DenRus in St. Petersburg

In St. Petersburg, I highly recommend the independent-tour-guide company DenRus (Ligovsky Pr. 73 Office 608-610, St. Petersburg 191040, Russia; phone +7 [812] 572 4511 or, from the US, 561/459-5534). My husband, Lou, and I used DenRus during our 3-day cruise stop there, July 19-21, 2009, staying on the ship at night.

We signed up for the “Value Tour,” at $395 per person for the three days, with a promise that there would be no more than 20 to 25 people on the tour. As it turned out, we were the ONLY ones to sign up from our ship, Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Voyager, so we had a private tour with a wonderful guide, Julia Neverova, and her amazing driver, Anatoly.

I’m sure DenRus lost money on us, but they honored their promise, which reflects their integrity. The tour cost also included a 3-course restaurant lunch each day, all admissions and the charges to take photos at some of the sites.

We toured eight or nine hours each day and it was excellent beyond description. We visited not only the “must sees” — palaces, museums and churches — but markets, the subway, the synagogue and shops. It was the highlight of our trip.

BARBARA RAVITZ

Los Angeles, CA