Imperial Russia Starting From $3,749 $3,499 pp*

The guide was fantastic. Ksenia was personable, friendly, and knowledgable. The hotels were wonderful. There just wasn't enough time to properly explore all the areas we toured. I was left feeling that I missed a great deal as we were rushed through exhibits.

Not enough time at each of the exhibits. I would have appreciated more time in Catherine's Palace, the Hermitage, the Armoury, and Peterhof. I didn't really need the trip to GUM or to the Space Museum (probably didn't need the trip to the Tretjakov Art Gallery, either.)

Tour manager Ksenia was very good and it was a bonus that St Petersburg is her home and she was our city/palaces guide throughout. She arranged for ballet tickets for clients and train reservations for group members who were going back to Moscow or on to Helsinki. Serafima and Lilly in Moscow were also very good.

The Winter Palace and Church of the Savior on Blood were beautiful beyond words.

Really enjoyed the Russia tour. Probably a little too much walking (2 days of 19,000 steps - way too much for some people in our group; and other days of nearly 15,000 steps). I would have loved more time in Moscow (at least two more days). I liked the train trip. And I also liked the classic car trip. I promote Collette as much as I can as I have thoroughly enjoyed both of my trips.

For me: Moscow subway. I remember it from having traveled to Moscow when I was 17.

Since you can not hail a taxi in St. Petersburg and I can not speak Russian our free time ended in a panic to get back to the hotel. We had to walk to the first nights dinner and pay for our own cab back from our last nights dinner. . Transportation was so cheap I was wondering why it was not included. We felt like you were penny pinching. The airport transportation was slow at arrival. The 10 of us waited an hour before he arrived to pick us up. When leaving at two in the morning we were left off about a football field length away from the terminal. We didn’t know where to go, there was no one to help with luggage and our driver did not speak English. I am a retired tour guide. You had too much walking planned on the first day and there was no lunch break on the schedule so everything seemed so rushed. The pace was for people in there 40’s not their 70’s. Elena was trying her best to keep everyone happy but she was at a frantic pace with that many people and one lady that should not have made the trip (legally blind and diabetic) The local guides were excellent in both towns.

Second hotel. Location poor. It was not near a metro or restaurants. My rug was dirty I have pictures Marriott was Excellent. Great bed. Location good

I loved the sights and our tour manager, but forcing a group of majority senior citizens to walk and use public transportation in Moscow was unacceptable. Each day in Moscow we walked over 19,000 steps and stood for long periods. We were so exhausted it took away the enjoyment of seeing the sights. We thought we would be going into the St. Basil’s Cathedral but then found out “going” to the cathedral did not include “going in.” Very misleading. Additionally,, but by the time we got to Red Square, it was closed, and several of our group had already taken cabs back to the hotel because they were exhausted. The subway was nice to see but “commuting” everywhere by subway was too much. One of our tour members fell on the train. We had a bus more in St, Petersburg but still too much walking long distances when it would have been easy to transport us by bus. The last night bringing us to our farewell dinner by the soviet era cars was great, but we were not brought back to the hotel. They just called cabs that we had to pay for ourselves. Not classy. Our first Collette tour was in Italy. We had a bus going down tiny roads in Florence and round tight corners on hilltops. No excuse not to have a bus in Russia. If this had been my first Collette Tour, as a Senior Citizen I would think twice before taking another - we only half jokingly called the Moscow part of the the trip Bataan Death March Day 1 and Day 2. The transportation issue must be fixed for this tour - or at least be truthful as to the level of walking that would be required.

The tour manager Elena was great, the Accommodations were both nice, but the hotel in St. Petersburg was NOT in the city center even though they may represent it that way, we had to eat our dinners in the hotel because ther was NOTHING within walking distance. St. Basil’s cathedral tour of the inside the cathedral was NOT included even though it was implied that it was. That was a HUGE disappointment since I will not go back to Russia again and it was part of why I went in the first place. My most memorable experience was the shear exhaustion because we had to walk everywhere. By the time we got to the sights we were exhausted from getting there. THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED before you do this tour again.