Customer Reviews

Hi

Many thanks for booking our train tickets from Riga to St Petersburg and sending us the visa invitations. Our trip went very well and we had a great time in your marvelous city.

I posted my comments on your Facebook site.

Best,

Pierre-Yves Bely

Pierre-Yves Bely, France

Asya,

Thanks for the message. I had an excellent and problem free short
trip and would like to thank you and your colleagues for providing
excellent service. I surely intend to use your service in the
future.

Thanks and regards
Volodya

Volodya, Switzerland

Dear Asya

I am writing this mail to thank you and your company to have taken care of our VIP guest.He personally called to thank me for making his holiday a wonderful experience.

Regards

Ravi Kant Sethia

Ravi Sethia, India

Dear Asya,

Our trip to Saint Petersburg exceeded my every expectation! We were promptly met at the airport by Vladmir and taken to our hotel. The hotel was extremely well located, just 2 blocks to The Hermitage. The room was clean, beds comfortable and the bath had every amenity, with a great shower. The hotel staff were helpful and there was always someone on duty who spoke English.

Our tour guide, Maria, was beyond great. She gave a detailed history of each site, allowing us the needed time to absorb all we saw. Maria's explanation of Russian culture, and the events of the last 20 years in Russia, gave us a perspective we lack, having been educated in the United States. To call this a "vacation" is a misnomer, it was an educational experience.

Express to Russia did an excellent job of arranging an itinerary that met our interests. Every request was promptly met, communications were very timely. Not enough can be said about Maria and Vladmir, they were perfect guide, teacher and driver.

I recommend Express to Russia without reservation. I hope to return to Russia, and will certainly use your services. Thank you.

David W. Miller

David Miller, USA

Dear Asya

Very many thanks for this email. I have just returned from an excellent 3 week stay in Russia and China (the Trans-Sib got me to Beijing) and want to sincerely thank you for handling the visa invitations and train tickets. You were patient in answering my many questions and your website was handy as I got some ideas of things to take/do on the train. As a result, the train trip was a real highlight of my journey and something I will cherish for many years.

I will be sure to recommend your site to other travellers and wish you and your company all of the best for the future!

Kind Regards
Hugh

Hugh Freese, South Africa

Dear Liza,

Sorry it has taken me so long to send this to you.

I just wanted to thank you again for organising our tour. Everything ran very smoothly, everyone was on time and we enjoyed every second of it. You have a beautiful country.

I would like to specifically commend our guides, Lina and Maria. They were both wonderful and their intelligence amazed me. They went out of their way to help us and made it their business to make sure we were happy with the daily schedules. They are great assets to the Express to Russia company. I would also like to mention our driver in St Petersburg (I can't remember his name). He was a very kind man and another great asset to the company.

Thank you again. We will definitely recommend your company to others.

Kind regards,

Rachel Stauffer, Australia

Thanks for your great help each time i am travelling to Russia...keep up your very excellent promt work. I found your online service very cheap and easy to get my invitation done every time!

Clare Muscat Said, Malta

Just returned from a fanstastic and rich experience in moscow, the Golden cities and St. Petersbrg. We felt taken care of as if we were royalty! our guides were extremely knowledgable and so we learned so much and gained such an appciation for the people, the struggles and the country. Witout the guide and driver, we would have just appreciated the architecture but learned nothing. You helped at every turn - this could not have been a better experience and we cannot thank you enough.

Marna & Keith McLendon, USA

Thank you Dasha,

I had an excellent trip to Russia and the assistance & documentation which 'Express to Russia' provided was efficient and accurate. I will indeed become a fan on Facebook and I look forward to using your services in the future.

Best Regards,

Joel Beaumont, UK

The Express to Russia Service was fantastic and very efficient. I was traveling to Russia from India and they made it super easy to get all the required documents. More so it was very reasonably priced. I would strongly suggest people use this service to go to Russia.

Ryan Valles, India

Hi Asya

Jenn and I are back from our amazing trip, and wanted to pass on our thanks to you and the team for your wonderful powers of organisation and planning.
Everything was brilliant!

Thanks so much

Kate

Kate van Dooren, Australia

Hi Elena,

I would like to thank you for the excellent services your travel agent did for us. We enjoyed every minute of our visit to St. Petersburg. We are so impressed by your team and I already recommended your travel agent to my brother in law who is working in Moscow. He himself is so amazed with the services your team had done for us.

I would personally recommend the hard work of Asya, Maria and Victor. Asya was so detailed with our itinerary, very knowledgable with her work, Maria is so well versed with her job, amazing woman and Victor is so kind, a very caring person. They make sure we are fine, took good care of us from the beginning until Victor make sure we are safe at the train station. You truly have an excellent team.

Unfortunately, I have no facebook and will not be able to post my travel experiences. But you can post this email in your facebook.

More power to your company.

Take care and please give my regards to Asya, Maria and Victor.

Again, thank you so much.

Marie Beyer

Marie Beyer, USA

Dear Elena,

All our tickets were perfect and the information provided by your company is the best we have found from any Russian ticket company in the last 10 years. I shall certainly be using your service again.

I will be writing personally to Alyona Gerun to thank her, but I’d like you to know that she couldn’t have been more helpful in organising our tickets and she was always quick to answer e-mails and provide information and support.

Best wishes,

Henry Drake, UK

Visa invitation with out a problem, thx

Laurent Thinnes, Luxembourg

Dear Elena,

Thank you for your message of 8 October 2011 below and my apologies for not having replied earlier. I had a wonderful time in Russia and I would return tomorrow if I had money and time off work. I had three wonderful days in Moscow before joining the river cruise on MV Litvinov from Moscow to St Petersburg.

I coped well using the Metro and getting around Moscow and I was really glad I had that time to myself before joining the cruise. In fact it got easier to negotiate my way round the city the longer I stayed.

The Hotel Ulanskaya where I stayed in Moscow, was pleasant and my room and the bathroom were clean. The staff were courteous and friendly.

The cruise was wonderful and I fell in love with Russia and all things Russian. I had a wonderful tour guide, Marina Mosentseva who spoke fluent English and gave our group Russian language lessons and taught us some Russian songs. She taught us the Volga Boatman's Song. Now when I hear this song I remember all the good times I had in Russia and I feel quite nostalgic. I've already written to Marina and thanked her very much for everything she did for me and the other people who were part of the Express to Russia group on the boat. She really looked after us well despite the fact that some of the people in her group were particularly difficult and demanding. She told me that I was the best person in her group.

I had two more days in St Petersburg after the cruise ended and once again I was glad to have had these few days to myself before leaving Russia. After I left the cruise, I stayed in the Northern Lights Hotel. It was a lovely hotel and I had a spacious room with a king size bed, satellite TV and WiFi access. The staff were very friendly and all spoke good English. My only complaint was that it is located two floors up with no elevator. But for a good price and great service, I'm not really complaining about that.

When I left Russia, I felt quite sad and want to return, hopefully next year, money permitting!

Having found the link to Express to Russia on Facebook, I'm not sure where to go to become a fan. I'm on Facebook and all of you at Express to Russia are welcome to become my friends on Facebook. I have already put up some photos of my trip on my Facebook page with more to follow soon.

I hope you will all stay in touch with me. Once again thank you very much for having given me such a wonderful time in Russia.

Kind regards,

Peter Brennan, Australia

Elena,

We had a great time in Russia and I took some great photos. Thank you again for the great tours!

Barbara Hyde, USA

Dear Elena,
City Realty was very efficient in organizing the rental of my appartment and in providing invitations required ro obtain visa. The transportation, with driver Viktor, was also very reliable. Real City is a partner who can be trusted entirely

Erwin Schaer, Switzerland

Dear Elena

I would like to thank City Realty for its reliability, attention to detail and integrity throughout the time I had dealings with the firm.

The apartment (Fontanka Deluxe A) was nothing short of amazing! We were blown away by its size, as we expected something about half the size! We also expected that we would have to visit the supermarket on arrival to purchase soap, washing powder etc, but were very pleasantly surprised to discover that it was all provided for us. Having 3 bathrooms between four of us was a real bonus and allowed us to spend more time exploring the city!

We opted to accept your advice re transfers, and could not have been happier with the decision. Our drivers were on time, friendly, reliable and trustworthy. They also saved us a lot of time.

If we return to St Petersburg, we will not hesitate to book the same apartment, and have already recommended it to friends who plan to visit the city in 2012.

Best wishes

Helen and Robert Robertson, Australia

Hi Elena,

My wife, friends and I were very pleased with the service that you offered and everything went very smoothly – first class. We would definately use you again.

Good luck with your business,

Paul Swindell, UK

Dear Sirs,
I would like to add my ExpresstoRussia review to the long list of commentaries from satisfied customers on your web site. The services I used included hotel reservations, obtaining visa invitation, transfers from and to the airport (SVO), two custom 11 hour day tours to suburban areas north and west of Moscow and a 4 hour city tour in Moscow.

My guide and driver for these trips were Lena and Rashid, respectively, who were very knowledgeable on Russian history, geography and roads. Since my objective was to visit first hand many of the sites of the October-December, 1941 battle of Moscow as would be done with a typical military history travel company, none of which were available over three years of searching the internet which could do an adequate job as described.

The two day tours included visits to: Krasnaya Polyana, Lobnya, Belyy Rast, Yakhroma, Peremilovo, Dmitrov, Rogachevo, Klin, Solnechnogorsk, Zelenograd and Khimki the first day (350 km) and Zhukovka, Perkhushkova, Odintsovo, Golitsyno, Petrishchevo, Mozhaysk, Borodino, Zvenigorod, Istra, Istra Reservoir and Snegiri (Lenino) the second day (another 350 km). The half day in Moscow was a more typical excursion to the usual tourist spots.

I highly recommend your services including the office contacts Liza and Yulia who helped in setting up my itinerary. While the total package may not be inexpensive, your organization has the routine down to a science so newcomers can leave it all to you.
Best regards,

Terry D. Wilson, USA

Hello Madam,

Thanks to you, we had a very pleasant stay in Moscow. Everything was great: your quick answers at our questions, the nice and well furnished apartment with a good situation. No surprise at all, everyone was on time (for the check in and check out).
I would really recommend your website to friends (I already did, as we are currently living in Russia and have a lot of friends in the same situation).
We appreciate spending a week end or a couple of days in Moscow or/and in St Petersbourg and will use again your Internet site for finding an accommodation!
Many thanks to City realty!

regards

Mr and Mrs VIATTE, France

Excellent visa service: super quick, efficient, friendly! And their invitations are accepted even with the more capricious Russian embassies. Can only recommend.

Wolfgang Sporrer, Austria

Dear Anastasia and Elena,

I so greatly appreciate you for all the arrangement's made by you and your team at cityrealty. My trip was indeed a memorable one and I had a wonderful time. To my surprise, the Old Arbat Theatre Suite apartment happened to be located at one of the most happening place and it added to my delight. I will be looking forward to using your services for my next visit to Russia.
The attached photograph is of me and my brother at the Red Square.

Many thanks to City Realty.

Regards,

Ravinder Singh, India

We had a very pleasant stay. I have used your service several times in St Pete and Moscow, and will continue to do so. I live in Moscow and sometimes have visitors.

Alexander Higgs, Australia

The ONLY company to use for Russian Visa services such as invitations. I have used them several times and they are extremely fast and accommodating especially if changes are needed.

Brian V Simblist, USA

Elena,

Thank you so much for providing me with the necessary help for my trip to Moscow.
My trip was fantastic. I would say this was the best trip ever to Russia.
The Hotel Bega was FANTASTIC! I loved that hotel. The service was excellent as well as the accommodation. I had a fantastic time and the service provided by City Realty was excellent, as always. I was sad to leave Moscow but shall return soon and will be again seeking services from City Realty! I hope to go back in the early or late summer.

Thank you!

Kathryn Chacon, USA

Thank you very much. It was one of the best trips in our life. Everything was excellent!

Dasa Kopcakova, Slovak Republic

Dear Elena,

Now we’ve all returned safely from the Russian tour. We have had a very nice trip in Russia; and we like to thank you for a very good and professional job in handling our events. All the arrangements went off smoothly without a hitch. Our guides and drivers came to the pick-up points on time. And all the guides were very knowledgeable as well as able to speak very good English.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you and all the people involved in helping us to have a very enjoyable trip. I certainly will highly recommend your agency to our friends if they want to travel to Russia.

Thanks and Best Regards,

KML & BAL, China

Liza, thank you for all your help; the trip was fine. Only problem was lack of money changing facilities on boat; this was a problem we had not expected. All transfers worked well; boat staff and coordinators very good. Especially liked our coordinator Nastija, and Anna at the front desk. Sorry we didn't get chance to meet you in St. Petersburg. Melody is a good, reasonably priced hotel in quiet location. See comments above.

George Gardiner, USA

Great service from Express Russia for my last trip, made the whole visa business much easier.

Phil Price, UK

I just wanted to write and thank your company for the wonderful service I enjoyed during my recent trip to Russia. Everything planned and prepared by Express to Russia and my contact there Elena was perfect, and we enjoyed the hotels (Northern Lights in Petersburg especially), the drivers and the tours. All the drivers were on time, courteous and efficient, and we greatly enjoyed all three of our tour guides in Moscow, Petersburg and Novgorod.

We only had one missed connection, one of the drivers from Domodedovo to our hotel had a car break down, and I very much appreciate Elena’s attention to the matter and the refund processed on my credit card to pay for the taxi –

I will be happy to use your company again on a future trip and to recommend your services to anyone planning a trip to Russia!

Sincerely,

Clay O’Dell, USA

Hi Liza,

Pam and I are now travelling to Hong Kong.

We were disappointed that we could not meet you while we were in St Petersburg - it was the week end and your office was closed.
I wanted to thank you personally for your great service with doing all the booking arrangements and then making the last minute change to our transfer to the hotel in St. Petersburg.

Our visit to Moscow and St. Petersburg were sensational. The river cruise was equally stunning and we enjoyed the total experience.
The tour guides at all the tour opportunities were just great. They knew the history, were very helpful and friendly and made the tour experience a very enjoyable one.
Your selection and recommendation of the M Hotel was great. The location was perfect, the facilities and cleanliness of the room great and the staff were very friendly and helpful.

We will be delighted to recommend your services.
Pam and I had the greatest time with our whole journey and everything was completely trouble free.
Many thanks once again.

Kind Regards,

Alex Priadko, Australia

Dear Liza,

I would like to thank you for the unforgettable tour in St Petersburg we had on 7th and 8th of May. It was so much pleasure and all of us are satisfied with the itinerary and service you've provided.

Best regards,

Satria Utama, Indonesia

Dear Liza,

Lena, our guide in Moscow was excellent. She was very knowledgable and could answer any question we had for her. We liked that she could pick up on our interests and take us places we might not have thought of to go. When we realized that one of the places we had chosen to see would probably not be that interesting to us, she was able to arrange entry to the Diamond Fund and the Armoury for us. Riding the Metro with Lena was a real adventure and a lot of fun. In Saint Petersburg we found Anna well versed in the history of the Tsars and in the Hermitage collection. Arkady in Veliky Novgorod was a very good guide and answered all of our questions with ease. Novgorod was perhaps a long way to go for a day trip, but we did enjoy it. Vasily was a great driver to have and kept us safe with good humour and skill. We enjoyed ourselves so much, my daughter says she is already planning to return. We would both have no hesistation to recommend ExpresstoRussia to anyone we know.

Vivian Lewis, Canada

Dear Yulia,

I wanted to let you know that the tour today was great; St Petersburg is beautiful and both Marina and Vladimir are first class.

Moscow is great; the guides very knowledgeable and the drivers punctual.

Roberto Carrillo, Mexico

My dear Liza,

ALL the arrangements made by you were super and Kersi and I are very grateful to you. The cruise was superbly organized and I have been recommending it to all my Indian friends since my return.

Thanks again for ALL the support you gave me, for the last 4 months.

Warm regards,

Zarine Commissariat, India

Hola Liza,

Ya de regreso en casa quiero agradecerte todas tus finas atenciones que me brindaste para preparar este viaje inolvidable a Rusia. Todo salio perfectamente los guias y choferes nos atendieron muy bien Gracias a todos y espero volver algun dia y claro que los recomendare ampliamente a mis familiares y amistades.

Un saludo fraterno,

Maria del Carmen Cárdenas, Mexico

Hello Liza,

I just wanted to let you know how happy my husband and I were with your arrangement of our Russian river cruise. Your professionalism and reliability were very much appreciated. You were always there to answer my questions and help me plan our trip. When, at the last minute, we wanted to change our Gold Room tour to the Peterhof, you quickly made that adjustment without any problem whatsoever.

I will happily recommend you and your agency to any of our friends who want to visit Russia. Please forward this email to the person in charge of your agency, so he or she will know what a wonderful representative you are for the Russian travel industry.
Best wishes and much success,

Donna and William Bryce, USA

Dear Liza,

Thanks for the great services during the tours in Moscow and St Petersburg, everything was great, transportation confortable and on time, guides and hotels of gret quality. Special thanks to Lena our guide in Moscow and Kate our guide in St. Petersburg for let in us know so much our your great country.

Jose Rafael Luna Lopez, Colombia

Hi Yulia,

Ii just want to take a few min to say thanks for the great service. Everything was excellent, the city was so beautiful. I really enjoy it the whole tour.

Sorry that I just send you this massages but I just came back from Spain.

Thanks once again,

Alfredo Guizarnotegui-Llamas, USA

Hi Liza,

I must say thank you for your great organising of such a wonderful trip. I can not stop recommending your company to all that I come across. Others in my group on the cruise also shared how great the communication was with Express to Russia and I am grateful that I booked through your company. The experience has been a good one.

Many thanks,

Karen Taiatu, UK

Dear Liza,

We would like to thank the two travel guides we had on our recent trips in and around Moscow, they were very informative and knowledgeable and answered any of our questions which we asked them.

Yours sincerely,

David Collins, UK

Dear Liza,

The entire tour was perfect, you did an excellent job.
And we thank you.

Will keep you and your company in mind whenever a Russian trip is requested.

Best regards,

Rudolf Shmueli, Israel

Hello Liza,


We just want to tell you that we enjoyed our trip to Russia very much.
We also want to thank you for all the arrangements you have made for us. Everything went very smooth and boat, hotel and transfers worked in perfection.


All the best and regards,

Trudy Marggi, Switzerland

Dear Elena,

I want to express to you my sincere gratitude for so expeditiously delivering my suit coats to St. Petersburg. Your efficient handling of my tour to Russia was outstanding. Lena was an exceptionally fine guide and a most interesting person to boot. I was mightily impressed with the fluency in English that both guides possessed. I fell in love with Moscow and St. Petersburg. I hope that my fellow-New Jerseyian owner of your company knows what an outstanding job the team of five people who helped me supplied.

Sincerely,

James Kuehl, USA

Dear Elena,

Well. we've completed our trip and are back home for a couple of days. Just wanted to drop you a line and thank you for all your help in arranging our trip to St Petersburg.

All of our connections clicked great, the hotel was comfortable, quiet ,and nicely located, and the staff was very helpful. Our guide, Anna, was terrific and helped us to appreciate the various sites that we explored with her and on our own. Your city is lovely and very interesting. Thanks also to our drivers Yuri and Michael.

We had a great time on our trip to St. Petersburg and will always remember it. We hope to come again some day. Our best to you and the staff of Express to Russia.

Thanks Again,

Marty and Caroline McGuire, USA

Dear Elena


Many thanks for a most enjoyable and memorable Golden Ring tour in July.

Everything was just as you planned for us, from the train station pick-up to the drop-off for departure at Moscow airport.

The midnight train to Moscow was very comfortable, somebody was running up to the lady guard with the list of names even as you spoke to Lynda on the mobile.

Please extend our thanks to the guide Erina and the careful driver Alexis - we enjoyed every place (including the food) on the itinerary listening to their rich history as explained by Erina. She did a great job we were blessed to have her as our guide.


I am recommending this tour to all my friends in Canberra.


Best wishes

Sharon, Australia

Hi Elena,

Our visit to St. Petersburg was very enjoyable and I wish to thank you for
the effort you have put in to make it so. Everything worked out just fine,
and the three ladies, Tatjana, Veronika, and Marina who were our guides,
each did an excellent job.

The weather, of course, was absolutely perfect. I think we experienced the
city at its very best.

That you were able to provide such excellent service at very short notice is
quite remarkable. We have no hesitation at all to recommend your agency to
our friends.

Thank you again and good bye.

Klaus Zirkel, Germany

Hi Elena,

I just wanted to say an official thank you for an amazing trip. We really had a great experience and were very impressed by the very high professional standards of our tour: the punctuality, level of knowledge and just general pleasantness were impressive, so thank you again for facilitating such a great trip.

Best,

A group of friends from the USA

Dear Elena,

We have now returned from the Russian River Cruise, that you have organized for us. You and your staff have made everything very easy for us, to do the booking and the transfers.
Our ship, MS Maxim Litvinov, and the ships crew was excellent, very friendly and the whole ship had a warm ambient, created by the crew.
All ports visited by us, and the river Volga, have left a deep impression
on us. I can not single out any one, because there where all magnificient.

Again, the ship and its crew, who are our friends now, and the beauty of Russia will remain in our memory for ever.

Spa'siba - Da svidanja .

Best regards,

Two Happy Australians

Hello Elena,

Arrived back in the States the other day & wanted to take this moment to thank you again for a wonderful tour through the Golden Ring, arranging our train tickets & helping Dianne & I with countless issues regarding our Visas & hotels. Our tour was flawless & both Dianne & I were extremely delighted with Vera our guide & Sasha our driver. Vera was personable & quite knowledgeable with area and went above & beyond to fit in extra visits to various monasteries & convents that were not in our itinerary. Our local guides were equally knowledgeable & a pleasure to have in addition to Vera. Sasha was a careful & cautious driver & always had our safety in mind. I'd gladly recommend you & your agency to any of my friends & family who travel to Russia in the future. Hoping your summer is an enjoyable one. Many thanks!

Best Regards,

Karen Prusakiewicz, USA

Thanks for all your help. We´re very pleased with the service your firm has provided and will revert to you when we next have a requirement.

Simon Waldron, UK

Dear Nastya, I just got all tickets by FedEx. Thank you so much. Perfect service.

Tatiana Bendioukova, Russia

Dear Nastya,
I finally have the time to send you this message to thank you for everything.
Everything has worked out well: getting the tickets in Moscow, the train, the trip ; and everything was exactly how you said it, especially regarding the two-berth cabins.
The trip was great and memorable, crossing the borders was an interesting experience, and arriving in Beijing was overwhelming.
Thank you for having answered all our questions very quickly, with enormous patience and precision.
If anybody asks us about how to get tickets for the Transsiberian or any other train in Russia, I will give them your name.

Patrick Leitner, Austria

Dear Nastya, Thank you for making the process simple. It will make our trip much more enjoyable!

Tosha Kranz, USA

Dear Elena,

We have finally “recuperated” from the 13-day Moscow-to-St Petersburg excursion that you arranged for us on cruise-ship Nikolai Chernichevsky, which we followed up with a seven day extension in St Petersburg and Helsinki.

The quality of the services we received from City Realty (or CR Tours, or TravExpress, but in fact personally yourself) in planning this trip was a wonderful blend of professionalism and warm personal attention. The advice you gave us was always clear and well thought out, the transportation arrangements worked impeccably (Aleksandr in St Petersburg was extremely helpful), the M-hotel which you recommended in St Petersburg was very comfortable and conveniently located, and the manner in which you interceded on our behalf with the cruise-ship company on the two occasions when we needed exceptions from their policy was admirable. The many superlatives I used above reflect exactly the way we feel – we will enthusiastically recommend you to any of our friends who need the services of a travel agent in Russia.

For what it was – a moderately priced, non-luxury, no-frills affair – the cruise itself was eminently satisfactory. Our cabin (comfortable because oversize – thanks to your intercession) was serviced impeccably. The reception staff (Anna and Marina) and the cruise director Artem were very attentive and helpful (especially when I needed some medical attention – and the Doctor on board was good to have). The food was very tasty, varied and well-prepared, and was served beautifully by the lovely Irina who was permanently assigned (a very lovely touch) to our table, and who (along with the entire kitchen staff) caringly tended to my special dietary needs when I developed that medical problem. Even though we came aboard as individual passengers rather than with a large group chaperoned by a travel agency, we were looked after by an excellent boat guide, Anna Yuvkina, often aided and abetted by Zoya; both were personable, conscientious and diligent and responded to all our needs. They also entertainingly taught us the smattering of Russian that we learned on board.

Special credit goes for the organization of the city and shore excursions – starting with the transportation (even when it was hampered by the interminable traffic snarls in Moscow and St Petersburg) and ending with the high quality of the local guides, who were well-trained, very knowledgeable, entertaining and spoke beautiful English. It was lovely to watch them work in collaboration with the boat-guides to shepherd their flock – I felt totally confident that I will never be lost in the course of the excursions.

The Moscow tour was what we expected – except emphasized by the poignant reminiscences of our guide of the life in the city before Perestroika, with which he entertained us during the interminable traffic jams. The highlight, though, was the night visit, where we were fortunate to be at the Kremlin at the windup of the rehearsals for the military orchestra competition – punctuated by 1812 overture and attendant fireworks.

The luscious serene shores of the waterway provided a welcome relaxing change from the bustle of the Moscow sightseeing. We were blessed with good weather most of the time, and the leisurely cruise was pleasantly punctuated by the brief shore visits to Uglich, quaint Goritsy with its icon-museum, expansive Yaroslavl with its churches and monuments and beautiful shore park, and the long walk and intricate wooden architecture of Kizhi. Mandrogi came closest to what I would term a tourist-trap, but a beautiful and interesting one nonetheless…

And at the end – a memorable stay in St Petersburg, starting with beautifully guided tours (by Marina) of the Peter and Paul Cathedral (with the touching mausoleum for the murdered last Tsar and his family), the Hermitage and Peterhoff… And. later, on or own, the Russian museum, the Michailovsky garden, walk around the Church of our Savior on the Spilled Blood, strolls along Nevsky Prospekt., shopping at the Gostiny Dvor; but culminating near the beginning with a glorious Gala concert conducted by Gergyev on the 150th birthday of the Mariinsky, and at the end with a visit to you in your office to thank you in person for helping arrange all the above for us…

I have a special place in my heart for St Petersburg – as a heartening monument to mankind’s ability to reverse the evil turns of the wheel of time. Originally built by a visionary Tsar to be a glorious monument to humanity (and to himself – so what? he deserved it), ignominiously hijacked to become Leningrad by the Communist revolution, tormented by the Nazi siege in WWII, with which I was made intimately familiar through the poignant stories of a Faculty colleague who survived that period, and who I fervently wish were still alive to see it now bouncing back to recover its old glory under its original name. I hope to return…

Joan and Shimshon Frankenthal Ramat HaSharon, Israel, October 2010

Dear Elena,
We returned from our 2 weeks in Russia and Estonia a few days ago, and I wanted to thank you for persevering on our part for booking the extra-special rooms at the Kremlin and at the Hermitage.

The guides you provided as well as the drivers were superb and, in addition to being very knowledgeable, were very entertaining to spend time with!

I wanted especially to mention the guide who did our 7 hour day at the Kremlin. Elena Vinogradova was the perfect guide/teacher and new friend! She was not only patient, but very warm and welcoming. I had a leg problem at the last minute, and had to use a wheelchair for that particular day. She took it in stride and with the help of several of my friends, I was able to manage the many stairs, etc. inside the Kremlin. She also went above and beyond to help a friend of mine get information on an eye hospital/clinic which we eventually visited.

In St. Petersburg, we had 2 guides, Anatolii and Katya. I'm afraid that I did not get their last names, but they were both very informative and helpful. The driver in St. Petersburg was Vladimir, and I found that we had both worked for General Tours, but at different times.

All in all, we had a wonderful time with the people and services which you provided. I look forward to working with you again in 1-2 years when my friend, Peyton Neatrour, who was on this trip, brings his family to re-connect with relatives in Moscow.

Thank you again for a perfect trip.

Sincerely,

Joseph C. Schultz, USA

Nastya, I am back in the US now.
I just wanted to let you know that the deluxe train accommodations on the trip to St. Petersburg from Moscow were terrific. We had a great experience.
Thanks for your assistance.

Madeleine Johnson, USA

I am writing because I appreciate very much what Ms Nastya and Ms Irina from your company have done to help me during my first visit in Russia few weeks ago. I am a businessman from Hong Kong and that´s first time travelling in Europe from London to Moscow.
I was greatly impressed by your staffs´ helpful and polite manner especially when i found nobody on the street can speak English. They help me a lot on finding the booking info of the trans Siberian train ticket from Moscow to Beijing. Even if i didn´t buy the ticket finally, they also helped me to find the way to my hotel and the train to my next destination. What they have done shows that your company is a very professional travel agency. They deserves praise for what they have done.

It is your good service that help you set up a world reputation. For this reason, I am writing to express my heartfelt thanks and hope that your company will have a brighter future.

Iam Ken, HongKong

Dear Elena,

We came back from our cruise last week and stayed another week
in the UK, visiting family and friends. Yesterday we returned home in Brussels.
I am taking this opportunity to thank you for an excellent organisation of
our excursions in St.Petersburg and also many thanks to Maria and Victor
for showing us around .They did a sterling job !!!
I had heard a lot about St. Petersburg, but nothing can compare with actually
seeing it yourself and we could not have done a fraction of it without the help of
you and your team. What a magnificent city !!
ONCE AGAIN , thank you very much indeed.

Jan Stemerdink, Belgium

Liza, privetstvuu,

Ot sebia I lica moih turistov hochu vas poblagodarit za organizaciu nashego tura. Oni ochen dovolni, voditel, Viktor Liubimov, ochen-ochen horoshiy. Tak chto smelo mojete ego vashim gostiam rekomendovat.

Eshe raz spasibo za service I professionalizm, bilo kraine priatno rabotat s vami. Budu s radostiu vas rekomendovat esli vdrug kto budet obrashatsia))

Horoshei vam nedeli!

Irina Ilyina, Russia Peter Kachris, USA

The trip to St Petersburgh and Moscow was wonderful.
All of the guides were good especially the Lena´s in Moscow.
Michael was a good driver and everyone was on time.
We will certainly recommend your company to our clients.
Also the Ballet in St Petersburgh was wonderful.
The only negative thing was the cost of food in Moscow!
Thanks again

Nate Miller, Travel Consultant, USA

Dear Elena,
Just a little message to say that we had a lovely time in St Petersburg. It is a lovely city and I loved all the canals. Our guide- Rhoshanna? was very good as was Victor and Alexander- the drivers. It was very hot and I believe it still is, so I was glad to get back to the rain!
Thankyou very much,
Yours

Marion Holt, UK

Hi Elena

I can´t recommend your services enough. The guides and tour have been excellent. We particularly enjoyed the company of Rausan while in St Petersburg. She is an excellent guide as was Illya and Valentina. I think that Rausan is quite a special guide and has such a pleasant voice to listen to all day. Gladly I have captured her talent on video!!! We also appreciated the service of Andre and Anatole. Apologies for my english spelling of these names but as you know I cannot speak let alone type in Russian. I have been trying however and it has been fun. We have found Russia and its people wonderful and we would love to stay longer in St Petersburg. We were of course very glad to visit Moscow but it is certainly not as conducive to tourists as is St Petersburg. We found it difficult to find suitable restaurants and apart from Kremlin, red square and St Basils, the city highlights were not as interesting as St Petersburg. But of course you probably know this.

I must say that we are so very impressed with your service and and that of your guides and I will be sure to recommend you on tripadvisor.com. It is not so often that you cannot say how a service could be improved because I think that as a tour operator you are already excellent. I think that this was clear from our first contact because you were prompt in replies to my emails.

I am glad that you were our tour operator as everything was perfect. All staff were on time, spoke excellent english (which is soooo appreciated by non russian speakers) and were very knowledgable in their history (of course). Believe me that I can be very critical particularly as I have worked in hospitality extensively and have high expectations but you have definately met them. I hope you can understand clearly how impressed we are with your tour operation.

Kind regards

Jacqueline and Terry Anderson, Australia

Dear Elena

I just wanted to thank you for ensuring our holiday to Russia was a success. We had a wonderful time, the weather was perfect and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We have now safely returned home to Melbourne (and quite a cold wet winter) with wonderful memories of our holiday.

Thanks again.

Regards

Helen McNicol, Australia

Dear Elena:

Just wanted to let you know that My grandson Bruno and I couldn´t have been more pleased with our week in Moscow (6/15 - 6/21). We were absolutely enchanted with the whole experience, including getting lost a couple of times in the Metro during our free time.

Although both our guides (both Eleanas) were excellent, I would particularly commend the first one (she took us to the Tatiakov, the KGB tour, and to that beautiful cemetery where so many great Russian artists, authors, composers, musicians, militarists, and politicians are buried). Her knowledge is encyclopedic; and her understanding of today´s Russia as a product of its past was, for us, truly enlightening.

I will be taking another tour in Russia, with my wife, within the next two or three years. I will be in touch with you when the time comes. Meanwhile, I will refer you to other potential visitors to Russia as I meet them.

Sincerely with Best Wishes,

George Turner, USA

Dear Liza, Here am I back to Zürich.I would like to thank you for all the arrangements that made my trip to Russia possible. All guides and drivers were very kind and efficient, above all when I fell down and sprained my ankle. A clinic was quickly found and I coud be properly medicated. In Moscow we had a fantastic guide, who helped us to buy tickets for the Armory Chamber and the Diamond Fund. In spite of the smog, we had an unforgettable stay in Moscow. In the Golden Ring , we didn´t like the hotels because they had no air conditioning. New hotels were quickly found to our entire satisfaction. Many thanks to you and those who have attended upon us.
Yours sincerely,

Vitoria Cleaver, Brazil/Switzerland

Good morning Elena,

We are home and over jetlag. The cruise was awesome. We really enjoyed all of it. The weather wasn´t the best, but you take what you get. The staff aboard the ship was incredible. We had an excellent English ship guide and all the local guides spoke very good English. We enjoyed the tours off the ship. We felt that they could have been better arranged. We found that on some days the tours were all sitting and then the next day they were all walking. So we thought that they could have been split up ie: walking in the morning, sitting in the afternoon or reversed. I did mention that on the sheet they asked us to fill out. The meals were very good and the dining room staff were excellent. We had the same server all the time and we fell in love with her as well as our English guide. Most of the staff are University students.

Thank you for being ever so helpful when booking the tour and all our questions. We would not hesitate to recommend this tour to others.

Best regards,

Nancy and Dick Goertzen, Canada

Dear Elena,

I just want to inform you that we have completed our trip to Russia.

We really enjoyed the arrangement you have made for us, from the airport transfer, picking up our Bolshoi tickets, the hotel in Moscow, and of course the Golden Ring tour itself.
Our tour guide, Irina, provided us with a lot of information on the buildings and history, which make our following visits to Moscow+St. Petersburg more rewarding.

Thanks again for making our visit to Russia a wonderful one.

Best Regards,

Charles Kosan, Indonesia

Hi Elena:

I want to thank you for arranging my trip to St. Petersburg. I had a wonderful time. Your team was great. Olga was a very good tour guide who helped me a lot during my trip. The driver, Anatoly, was also wonderful. He showed me around St. Petersburg and I appreciate his kindness. Unfortunately, since I don´t speak Russian, I could not tell him how much I appreciated his help. Please let both of them know that I really appreciated their assistance.

Thanks to Express to Russia, I was able to visit your beautiful country.

Thank you again for everything,

Rhonda Daniels, USA

Hey Elena,

I just wanted to thank you so much for your work on my trip. I just got back to Cairo and I had a really great trip there in Russia. Really, it was great. Both guides were very professional and super knowledgeable and I learned so much about your terrific country. The hotels were both good and all connections were punctual to the minute, which, living in a country like Egypt came as such a nice surprise.

Matthew, USA/Egypt

Dear Liza,

back from Russia I would like to thank you for your help with our trip. We had some brilliant days in St. Petersburg and Moscow (fortunately we left Moscow before the smog of the fires came). The location of the two hotels was excellent, I will review the hotels online.

Best regards and thanks again

Jochen Siller, Germany

Dear Liza,

We are finally back in the Bahamas after a very enjoyable tour.

Thank you very much for the excellent arrangements you made for us in Russia.

Our first guide, Lin, the university professor, was excellent; and provided a grand introduction to the beauty, culture and people of Russia. She made our tour of Moscow revealing, educational and exciting. Please convey our special thanks to Lin.

The Golden Circle Tour introduced us to another aspect of Russia. Cultural, ethnic and religious features made us aware of the life in these smaller towns; and we were able to appreciaate the the Russian way of life, and the hardships and triumphs of the past years.

St. Petersburg was the highlight of our tour. The Hermitage, the palaces, the ambience, the great monuments and artistic masterpieces are never to be forgotten. They were outstanding and equal to or superior to others we have been fortunate to experience in our travels.

Vassily, our driver, in St Petersburg, got better and better each day. He became a great asset, and very accomidating. His suggestion of the Park Restaurant for lunch proved to be an excellent dining experience. We liked it so much that we returned for our farewell to Russia dinner on our last night. It was great!

Liza, It was very nice of you to arrange this tour for us. The little mishap with the wrong hotel in Suzdal was very professionally handeled, and made us appreciate Nikolaevsky Posad even more.

Many, many thanks. You did an excellent job.

Larry & Linda Davis, Bahamas

Dear Elena,

I just back in UK tonight.
Firstly, thank you very much for your organise to a FIT program for me this time.
On the coattails of you, a long-time dream came true to visit to Russia.

I am fully satisfied during stay in St. Petersburg despite miserable weather when I visited to Pushkin as my main event on 16th June.

I wish to back there again on day soon.

Many thanks,

Kentaro Hishinuma, Japan

Hello
My name is Margarita Ruchaevsky and we just return from our trip to Moscow and ST. Petersburg.
Elena Kachevskaya arranged this trip for us.
I would like to THANK Elena for the GREAT job she did. She made everything absolutely perfect- from our transportation, hotels, trips, even the weather.
Your tour guide in Moscow Elena Kyksheva was exceptional.

Thank you Elena for making our trip the most enjoyable. I´ll recommend your agency to all our friends and be happy to be used as reference if needed.

Marge Ruchaevsky, USA

Good Morning Liza...
As we pack up to leave St P and Russia today I want to say "thanks" to you from Susanne and I for all your excellent service and kindness. Russia has been a wonderful experience. The people are fantastic, expecially our guides - Lena Vinogradova in Moscow and Maria here in St P. We have learned so much and had a few laughs along the way. I hope they have not found us to be "difficult tourists". The accommodation is just what we were looking for - comfortable and simple in very good locations. Please pass on our thanks to your colleagues who helped make this trip so memorable for us. We have been talking about your service to our friends and we have no hesitation in recommending you personally and your company as excellent service providers for travel in Russia.
With very good wishes...

Roger and Susanne Clarke, Australia

Hi Elena, I am writing to thank you for all your assistance with the organisation of probably the best holiday we have ever had. We would also like to thank the guides and drivers in Moscow and St Petersburg for making our visit such a pleasure we will treasure the memories for years to come. We intend making sure that everyone we know is made aware of the options available for visiting your wonderful country. Will keep you in mind for our next visit. Thanks again to all involved. Yours sincerely,

Susan and Jeff Dyce, UK

Dear Liza

I felt that I must write to thank you for organising the cruise for us and the transfers from the airpott to the ship and then later to the train station.

We had a fascinating time and will be happy to recommend your company and the cruise to others.

Kind regards

Alan Frame, UK

Dear Liza,

We are back home in Jerusalem and before we get too busy, my wife and I want to thank you and your company for the wonderful service provide to us. Been our first visit to Russia we could not a better help, information and service than what you have done. All work according to the schedule, the transfers where on time and it was a great help. I will recommend people not to hesitate and book all the necessary transfers directly with your company. Thank you also for the nice accommodation you provided on the cruise boat. My wife was very happy with the cabin and more than anything about the special food prepared for us. Every day the cooks surprised us with a different vegetarian dish, which were among the best we were ever served.

We also want to thank on a very special way, the English speaking escort on board, Anna Sukhorikova, she took care of all of us like a mother, went the extra mile and way behind the call of duty. She was always willing to help and make sure everybody was doing well.

The only thing my wife and me regret is not having an opportunity to hear during the cruise, more about Russia after the Soviet era. They cover all the rest of history well, but not in the ship neither the local guides shared much about present days. This is just a constructive remark for your company to consider for future.

Also we are very thankful of the optional offered on board for the Moscow show. I think is not emphasized enough how excellent it is. I will highly, highly recommend it to everybody. It was one of the best shows we have seen of its kind.

Again, thank you for your service and the way you answer all my questions. We will be happy to recommend your service and product to our clients.

Best regards from the city of Jerusalem.

David and Ana Assael, Israel

Dear Liza,

I did not have computer access whilsr away to write and thank you and my ancient cell phone was not working . We enjoyed our trip and our drivers. The first guide in Moscow and the guide in St. Petersburg were both excellent and smoothed the trip. The hotels were exactly as expected and good value for the price and all plumbing etc worked unlike my visit 20 years ago We liked the restaurant too in Moscow but in St. petersburg with less crowds enjoyed the opportunity to eat out. B oth hotels were excellent positions and had good and helpful staff Overall with all the changes in Russia the lovely fast new train to St Petersburg and the wonderful buildings and museums we loved our few days
Sincerely

Anne Gambrill, New Zealand

Thank you Liza for organizing our trip to Russia. The hotels were generally very good and our guides (Leona-Moscow/Katyia-St Petersburg) were excellent. We very much enjoyed our visit to Russia.

Stuarte Kerdel, Australia

Dear Daria,

I just wanted to say thank you so very much for helping plan our trip to Russia. Everyone at your office and the mini-van drivers (Alexander and Victor) were wonderful. Helpful and kind. You were also so very helpful when we had trouble with our flight in NYC and were going to be arriving in Moscow late.

I would recommend your company to anyone who would want to visit Russia!

Thank you so much! Spaseeba!
Melissa

Melissa Siebke, USA

Liza,
We are back in Australia and I wanted to thank you for organising our vacation in Russia. Everything worked as planned and we had a very interesting and enjoyable experience. We are very glad that we held out for the suite. It was very comfortable.

Thank you for your very professional assistance.

Alan Reed, Australia

Elena,

I just wanted to take this time to personally thank you for the
wonderful experience we had in Russia. As you know by Don´s note we
had a great vacation. You and Liza were so helpful in making the
arrangements and being so flexible with all of the unexpected
changes. The vacation was beyond our expectations. The individual
tours via Elena, Maria and the driver Victor in St. Petersburg,
made our experience richer by allowing us to sample the local
customs, hear about the history and provided an opportunity to appreciate the culture. The people we encountered were friendly, helpful and genuine.

Thanks so much for a lovely vacation and a lifetime of experiences
we will not forget. We highly recommend your tour group.

Suellen Jackson-Boner, USA

Elena

Suellen and I want to thank you and Liza for all your hard work that you did making our trip to Russia the best vacation we have ever had. We understand that you both went above and beyond the call of duty as we went through changes, changes to the changes and finally more changes. We would recommend your travel service without hesitation.

We were so pleased with the professionalism and sensitivity of our guides and drivers. Thinking back I am not sure our Elena, our Moscow guide, was able to show us all the sites providing plenty of time at each location. She did a great job.

In St. Petersburg Maria was amazing, she was able to avoid crowds as she took us room to room in the Palaces. She gracefully was able to make ad hock changes based on our needs. Victor, our driver was very helpful and also went beyond the call of duty. When he picked us up to take us back to the airport he even came up to the room to help with the baggage.

Suellen and I believe the crew of the ship was working hard to make our cruise a good one. Our main issue with the ship was the tours and options tours offered. The staff and meals on the ship were very satisfying. We were happy with being able to stops at the small villages on route to see rural Rissia.

Thank you both again,

Don Boner, USA

Wonderful experience, welcoming and helpful.
I´ll recommend to others, and we will seek your services if ever we return to St. Petersburg.

Michael Werner, Family with young children, United Arab Emirates

Hi from the USA, Liza,
I got home on schedule early this morning. The plane flights went smoothly.
Once more I say "Bolshoye spasibo!" to you and your company for my excellent vacation. All the drivers did a great job in such a huge and complex city. My guides --- Lena, Natasha and Maria --- all spoke English very well, and were so very knowledgeable. They answered my every question. The folk show was delightful, and the ballet was not overly modern. I enjoyed it. In my free time I used my guidebook for some extra activities. For example, on my first day, when I visited you at your office, I was walking a route along the Moika and Griboyedov canals. My last activity was a very pleasant excursion in a boat on the Moika, Neva and Fontanka Rivers while I listened to a narration (in Spanish; I was a missionary in Peru for a while). As I now page through my guidebook, I usually say, "Been there, done that". And that is because of you and your fellow staff, who arranged a very personal tour for me. I was delighted to be interviewed at the end. I hope my comments get you some business. May God bless you.

Fr. Daniel Kresinski, USA

Hello Marina!
We are back in Puerto Rico and we want to thank you for the excellent service you provided to us. Thanks for everything.

Irma Caballero, Puerto Rico

Hi Elena,

We still have fresh memories of our wonderful visit to magnificent St Petersburg. Thank you for providing excellent service and wishing everyone in your Company a Happy New Year. Please pass on our special thanks and best wishes to Maria and Mikhail.



Regards,

Victor Nikolaenko & Family, Australia

Dear Ksenia & Helena

Just wanted to thank you for all the preparatory work and guidance !
Everything went very well and we had really some nice time (and weather) in
Moscow.
Really appreciated your professional help and wish you the best.

Best Regards

Hugues de Talhouët, France

Dear Elena,

Attached are few selected pictures from our Russia trip album.

It all started with Elena, who patiently worked with us through numerous e-mails to help us plan the perfect itinerary. Elena went over all the minute details with us and we were ready to take off.

Our guide Lena in Moscow was just great. She is very knowledgeable, interesting, personal, and courteous. We learned a lot from her in two days including the History of Russia. The panoramic tour was very informative. We also enjoyed Tolstoy Estate. By the end of our tours with her, we felt we were saying goodbye to an old friend. Valentina took us for our walking tours in Moscow. She too is great and knowledgeable. She tried to maximize our visit to the Kremlin and made sure we saw and learned everything. She was very helpful at Old Arbat and made our souvenir shopping a breeze. She also hooked us up with a nice restaurant there. Our driver Alexander took us on four trips from and to the airport. He was a pleasant young man and punctual. We joked around with him trying to help him improve his English. We found out that he is getting married in August. In St. Petersburg, our guide was Anna. Anna was like a breath of fresh air. She is young but mature and responsible. She tirelessly used the phrase “our beautiful city” numerous times a day. We loved her accent when she said it. She made sure to show us and prove to us how beautiful St. Petersburg is. Peterhof is like a fairy tale. Anna proved her expertise in the art when we toured the Hermitage with her. She has great insight and explained the paintings and art beautifully. Her driver Victor is a gentleman and very helpful.

All our guides were very proud and enthusiastic about their country. Their ultimate goal was to make us appreciate Russia and to make sure we tell our friends about their beautiful country and we sure did.

Thank you all for taking the effort to make this a once in a lifetime trip and an unforgettable experience.

Said & Zein Kayyali, USA

Dear Elena,

I am sorry it took me so long to get back to you to express
our gratitude for the marvelous job you did in arranging our tours and
train trip to Moscow. Everything went beautiful. It was a wonderful
experience thanks to you and your tour guide in Moscow, Lena, who gave
us the best tours in the world. You should always use her because she
is the best. Give Lena, our regards and express to her our gratitude
for showing us your beautiful country.

Regards,

Nancy Pazos, USA

Hello Elena,

I want to let you know that Dana and I had a wonderful time in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Tonya, Valentina and Lena were fantastic!! What beautiful and clean cities!! I wish we had spent a day or two more in Moscow but we thoroughly enjoyed our time at Peterhof and Catherine’s palace. I could definitely see myself coming back for another visit. Thank you very much for arranging everything and answering all my questions. I will encourage people to travel to Russia for vacations and also refer them to you and Express to Russia.

Thank you again,

Rebecca McCarthy, USA

Thanks so much Elena.

It has been such a pleasure dealing with Express To Russia and with you in particular. I really appreciate your professionalism and helpfulness and I will definitely recommend you to my friends who are travelling to Russia.

Best regards

Louisa Fitz-Gerald, Australia

Dear Alina,

I´ve been back from holiday for a few weeks now. I just wanted to thank you again for all you did to get our train tickets to us at our hotel - especially as it was during your weekend time. My friend & I both had an amazing time in Russia. I will definitely remember Express to Russia for my next visit :) Thank you.

Margaret Marchant, New Zealand

Dear Elena.

Returned in Argentina I send this e-mail to say that tours organization was premium.
I shoud mention the excelent service and cordiality of Mr. Alexei Uspenskiy. He speeks a very good spanish and knows so good the SP history.

Best regards,

Guillermo Berger, Argentina

Dear Elena,

Thank you so very much for organizing our trip. Everything went wonderfully, and we really enjoyed our time in Russia. Moscow was beautiful, Lake Baikal was very cold, yet very fun to swim in, and the DPR Koreans that I met and made friends with in Vladivostok was beyond priceless. The guides you got for us did an exceptional job, and the drivers helped us out a lot as well. The hotels you got for us were great, and the room you got for us in the Vladivostok really made the long stay comfortable. The trains were also very enjoyable as was the Russian hospitality, although we really weren´t expecting people to be so generous or helpful. Overall, the trip was wonderful, and you arranged it magnificently. You really went out of your way to accommodate my schedule and help me with my schoolwork, so I really appreciate it; I couldn´t have done it without you.

So once again, thank you for all of your efforts, and hopefully in the future you will be able to help us out again. Take care, and thank you for everything.

Sincerely,

Cody Frovarp, USA

Dear Elena,


In the meantime I returned from St. Petersburg to Germany. I had a real
great stay in St. Petersburg.

I would not miss to thank you for your very interesting and well-organized guided tour to Catherine’s Palace and the Amber Room (together with my guide Maria) and the well-organized transfers from and to the airport.

Thank you very much!

With kind regards,

Birgitta Janke, Germany

Hi Liza,

I just wanted to drop you a line and to say I was very happy with the service you provided, especially when there was a problem with my transfer in St. Petersburg. Knowing I could reach you made my life a lot easier! If you would like to use me as a reference in the future please feel free to do so.

Thanks again!

Robert Charlton, USA

Elena,

Thanks for all you did to make my vacation a memorable experience.

My guide was wonderful, and thanks to the kindness and generosity of the young woman who used her cell phone to call you and let the guide know where I was waiting when the meeting place was blocked off, I was able to see the Kremlin.

St. Petersburg is definitely a city I would visit again given the opportunity.

Jana Bettis, USA

Good afternoon Marina,
Thank you so much for all your hard work on my trip! I had a wonderful time and everything you had planned worked just beautifully. I was especially appreciative of Alla Levitina, my guide while in Moscow. She was so knowledgeable and agreeable to answer my many questions and her patient attitude made me feel very comfortable. She enabled me to vastly increase my understanding and appreciation for the people of your wonderful country.

Thanks again and perhaps we can work together again in the future
Regards,

Doug Cheves Houston, Texas, USA

Hi Alina,

We LOVED the train ride. It was the highlight of our trip.
Moscow and St. Petersberg were unforgettable. The people we met were so lovely.
St. Petersberg is definitely a place we want to revisit over and over again. A part of us is still remains there.

Thanks again and we look forward to doing business with you soon.

Take care,

Nico Sakellarides

Hi Marina,
I have just got back from my trip to Russia and I wanted to take a moment to tell you about my experience with your company:
I was extremely pleased with the 2 guides you provided for my walking tours of Moscow & St Petersburg. Firstly both guides arrived at my hotels exactly on time and were very polite and friendly. They both spoke excellent English, they were very knowledgeable and they were interesting throughout the 3 hour tour. I even passed on your information to a tourist in the lobby of my hotel who enquired about my walking tour after she overheard the initial meeting between the guide and I. I also had you book a train ticket from Moscow to St Petersburg and you handled that really well including having the guide bring it to me prior to our walking tour. Your prompt responses to my email enquiries and your regular updates were very well received. Overall I was really impressed with your company and I would highly recommend you to anyone who is thinking of traveling to Russia. Thanks you!!
Best regards,

Tim Garth,USA

Estimada Mariana
Devuelta en Chile quiero dejar constancia y felicitarlos por el excelente apoyo que tuve en San Petersburgo el 29 de Mayo a mi llegada en el Celebrity por el servicio prestado por su oficina y en especial por la guía y el conductor que nos apoyaron.
El equipo fue muy profesional y de trato muy agradable

Muy atentamente,

Eduardo Mewes R., Chile

Marina, I want to express my greatest gratitude in making our tour a reality. We enjoyed the tour so much. It was very well organized and the guides were very professional and nice. We had a great time in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The schedule was well balanced with enough time to rest and do extra things. We had such a good time that we are planing to invite other family members to Russia and do the tour again possibly next summer. So as we get closer to the summer of 2010 I will contact you to help us with these future reservations.
Sincerely,

Mitchell Chaar, USA

Hello Marina,
Everything was perfect.
Saint Petersburgo is marvellous!!!
Thank you very much for your attention.
We will recomend your Agency to our friends.
B. regards,

Silvia Tous, Spain

Daria,
Thank you very much for your quick reply to my emails. Excellent service.
Best Regards

LIM SIEW K, Singapore

Zdravstvyite Alina!

Thank you so much for getting our tickets! I am so happy that everything is now in place and we are now ready to come to Russia! Please can you tell us where your office is in St Petersburg? We would like to come in and thank you for everything while we are in the area! Thank you so much for everything! Blagodaryu Vas za vsio!

John Walker, UK

Dear Daria, Many thanks to the work you and your team has worked to help a dream come true so i can go see my girlfriend in russia and propose to her! i found the services excellent, most helpful with added visas on your site that this site I have seen nowhere else. Russia is a new tourist destination and your team is at the forefront of providing a hassle free service. I will defenitly be using this site again when i next vist. A very happy customer mr ben adams Again many thanks to Daria and im looking forward to my holiday and engagement plans.

Mr Ben J Adams

Dear Anna,

Thank you very much for your services and prompt disposition to help,
I will certainly recommend your company.

Sincerely,

Enrique Castanon, USA

Dear Anna,

We want to thank you and your staff for all the help that made
our holiday in St. Petersburg and Moscow a wonderfull time to remember.
We will always cherish the days we spent in St. Petersburg, the accommodation was very good and confortable better than the one in Moscow.
In both cities we were treated with respect on public transport and wherever we went.
Thanks to all the drivers for all their help and a special thank you to the gentlemen who took us to the station.

There is a possibility that we will travel to Russia again, there is always more to see and revisit the old places.

All the best to everybody.
Sincerely,

Elisabetta and James Laird, Australia

Dear Maria, Thank you for the email confirming my train from Moscow to St Petersburg. Thank you very much for all your hard work with my request over recent months. I greatly appreciate everything you have done.
Yours Sincerely

Paul Dempsey, UK

Good Morning Elena!

Just a quick note to thank you so much for all of your help in making arrangements for our day in St. Petersburg. We had the most magnificent time ever!!

Your driver and guide were prompt and professional, and there was nothing we could ask for that they werenґt happy to do for us. We recommend your company highly, you are all highly professional and accommodating. So we thank you for that.

Yana took us everywhere...a quick breakfast, a city tour, with stops...Peterhof and the Hermitage, and knew every possible thing about all of it. Did a wonderful critique on the artwork at the Hermitage, gave us some time for shopping, and appreciation of our surroundings.

She was a wonderful guide...and made sure we saw everything. We had time for a fabulous dinner at a restaurant on the Canal, where we had the best borscht and chicken kiev and Russian Standard Vodka!!!! (We invited both Yana and the driver to dinner, but they both professionally declined). And guess what Elena, we did indeed go on the ґcanalґ ride. even in the drizzle of rain, so it was splendid!

We never stopped until it was time to board the train.....both she and the driver must have been exhausted....I know we were, but with memories to last a lifetime.

So thank you all so much for all you did to put St. Petersburg on the map for us with lasting, wonderful memories.

Sincerely,

Jeanne Coppola Giarratano, USA

Dear Alisa:

I wanted to tell you that our trip to Russia was absolutely fantastic. The drivers in Moscow and St. Petersburg were absolutely competent and
professional. The guides impressed us with their deep knowledge of Russian
history, architecture, and art, and with their ability to answer all questions and to accommodate our personal preferences.

Also, the pleasant personalities of the guides in both cities made our trip extra enjoyable. Thank you so much for your help, and I will be glad to recommend your agency to anyone interested in traveling to Russia.

With best wishes,

Marie Hadji, Santa Monica, CA

Hello Anna

I must say you are one of the most efficient people I have worked with about this trip to Russia. I am very thankful for your attention. And I really appreciate the different apartment. It is within walking distance of many of the places I want to see in St. Petersburg.

Thanks again

James R. Tucker

Dear Maria,

Thank you very much for your help and good service.
I had a nice time in Moscow. I particularly enjoyed my stay at the White House Suite.

Best regards

Ali Chouchane, UK

Maria, I wanted to thank you so much for you and your staffs help. I enjoyed the stay in Moscow and I am really looking forward to another trip to see more.

Svetlana and Fred were very curttious to me and also a great help. Also even enjoyed the ride back to the airport…..I like the way people drive there.

Once again thank you

Sincerely,

Tim R. Thomason

Dear Maria,

Thank you very much - I look forward to receiving the tickets.

May I take this opportunity in thanking your company for all your help in planning my trip on the Trans Siberian, it has been an excellent service - I canґt wait to start my journey.

Yours sincerely,

Joanna Timms

Dear Nadia,

I meant to write to you much sooner, but despite the delay, I can say that I was very pleased with the Arbat Flat, and especially with the help and support of your Moscow office staff.
Svetlana was especially helpful with good advice and assistance with taxi arrangements. Both of the young women were cordial, friendly, and seemed to enjoy their work. They made a great impression on us.

Best wishes and thanks,

Alison Hilton, USA

Hi Nadia,

I am back in Australia after my great trip to Europe and wanted to send you a quick email to thank you for the great apartment that you arranged for my brother and myself in Moscow. I must admit when I saw the outside I was a little concerned but when I got inside it was great - great views and location.

As a result of all your help making my trip so enjoyable I have been recommending your company to people back in Australia. As I am a school teacher a few of my colleagues who travel a lot have taken your details.

Once again thank you for all you have done and if I donґt return in the immediate future some of my friends will.

Kindest Regards

John Hupalo, Australia

Dear Nadia,

We had a wonderful time in Moscow. We liked the apartment and especially the location of the building in the vicinity of the Tverkaya Ul.
The arrangement with the driver at Domodedovo worked out beautifully.

Bye bye

Adrianus Hermus, Netherlands

Dear Nadia,

Thank you very much for the organisation, everything was very good. Also Moscow office helped me for the transfer to the airport yesterday.

Thanks again for everything and i hope i can come again.

Sincerely,

Esin Usak, Turkey

Dear Nadia,

Thank you for perfectly organised arrangement. It was a pleasure to use your company and I will highly recommend it to my friends and colleagues.

Best regards,

Julia Gladchenko, New Zealand

Nadia,

Just wanted to say Greg and I had a wonderful time in St Petersburg and Moscow. I shall be recommending your apartments to everybody I know. Especially the St Petersburg apartment. Thank you very much.

Thank you

Aldo Bermudez, USA

Dear Elena,
We have just returned from our tour to Russia. Our entire tour with Express to Russia was very enjoyable. We feel we got very good value for our money. We enjoyed our hotels, the Bega seemed more like a 4 star than 3 star. Our meals were great. The best part was our tour guides and drivers. They did everything they could to make our tours satisfying and enjoyable. They were fun to be with and were extremely knowledgeable and insightful. Lena and Aleksander and then Leana made us feel welcome in Moscow. Sergie and Yuri brought to life, Sergiev Posad, Vladimir and Suzdal. And Tania and Victor helped us enjoy St. Petersburg and finally Nadia and Victor showed us Pushkin. Please pass along our thanks and appreciation to them.
Regards,
Ron and Marcy Allen
ps. We did "Feel Yourself Russian" at the Nikalievski Palace one evening and found it to be a lot of fun and good value also.

Ron and Marcy Allen, USA

Dear Elena,
Chava and I are back home in Israel after a magnificent holiday in Russia.
We would like to thank you for arranging everything so well and especially for choosing two excellent guides.
Lena Vinogradov was a delight in every respect, knowledgeable, intelligent and a wonderful companion. Natalya in Saint Peterburg was charming, very professional and great fun to be with. Victor our driver in Saint Petersburg was particularly kind and helpful.
Thank you for your kind gift and you can be sure we shall further recommend your services to our friends in Israel.
Dosvedanya,

Frank and Chava, Israel

Hi Elena,
we are back to Canada, we enjoyed very much Russia, Moscow, what a nice city.....
the guide was very good with a perfect french language
Thank you again for your support

Janine Rochon, Canada

Hi Elena,
I can´t tell you how much we enjoyed our trip in Moscow. Lena was great, very knowledgable, very helpful and took us to places we really liked. The second day was a bit too much for me and we had to cut the tour short by 2 hrs. The lady who took to the Tretyakov Gallery also did an outstanding job. I would certainly recommend your tour company to my friends.
Eventhough the hotel was far from the city center, it was clean, quiet and had friendly employees. The breakfast was wonderful! Dinner was expensive but we expected that. I must say that doing this over the computer was a little scary but it worked out fine. Thanks ever so much for all you and your colleages did for us. I wish we could come and visit Russia soon again.
Most Sincerely,
Leila Lombardini

Leila Lombardini, USA

Dear Elena,
I would like to thank you for all your help with our recent trip to Two Capitals and the Golden Ring in reverse order. Everything went really well, my Husband and I had a great time, really loved Russia and it’s people.
All our Tour guides and Drivers were both friendly, helpful could not do enough to make our trip both memorable and enjoyable.
The hotels you helped me choose, were in excellent locations and offered good breakfast and friendly service.
Once again, Thank you. I would recommend your company to anyone.
Regards.

Joyce Evans, UK

Dear Elena,
I want to tell you what a wonderful job your company did with our Moscow visit. Both of the Lena´s were excellent-smart, nice most helpful. We have done a lot of travel and these two were great! Our driver was also very good. We had one Lena do the historical portion and was with us most of the time.
Many, many thanks,
Milton and Margie Ruben

Milton and Margie Ruben, USA

Back again in office from my Moscow trip last week. We were very happy and satisfied with the car service you offered us and specially with Nikolaj, the best driver from Moscow. We wish to thank you and Nikolaj as well for this great support which made our stay and work in Moscow more than comfortable.

Best regards,

Emmanuil Gatsios, Germany

Dear ELENA and Dear TANIA:

I should have sent you a message with our THANKS!! as soon as we returned to US, Sorry for the delay - but anyway receive here our BIG THANK YOU!! for the Wonderful trip to SANKT PETERBURG!!
Let us say WELL DONE to our GUIDE and Good Friend TANIA - her patience to explain time and again the details of Russian History was very valuable, because even when we believed we were familiar with this History it is different when you have to relate names and facts to specific places.
To our Grandson NICOLAS the trip to RUSSIA was (he has said many times) the MOST IMPORTANT EXPERIENCE - for a person going for the first time outside AMERICA (he has been in central and South America before) going to EUROPE and in particular to an IMPPERIAL CITY is something very special

GRETEL KAUFMANN and NICOLAS SCHANK, USA

Elena,

I was a member of the Music Tour that you handled this past week. We stayed at the Dynasty Bed and Breakfast. We all had a great time and your staff made all of that possible. Very, very nice. Eugene is a great tour guide, well informed and enjoyed his work.

Marilyn Hanson, USA

Hello Elena,

Thank you so much for taking such good care of us while we were in St. Petersburg. Everyone enjoyed the tour, our guides, and drivers. We were even blessed with good weather. The hotel was certainly convenient to getting around on our own.

It was a pleaseure to meet you, too. Thanks for bringing the Folk Show tickets to us yourself. We all enjoyed the performance and another opportunity to shop, of course. An added bonus was the city parade on Saturday.

Thanks again. I just wanted you to know how pleased we were with our visit to your lovely city.

Best regards,

Bonnie Meyer, USA

Dear Elena and team,

We thank your team for making our visit to Russia so endlessly memorable -- and special appreciation to Nastya for helping Lola through my two days´ absence in hospital. Everything went well afterwards, especially with Julia on the Vladimir-Suzdal tour.
Perhaps we may meet again someday.

Stanley Toomath and Lola, New Zealand

Dear Elena,

We had a marvellous time in both Moscow and St Petersburgh. The hotels were good, the tours excellent and all of your arrangements worked very efficiently. I believe we were even very fortunate with the weather. Thank you very much for your help in organising the holiday. We will certainly pass on your details to anyone we know who may be visiting Russia.

We would also like to thank our guide in Moscow, Leanna, for a wonderful tour
and a very warm welcome to Russia.

Our thanks once again,

Best wishes,

Ray and Bettina

Ray and Bettina Crayton, USA

Hi Elena,

I wanted to send you a quick note to let you know how much we enjoyed the tour through Russia.

Let me start off by saying that I appreciate all of the attention that you gave me when preparing the trip. Your responses were prompt and your answers and suggestions were always helpful. Everything was very well organized by Express to Russia. The guides were very knowledgeable, nice, and punctual. It was great to have such personal attention in a small group. The tours were interesting and we learned a lot about Russia and its history and culture. It even sparked our interest to purchase a couple of books on Russia to learn more.

The hotels were generally good for 3-star hotels. They were clean and the staff were friendly. Unfortunately, the hotel in Moscow had no hot water. I have a feeling that this is not uncommon and it takes away from the pleasure of the trip.

The guides were also very attentive to my motherґs needs. For example, my mother doesnґt hear well from her left side so the guides made sure to stand on her right side so that she could hear better.

Regards,
Roger E. Rhoades

P.S. Thanks for arranging such nice weather in St. Petersburg!

Roger Rhoades, USA

Sorry for getting back to you so late, but I have been quite busy these days in the office after my short vacations. The trip you organized was great, just amazing. Let me comment every aspect:
- The train to St. Petersburg was quite an experience. The same trip that took us back to Tallinn in 4 hours, this train spent 9!! Basically stops almost 3 hours in the border were controls are done by 4 different police divisions (2 from Estonia and 2 from Russia). It was not only a trip to Russia, also to 40 years ago!! The Russian border guards were like the ones in KGB films, a bit scary. We all loved the experience, but we will not do it again :)

- St. Petersburg was perfectly tied up. The bus was waiting for us at the train station, took us to the hotel were we could take a shower (obviously the train has not this). The guide we had was very well prepared, I would recommend her for any tour in Spanish, English or French as she was really fluent at the three of them. The hotel (Helvetia) it is a must. New and very well placed in the city. The restaurant was superb with an outstanding service.
- The bus from St. Petersburg to Tallinn was a nightmare until the border due to the pavement. Russia´s road was so bad that the bus hardly speeded over 40km/h! Once entered to Estonia the road was smooth as silk!
Thanks again for your help. Amazing trip we had. My family loved it!
Very best regards, Phil

Phillip, USA

Dear Marina, We have just returned to Australia and this is the first chance I have had to contact you. I would like to thank you for organising the tour and also for the gifts that you sent to us at the conclusion of the tour. First of all, I must congratulate you on the way the tour was organised. From the time that we first arrived to the time we left, there was not a single problem and there was not a moment that we did not totally enjoy the experience. Well done! I must also make special mention of the guides and drivers. Because we had Victor and Jana for 4 days(sorry if I have spelt the names incorrectly), we got to know them very well and we were very impressed with the way they worked as a team. They went out of their way to make the tour unforgetable. Please pass on our thanks. The Moscow guides were also very helpful and we were impressed by the knowledge and willingness to help us durng our stay. I will certainly recommend expresstorussia to friends. Once again, thanks for a wonderful team effort. Ken and Mavis Prosser

Ken and Mavis Prosser, USA

Marina,The tours were great. Thank you!
Regards, Chuck

Charles Miller, USA

Marina, I´ve arrived in Poland and wanted to express my deepest appreciation for your planning the visit to Russia. The tour with Olga was the very best!!! Your support was truly superb. I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment and appreciate the opportunity to see your great country. Thank you. Please let me know if you are ever in Washington D.C. and I can return the favor or at least show you the places I´m fond of.
Sincerely,Ron Oswald

Ron Oswald, USA

Dear Marina,our group returned from Russia on Saturday. I would like to thank you very much for your excellent service, welcoming approach and overall support. All the hotels and dinners (maybe with the exception of dinner in Moscow) were very good, and all in all our clients were satisfied. We are well aware that you had a lot of work with our group, so once again thank you.
I wish you all the best, and hope we will have a chance to cooperate once again in the future.
My Kindest Regards, Lenka Ludvíková

Lenka Ludvíková, Czech Republic

Hi Marina, We are in Tokyo and getting ready to return to Hawaii. The trip to Russia was great! Your planning and assistance was key to our having a really enjoyable time. We would like to thank you for all you have done for us. Thanks again, Rob and Ron

Robbie Fisher, USA

Just back from holidays. We had an amazing time. Loved St Petersburg very much. Thank you for helping us organizing the trip. I found your website very helpful. And all staff very profesional and helpful as well. So big thanks again to everybody in the office. We would like to return to russia for moer holidays at some point.

Zsuzsanna

ZSUZSANNA SALDA, HUNGARY

Chere Madame Maslaeva,

Mon epouse et moi, tenons a vous remercier pour l´accueil et l´efficacite de votre agence durant notre sejour a St Petersbourg: appartement confortable, silencieux et agreable, sans oublier les petits details importants lorsque l´on voyage (petits sachets de the dans l´appartement, seche cheveux, planche a repasser, etc.), ponctualite et efficacite du chauffeur qui a assure notre transfert vers la gare de La Baltique lors de notre depart.

Nous ne manquerons pas de recommander votre agence aupres d´amis qui desireraient visiter votre ville.
Sinceres Salutations

Michele et Claude BOUGARD-CARPENTIER, France

Hi Elena,

Please feel free to post this to your website and to share this with my tour guides in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

I just wanted to email you to thank Express to Russia for the outstanding tour your company put together for me recently. I had a wonderful time and have nothing but positive things to say about the experience.

First and foremost, I was blessed with incredible tour guides for both cities. They both had an amazing command of English and were both warm and easy to get along with. Their knowledge of the cities was also amazing, as evidenced by me commenting to my St. Petersburg tour guide once that it seemed like she could tell me something about every building we passed by. She was able to talk history, architecture, art, and a wide variety of other subjects. In both cities, I felt immersed by their knowledge, which added immeasurable value to the experience.

I had no problems at all with the various occasions I was being picked up. Everything worked like clockwork and the drivers were always very polite. The fact that you gave me such a detailed itinerary before the trip made things a lot easier for me.

Both hotels were also very nice and clean.

I especially appreciated the flexibility that was shown when my flight into Moscow arrived several hours late. I had thought the tour for that afternoon would be cancelled, but my tour guide simply shuffled the itinerary around, with the result that I was not short-changed at all.

My only suggestion would be to add an excursion to your St. Petersburg tour specifically designed for the Siege of Leningrad. When I asked, my tour guide stopped us by the monument to the Siege that is located on the drive to the Summer Palace. However, it would make for a good excursion to include a visit to the memorial, to the museum, and to the mass grave at Piskarevo Park (plus other sites). Many Americans are familiar with the Siege, so Iґm willing to bet that such an excursion would be popular.

Thanks again! Iґve already told people I know to contact me if they ever want to visit Russia because Iґll set them up with your tour company.

Sincerely,

Andrew DeKever
West Point, NY

Andrew DeKever West Point, NY

Dear Elena:

Thank you for all the arrangements and good advice for my recent trip to Russia. Your driver, Victor, was perfect: he gave me a tour of the route from the airport and even taught me some Russian words. The hotel Nevesky was just right for me, a single. The staff couldnґt have been more friendly and helpful right up to my leaving; by then we were up to hugs for goodbyes! (We overcame the language problem with much laughter.) Not a fancy place, but more than adequate and the ladies made me feel very comfortable. I would recommend it to anyone! I loved Russia and hope that I can make the trip again...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Best regards.
Helen

Helen Deckelman, USA

Hello Elena! So very sorry this thank you is soo late but i wanted to thank you and your very fine organization for a truly wonderful trip! Everything went just fine and no problems at all! All members of our trip had a great time!We also wanted to thank you for providing us our truly great driver Nikoli Dimitrov! He was not so much our driver,but he was a true member of our party! He was GREAT!! We look forward to booking our trip to MAKS 2009 with your firm , and wish to have our new friend Nikoli as our driver.Many thanks to you all and wishing you the best for the new year.Thank you again Elena! I will write again in ґ09. Mark

Mark Korade, USA

Dear Elena
We both want to thank you for arranging our wonderful holiday. St
Petersburg is a beautiful city with so many lovely buildings and places of
interest. It was all made so much more intresting by our two wonderful
guides, Oksana and Albina, their command of English was excellent and their
knowledge incredible and they were both so willing to help us with whatever
questions we posed.Without them we would never have got so much from our
visit.
The guide at Novgorod again spoke very good English and was very
informative.
Our driver, Vasilly, was also excellent, driving us with great
care and always there when we needed him and also very willing to help us.
The same can be said of all the staff we met at the hotel who were
all very pleasant and did their best to make our stay a happy one.
We both feel we have learnt a lot and thoroughly enjoyed our
holiday and we would love to go back to see more.
thank you again
Sue

Susan Holmes, UK

Dear Marina, now we are in Paris.We want to thank you for all that you did for our nice trip. Irina and Tanya [the guide in St. Petersburg] were specially nice and efficient. The taxi drivers were on time always.
Thank you again for your help.
Sonia Echeverri

Columbia, Sonia Echeverri

Dear Nastya,

just a few lines now that we are back to work, after some days spent in Berlin. I have to tell you that we found Fontanka 38 really nice. The first poor impression about the entrance and the stairs disappeared soon, just after crossing the door (I know itґs not in your hand, but the aspect of the stairs is a bit frightening for western tourists!). But once there, we appreciated the simple and functional Ikea style, not very different from what we have at home. The appartment was clean and comfortable, and we were really at ease. Besides, your services proved to be accurate, with transfers to airport on time and english speaking drivers.

So, congratulations for your job, we spend five lovely days in yor city, and I will recommend you if I have the opportunity.

Best regards!

Oriol Nubiola, Lidia Sans, Spain

Marina.I wanted to write as soon as we returned, but I was back to work almost immediately.
My daughter and I had a great time in both places, Moscow and St Petersburg.
First, the schedule was followed right on time by the very professional guides and drivers, which was very important to me, since I value punctuality and to keep up with the schedule when I travel.
The guides (two ladies called Lena in Moscow and Anna in St Petersburg) spoke perfect English which I complimented all the time (we live in the US, but English is not my first language).
They were very knowledgeable and answered all the questions we had about history and culture, aside of the descriptions of the places we visited.
I thanked them personally, but I wanted to let you know that they add to making the trip enjoyable.
The hotels were well located, the Cosmos hotel in Moscow is right across a metro station, which we used without problems. People gave us indications about maps and subway just by hand signs in different places, since they did not speak English, neither us Russian.
My favorite hotel was the Pushka Inn in St Petersburg because of the charming building, the location and the attention of the staff. Also, breakfast at the Pushka Inn was excellent.
The tour of the Kremlin and the Tretyakovsky State Gallery were my favorites in Moscow. As per the city of St Petersburg and all the places we visited there exceeded our expectations.
I highly recommend your organization to any traveler; please feel free to add any of these comments to your website.
Thanks again, Graciela

Graciela Lopez,USA

Marina, I am home and wanted to send you a special thank you for a well organized trip. I enjoyed my trip to Russia and the Ukraine. All the hotels were very good 3 star hotels. In fact, July 4th was USA National Day and the Lybid hotel gave me a bottle of champaign and a fruit basket. This was a surprise and very much appreciated. All the transfers were on time and cordial. All the tour guides were friendly and knowledgeable and the tours were helpful. The tours provided me with an orientation of the city on arrival before I travelled around independently. Suzdahl was a particularly charming town and very memorable. St Petersburg was very European and the Hermitage and Petrovets/ Peterhof was to be remembered. Moscow was a much more interesting city than I expected. The Kremlin was unforgetable and the excellent metro system made it easy to move around the city. Kiev was also interesting. The Caves Monastery was very unique and Independence Square was bubbling with activity. The 4 berth overnight train rides were comfortable and thanks for the lower berths. I had not thought of the sleeping locations. Every train departed and arrived on time. I had also been warned by everyone before leaving that St P and Moscow might be dangerous for non-whites. While I believe every big city has its dangers, I did not find a single incident dangerous nor did I experience any racism. In fact, on a few ocassions I was lost and even though there may have been a language barrier, helpful Russians pointed me in the right direction.
Thank you again for a job well done. I will recommend to my local agent that they consider Express to Russia and yourself as an agent for Russia land tours.
Spassibo

Ernest Thomatis, USA

Thank you for arranging the apartment and transfers in St. Petersburg. Everything was wonderful and we enjoyed the apartment very much. I will recommend you to my friends who travel to St. Petersburg.

Amy Lesiewicz, USA/Russia

Dear Nastya,

Now that we are back home, though feeling rather ґhung overґ with the excitements of our visit to your extraordinary city as well as to Moscow, we are writing to thank you for your many kindnesses and your attentiveness to our comfort and convenience during our visit. You have a most impressive organisation which, we are sure, is enhanced in its work by the unwearying commitment of you and your colleagues.

By the way, if you know of anyone who might be interested to explore a gap in the shuttle bus market, we think there must be an opportunity in ferrying visitors between Pulkovo I and Pulkovo II. A fare of 100 Rbl each way would probably not be unreasonable when taxi drivers ask (but in out case did not get) 1000 or 1500! It would be much easier than having to take the 39 coach towards the city and getting off and crossing the road to catch the 13 shuttle on its last stop before turning into Pulkovo II (even though that method is even cheaper)!

Our kindest regards to you and your cooleagues who assisted us,

With best wishes,

Valerie and Gordon Read

Gordon Read, UK

I just wanted to send an email thanking you and everyone we met while in Russia for a wonderful holiday! My friend Shea and I had a fantastic time all round... everyone was so friendly and the service was excellent, particularly from you all at the Northern Lights, our guide Eugeny (wonderful!) and driver Michael (so courteous!) in St Petersburg.
The staff at the Bega Hotel in Moscow were also extremely helpful, as was our guide, Liana. All in all an amazing experience. I have highly recommended going to Russia to everyone since Iґve returned to the UK and I would point anyone in the direction of Express To Russia for the excellent service and care we received.
Many thanks again and keep up the good work!

Justine Bond, UK

Thanks very much for sending your newsletter. I was very pleased with your services last summer when I went to St Petersburg and i may envisage to come back next year. If so no doubt i will contact you.

In the meantime, i wish you all a very happy new year.

Best regards

Margareth Thorion

Margareth Thorion, France

Dear Marina,
Thank you to you and Elena and the rest of the staff for making our vacation so special. Everything went without a hitch, and the tour guides we had were great. Our guide in Moscow, Liana, was very knowledgeable about both the Kremlin and Russian art. Our guide in St.
Petersburg, Anastasia, was fantastic. She went above and beyond any duties, and she was very knowledgeable about all the places we visited.
She was very tolerant of our 7 year-old, and she was interesting, and warm and kind. She was a very good fit with our family. We would highly recommend your travel agency and guides to anyone traveling to Russia. Thank you and good job!

Vicki Steinwurtzel, USA

Marina, I wish I could have come by to thank you in person in St. Petersburg, but Yana said your offices were closed.. The trip was just fantastic ! Every thing went well for us. We have so many great stories and pictures to share with our friends back home. If you ever need references for anyone, please feel free to send them my email. Lena and Yana were both great guides !

William Morgan Houston, Texas, USA

Dear Marina,

My family and I thank you for your good assistance and services in regard to our recent trip to Russia. You provided everything we needed for a safe and very satisfactory experience during our trip. Everything we requested, you provided, and your service personnel were excellent.

While it is hard to single out any one person from such an excellent group of drivers, tour guides and travel assistants, because they were all very professional and very helpful to strangers such as us, we would particularly like to thank Anastasia, our guide in St. Petersburg for the last two days. She does an excellent job, is very professional, has patience and humor, and could not have been more helpful or informative. She has a great future in the growing business of tourism, but would do well anywhere and in any public position. Her intellect and communication skills will carry her far.

All your people exceeded our expectations and we want to again thank them, and you, for your assistance. You made our trip comfortable and enjoyable and educational and took the stress out of the little things that so often create problems.

Charles Hall, USA

Hei/Hi Mariya,

Sorry for being a little bit late giving feedback from our great journey! We just needed some time to digest all the impressions and editing the pictures.
Everything worked out really well to our satisfaction! You and your partners have done a great job. All transfers drivers were waiting for us and waiving the banners! We got all train tickets and hotel vouchersas promised.

Moscow was beautiful and hot, Baikal was exiting and cool (only 2 of us went swimming before we new the temperature was only 6C :-).

The trains were very comfortable with good service and restaurant cars (except train #364 which did not have any restaurant). Hopefully the Russian custom control also will speed up their check procedures soon so the boarder crossing does not last for 7 hours any more (since Naushki was not a very exiting city...)

Mongolia also met our expectations and the ger camp was very comfortable (may be too well organised eliminating some of the challenges expected, and they did not serve us airag, the fermented horse milk beverage).

Beijing was even more commercial and well organised than we had expected, but gave us the tourist traps and shopping which we needed after 15 days on the way!

I have enclosed some snapshots from the tour.

Than you again!

Halvor Royset, Norway

Dear Marina,
We would like to say thankyou for your help in organising our fantastic holiday in Russia. We had a wonderful time and were very happy with both hotels, especially the petro palace who upgraded us to their "apartment" which was amazing. - the biggest bath I have ever seen and a built in coffee maker, my husband wants one for our house now!
Everything worked out perfectly and I will recommend Express to Russia if I can persuade any of my friends to holiday in Russia.
We tried to visit you in St Petersburg to say thankyou in person, but we were told you worked in a different office which we couldnґt find.
Thank you again, and if you ever need any advice on holidaying in Scotland feel free to get in touch.
Lisa

Lisa Keany, Scotland

Dear Marina,
Thank you for everything that you did. We had an absolutely wonderful time. So good in fact that I have passed on your name to other people who plan to visit Russia. A number of South Africans and American. Your tours and tour guides are the best! We are already talking about all that we missed and thinking of taking in Kiev next time.
Thanks once again.

Jennifer Brennan, USA

I hire an apartment on St. Petersburg on Nevsky 66.
The place is perfect, in the best area to be (just 10
minutes walking to the hermitage). If you want to have
dinner you just walk around and youґll find lots of
restaurants. And the service is good they give me a
lot of interesting information. I was very impresed of the
apartment and the service. Thank you for everithing Dasha.

Bernardo Gonzalez from Mexico

Bernardo Gonzalez, Mexico

Dear Dasha

We are now back home in Australia and I just wanted you to know that we appreciated the way you handled our booking in St Petersburg. It can be difficult sometimes dealing with tourists so, many thanks, we have good memories!

Kind regards
Carol McGarrick

Carol McGarrick, Australia

Hi Alisa,

We just returned to America. Our days with Anna were great. Thank you for a great experience in St. Petersburg...and relay our appreciation to Anna and our driver.

Lynn Connelly, USA

Alisa,

I just wanted to thank you for all the hard work youґve put in helping us organize our trip. Everything was wonderful and you were a big part of it.

I would highly recommend your services to anyone whoґs going to Russia in the near future!!!!

Mariya Kemper-Reiss, USA

Hi Dasha,

Thanks for making my trip comfortable and the apartment was perfect!

Beso,

Carlos

Carlos Lewison, USA

Hi,
I have just come back from my trip to Saint Petersburg and I have seen the roses and chocolates that you delivered to Natalia and I just wanted to say a big thank you as they looked wonderful.

Yours sincerely

Steven Tsang

Steven Tsang

Hi Dasha,

Great to meet you last week, and thanks for everything. Brooke and
I enjoyed the apartment quite a bit.

Hope to see you again in May!

Best,

Jeffery Meyer

Jeffery Meyer, USA

Hello Alisa:

I wanted to thank you for helping make my trip so enjoyable. Elena and the driver on my city tour were very nice and quite helpful. Albina made my trip to the Hermitage one to remember. She is very knowledgeable about the art and history and conveys her knowledge quite well. My shopping trip with Albina and Victor was a real pleasure. Victor really made an extra effort to get me where I wanted to go and make sure I got what I wanted. A very nice day spent with two very nice people.

Thank you again for helping make my trip one to remember. I have referred you to a couple of my co-workers.

Regards,
John

John W. Penney, USA

Dear Masha!
Excellent service. Iґve got my tickets very quickly.
Thank you
Rich

Richard Bradley UK

Hello, Sdrastvitje,

We enjoyed our little, clean, newly adapted room with tea, coffee and fridge in a rather safe and very central area. We met the owner when stoping with the taxi to ask where it is, because finding the adress should be marked very clealy. A picture on the web would be nice before booking.

Thanks for you personal help on the phone.

Kind regards
Walter, Eva and daughter Nina

Walter, Eva and daughter Nina

Hi everybody,
I’m so glad let you know, that our stay in Russia in summer 2005 were very interesting, successful and very nice. We were in St. Petersburg for three days. We booked our hotelstay via internet und we get a answer shortly after booking. The paymentmethod was easy und correct. The hotel was a good choice. It was clean, centrally located und our voucher was accepted without difficulties.
So I like to say thank you to all of the team.
We will go to Russia in the summer 2006 too. I’m sure, that we will book our appartement and the invitation for the visum by your young growing company as well.


I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and I’m looking forward to contact you in the next Year.

Best wishes

Sabine Dugge, Germany

Sabine Dugge, Germany

Hello Elena!!
Just wanted to say hi and thank you!!
Everything was perfect as you arranged it. The driver was at the airport, the hotel was ready, no problem, and thanks to you.
It was wonderful doing business with you, and will be a returning customer later this year.
thanks, again,
Ernie Mendez

Ernesto Mendez, USA

Dear Anna,
We have arrived back in Pretoria and I am back at my desk. We were initially a bit apprehensive about setting up our tour on the internet, so I thought to let you know that we were very happy with every aspect of the service you provided. The bookings, appartments, transfers, rail trip and car/driver were all excellent. Many thanks. Regards
Graham

Graham Randall, Pretoria, South Africa

Hi Paul,
Martin and Elena here from New Zealand. Sorry I didnґt get back to you sooner but I have been a little busy at work and also entertaining my wifes sister who has come over from Russia for my wifes graduation from university. We had a wonderful stay in one of your St Petersburg apartments during the Russian summer. The apartment was imaculate, modern, clean and tidy and just around the corner from Nevsky Prospect. I have been to Russia on many occasions and the apartment "beat the hell" out of some hotels I have stayed at in Moscow. Needless to say, if I was coming back to St Petersbug again I would certainly stay in one of your apartments and I have no hesitation in recommending them to future visitors to your city.

However. The biggest service your company did for us was to arrange the invitation which every private visitor to Russia has to have in order to get a visa. This service was invalueable and I have twice recommended you to fellow New Zealand travelers to Russia who used this service and one of them leaves for Russia in two days. For those unfamiliar with the invitation from OVIR, believe me when I say it is a nightmare of red tape and Russian bureaucratic nonsense and it usually takes my sister in law months to arrange after hours of standing in the famous Russian queue for documents. But, with your service, all I did was give you my details and 25 days later my invitation arrived.

Once again. Thanks very much and my next invitation will certainly be arranged through your company.
kind regards, Martin and Elena.

PS. Many thanks to Ira who always kept us informed via email of what was happening prior to our arrival in St Petersburg.

Martin and Elena Forman, New Zealand

Dear Paul,
We so very much enjoyed our stay in St Petersburg. For me especially it has been a long held ambition to come to Russia, and now I will certainly return. I was impressed by the spaciousness and quality of your lovely apartment, it was so central and yet so peaceful. I love the fact that the building was old and original and maintained this impression, balcony and big windows, while being so modern and comfortable inside. Everything we needed was provided. You and your staff were so helpful to us. I have traveled a lot including Prague and Venice, both noted for their beauty, but for me St Petersburg itself is by far the most unique and beautfull city.

Ivarna Kalinkova and Edward Henry, South Shields, UK

Dear Maya,

I`d like you to thank you for your excellent hospitality and services provided during my wife and her guests visit to St.Pete. Starting from meeting late at night on time I heard that everything was perfect; the central location, european fit out, clean, tidy, economic. This was her third visit and the best accomodation services taken among all. Others like beverages, city maps, etc were a bonus. You will definetely be the first that I will remember in my next St Pete visit.
Regards,
Deha

Deha, expat from Moscow

Dear Paul and Anna,

I would like to thank you for the excellent accommodations and service. The information on the website and efficient email communication allowed making the right choice and facilitated the travel arrangements. My friends and I enjoyed very much staying in a clean and spacious apartment in the heart of St.-Petersburg, two steps away from the major attractions, and at a fraction of the cost of the nearby hotels. I am very glad to have chosen your business, I will use it again, and I will certainly recommend it to anyone I know. Please, keep up with the good work.
Best regards,
Alexander

Alexander Salenikovich, Quebec

Dear Katya,
Once again thank you for organizing the apartment for us in St Petersburg. The service from your office (and via the website) was friendly, efficient and helpful. Our apartment (Moika 28) was delightful to stay in for the week. It was very clean when we arrived and had plenty of room for two couples.
The location was fantastic.
Kind Regards
Ben

Ben Rogers, Australia

Dear Maya,
Many thanks for once again your swift response and the professional standards that you operate to; it is truly appreciated. I will have to make sure that when I am in Russia next that I buy you a drink for keeping romance alive between Natasha and myself
Best wishes and thanks again Chris

Chris Bradly, UK

I want to thank you at this time for the wonderful service that I have received. It is my intention to return to Europe in March and at that time I will use your company to go to St. Petersburg once again.
Regards Ray

Ray Middleton, New Zealand

Hello Anna,
A brief & belated note to thank you for all the effort you put in to making our holiday fantastic – we really enjoyed ourselves!
The apartment at Moika 28 was excellent and all the transfers worked really well. So thanks again and I hope many more people use your service!
Kind regards.

Anne Bell, Australia

Dear Anna, Paul and Co,
Just to say how much we enjoyed our stay in St Petersburg thanks to you all.
The possibility of renting apartments when we go to St Peteґs is excellent and you sorted out all issues very well.
Cooks Restaurant was great by the way - so thanks for the recommendation.
See you soon and if we can be of any assistance to you in Moscow just let us know,
Kind regards,
Peter & Vanessa & Family

Vanessa and Peter O’Brian, Ex pats in Moscow

Hi Masha, I just wanted to thank you for organizing such a great trip for us. Our guide Anna was great, smart and very educated on all topics, fantastic to have around! The hotel was very confortable, Georg the driver was efficient and so typically russian, I think... If one little detail could have been better it is to combine both excursions out of St Petersburg the same day since most of the road is the same. But trully I will recommend your organisation to friends and relative that may want to come and visit St Petersburg. Thank you for your great job and your follow-up. Francoise

FRANCOISE BELFROID, Belgium

Hello Alisa, Hello Dasha

We came back three weeks ago and had to attend to lots of chores that are now all under control.
Please accept biiig thanks from Mr. Sims, my husband Dan and myself .
Your organization of our visit to your beautiful country was impeccable. We felt well-taken care off and very special!
We loved all the tour guides you have allocated to us - but Elena Vinogradova in Moscow, a wonderful human being who was closer to our "age" and far more experienced a guide - was our favorite! We shall certainly recommend your agency and Elena Vinogradova as a guide - to anyone that we know wants to visit Russia.
Young Anna and especially Elena Kaschevskaya made our stay in St.
Petersburg a very, very enjoyable affair. They were efficient, knowledgeable, extremely helpful, kind and personable young ladies.
We fell in love with the driver Sasha in St. Petersburg! What a character! We even christened him with two more "informal" names:
"The formula 1 driver Sasha" or on occasion: "a Kamikaze driver Sasha"!
:-)))) Still, Sasha got us where we were going in the shortest period of time through the heaviest road traffic with admirable driving skills and without the scratch - on the car or the passengers! :-)))) [this is supposed to be a "smiley face"]
We did have a slightly disturbing experience when Mr. Sims was pick- pocketed in St, Petersburgґs underground, but he managed to cancel his credit cards before the big damage could be done and soon got back on his feet. After that incident however, he was not willing try the underground transport again.
Well, I guess this says it all Alisa. Ah, yes, I hope Elena Kaschevskaya mentioned to you that my husband wanted to bring you a bunch of flowers as a way of thank you for taking such good care of us.
We are so sorry that we never had enough time left in St. Petersburg after the guides would return us back to the hotel - to make it to your office before closing time.
So here is a picture I took of the of flowers we wanted to buy for you...
Thanks again for everything and....KEEP UP A GOOD WORK.

Kind regards
Sonja Myers

Sonja Myers, USA

Andrei,
Many thanks. I would like to say that I have been very impressed by your prompt service and customer care. I will be recommending your service to my family and friends.

Simon Futo, Great Britain

Myself and my friend Kevin Foy stayed in the Ermitage until Sunday the 22nd of August.I just wanted to drop a note to you to thank you for being so professional and kind to us. We will certainly recommend the Ermitage to our friends!

Seamus Sweeney

Dear Elena
We have just arrived home from our holiday, having spent a week in Finland after we left St Petersburg. This is just a quick email to thank you and your colleagues for all your help with our arrangements. It all went very smoothly.
We loved St Petersburg and will definitely come back for a longer stay at some point in the future.

Best wishes
Kate Heyman-Carreno and Antonino Palumbo

Kate Heyman

Dear Elena,
I am writing to thank you for organising the excellent hotel Admiral for us in St Petersburg. The room, bathroom etc were very nice and the ladies in charge were extremely kind, friendly and helpful.
Also the tour of the Hermitage on July 5th with Anna Lapteva was the highlight of our time in St Petersburg. This most beautiful and highly educated young woman gave us three (my husband, daughter and me) a personalised tour of the beautiful treasures in the Hermitage and taught us a lot about the development of Modern European art over the centuries. Her high level of knowledge and her charming manner was very very impressive. Please pass on our appreciation to Ms Anna Lapteva if possible!
Thank you again! Yours sincerely Mara McKenzie

Mara McKenzie

Hi Alisa!!

Thank you so much for your help!!! We had a great time with Julia!!!
We appreciate all you did!!! Our time in St. Petersburg will NEVER be forgotten!!! My father still talks about it and I´m sure he will for a long time!!! Julia did an incredible job as well as Alexi the driver. I know none of this could have been done without you so please accept our sincere thanks. If there is anything we can do for you... please let me know!

Again - thank you so much!!!!!

Joy Ellsworth, USA

Hello Elena!!
Just wanted to say hi and thank you!!
Everything was perfect as you arranged it. The driver was at the airport, the hotel was ready, no problem, and thanks to you. It was wonderful doing business with you, and will be a returning customer later this year.
thanks, again,
Ernie Mendez

Ernesto Mendez, USA

Dear Elena,
We enjoyed our stay in Saint-Petersbourg. The Filippov hotel is very nice.
Thank you very much.
Best regards

Nathalie Charriere, France

I would have sent you a message anyway to say thank you very much for all the help you gave us in organising our visit to St Petersburg. We are now safely returned.
Everything was wonderful. The staff at the hotel at Vladimirsky III were friendly and helpful. The hotel itself was perfect, all that was needed, with a great location for seeing everything. When we needed a big bar and excellent jazz music, we popped into the ground floor of the Radisson, on the next corner!
The Bliny restaurant around another corner was good too. Being able to walk to all the places we wished to see was also helpful in getting a sense of the city.
We were especially happy to be very close to the Ackhmatova Museum. We came because of the Mannerheim Exhibition, at the General Staff Building, saw the ballet Don Quixote at the Mariinsky, visited especially the Dutch masters at the Hermitage, and the magnificient Russian Museum; and took a boat trip out onto the river!
The taxi met us exactly at the airport, and was helpful in making sure we reached the destination, which is not simple, with the hotel up the stair case.
I would strongly recommend your services to anyone else contemplating a visit to the city, and we thank you very much indeed.

Anne Page, Great Britain

Many thanks for all your help in making our stay in St. Petersburg such a wonderful experience for my family. The apartment was lovely, centrally located, and very reasonably priced. Loved the high ceilings and big windows. The location could not be better. My father has a pacemaker and he walks very slowly, but he had not trouble making it to the Hermitage, St. Isaac´s and the Assumption on foot. There was a 24-hr market around the corner, and a lovely pastry shop a block away. The price was better than a hotel, or any of the other apartment rentals I checked. This was my third trip to St. Pete with my wife and son. The two previous times we had stayed at a friend´s house. This was our first time with you and I did not want anything to go wrong as my parents, who are in their mid-70s, were joining us this time. I appreciated Dasha´s quick and reassuring responses throughtout, as well as Natasha´s help and professionalism. Also, I am very glad we took advantage of the transfers to and from the apartment. The driver was punctual, reliable and corteous. In short, my parents are walking on air after their first visit to St. Petersburg. It is a wonderful city, but you really helped make our stay truly enjoyable for the whole family.
Many thanks to you.
Francisco Gonzalez

Francisco Gonzalez, USA

Dear Anna, We are back home in Bangalore after a very nice hoilidays in Moscow & St.pґburg. Thanks a lot once again for the excellent arrangements. R. Krishnamurthy

Mr. and Mrs. Krishnamurthy, India

nous avons passe un excellent voyage !
hotel tres bien et les transfers aussi.
la ville est merveilleuse....
merci encore pour vos services.

Jack Daniel, France

Dear Anna,
We have arrived back in Pretoria and I am back at my desk. We were initially a bit apprehensive about setting up our tour on the internet, so I thought to let you know that we were very happy with every aspect of the service you provided. The bookings, accommodations, transfers, rail trip and car/driver were all excellent. Many thanks. Regards
Graham

Graham Randall, Pretoria, South Africa

Our whole family had a great time in St. Petersburg, and you company’s help was a big part of that. They were always kind and helpful and arranged for all kinds of things, from a great babysitter to advice on nearby stores. The city is so stunning, and being able to stay right in the heart of things walking distance to all the sights made our trip much more enjoyable than others we know who stayed farther out and didn´t have the kind of help that you offer. We also highly recommend that anyone going buy the Knopf Map Guide before coming, it helps you to understand where the apartments are as well as the many other amenities and aspects of the city.
Lizzie, David & Havivah Saltz.

David and Lizzie Saltz Athens, GA

Hello Anna,
A brief & belated note to thank you for all the effort you put in to making our holiday fantastic – we really enjoyed ourselves!
The accommodations were excellent and all the transfers worked really well. So thanks again and I hope many more people use your service!
Kind regards.

Anne Bell, Australia

I want to thank you at this time for the wonderful service that I have received. It is my intention to return to Europe in March and at that time I will use your company to go to St. Petersburg once again.
Regards Ray

Ray Middleton, New Zealand

Hello Anna,
Thank you so much for all your efforts to deliver the flowers at the changed date and at so late a time, I appreciated it. I would also like to thank you for such an excellent service and I will am sure I will use this service again, and others. I also found all the info on the website regarding all the services offered very informative and will hopefully use them when I eventually visit St. Petersburg. At that time, I will need accommodation, holiday visa, etc. Thank you again for the excellent service, I have been told the flowers are very beautiful and look forward to seeing the pictures as soon as you have them.
Regards, John

John Kwok, USA

We were pleasantly surprised with our accommodation in St. Petersburg, because we had been late in booking for a popular Russian holiday weekend and expectations were low. The apartment was clean, comfortable and conveniently located so we could walk to the tourist highlights and great restaurants. Victor and Anna were very gracious hosts and I certainly intend to contact you again when I want accommodation in St. Petersburg.

Marjorie Jackson, Ex-pat, Moscow

Dear Maya,
Many thanks for once again your swift response and the professional standards that you operate to; it is truly appreciated. I will have to make sure that when I am in Russia next that I buy you a drink for keeping romance alive between Natasha and myself
Best wishes and thanks again Chris

Chris Bradly, UK

Dear Maya,

I`d like you to thank you for your excellent hospitality and services provided during my wife and her guests visit to St.Pete. Starting from meeting late at night on time I heard that everything was perfect; the central location, european fit out, clean, tidy, economic. This was her third visit and the best accomodation services taken among all. Others like beverages, city maps, etc were a bonus. You will definetely be the first that I will remember in my next St Pete visit.
Regards,
Deha

Deha, expat from Moscow

Our experience has been very positive. As newcomers to St. Petersburg, your company helped us find accommodations in an ideal location overlooking the Neva River. We are grateful for the efficient service. You facilitated communication between us and the Russians. We were very pleased with your assistance and would not hesitate to use your services next time.

Ludovic and Lamia Descouens, France, Concord Catering

Dear Paul and the rest of the team,

I wanted to write to you to express my appreciation for the way we were treated.

Firstly, the accommodations were excellent and very reasonably priced for its location in St Petersburg. It was my parents´ first trip to Russia, so having somewhere so central, comfortable, and within walking distance of all the great sites was ideal.

We especially appreciated the guided tour that you organised for us at very short notice - the interpreter and guide was absolutley brilliant. We felt that you made a special effort us to organise this, and that the service was very personal and helpful.

Working with you over e-mail to organise the booking was also very straightforward - you were always very quick, helpful and courteous, and I felt that things were being done confidentially. It was interesting to have the details and correspondence all recorded on a secure site.

Although I speak some Russian, having people who speak very fluent english is obviously very reassuring for others like my parents who would struggle to communicate generally in Russia. I hope that I can come to St Petes again to enjoy your services once more.
Best wishes to all of you.

Nikki

Nicola Smith, Spain

Dear Katya,
I wanted to thank you and the rest of your team for a truly wonderful trip to St. Petersburg. But especially you, because of your patience and willingness to work with me to make my second (but not last!) visit to Russia truly great. Tell Paul I said hi. Thanks again and I will of course be using your services again when Nina and I come back to St. Petes (as a married couple of course!).

Sincerely, Jeff McDaniel

Jeff McDaniel, Ohio

Dear Katya,
Once again thank you for organizing the apartment for us in St Petersburg. The service from your office (and via the website) was friendly, efficient and helpful. Our apartment (Moika 28) was delightful to stay in for the week. It was very clean when we arrived and had plenty of room for two couples.
The location was fantastic.
Kind Regards
Ben

Ben Rogers, Australia

My time in Spb was made so easy by your company. You saved me money, frustration and time. The lodging was very comfortable and central, but the customer service is what really sets you apart - nothing is too much trouble, you re-assured and supported me, and offer great value for money. Iґve already booked my time with you next year. Thats a 100%
recommendation.

Clive Langham, UK

Dear Anna, Paul and Co,
Just to say how much we enjoyed our stay in St Petersburg thanks to you all. The possibility of renting apartments when we go to St Peteґs is excellent and you sorted out all issues very well.
Cooks Restaurant was great by the way - so thanks for the recommendation. See you soon and if we can be of any assistance to you in Moscow just let us know,
Kind regards,
Peter & Vanessa & Family

Vanessa and Peter O’Brian, Ex pats in Moscow

I have spent my last summer in St. Petersburg and I stayed with you on 2 different flats. Everything was perfect, from the transfer from airport up until the end of my holiday. Thanks for the professional people and perfect service.
Daniele

Daniele, Rome, Italy

Dear Paul and Anna,

I would like to thank you for the excellent accommodations and service. The information on the website and efficient email communication allowed making the right choice and facilitated the travel arrangements. My friends and I enjoyed very much staying in a clean and spacious apartment in the heart of St.-Petersburg, two steps away from the major attractions, and at a fraction of the cost of the nearby hotels. I am very glad to have chosen your business, I will use it again, and I will certainly recommend it to anyone I know. Please, keep up with the good work.
Best regards,
Alexander

Alexander Salenikovich, Quebec

My family of 5 spent 3 glorious days in St Pete. We stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment rented to us by your company. You picked us up at the train station, took us to this apartment that had a great location in the center of the city. The apartment was very clean, comfortable and spacious. It was kept clean by a local maid.
I would highly recommend your services for their value and location.
Thanks again,
Percy P Batlivala & Family

Percy P. Batlivala, New Delhi, India

Dear Paul
Your team is friendly and competent and you could not do enough for us when we visited Russia in June 2004. The flats we rented were spacious and reasonably priced and situated centrally. The Russians, not unlike the Scots, are dour but proud of their fascinating country and generally helpful.

Moscow may only require a few days, but St. Petersberg demands a full week and is best seen on foot. Make sure to have tea at the Astoria hotel -Hitler could not!
Alan Anderson

Alan Anderson, Scotland

To Paul and the staff,

I wanted to thank you very much for your help in my recent visit to St. Petersburg. I visited the city from November 2 through November 13, 2004. Every step of the way, from initially looking at apartments online, to booking the apartment, to follow up emails, to actually getting the transfer to the apartment was handled not only professionally but personally. It is a nice touch that you provided a personal contact at your office that I could reach at almost anytime of the day. Her name, of course, was Katya. She was a delight to work with. She handled all of the arrangements with patience and grace.

I have visited Russia before, but never St. Petersburg and had some concerns about using an apartment versus a hotel. Utilizing an apartment instead of a hotel room was not only a savings in money, but was so much more comfortable as well. The apartment was very clean, warm and fully equipped from a satellite television, to bath towels, to pots and pans for the kitchen. Having a cleaning lady stop by every few days was a nice touch.

I am a business owner myself and I know how it can be tough some times to always put your best face forward to clients. But I stopped into the office several times and the staff was always eager to answer any questions and help me with anything. There was one time I remember I had to stop into the office and Paul was the only one there as it was a holiday weekend.
He took the time to help me and my fiance out and even hailed a cab in the pouring rain. It is touches like this that make your company great and I see only a bright future for you.

I definitely will recommend your company to anyone who asks and will be utilizing your service in the near future for an apartment in Moscow next year. When my future wife and I come back to St. Petersburg (hopefully very soon), of course, you will receive a call from us.

Thank you again for all your help and wonderful service. I wish you a happy new year and continued success.
Respectfully yours,

Jeffrey
P.S. Hi Katya!!

Jeffrey A. McDaniel, Ohio, USA

Paul,

Having made several trips to Russia in the past few years, the idea of spending another two weeks in small, expensive hotel rooms was not exciting me. The opportunity to rent an apartment had some real advantages. The service from your company were precise, timely and without problems. Your people were courteous and helpful and the apartments met my expectations 100%. I will certainly have no hesitation in using your services again and recommending them to my friends and business colleagues.
Nick

Nick Lockyer, KPS Maritime, Australia

I am a German Expatriate working in Saratov, Russia. I use my vacation to get to know the country. For a four day trip to St. Petersburg with my parents who flew in from Germany, I made a reservation with your company. The accomodation was right next to Nevsky Prospekt and very well equipped and very clean. You also organized tours for us to Tsarskoje Selo and Pavlovsk on the first day and Peterhof on our second day. You picked us up in a very comfortable Van and while riding to the sightseeings the guide gave us lots of information about the history, present and future of St. Petersburg. So additionally we also got a St. Petersburg sightseeing tour! The palaces in Tsarskoje Selo and Peterhof are usually very crowded. Lots of tourists were waiting at the entrance but thanks to you we were in there in a minute. The guide was also experienced in those places and gave us useful informations and hints. To sum it up, we really enjoyed St. Petersburg and the tours. My parents were very enthusiastic about St. Petersburg and promised to come back next year! Thank you, that our trip to St. Petersburg is still very vivid and pleasant in our mind.
Best regards,

Andrea Friedel

Andrea Friedel, Robert Bosch Corporation

Dear Paul,
We so very much enjoyed our stay in St Petersburg. For me especially it has been a long held ambition to come to Russia, and now I will certainly return. I was impressed by the spaciousness and quality of your lovely accommodations, it was so central and yet so peaceful. I love the fact that the building was old and original and maintained this impression, balcony and big windows, while being so modern and comfortable inside. Everything we needed was provided. You and your staff were so helpful to us. I have traveled a lot including Prague and Venice, both noted for their beauty, but for me St Petersburg itself is by far the most unique and beautfull city.

Ivarna Kalinkova and Edward Henry, South Shields, UK

Hi Paul,
Martin and Elena here from New Zealand. Sorry I didnґt get back to you sooner but I have been a little busy at work and also entertaining my wifes sister who has come over from Russia for my wifes graduation from university. We had a wonderful stay in one of your St Petersburg apartments during the Russian summer. The lodgings were imaculate, modern, clean and tidy and just around the corner from Nevsky Prospect. I have been to Russia on many occasions and the apartment "beat the hell" out of some hotels I have stayed at in Moscow. Needless to say, if I was coming back to St Petersbug again I would certainly stay in one of your apartments and I have no hesitation in recommending them to future visitors to your city.

However. The biggest service your company did for us was to arrange the invitation which every private visitor to Russia has to have in order to get a visa. This service was invalueable and I have twice recommended you to fellow New Zealand travelers to Russia who used this service and one of them leaves for Russia in two days. For those unfamiliar with the invitation from OVIR, believe me when I say it is a nightmare of red tape and Russian bureaucratic nonsense and it usually takes my sister in law months to arrange after hours of standing in the famous Russian queue for documents. But, with your service, all I did was give you my details and 25 days later my invitation arrived.

Once again. Thanks very much and my next invitation will certainly be arranged through your company.
kind regards, Martin and Elena.

PS. Many thanks to Ira who always kept us informed via email of what was happening prior to our arrival in St Petersburg.

Martin and Elena Forman, New Zealand

Dear All,
I am very pleased with your service in Saint Petersburg. The apartment that you rented to me, located at Dumskaya 5, was an excellent place. There were all the necessary things to live with comfort and the whole apartment was new, operative and clean. The apartment is in a building located near the most important places in the city.

Visa support is another good service of your company. I could get my visa without any trouble, easily and quickly. Later, your stamp in it was enough to leave Russia.

Your staff, in Saint Petersburg, is efficient, kind and affable. I have to write specially about Anna. She was always ready to help us in everything, from the beginning to the end of our stay in Saint Petersburg. She solves everything and she never loses her smile. She is an authentic professional. In her, you have an excellent collaborator. Congratulations! I am sending now a photo of Anna, as we promised to her.

If I’ll come back to Saint Petersburg (or Kiev), you can be sure that I’ll contact your company again. Thanks for your offer; I’ll take it in account. My best wishes for the New Year 2005 to: Paul, Anna, Ira, Katya, Elya, Maya and Igor
Sincerely yours,
Humberto

Humberto Glaser, Chile