PETER - TOUR OF CONTRASTS

Good afternoon.

I want to share my impressions about organizing a tour to St. Petersburg 05/28/2013-06/02/2013 tour operator Chocolate

I was so impressed with the organization that it is simply unacceptable not to write a review.

We all went together in a “comfortable” Neoplan bus (license plate AA2244CB). Unfortunately there was little comfort as most of the seats on the ground floor didn't go down and people had to sit up all night to sleep. Also, the passengers of such “sitting” places asked not to lower the seats of those in front, as they were pinched on both sides. I want to note that the rows in this bus are located very close to each other (with my height of 160 cm, my knees rested on the seat in front).

The whole group was incredibly happy to learn that our bus broke down, and we will go back on another bus. We were followed by a Neoplan with a license plate VN7337SM - this is a really comfortable bus: the rows of seats are located at a comfortable distance from each other, and even the rear seats can be slightly lowered and all the side seats slide out into the aisle, which allows you to comfortably spend the night on the road. Why the Organizers did not provide this type of bus in the first place remains a mystery. At first, I thought that the first bus was provided by mistake, since it is clearly not provided for daily transfers, but no, to my regret, it is listed in the list of buses on the Chocolate website. It is a pity for the group that was returning to Ukraine on our bus (neoplan AA2244).

I also want to note that one of the drivers on the night before the departure allowed himself to relax with a copious amount of alcohol. And I was very worried about this and was very happy to learn that we were going home with other drivers.

Separately, I would like to highlight the bio-stops on the way to St. Petersburg. How many went on different tours, but did not meet tourists planted in the forests under a bush to the delight of nettles, mosquitoes, ticks and other insects. Motivating by the fact that at gas stations, as soon as they see a tourist bus, they immediately close the toilets. I hasten to note that on the way back there were no more stops in such places: we stopped at the gas station, where you could drink coffee and go to the toilet in human conditions.

Accommodation.

Surprised by the accommodation in the hotel. If the tour operator pre-books hotel rooms, then why not immediately or during the Kiev-Petersburg trip distribute rooms among tourists, and not torment tired people in the hotel lobby while the Accompanying Guide divides rooms between tourists. It took a lot of time for such distribution (about half an hour), and the tired people made a massacre for the room. Constantly everyone pulled Victor, our guide from the tour operator, so that he would be given the first number. Chaos and confusion reigned in the hall.

The hotel itself (Nauka-2) must be given its due, simple, but clean and tidy rooms, cleaned every day. The room has a kettle, cups, TV, also 2 towels per person. On the third floor there is a cooler with drinking water. The building has five floors, but there is no elevator. They cook well  The local guide told us that they have delicious porridge, but we didn’t manage to taste porridge, there were pancakes and pasta, and various salads. The location is convenient, near the Udelnaya metro station, four stations on a straight line and already in the center on Nevsky Prospekt.

Every day lunch was in a different place - we visited three cafes in total - and lo and behold! Everywhere we were fed pasta for the second) I understand that the tour is “cheap”, but for the sake of interest I looked at the menu in the third cafe (cinema cafe), pasta was the same price as buckwheat. Victor (accompanying guide) was also quite surprised by the pasta. Interestingly, when ordering lunches, the Tour Organizers specify a specific menu or they don’t care what they pay the money collected from tourists for.

Excursions.

At eight in the morning we arrived in St. Petersburg and the bus sightseeing tour of the city began. Almost nothing is visible from the first floor of the bus, the second floor was more fortunate in this regard. In many places, the streets are very narrow and it was very difficult for drivers to pass without hitting parked vehicles with a bus. As a result, wasted time and nerves of drivers, not to mention rolled diesel fuel. Much more informative was the one-hour additional excursion by boat along the rivers and canals on the third day of the tour. Why don't the Organizers remove the sightseeing bus tour or replace it with a walking tour? Or at least give tourists a choice on which tour to go. As a result, we traveled by bus around the city, visited the Peter and Paul Fortress and at 16-00 checked into a hotel and then were left to ourselves. I want to note that after a daily move, we were only able to put ourselves in order and change clothes at 16-00.

The third day began with a visit to the Hermitage, then St. Isaac's Cathedral, then there was a break for lunch, and full we went on a tour of the rivers and canals, all this lasted until five in the evening. And at half past ten, we all had to be at the hotel and wait for our bus to go on a night tour - bridges. At half past three we returned to the hotel, we had four hours to sleep.

On the fourth day of the tour, two large-scale excursions were planned at once: Tsarskoye Selo and an additional excursion to Pavlovsk. Given the whole day, there is enough time to visit both palaces, but the Organizers planned a lunch in St. Petersburg at 16:00. The road from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoye Selo takes an hour. Thus, we had only two and a half hours of time for each palace. Since it was necessary to take into account the time for gathering the group, for the road and for the same toilet and snack. Who needs lunch at 4pm? Isn't it better to replace it with dinner? Or abandon it altogether? Moreover, on the territory of the Parks or near them there are all kinds of inexpensive cafes to have a bite to eat. For example, near the Catherine Park there are wonderful royal pancakes (100 rubles per 1 piece). But we were a little lucky, lunch was moved to 17-00, after which we visited the Kazan Cathedral, and we again had free time.

On the fifth day, a visit to Peterhof and Kronstadt was planned. But since our bus broke down the night before and it took a long time for us to replace the bus, there was no time left for Kronstadt. Yes, and Peterhof itself was only four hours (if you count back-to-back from the moment you enter the territory of the Palace until the moment the bus leaves home).

But we did not manage to leave Peterhof at the scheduled 16:00. A bag with documents was stolen from one of the tourists. It took about an hour to uselessly wait for the police at the scene of the attack. The matter got off the ground when one of the tourists suggested that the whole group go to the police department and ask the authorities to issue a certificate of the stolen document. With grief in half and long expectations, the certificate was received, and we went home with a two-hour delay. On the Belarusian border, the border guards refused to let the girl with lost documents pass. Our accompanying guide Victor “did everything he could” suggested not to risk the group and not go to the Russian-Ukrainian border, but to drop the student off at the border so that she would wait for her relatives there with documents and they would return to Ukraine on their own. But thanks to our drivers, the problem was resolved, no one dropped anyone off and we crossed the border in full force.

I want to emphasize that no one is insured against the loss of documents or health problems on a trip, and in such cases the tourist relies only on himself. The accompanying guide cannot (or does not want to) provide even informational advice on how to proceed in such cases. The “I don’t have to do anything to the detriment of the main group” attitude is a great excuse.

I would characterize such a tour as a tour of contrasts: wonderful St. Petersburg and a “wonderful” organization from Chocolate 

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