After a pick-up from the ship pier by your private guide and driver, take a ride to the hydrofoil pier, located behind the Winter Palace, then board a high-speed hydrofoil for an exciting 45-minute ride down the Neva River, seeing St. Petersburg from a unique perspective as you coast along the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. As long as St.Petersburg was built as a seaport, the main and most beautiful buildings are located on the shores of Neva river, with facades to the river, so you will have an excellent opportunity to consider the most beautiful architectural masterpieces of St. Petersburg from the water. 

The hydrofoil will take you to Peterhof - St. Petersburg’s amazing imperial estate and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, widely recognised as being the most spectacular imperial palace in St. Petersburg with its beautifully manicured gardens boasting over 140 fountains, being the world's biggest fountain complex.

Peterhof, the gem of the environs of Saint-Petersburg, is situated 29 km far from the city. It is on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. The ensemble of the Grand Palace and parks of Peterhof is a great monument famous all over the world as "the fountain capital". There are beautiful examples of architecture, sculpture, landscape gardening and about 150 fountains including 4 cascades in the park. The palace and the park of Peterhof were founded by Peter I in the early XVIII century as a summer residence of the royal family and a final establishment of Russia on the coast of the Baltic Sea.

Peterhof is comprised of several different areas and buildings including the Grand Peterhof Palace, the Upper Gardens, the Lower Gardens, along with several pavilions and museums. The Grand Peterhof Palace sits less than 100 meters from the shores of the Gulf of Finland atop a 16-meter high bluff. You will see the Upper Gardens first laid out with several fountains before the Lower Gardens. Lower Gardens are larger than the Upper Gardens and lie along the Gulf of Finland.
The Grand Cascade is the greatest fountain complex in the world. It consists of 64 fountains, 255 sculptures and lots of decoration items. The idea of the victory of Russia over Sweden is expressed in the central figure of Samson tearing a mouth of a lion.

There Peterhof owes its uniqueness above all to its geographical position. The town lies on the coast of the Gulf of Finland on series of rising terraces. The high ground overlooking the uppermost terrace is abundant with spring waters which supply the fountains. The waterpipe system of Peterhof fountains is a unique monument of Russian engineering skills. You will return to the city by Hydrofoil along the Gulf of Finland shore and will be transferred back to the cruise ship pier.

INCLUDED:

• Port pick-up and drop-off
• Professional English-speaking guide assistance. Other languages upon request (additional charge may apply)
• Driver’s services as per the program (Comfortable car/minivan with A/C)
• Fully private tour 
• Entrance fee to Peterhof Park and Fountains Complex (Tour note: This trip does not include the inside tour of Peterhof Grand Palace)
• Roundtrip hydrofoil tickets
• Port visas
• All taxes, fees and handling charges

NOT INCLUDED:

• Food / Drinks
• Gratuities to guide/driver (optional)
• Personal expenses

Additional information:

• The duration of transfers are approximate, the exact duration will depend on the time of day and traffic conditions
• Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately.

DEPARTURE/RETURN DETAILS: flexible (adjusted to the arrival/departure time of your ship)

Additional info

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

You must allow plenty of time to get through the security at St Petersburg Port, sometimes the queues at security can be very long and it can take a long time to get through, please disembark your cruise ship in plenty of time in order to meet your tour.

Please note: Going through security checks on your first day of arrival may take a long time, UVisitRussia do not have any control of this, please be patient and allow plenty of time. If you are touring the 2nd day, generally security is not as bad as the 1st day of arrival.

It is important you travel with your shore excursion vouchers and visas. We will send this information via email approximately 7 working days prior to your travel date (once you have provided your passport information), if you travel without these documents you will not be able to pass through security thus resulting in you not being able to join the tour (in these cases uVisitRussia cannot be held responsible for tours being missed and no refund of this tour will be given).