Dancing Bear in St. Petersburg

My husband and I and another couple booked a cruise with Silversea Cruises that included three days in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 18-20, 2012. We weren’t impressed with the ship’s shore excursion offerings, so I looked in ITN’s Mart classifieds section and found Dancing Bear Tours (Prospekt Kosmonavtov 15A-6H, St. Petersburg, Russia; phone +7 812 379 2633 or mobile +7 921 324 4640 or, in the US, 323/703-1542).

I contacted owner Julie on Feb. 15, and she emailed and also called me and was most helpful in planning our three days.

We saw everything we requested and much more at a very fair price. Her initial fee was $455 per person for the three days, but we added attractions, so our final cost was $500 each. We were so satisfied with her service, each couple added a tip of $200.

Mindful of the fact that we are older, Julie managed to find restrooms and places to sit in a timely manner. She and her colleague Vladimir met us at our ship each morning. While she was a wonderful guide, we were equally impressed with Vladimir’s driving skills in the city, where traffic is sometimes a little daunting. He always managed to let us off near whatever attraction we were seeing and was waiting when we emerged.

We recommend Dancing Bear Tours, Julie and Vladimir to anyone who will be visiting St. Petersburg.

JOANNE RAMOS
West Sacramento, CA