Julia was an excellent guide. She picked us up right on time and was very helpful to us. We had a 2 year old toddler and she was considerate and patient whenever my toddler roams and causes racket. I just want to clarify in this tour that the pick-up from the hotel is actually a guide picking you up and you walk all the way to the hermitage while they point out historical stuff while you walk. I was under an expectation that there would be some transfers my mistake. Because we have a baby and I kept on slipping in the snow, Julia offered to get a taxi which was what I really needed. We learned a lot at the hermitage. Thank you to Julia.

Roman was very pleasant , knowledgeable and very helpful
W had an excellent view of the enormous Hermitage - we saw so much more with his guidance
No queueing and picked up from our hotel
Highly recommended

We were very pleased with the guide. She was very knowledgeable, and did and excellent job. She gave us the most of touring the Hermitage galleries that one can do in the space of three hours. During the walk to the Hermitage, our guide provided interesting information of the sites, churches and other buildings we passed along the way. We would recommend this tour to anyone with limited time to view the Hermitage galleries.

We were 3 adults on this trip. Great experience. The guide spoke excellent English and was very knowledgeable and service minded. The tour was just as described and well worth the price. There was very much to see and difficult to find your way, so the guide made it a much better visit than we would have been able to get by ourselves. The Hermitage is a large compound and after this tour we were quite satisfied with culture and history and happy to leave the premises and take lunch.

Having a guide to walk you through the Hermitage is a must to make the experience enjoyable. Our guide, knowledgeably guided us through the labyrinth of halls and exhibitions, pointing out things of interest and asking us what we would like to see. Her knowledge of Russian history and Art history really added to our experience. She was personable and very easy to communicate with. Money well spent.

Our knowlegable and wonderful guide, Lida, withMariaRose Tours spoke English clearly. Besides she was very nice. She was on time to pick us up at our hotel. She walked with us to the Hermitage and told us a Lot about Russian History through the paintings of the Czars. When her tour was over she showed us how we could find art highlights that same afternoon and told us about some some other sites to visit. One very nice tour.

I wish that the tour had started on time or earlier. Originally it was scheduled for 10, and then was pushed back to 11 last minute. This greatly affected the rest of our days plans. Even so, our guide was very informative and nice. It was helpful to have someone to guide us through this beautiful museum.

This was a fantastic tour with my very knowledgable guide, Lida. She met me at my hotel and we talked about the city as we strolled to the Hermitage. She took care of most of the hassle of getting in and guided me through the entry process. I wouldn't say that we got early access but rather easier access, which still counts for a lot at this venue. I don't recommend visiting for the first time without a guide. Not only did Lida know much about the history of the place, she was able to point me to details that I would have definitely missed without her. In addition, it's quite easy to get lost and I would have wasted much time going from specific site to site without her direction. Which I did quite a lot after she left me... It was also quite a bonus to have a one-on-one experience with a guide as the contrast to the large group tours was obvious.

This Tour is highly recommended! Our knowledgable and well English speaking guide showed us all important sights outside and inside the Hermitage. Plenty of Russian history. Inside the tour was tailored to our needs of the different pieces of art we wanted to see. All in all well worth the money!

Forget going to St Petersburg in the summer when all the other travellers have taken the best hotels and there are people in all your photos. Get there early January, beat the crowds and get the snow capped photos that will impress all your friends.....well that was our reasoning anyhow. Coming from Australia you are not going to find any city covered in snow and the Russians know how to deal with it.
Sure, it was -25 for a couple of days but if you layer up and have good boots it doesn't matter. Our guide knew all the facts and was so nice we also booked her and a driver to take us to the Catherine Palace and a city tour the next day for 5 hours. The workmanship will blow you away and the fact the nazis flattened it and they rebuilt it has to impress everyone. The Amber Room at the Catherine Palace was stolen and never found so they reconstructed a new one, piece by piece as per the original photos !!!
SPECIAL TIP Early Jan is Russian Xmas time, taking a tour gets you in the side door so you don't have to line up in the snow :