of St. Petersburg.Your private St. Petersburg tour begins after a short walk from the parking lot as you reach the main entrance of the Grand Palace. Built in the beginning of the 18th century, Peterhof is known as the most brilliant of all the summer residences of the Russian Tsars.
During your interior tour of the palace, you may be overwhelmed at the opulence. As you pass from room after room after room, you will see that no two are decorated the same and reflect not only local tastes of the time but also styles from other parts of the world. Occasional glimpses out the windows will give you a taste of some of the many gardens and fountains you will see after the palace tour.
Construction of the estate took two centuries, and upon its completion it encompassed seven parks and more than 20 smaller palaces and pavilions. The layout of the magnificent 300-acre park and spectacular fountains was designed by Peter himself. During World War II, the estate was occupied by Nazi troops and all the buildings and fountains were completely demolished. Today, Peterhof is a monument to Soviet reconstruction, as the palace was looted and practically razed to the ground by these troops. For many years the Palace and the Grand Cascade were under extensive restoration. Now all guests of the city can enjoy the spectacular views of the palace. After the tour of a small portion of the endless gardens and a photo stop at the Grand Cascade, you will return to your transportation for the drive back to the pier.
Please Note: All of our St. Petersburg tours are operated by authorized guides, and you therefore do not need to secure an independent visa in order to participate in this tour. However, in order to book this tour, you must provide us with full names, dates of birth, nationality, and passport numbers for each tour participant so that our guides can secure the proper tour visas on your behalf. Note also that, if you wish to explore St. Petersburg on your own while not accompanied by one of our guides, you will need to secure an independent visa. Vehicles available for this tour accommodate groups of up to 2, 12, or 44 passengers maximum. Groups with more than 30 guests may be accommodated upon request. Please take this information into consideration when booking.
Please be aware that cruise lines occasionally mislead passengers by telling them that they are not allowed to disembark the ship in St. Petersburg unless they are on an excursion purchased through the cruise line. In addition, the cruise lines also sometimes tell passengers that they cannot disembark the ship until the passengers on the cruise lines' excursions have done so first. This is incorrect, and you are free to exit the ship as soon as passengers start to disembark because Russian law states that a cruise ship cannot hold passengers onboard against their will as long as they have the proper documents. In order to clear immigration, you will need to bring along: 1) Your passport; 2) A photocopy of the picture page of your passport; and 3) A copy of your tour tickets. We will provide you with your tour tickets as part of the documents we e-mail to you after you make a tour booking.
About Shore Excursions Group
About Us
Shore Excursions Group is the market leading and world's largest shore excursion company. Since 2008, we've provided cruise passengers with higher-quality, lower-priced, and smaller group shore excursions from a portfolio of nearly 4,000 tours in over 300 ports. Over the last 16 years, we've delivered more than 4.6M excursions with a 4.7 out of 5 star rating from more than 47k reviews.
Exceptional travel experiences are created by exceptional people. Our incredible team of cruise and travel experts has more than 100 years of combined industry experience, and we work in close collaboration with a network of exceptional tour operator partners dedicated to providing personalized and immersive excursions to cruise passengers in the ports they visit around the world.
Our excursions are higher quality, lower priced, and travel in smaller groups averaging just 12 guests per departure, allowing our guests to truly connect with the local culture and enjoy a more enriching travel experience. Our website provides a personalized shopping experience highlighting the top-rated and most popular excursions in each port of call with authentic photos, videos, and reviews from other guests.
Our proprietary itinerary search technology makes booking easy by displaying the excursions guaranteed to work for your ship's scheduled arrival and departure into each port of call. We also feature hand-curated multi-port packages with the top-rated excursion for each port bundled together at an additional discount.
Our Unique Approach
While the cruise lines and other companies also offer excursions, we are the experts and our experience and approach set us apart. Our exceptional excursions travel in smaller groups and visit more interesting and authentic locations, using more personalized tour guides.
Our team uses a comprehensive approach to select the leading guides and best tour providers around the world. Every excursion is carefully curated and closely monitored through quality control and customer feedback.
In today's fast paced world, vacations are an important way to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and discover new and interesting places - and our portfolio of the highest quality tours was created to provide authentic and rewarding travel experiences on your next trip.
High quality service is very important to travelers and leads to better experiences with higher satisfaction. We encourage you to call us, so our experts can answer your questions and help you select the best excursions for your cruise.
Our Exceptional Tours
Our priority is providing cruise guests with exciting and enriching tours with personalized service and smaller groups.
Our small group tours range from 2-12 people - far less than other tour companies with larger tours up to 50 people. We also offer outstanding private excursions - exclusive experiences for only you and your group with options to fully customize your tour.
Our "Scenic" tours provide up close and personal access to some of the most spectacular natural environments on Earth from majestic glaciers in Alaska to spectacular reefs in the Caribbean.
Our "Cultural" tours allow customers to experience local customs, entertainment and culinary delights ranging from tribal dances in Alaska to an outstanding local meal in Santorini, Greece.
Our "Active" tours offer a multitude of exciting and adventurous ways to experience our destinations. Kayak the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, hike to a spectacular waterfall in Hawaii, or bicycle through quaint villages in France.
Our "City" tours allow travelers to see the highlights of great cities around the world with unique insights provided by our expert tour guides.
Our Guarantee
We stand by our excursions, and we're committed to meeting your expectations. Our team and our guides are dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences, which we've achieved consistently over many years and millions of tours. To the extent you are in any way dissatisfied with the experience we deliver, we will work to resolve your concerns - up to and including a full refund of your tour price. For more information visit the Shore Excursions Group website.
About Shore Excursions Group
About Us
Shore Excursions Group is the market leading and world's largest shore excursion company. Since 2008, we've provided cruise passengers with higher-quality, lower-priced, and smaller group shore excursions from a portfolio of nearly 4,000 tours in over 300 ports. Over the last 16 years, we've delivered more than 4.6M excursions with a 4.7 out of 5 star rating from more than 47k reviews.
Exceptional travel experiences are created by exceptional people. Our incredible team of cruise and travel experts has more than 100 years of combined industry experience, and we work in close collaboration with a network of exceptional tour operator partners dedicated to providing personalized and immersive excursions to cruise passengers in the ports they visit around the world.
Our excursions are higher quality, lower priced, and travel in smaller groups averaging just 12 guests per departure, allowing our guests to truly connect with the local culture and enjoy a more enriching travel experience. Our website provides a personalized shopping experience highlighting the top-rated and most popular excursions in each port of call with authentic photos, videos, and reviews from other guests.
Our proprietary itinerary search technology makes booking easy by displaying the excursions guaranteed to work for your ship's scheduled arrival and departure into each port of call. We also feature hand-curated multi-port packages with the top-rated excursion for each port bundled together at an additional discount.
Our Unique Approach
While the cruise lines and other companies also offer excursions, we are the experts and our experience and approach set us apart. Our exceptional excursions travel in smaller groups and visit more interesting and authentic locations, using more personalized tour guides.
Our team uses a comprehensive approach to select the leading guides and best tour providers around the world. Every excursion is carefully curated and closely monitored through quality control and customer feedback.
In today's fast paced world, vacations are an important way to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and discover new and interesting places - and our portfolio of the highest quality tours was created to provide authentic and rewarding travel experiences on your next trip.
High quality service is very important to travelers and leads to better experiences with higher satisfaction. We encourage you to call us, so our experts can answer your questions and help you select the best excursions for your cruise.
Our Exceptional Tours
Our priority is providing cruise guests with exciting and enriching tours with personalized service and smaller groups.
Our small group tours range from 2-12 people - far less than other tour companies with larger tours up to 50 people. We also offer outstanding private excursions - exclusive experiences for only you and your group with options to fully customize your tour.
Our "Scenic" tours provide up close and personal access to some of the most spectacular natural environments on Earth from majestic glaciers in Alaska to spectacular reefs in the Caribbean.
Our "Cultural" tours allow customers to experience local customs, entertainment and culinary delights ranging from tribal dances in Alaska to an outstanding local meal in Santorini, Greece.
Our "Active" tours offer a multitude of exciting and adventurous ways to experience our destinations. Kayak the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, hike to a spectacular waterfall in Hawaii, or bicycle through quaint villages in France.
Our "City" tours allow travelers to see the highlights of great cities around the world with unique insights provided by our expert tour guides.
Our Guarantee
We stand by our excursions, and we're committed to meeting your expectations. Our team and our guides are dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences, which we've achieved consistently over many years and millions of tours. To the extent you are in any way dissatisfied with the experience we deliver, we will work to resolve your concerns - up to and including a full refund of your tour price. For more information visit the Shore Excursions Group website.
