We Love —
- Enjoy the unique visa free opportunity to visit St Petersburg with its onion domed cathedrals, ornate palaces and astonishing architecture
- Cruises across the Baltic on the luxury cruise liner Princess Anastasia or Maria
- Rest in a centrally located hotel for your stay
Here to Help —
Booking 35 days in advance and spending over £500 per person? No need to pay in full today! Just select the 30% deposit option on our payment page (terms & conditions apply)
For any additional information on this offer or assistance in making your reservation please call one of our dedicated team on 0844 8262099 or email sales@voyageprive.com
Opening hours are Monday to Friday 08:00 - 21:00 and Saturdays & Sundays from 09:00 - 17:30.
Your Tour —
The Czarist flavour to your holiday begins when you leave the quayside in Helsinki with on board Russian entertainment, food and atmosphere. And in St Petersburg you have an array of private excursions to choose from including ones to Peterhof, Peter the Great’s emulation of Versailles with its Palace, Gardens and Grand Cascade. And in the evenings you can take your pick from ballet, opera or exuberant Russian dancing performances.
Your Itinerary —
1st Day UK – Helsinki
Fly direct to Helsinki, self-transfer to the city centre and check in at the Hotel Serahoune or similar just 300m or so from the city centre bus station.
2nd Day Helsinki – St. Petersburg
Take breakfast and then explore the city. Helsinki is an eclectic mix of east and west set on a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland: a neo-classical gem but with an art nouveau quarter and here and there Alvar Aalto's spectacular modern architecture. There are smart pavement cafés on Esplanade and gourmet restaurants for lunch at less than London prices. In the late afternoon transfer to the south harbour for St Petersburg at 18:00 on the Princess Maria and an overnight passage to St Petersburg.
3rd Day St. Petersburg
Your ship docks after breakfast at 9.30. Disembark at 10.30 and meet your guide for a private city tour featuring some of St Petersburg’s most iconic sights (and sites) including the Admiralty, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, St. Nicolas Cathedral, Palace Square, Peter & Paul fortress (inside visit) and Smolny Convent. Check in at your chosen hotel and afterwards explore the city on your own. In the evening you can enjoy dinner in one of our recommended restaurants or go to a folklore, ballet or opera performance.
4th & 5th Day St. Petersburg
As much a work of art as a city, Russia’s one time capital is a captivating cocktail of experiences which you can discover on one our optional guided tours: the Hermitage with its unimaginable store of over 3 million works of art, Yusopov Place, Catherine’s Palace in Pushkin or Peterhof Summer Palace. Catherine’s Palace in Pushkin, otherwise known as Tsarskoe Selo, was Peter the Great’s wife’s summer holiday home: a staggering kilometre in circumference with blue-and-white facades decorated with gilded atlantes, caryatids and pilasters. Peterhof Summer Palace on the Gulf of Finland, built in the 18th century as the summer residence of Russian czars has as its centerpiece the Grand cascade of 64 fountains. On Day 5 transfer by private car to the ferry terminal for re-embarkation and departure at 19.00.
6th Day Helsinki – UK
Arrive in Helsinki at 09.30 with time for some last minute retail therapy for iconic design brands like Arabia and Iittala self -transfer to the airport and your return flight to the UK.
Your Ship —
This offer is based on a stay in an standard cabin on a bed and breakfast basis.
Your Hotels —
This offer is based on a Standard Room stay in the following hotel on a bed and breakfast basis.
Seurahuone Hotel Helsinki
Possibly the only hotel in the world with a 5 pillow menu a choice of firm ones with synthetic filling, medium & soft ones with down or synthetic filings. A far cry from 1914 when the hotel opened in its second incarnation to plaudits for having running hot water and telephones in all rooms . Each embellishment though speaks to the hotel’s timeless pursuit of elegance, style and occupant comfort which the most renovation in 2006 carried through, melding Carl Ludvig Engel’s neo classical legacy with contemporary amenity. Superbly central for a short stay, the hotel is opposite Helsinki’s landmark granite rail station, 300 m from the airport bus terminal and more importantly the Karl Fazer Café. All our rooms come with (of course) private WC/shower or bath tub (your choice), LCD TV, security safe, hair dryer, coffee/tea set WI-FI and a telephone updated from those in 1914.
Just off Sadovaya street, the Ambassador is opposite the Yusupof Gardens and within walking distance of St Isaac's cathedral, Nevsky Prospekt and Sadovaya (Sennaya Ploschad’) Metro station, so you couldn’t be more central. The chandelier overhanging the lobby and marbled staircase leading up from it are both auguries of what the hotel offers: modern standards with a genuflection to Russian opulence. The buffet/restaurant on the 9th floor has a panorama view of the St Petersburg cityscape & St Isaac's Golden Dome. The décor in our allocation of standard rooms is more Scandinavian than Russian with light pine bed heads and furniture, fawn and red fabrics and marbled bathrooms. Each has a coffee table & chairs, a desk with mirror, TV, telephone, WI-FI and wardrobe.
Your Journey —
Flights: From London Heathrow with Finnair
Outbound 10.20 - 15.15
Inbound 17.00 - 18.05
London Gatwick with Norwegian Air
Outbound 10.10 - 15.00
Inbound 17.05 - 18.10
Manchester with Finnair
Outbound 10.20 - 15.10
Inbound 16.05 - 17.00
All flight times are local.
Transfers: private transfers are included.
Please note: flight details are given as a guide only and may change. We will however notify you in advance if flights are more than 2 hours outside the time range given. Flights are non-changeable and non-refundable at time of booking.