St.Petersburg - city's history and architecture

We were fortunate to book Igor for a two day hermitage and city tour. We learned so much, covered so much ground and enjoyed the experience that we booked Igor for another day to Peterhof and Catherine’s Palace at Pushkin. Igor is in himself a quintessential Russian experience. His passion for his craft, the history of his city and the landmarks know no bounds. As an Australian, Igor looks, sounds and acts like what we would believe a typical Russian would be, stern, forthright and a sense of humour as dry as a dead dingoes donger. Dressed partway between Sherlock Holmes and a university professor you scuttle along after him, keeping up with his long stride as he talks verbatim into a microphone connected to your own earphones. ‘We’ve got a lot to cover today’ he chimes, ‘so lets get cracking!’ I’ve always hated the wasted time that goes with group tours, Igor – not only removed any wasted time with us, but we covered more in one day (albeit we were beat!) than a two day group itinerary. All on foot. If you are after lots of laughs, morning, afternoon tea, long lunches and commercial recommendations then Igor is not your man. If you are after a jammed packed experience, with each landmark contextualised with time and place, a story woven between them, fact based descriptions that enable your own imagination to go back to that era, and the occasional quiz to check you’ve been listening – then Igor IS your man. We thoroughly value our travel experience with ...

I have booked Igor for a second time for another two day individual tour (2016 and 2018). It was like visiting an old friend again, and am very thankful to him for tailoring my trip again, and building upon what we saw in 2016. This time we visited the areas outside the main tourist sites - we visited the areas associated with Soviet History, the Siege monument, various metro stations. The main reason for my trip was to run in the marathon, and Igor tailored my trip to pick up my racing number from the stadium. We also visited a newly built exhibition (built in 2018) on the history of Russia - This was awesome! and would recommend you take a trip there. We also visited the main football stadium in St P (new Zenith stadium which was used during world cup) - this was impressive. I really enjoyed taking the buses around the city with Igor, as a solo tourist who does not speak Russian, this would not have been possible alone. Igor is such great value for money, and would I definitely book him again if I return to St Petersburg. .................................................................................................................................... (My 2016 review) I really enjoyed my tour to St Petersburg with Igor. He was able to tailor my tour to include a comprehensive historical tour of Dostoevsky's St Petersburg. The tour was very detailed, yet flexible. St Petersburg is a great city with so much history, I plan to return...

Igor Ribin was our guide in Saint Petersburg and he took us literally everywhere. His knowledge of Saint Petersburg is extensive and he was happy to adapt his tours to our interests. His Hermitage tour is amazing in respect of his detailed knowledge of the art and artifacts in this remarkable museum. You definitely appreciate having a guide. Igor also guided us at the the Hermitage Storage Facility, this is a fabulous off the beaten track must see in Saint Petersburg and the assistance of a professional guide such as Igor will help greatly. We would recommend Igor Ribin as a Saint Petersburg guide, particularly his walking tours and go with his suggestions you will really discover a lot of interesting places. Thanks Igor we had a wonderful time. Helen & Andrew

We have been introduced to Saint Petersburg by Igor, who has guides us over the course of three days in this wonderful city. Igor is able to provide you rich details about the city, with very extensive knowledge about architecture, art and the city's history. Through the use of headphones you will be able to hear what Igor has to say, while giving yourself the opportunity to look around at your own pace. Igor is very flexible in organising the tours by adapting to your needs and wishes. Do not expect jokes or a lot of energy, but pay close attention and you will have great insight into the city. Thank you!

Igor was very knowledgeable- extremely knowledgeable about Russian history. He was well organized and knew exactly where to take us. It was a busy schedule and we walked lots but we felt like we saw and learned so much. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Igor as a guide. His English by the way is fantastic!