Round trip transportation from your St. Petersburg cruise ship terminal! Air conditioned, fully licensed and insured private transportation! One way ride on board a Hydrofoil Boat! Bilingual professional private St. Petersburg shore excursion guide! Other languages speaking guides available, please check notes! Admission fees to all the sites visited! Services of a licensed local driver! All port
fees, local taxes and the cost of blanket Russia tourism excursion visa included! Guests will visit: Peterhof Palace, Grand Palace, Lower Gardens! Enjoy a private St. Petersburg excursion with a private guide for the ability to get away from the cruise ship excursion crowds while you take a peek into the lives of royalty when at the height of their reigns. Visit the amazing and beautiful Peterhof Complex and enjoy a hydrofoil ride too. Please note: We offer the same blanket visa for this excursion that the cruise ships would, so no worries about applying for an expensive visa on your own. If you've heard that only cruise ships can offer excursions, well, it is not true. Also included will be step-by-step instructions on how to clear immigration outside of your cruise ship and exactly where to meet your official private St. Petersburg sightsee cruise excursion guide. Your guide will be with you every step of the way during your excursion. You also will not need to deal with the crowds since this is a private excursion. Once you have met with your guide you will enjoy a one-hour, 18 mile (29 Km), incredibly scenic drive to the Gulf of Finland. En route, see picturesque historic landmarks, mansions, churches and the State Palace of Congresses, or 'Constantine Palace. Your first sightseeing excursion stop will be at the Peterhof Palace, the former home of Peter the Great. This 300-year-old palace once served as one of the summer residences of the royal family of Imperial Russia. It is also noteworthy when realizing that these grounds actually hold a number of delightful little over the Lower Park and the Gulf of Finland. Once you arrive at the Grand Palace, you will proceed to the Upper Park, designed by Peter as a French formal garden. After a guided walking visit of the park, proceed for a visit inside this breathtaking residence. Enter the palace from the main staircase adorned with gilded carvings, then take a guided excursion of the elegant staterooms, Dancing Hall, Audience Hall, Drawing Rooms, Chesma Hall, the opulent Throne Room, the White Dining Room, and Peter's Oak Study. Next, you will descend into the Lower Gardens, a 300 acre (121 hectare) fountain park with a number of pavilions and palaces overlooking the Gulf of Finland. The park comprises about 150 fountains and four cascades that include the Grand Cascade, the largest fountain ensemble in the world and the highlight of the grounds. Again it is interesting to note that no pumps are used, these were all designed with the force of gravity and the flow of water. Then, after you've enjoyed the visit to the fountains and captured the images on camera, you will leave Peterhof and board a comfortable hydrofoil boat for an enjoyable 40-minute return ride down the waterway to St. The scenery along the route is picture postcard worthy. Upon arrival at the dock you will then board your private transportation for the approximate 30-minute drive back to your St. Petersburg cruise ship pier. Your blanket visa only covers you during your Private St. Petersburg Excursion. Please note that the transportation used will depend on your group size ranging from a luxury car to a minivan to a deluxe motor coach. Peterhof is closed on Mondays. Guests must book a minimum of 72 hours before their excursion date. At the end of your booking, after you make the payment, you will be redirected to another page to fill out all the necessary passport information about each guest. Your booking cannot be started until we receive the complete information.