The Baltics and Russia

Our guides were always magnificent. This was a wonderful learning experience. The Baltics as a group are different from Western Europe, more medevial, and each of the countries is distinct from its neighbor. Lithuania much more caught up in its history, Latvia more Russian/high unemployment and Estonia seemed the most Western. Russia is very Russian, in many ways still Soviet. For instance, their souvenire shops have no lapel pins with just the flag or "Russia" - gotta have Lenin, the red star and hammer and sickle. I wanted to buy souvenires, but can't very well offer a Chicago friend a Lenin/hammer & sickle t-shirt or lapel pin - wierd marketing. Few Russians speak English; however, I found them the friendliest of all the folk we encountered.

This trip was fascinating!

Russia and the Baltics was a fascinating tour. The palaces and the Hermitage Museum were more beautiful than I could have imagined. We had the opportunity to go to 2 ballets and I was thrilled with both. Our tour guide, Maria, was a real gem. She MADE the tour. We all loved her. I would strongly recommend this tour to everyone.

very good trip

Would be better if Lithuania was included. I will not likely ever return to that region and it is unfortunate that it was not included.

The Baltics, a great trip

I highly recommend this trip however please be aware there are lots of cobblestone streets. Riga has a very compact old town with much history and a fantastict amount of art deco buildings outside the old town, The walking tour of these buildings is a real treat. Not to be missed is the Riga opera house which is centrally located and the tickets are very reasonable. Estonia's old town is very compact filled with very interesting shops and local crafts. Highly recommend visiting Catherine's summer place and if time the adjacent museum of Estonia art. Also the tram is free for all over 65 years old. Saint Petersburg was a delight with its history and the buildings built under Peter the Great, Catherine and Elizabeth. This tour offers visits to three very different places!!!

First trip

Had a great time, this was my first trip abroad. The tour directer was great. This trip set a very high ar for future travel !! The tour went aboveand beyond to set up extra optional excursions requested by travelers !!

The Baltics

This part of the world is fascinating....so much history and conflict. The architecture was wonderful! We had a fabulous tour director! Thomas was the best!

Step Back in Time--Step Forward to the Future

This is a good tour for history and art buffs. Very interesting to see the after USSR rule and at the same time learn what it was like during that rule. Tallinn was my favorite city as had a very medieval feeling and was great for walking about. Many of my fellow travelers liked Riga the best. St. Petersburg is a busy city, but felt safe walking during the day, but would not risk it at night unless in a group. Peterhof and the Catherine Palace was well worth the optional fee. The Hermitage was, of course, not to be missed. The treasury is worth the extra entrance fee. Have to have a reserved ticket, so get in advance. The fast train was indeed fast and comfortable, but the scenery was ordinary. Moscow is extremely crowded and would not go anywhere, except a few blocks from the hotel, without the group. To stand in the middle of Red Square with St. Basil's Cathedral at one end, the Gum to one side, Krelim walls and Lenin's Mausoleum on the other and the State History Museum at the other end was incredible. Thomas, our guide, spent his free day on Sunday to take us on a tour of the Metro stations and back to Red Square to view Lenin's tomb and the Armory with the Fabreges eggs. He was a superior guide, which is what I now expect from GoAhead--this was my 8th tour. I cannot rate this my best tour ever, but glad I did it. People are always asking me what was my favorite city or country or tour and is it so hard to say as each one is so unique. Tips: Getting a Russian visa requires patient and can cost over $200--Russia is very expensive, so buy souvenirs in the Baltic countries (you find basically the same things everywhere)--requires quite a bit of walking and over uneven pavement in the Baltic cities--pack an umbrella and scraf or hat--keep your camera handy at all times so you can capture that incredible sight--enjoy.

Baltics and St Petersburg/Moscow

Trip of a lifetime. Never thought I would be Standing in Red Square!

Great way to learn about different cultures

Enjoyed the free time in each town. Moscow: We did abreviated tour of Hermitage because it was closed for the 60th anniversary of Russia's victory over agressors. St. Basil's and other sites we went to see were closed. Tour of the subways is a must, our guide Sergei did a great job. Loved the park we stopped at and all the weddings being held. Hotel did not provide bottled water, but did provide a kettle to boil water in. Accomodations were comfortable. Our time was cut short, did not ride the Siberian Railway to St. Petersburg. Did not see any of the anniversary festivities. St. Petersburg was great. Hermitage was nice, but enjoyed Peter's Palace and Peter and Paul Fortress more. Wonderful canal ride. Church there a must. Hotel grudgingly provided drinking water some days. Accomodations were very comfortable. Location better than Moscow hotel. A great city to wander around in. We enjoyed a brief time looking for amber on the beach in Parnu. Had lunch at a small restaurant with delicious soups and pies. Tallinn was very nice. Another great place to walk and explore. The medievel town offererd great photo opportunities at night and early in the morning. The hotel room had a computer and internet service. The room was small, the tub and shower hard to get into! Tour to Helsinki was shorter than expected, but informative. Would have liked more time to explore. Riga was another great place to explore, but I think we were there a day too long. Maybe a night in Helsinki instead of extra night in Riga. Our tour director found great places for us to eat as a group on our first nights in town when dinner was not provided. She told us about local politics and culture during bus rides. Local guides were knowledgeable and spoke english very well. This tour was a wonderful way to learn about places we've heard about all our lives, but were totally clueless about. People were pleasant and helpful. Only knowing a few words of Russian we were able to go out on our own, to buy things and ask for help. In the other countries we were able to use English. I would recommend this trip. If you are going all the way to Russia, see both Moscow and St. Petersburg. They are very different.

A very memorable trip to Russia and the Baltic duo

The tour was well organized and the director Ildico was fantastic. I'd recommend her to anybody without reservation. I was able to learn the history of Russia and its interaction with the neighboring countries.