Visa/Tour Tickets

According to the Russian legislation a licensed tour operator has the right to arrange visa-free tours for cruise passengers arriving to St. Petersburg port. TJ Travel is an officially registered tour operator authorized to issue blanket visas. You will receive your free blanket visas (tour tickets) through email once you book a shore excursion with us. Please ignore warnings from your cruise ship company indicating that only a cruise ship company is allowed to run visa-free tours in St. Petersburg. Warnings/notifications of that kind don’t have any legitimate basis.

Please note you must print your blanket visas received via email from TJ Travel and bring it along with your passports each day of your tour. Blanket visas and your passports should be presented to an immigration officer on duty during disembarkation/embarkation in St. Petersburg.

Payment information 

• A 50% deposit must be paid at the moment of booking. The remaining balance is due upon your arrival to St. Petersburg;

• Train tickets require 100% prepayment at the moment of booking.

Cancelation policy

• If you or any other member of your party decides to cancel your confirmed booking you must notify us in writing. All payments are fully refundable 72 hours prior to the date of your tour; payments are non-refundable within 72 hours prior to the date of your tour. In case of no-show, no refund is granted;

• Train tickets are non-refundable.

Availability

Please ensure to make your booking at least 4-5 days prior to your ship's arrival to St. Petersburg. The port authorities require all passport information in advance, and the bookings sent in less than 4 days prior to arrival will be rejected.

Notes

Please note that in case the Hermitage museums is overcrowded, museum authorities may limit the entrance which cause an extra waiting time – up to 30 min.

Tips and Discounts

• Children (7 - 17 y.o.)/students get 50 USD off the tour price. Students must have an ISIC card, otherwise the discount is not available. 

• Gratuities to the guide and driver are not included in the tour price. The sum you wish to give to your guide and driver after a well-done tour should be up to the western standards (approximately 15%). It is a good idea to divide gratuity between your guide and driver and give it separately to them: 10% to the guide and 5% to the driver. Please have some cash with you (USD, EUR or RUB) for this reason, but it is always up to you!