TESTIMONIALS

From: Curt.Satrom@wellsfargo.com [mailto:Curt.Satrom@wxxxxo.com]
Sent: Saturday, August 06, 2011 2:22 PM
To: alex@east-west-tours.com
Subject:
Alex,
Got in last night around 1:00 AM.  Had a wonderful time and ALL the guides were super good super good job. We had a wonderful time. Iwrite more later.
Thank you. Curt Satrom

BBRC Billings, MT

Hello Dora,

First I want to thank you for all your hardwork organizing our trip to Russia, especially considering the different departures and visas for several of us.  All in all, it was a very exciting trip. And since the trip went so well, it is very likely WMA will offer it again in the near future. With that being said, Kathy Gorski and I wanted to provide feedback about some specific on theactual schedule, as well as what we thought were the highlights and some suggestions for changes.

We enjoyed Red Square and the Kremlin, but would have liked more time at the Armory museum. Circus was fun and enjoyable, but we felt that the circus was not "ready" for us on the back stage tour. We all loved the local park in Moscow across from the bridge with the trees and locks for the newly married couples, plus the children's memorial in the park.  Both Kathy and I felt that should be included on every tour.  We loved the overnight train but there was some confusion about if breakfast was included.  It was not, so the kids were starving the next morning on the bus to Peter and Paul Fortress.  Fortress was interesting and Masha did a great job with St. Isaac's.  Ballet was great-even the boys enjoyed it. How could anyone not love the Hermitage.  Again Masha was excellent with her knowledge and not just focusing on art but all aspects of the museum.  We love the restaurant "Stolle". The literary walk was ok.  Next time we would have the students read something by Dostoyevskiy. The students loved the palaces (Catherine Palace and Petergoff) and the World War II memorial was fascinating.  It was interesting to learn more about the Russian history of the war.  And we all enjoyed the folk performance, though we did wonder if it would be better at the start of the tour in St. Petersburg to better understand some of the dolls and headpieces we saw in various shops. One the last day in St. Petersburg we arranged with Masha a canal tour.  We all loved it and I would definite suggest adding in on a tour.We also want you to know how much we enjoyed Masha as a tour guide.  She was knowledgeable on her city but also very open and engaging with all of us.  While Olga was knowledgeable, she was not as relaxed as Masha was.  She did not seem to be flexible with our schedule.  I would have liked to spend some time at the flea market outside of the Kremlin.  And while the historical places are great, Russia has such a history in the fields of science and space.  We would have enjoyed a visit to a science or space museum, if it was available.

While it was great that all the restaurants and meals were arranged for us, it would have been educational for all of us to just pick a restaurant for us, but not the meal.  

Again please realize we loved the trip.  Every thing went smoothly, the kids were great, and we learned a lot.  However, just a few suggestions for our future trips.

Thank you,
Donna Barone
Math Department
Head Coach Girls' & Boys' Varsity Volleyball
Wilbraham & Monson Academy
Wilbraham, MA

From: Jon.Carter@CH2M.com [mailto:Jxxxxxer@Cx2M.com]
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2011 12:17 PM
To: alex@east-west-tours.com
Subject: Russia

Alex –

We had a great trip!  Thanks for putting it all together.  The chocolate factory was a big hit!  We also did the Great Patriotic War Memorials in both Moscow and St. Petersburg.  We highly recommend them.  All three tour guides were very good.  Petro Palace sucked.  If you would like more feedback, let me know.  I can stop by your office sometime and give you an info dump on the trip.  Jon

From: Jon.Carter@CH2M.com [mailto:Jxxxer@xxxx.com]
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2011 2:19 PM

To: alex@east-west-tours.com 

The two guides in Moscow were Natalya Zhuravleva and Svetlana Konopleva.  I didn’t get the full name of our guide in St. Petersburg.  I think her name was Ella or Ellen.  I do recall that Laura booked the Petro Palace and she regrets it.  Good price and a good location, but otherwise not good.  In fact, we got our Visa bill and they double charged us for our room.  Next time I would stay somewhere closer to or on the Nevsky Prospect as there are not many bars or restaurants in the area of the Petro Palace.

Erhard pretty much said it all.  The only thing I could add was how much we wished we had more time planned for St. Pete.  I would have liked to return to the Hermitage and seen the Diamond Room.  Our schedule didn't allow for it.  I guess that means we will return.  Masha is a gem.  She was very willing to talk to us and give us her perspective of what life was like in Russia in Soviet times.  That was very interesting and rewarding.  Ilana Konerding

Subject:  Thanks!

 Dear Bobby,
The trip to the Baltics was really wonderful. Thanks for all your help there and before.
All the best, Elizabeth

From: fahriea anis [mailto:faxxxxis@hotmail.co.uk]

Hi Alex, We had a fabulous trip to Russia.  Our guides and drivers in Moscow and St. Petersburg were wonderful.  They took very good care of us.  Everything worked like clockwork.  We enjoyed seeing these beautiful cities. Thank you very much for taking action to make sure our driver from Novgorod to St. Petersburg will not be driving your future clients.  Driving at 100 miles per hour while weaving in and out of traffic and almost hitting other cars was truly terrifying.  Now I have the fun of sorting through all of my pictures so I can re-live our trip.  Thanks.  Kathy

From: twodutchies@cxx.net
Sent: Sunday, September 18, 2011 10:10 AM
Subject: van Stein Tour

Hello Dora,
 
Just wanted to let you know a few things. We have, of course, returned from our trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg. We had a wonderful time, even though there were a few things we would have liked to be done differently. The Hilton hotel in Moscow is incredibly beautiful and was well worth the stay. Our guide, Inna, was very pleasant and punctual. She had a very good knowledge of the places we visited. She was very accommodating to our needs and my frequent limitations. We did not have the same driver everyday, as we had expected, which made it sometimes awkward in tipping. She was not aware that we would be returning to Moscow after St. Petersburg for two nights. We asked her to find out if she could be there for us upon our return and sure enough she was there. When we first went to the overnight train from Moscow, she gave the porter our train information. He took our bags and we followed. I had my oxygen machine and cane and Peter was also having breathing problems. While the porter raced, we kept saying slow down or stop. We had to walk to the far side of the platform and then the entire length of the train just to find out it was the wrong train. We were told we had to go all the way back and then the full length of the adjacent train. I was nearly in tears because I had no more breath. Inna explained this to the porter and he adjusted our two bags on the carrier to accommodate me and then raced me to the other side. What an experience, but it worked. Peter and Inna couldn't even keep up. A pity they didn't know that the Red Arrow was a red- colored train. The return trip to Moscow was on the Sapsan - my personal preference.
 
Our visit to St. Petersburg was spectacular. Elena, our guide, was on top of everything. Any time a change could be made in the times, she let us know. When certain venues were not yet opened, she found something else for us to do. Alexander, our driver, was with us every day and was also knowledgeable of the area and made contributions and suggestions. We loved it. The Aston hotel was absolutely not for us. The room was small with two twin beds with very hard mattresses, a bathroom whose floor was not clean nor the toilet. We contacted Elena right away and requested we be moved to the Marriott Renaissance hotel. She contacted her manager who advised her that we would have to stay at the Aston for one night and the next morning we were transported to the Marriott for $750 dollars more. What a difference a night makes. The Marriott was superb, not only in location, beauty and comfort, but in service overall, as well. We had a wonderful experience with Elena and Alexander. There were a couple of close calls with our drive that she brought to our attention. It seems he was not always assigned to us which was only discovered on a daily basis. Thankfully the schedule could be rearranged to our delight. It wouldn't hurt to bring this to someone's attention. Also, many of the places we wanted to visit in both cities were not even opened by the time we arrived. In other words, we were collected from the hotel too early. Elena was experienced enough, for example, to check with our hotel to see if they offered the use of a wheel chair. We had one at the Hermitage but we used the one from the Marriott for Peterhof. What a difference that made for me. Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was not on our itinerary as I had requested. As it happened, we were able to visit it anyway but we paid for Elena to come with us because she could explain so many things to us. That was my all-time favorite church that we visited.
 
All-in-all, we are both very happy with our trip and experiences. Having a personal guide was so much better and a far richer experience than being with a group of people from the bus or boat.

I would like to emphasize that I think it is important for people with health difficulties to know that they can still get out there and travel and see the world because there are people, like you and your colleagues and connections,  who help us when we get there. That was a major factor from the beginning that determined our choosing your company. We knew from the onset that if at times something didn't work for us, we would all improvise, and we did.
 
We are richer for the experience.  Thank you for working with us in arranging this trip.  

Regards,  Alice van Stein 

From: nir nir [mailto:nexxxb@yahoo.com]

Sent: Sunday, August 28, 2011 1:24 PM
To: Alex Vilkevich
Subject: Russia 101 Tour

Hi Alex,
Just wanted to let you know we had a great trip - I would do it again in a heartbeat.  We loved our guides, Natasha and Victoria were fantastic. They were extremely knowledgeable and spoke excellent English.  Both asked about our interests and were flexible in how we spent our time.  All of our pick ups were on time with no issues.  
The Petr 1 hotel in Moscow was perfect - great location, all the amenities of a good business class hotel, even a Friday night Russian wedding party! The staff was very helpful, and allowed us to delay check out until 9pm for a small additional fee.  That meant that we were able to relax before our train ride to St Petersburg.  Something I would strongly suggest that anyone on this itinerary consider.  The train was certainly a Russian experience and one I am very glad we were able to take.  Only minor glitch was that our tickets didn't include breakfast, which upset our train attendant, but didn't bother us in the least.  She brought us tea in those great Russian filigreed glasses, I think because she felt badly that we didn't get a meal!
The Park Inn Nevsky is a good location right by the train station.  It made it easy to walk to where ever we needed to go.  A standard Scandinavian style hotel it was small, clean and neat. But it was missing the things a traveler expects from a 4 star - simple things like bathroom amenities. We had to ask for towels, pillows, luggage racks, hangers, etc. The front desk and "concierge" staff, while polite, were classically indifferent.  Somehow the lobby coffee bar, beverage cooler and ATM were always closed! We quickly learned to ask in the bar for anything we needed, from water and coffee, to directions, getting money changed down and dinning recommendations. Given that this hotel books a lot of good size tour groups and they tend to overwhelm things, if there are other hotels available they should be considered for future private tours.
All in all a most successful adventure.  Thanks for all your help! Anne B

From: Mexxo.Nxi@epamail.epa.gov [mailto:Mercado.Noemi@exxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2011 7:45 AM
Subject: RE: Baltic Countries Tour

Hi Dora:
We are back from our beautiful vacation.  Thanks so much for organizing it.  Everything went well; airport transfers, hotels, good tour guides, etc. We really enjoy our time there and learned a lot about its history. The food was delicious and the people were friendly.  We will certainly recommend your services to our friends.
Take care, Noemi

Dear Susie,

Barbara and I returned from our trip to Germany and Iceland last Friday and we had a wonderful trip, despite the fact that our first flights to Iceland and Frankfurt were cancelled only 24 hours before leaving Seattle because of volcanic activity. Icelandair managed to get us to Frankfurt on time by rebooking us on American Airlines. The tours you booked for us in Iceland were great. Thank you so much for your help in getting this trip put together. We could'nt have done it without you.

Very cordially, Robert Pelzel

From: Borges, Gasparina
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 12:50 PM
To: bobby@east-west-tours.com ; dora@east-west-tours.com
Subject: RE: Russia Trip

Dear Bobby and Dora,

I just want to send you a quickly note to thank you for the impeccable service we had on our trip. Everything went well, Eric and I were very impressed with the punctuality and professionalism of the tour guides and the drivers. The hotels were outstanding and we enjoyed very much our trip. We will highly recommend to our friends.

Thanks again, Nina

From: Christine Beckstrom
Sent: Saturday, September 04, 2010 11:49 PM
To: susie@nordicsaga.com
Subject: Christine's Trip

Greetings from Finland!Thank you so very much for setting up the travel arrangements so well.Everything (except the weather!) has gone according to plan. The plane/train/bus connections have been smooth. The hotel locations have worked out very well. In Sweden I had a wonderful time visiting relatives.In Finland I have had a wonderful time visiting museums, churches and cathedrals. Today is the day to connect with the Road Scholar group for the the Sibelius Festival. There has been free WiFi at most airports and hotels.

Thanks again. CAB

Dora, 

We enjoyed the trip! The guides, Tatiana in Moscow and Catherine in St Petersburg were knowledgeable and flexible. The driver, Alexander, was courteous and waiting when we were ready to go.
Thank you for arranging.  Tim

Timothy S. Gillen, CPCU

Dear Susie,

Our cruise was wonderful--I could wheel my cousin in the wheelchair all over and down the cargo ramp to shop at all stops of an hour or more--the Norwegian shop owners were so accommodating (one moved sweater shelves so we could enter through the store room--no steps--)--some just came and helped us over the highest thresh-holds and steps--several times we hired a handicap van and my cousin was wheeled right up into it from the back and the drivers stayed with us for where ever we wanted to go sight see or shop and then delivered us to the ship!! We heard a great concert one night at midnight-- It was this cousins' (EM) first trip out of the country and she thought is was great!! (Heaven, in fact, as she said)--my sister and I have been to Norway many times --my husband and I have been there probably 50 or more times and extensively on 6 continents--I am telling you all this because when you get static from some of your clients, as you know, I am sure, it is probably from the less experienced traveler--there are many things to respect and accept when you travel--I just wanted you to know, it was one of our most fun trips and we always love the food--I would, however, take an extra day or more in Bergen--great there!! thanks for all you did for us but to be on the safe side, it would be good to send packets to each traveler --it did not matter to my sister or me but first timers, it does--thanks again--we ALL four had a fantastic time, much laughing and fun, a GREAT amount of food and last Sunday got together for all our pictures and lefse!!

--Nancy Froseth

From: Morena Chatham
Sent: Friday, September 03, 2010 5:22 PM
To: 'DORA'
Subject: Thank You!

Dear Dora,

We are back and didn't have any problems in Moscow so concern was unwarranted. We enjoy this vacation quite a lot. What made it so very special was the private tours that you arranged for us. It gave us quite an insight into the everyday life of people in Russia. Maria in St Petersburg was a jewel her knowledge of Russian art is amazing. Time just flew when we were with her. She is quite a lady. Olga in Moscow was also very nice and friendly. We were quite impress by Alexander, the driver is St. Petersburg. He is a great driver with the patience of a saint. The only negative from our trip was the traffic jams, especially in St. Petersburg. I wanted to drop you a note to let you know how grateful we are for your planning on our behalf. We will recommend Russia and your handling of our trip to everyone we know.

Thank you again.

Bob and Morena

Dora:

We've just returned to NA. I want to thank you for organizing a terrific trip. Sergei, Masha and Julia were very effective guides, reliable, flexible and we truly enjoyed the entire experience. We'll be sure to recommend you and your company to our friends and look forward to working with you in the future.

Regards,Gerry & Mary-Belle Pulvermacher

Hi Susie,

We went on your St Petersburg Express Tour on September 19th and would just like to say how much we enjoyed it. Everything was perfect. Thank you.
The hotel restaurant was not good but perhaps that is just part of being in Russia and there were no other restaurants nearby, but the accommodation despite being budget was extremely good and though a long way from the city it was very easy to get into St Petersburg on a regular bus service that ran from just outside the door. There was a good supermarket just up the road where we were able to buy everything we needed so we really did not need to eat in the restaurant.The guides were very good and we loved the whole experience.
Many thanks for making it a very enjoyable experience.

Regards, Judy Brady.

From: "Jeanette DeLashmit;
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2010 2:23 AM
To: "Dora" <dora@east-west-tours.com>
Subject: Thank you!Dora and Nusha,

Larry and I are home again and I wanted to thank you for the wonderful evening we spent with your family. We enjoyed it very much and I have told many people how good your dinner was. You were all very gracious to us and we appreciated your kindness very, verymuch. You made us feel very welcome. If any of you are ever in Denver, please let us know and let us return the hospitality. If you have time, I would like your recipe for your Borsch. I have attached a copy of the picture we took.

Thank you again.

Jeanette DeLashmit

Dear Masha and Family, 

We wish you all the most wonderful Christmas and the happiest and most prosperous New Year. We sincerely apologize for not saying before in writing--you made our time in St. Petersburg an incredibly wonderful experience. We thank you very, very much for giving us such a fabulous tour of St. Petersburg, for introducing us to your family and for sharing a meal with us. We particularly enjoyed having your daughter with us for part of our visit (she and her fiancé are both very charming and attractive), being able to meet your husband and sharing a meal with your family. You made our time in St. Petersburg the high point of our trip and one of our fondest travel memories. With deepest thanks and warmest wishes for a wonderful Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to you all!

 Fondly, your friends in Seattle John and Suzanne Price

From: Masha
Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 1:32 AM
To: Dora 
Subject: Fwd: hello from Florida!

From: debora williams
Sent: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 08:12:33 -0400

To: Masha
Subject: hello from Florida!

Masha,
I'm sorry it's taken so long to write you after visiting your wonderful country and especially meeting your family, that was really nice. I hope everyone is well. East-West Tours did an outstanding job and I was so happy to have personal guides, and grateful for that surprise! Tell Dora and Billy hello for me next time you talk with them. Dora said she was working on creating a 'specials' vacations and would be emailing that to their customers. I haven't gotten an email yet.
My new job is keeping me busy and school has been just as challenging. We have had record breaking temperatures here, around 110 F, hot! I took a soils class and have had to do a number of outside activities, lets just say it has been brutal in the heat.
Have the fires north of Moscow affected you? I have heard it was really bad, my nose has been in so many books that I don't even know if the fires are out. I have heard that it could affect providing food to neighboring countries an others that depend on Russia. I hope this won't be the case - I hate to see people hungry.
At the tourist shop that you took Carlos an me too, I had bought stamps and put them on the postcards and then put them in a mailbox just outside the door. It was what I would consider an old fashion mailbox. it was on the wall by the door. Could you see if the post cards are still there? No one here in America has received them yet. They were supposedly sent around June 15th.
Tell everyone hello and if Val, Ana or yourself are on Facebook look for me 'Debora Williams' in Saint Augustine, Florida. Write me back!
Take wonderful care. From the US with Love!

Debora

Hi,

Just a note to let you know we got home last night.The Ukriane part of our trip was very nice and all of the guides were on time and helpful. We especially like Helen in Kiev and Igor.Elena in Odessa was also good.The hotels I picked were very nice especially the new InterContinental in Kiev.We will certainly recommend your agency to our clients.  Thanks, Nate Miller

Susie,

Our trip to Finland was fantastic! Thank you so much for your help. The hotels were excellent and our flights and car rental went very smoothly. Our guide and driver in St. Petersburg were excellent. I would never attempt to visit there without one! It was so nice to have our own guide and not be part of a huge mob. We loved the Swan Lake ballet; it was the perfect ending to our trip, as we had seen flocks of wild swans in Lapland. Thank you again. Have a wonderful summer!  Sincerely, Sharon and Emily Nachison

Hi We came back form our Russia and a golden ring trip on 20Th of August. We had a great trip and wonderful time for the entire vacation. We were very lucky in Moscow as the smog had gone from the evening on the day we reached there. It was very hot but we were prepared for the heat!!!. Metropol was a beautiful hotel and we also liked the location,it was very easy to go to Red square and the vicinity. We really enjoyed the golden ring and our hotels were fine. St petersburg was beautiful. Location of the Radisson hotel was very good. We had enough time so we had a chance to enjoy the city on our own. The folk show was very nice. We enjoyed the Swan lake Belle and Mikhailovsky theater was excellent. All our three tour guides were excellent. They were very knowledgeable and pleasant. We loved Ellena in golden ring very much, she was bubbly and very very nice and helpful and funny. Your friend Maria in St Petersburg was very nice too. This was our 1st private tour and it was great experience and we were very happy with our tour. Our friends Desai's also enjoyed the tour. Hope to plan another tour with your company. Bobby was very nice and helped to make our decision for not canceling the trip. Kirti and Kiran

From: Jill Mullen
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 7:30 AM
To: info@nordicsaga.com
Subject: New message from your web site:Nordic Saga

Comments: Dear Susie-

Just a quick note of THANKS for helping us with our recent trip to Scandinavia. We had a great time! In spite of 4 people and 4 countries over 14 days, everything was well organized and went very smoothly. 
Although you were the first internet organized travel service I've used, I am a big believer now! You were fabulous from the start, and I really appreciated the personal attention and quick response - especially while we were en route. I would highly recommend you to anyone.
Sincere thanks again.

Jill Mullen

From: Joyce Lackie 
Sent: Friday, August 13, 2010 2:04 PM
To: East West Tours; 
Subject: Our tour to Moscow and St. Petersburg - July 5 - 12

Bobby and Dora,

I have been expecting you to ask for an evaluation of our tour to Russia, but even though you haven't asked for one, I thought you might be interested in our reactions. There were many things we liked about it, and we have a few suggestions for improvements. Over all, it was 
a good experience except for the heat, and you can't do much about that.
We are so sorry to hear now, of course, about the devastating fires near the city of Moscow. Our thoughts are with the people there, and we hope the fire-fighting efforts will finally pay off. It was good to hear that the government has opened cooling centers, but I am sure 
many, many people are still suffering.
Your tour does exactly what you say it will do in your marketing materials. We saw many fascinating highlights in both cities, and our guides were well versed in the history, art, architecture, and interesting anecdotes about each. We enjoyed their enthusiasm, and I 
thought their English was quite clear. The only second language I know is Spanish, and their English was a lot better than my Spanish.
Elena did a great job of helping us get oriented and use the subway, and if we hadn't been so exhausted at the end of each day, we could also have taken advantage of her suggestions for other things to do. She also took us to several different subway stations when she discovered how fascinated we were by the entire underground system.
Our drivers were also good, especially our driver in St. Petersburg. He was courteous, patient, and good natured. He went out of his way to get us places in the shortest time possible, helped us find such things as mail boxes and drug stores, and joked with us as well as possible considering the language barrier. Natasha enjoyed him as well because he was so patient and efficient, a very calm driver.
St. Petersburg is a joy, and Natasha even more of a wonder! She is warm and caring besides being so knowledgeable about the area. She helped me when I was exhausted and sick, and she aided me in finding the souvenirs I was looking for. Very well informed, she is also illing to entertain different ideas and theories about art and istory. Obviously, she is sharing the benefits of having guided and talked with people from all over the world.
Our hotel in Moscow was outstanding--lovely accommodations, good air conditioning, friendly staff, great location, and most exciting of all, a marvelous restaurant! The hotel in St. Petersburg was quite a letdown after that, but the room was certainly acceptable, and the air conditioning in the room worked. The staff didn't know much English, but they were willing to help with questions and we used the Russian/ English dictionary they had to much advantage. Our biggest disappointment was the food. The service was good, but the selection was quite limited, and since we could eat only breakfast there, we had to find good restaurants near by. I'm not sure which one was the culprit, but I got a long-lasting case of traveler's diarrhea, which became very inconvenient at times, especially in the palaces where there were few restrooms. Thank goodness for Natasha at those times!
As I mentioned, the heat was a problem, and this was especially true because I had been sick before we arrived. I became ill before I left the States, had a doctor diagnose an upper respiratory virus in Germany, and was still trying to recover when we got to Moscow. We tred to communicate to Elena that we needed to sit and rest more, but there were few opportunities to do that in the palaces or cathedrals. We wanted her to cut short some of her narrative and get us to where we could rest, but I think she felt committed to share as much information as possible, most of that while we were standing. By the time we got back to the hotel in the afternoons, all we were capable of doing was napping.
That was compounded by the fact that we couldn't even go back to our room and sleep the afternoon of the second day. We had to be checked out because we were taking the overnight train, a train we couldn't board until 11:00 at night. We did our best to rest in the lobby of the hotel, but it was not sufficient for the state we were in.
The overnight train trip presented a problem in another way. We couldn't begin to rest until midnight after preparing for bed, answering breakfast orders, etc., and we had to rise at 6:00 to be ready for breakfast because the train pulled into St. Petersburg at 6:45. By this time, we were hardly functioning, but again, we had no chance to rest. Our tour guide met us at the train station with our driver, and we were off for more sightseeing. My husband was suffering as much as I was, and he had not been sick!
Natasha saw how exhausted we were, but she couldn't take us to the hotel early because we couldn't check in in the morning. She did her best to find us places to rest, but what we needed was sleep. (When she did take us to the hotel, she at first thought there must have 
been some mistake --- it is not very inviting from the outside --- but she encouraged us once she found the check-in desk.) Throughout the rest of the St. Petersburg tour, she watched us for signs of exhaustion and found opportunities for us to sit whenever possible, also finding shady nooks for rest in the gardens of Peterhof.
Although my husband and I are 67 and 71, respectively, we are not falling apart. We both go the gym regularly and work out, and I hike regularly. We are not thin, but neither of us is more than 20 pounds over ideal weight. (Well, John might be 30 . . . ) I have just two main suggestions for persons in our age group.
1) Trade the overnight train ride for a morning flight the third day, and allow the clients to check into the hotel before touring. I don't know how much more this would cost, but it would be much easier on the tourists.
2) Help the guides figure out how to give only a few highlights of each palace, cathedral, or museum when the situation calls for it. They are very proud of their cultural heritage, and they should be, but unless we are students of history (and not English professors as I was), they can take in only so much lecture material at one time.

Sincerely,
Joyce Lackie

Susie Thank you so very much for the very prompt, wonderful service you provided me this afternoon - you made it so very easy to book this! My sister and I are thrilled! 

Regards K. Rowan

Hi Dora,

I meant to write and let you know how wonderful everythiing went on our trip. Have been very busy since our return! We really enjoyed everything. St Petersburg was very definitely our favourite city ever! All our transfers worked out perfect and we especially appreciated the effort that Olga made in Ikrutsk. She gave us little maps she made up herself to show us the area around our homestay and where shopping and parks were etc.  The train ride was wonderful and we were glad we broke it in Yaketerinburg and the monument to Czar Nicholas ll and his family was very worthwhile to see. One thing we never realized was with our tickets we received breakfast and another meal but as no one could speak english much. We didn't know it was free of charge until the second last day. That just seemed to be on the train from Yaketerinburg to Ikrutsk. We had fun hopping off the train at the stops to buy baking from the woman who sold their things at the stations. Another thing that helped was I went on line and got a schedule of the train ride as then you knew how long each stop was and if you had time to get off or not. The chalets in Listvyanka and Bolshie Koti were beautiful. Especially the Bolshie Kote with the meals included. Her cooking was fantastic! Many fresh berries and things from the area she included in her dishes and they spoke english very well. Gordon even tried their Banya with another one of the guests. Very Russian experience! Carson was the only one brave enought to jump into Lake Baikal as the waters are very very cold. Our hike to Bolshie Koti was very beautiful as well but took us the whole day. Please feel free to share this with any customers interested in Russia. Many memories to talk over in our family now.

Much Thanks, Phyllis

Hi Susie! 

Just wanted to let you know that we had a great time in Vilnius. Everything worked smoothly! We liked the city a lot! The hotel was good. Nice, clean, big rooms and friendly staff. The hotel was located in a very quiet area in the old town, 7-8 min walk from the Cathedral Square. The sightseeing was also good. A lady called Ona walked with us for two hours and taught us a lot of Vilnius' history. We tried to ask a bit about recent history, but it didn't seem like she was too eager to talk about post-2nd WW stuff. Thanks for all the help with the hotel!

Berit

Dear Alex, 

I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed my trip to Russia.  I learned so much about the history of Russia and the Russian people.  Your agency has put together a trip that I would recommend to anyone.  The knowledge, information and insights into the Russian culture by the tour guides (Olga in Moscow) and Maria (Novgorod and St. Petersburg) made this trip such a special experience that I will never forget it. This trip far exceeded my expectations.  

Jo Ann

From: Ben Ho
Sent: Monday, August 16, 2010 6:12 AM
To: 'DORA'
Subject: Russia

The River Cruise was a wonderful way to see Russia.   If we had it to do over I would have taken your advice to be on the 2nd deck rather than the 4th.  Rooms were bigger and less engine noise.   United left one of our bags in Chicago on the return but otherwise a good travel experience all around. Thanks, Ben

Dear Susie, 

Just a quick note to say thank you. Our trip was great, Hotel VIK was a nice little place, we really enjoyed the horse riding, after the Viking hour’s ride I was in "good" pain. I used muscles I did not know I even had. My kids had a great month in Europe and we all had a wonderful time. Thank you for your help and your professional service.

Thanks again.   Andreas Kuhbier

Hello Bobby,

It has been exactly a month since we returned from our trip  to Russia, and wanted to let you know that we  absolutely loved  it!! All that was promised to us was delivered, and more .The group was great, small , 9 of us,a ll from the US,and we all got along fine!!!Our tour guides were excellent  (although  Nicolai's English was hard to understand, but very knowleageable). Moscow  stay could have been a day longer.....a lot to see and  3 days is too short a stay,especially since going through customs is a lengthy procedure,very few agents.The Borodino hotel, beautiful, great breakfast.....a bit distant form the center, but easy access to the Subway. The excursion to the Golden Ring  certainly added another dimension to our trip, exploring the countryside with it's vast valleys, beautiful birch trees, their customs and incredible Kremlins!!! Irena kept us on our toes and well informed at all times!! !The van, roomy and comfortable, good driver too, and 2 gorgeous sunny days made it a memorable experience!!!St. Petersburg is very elegant and homogenous city, lively and loaded with treasures, as are their surroundings, with it's opulent palaces and manicured gardens!!!! Masha  was a very interesting  and fun guide, and shared with us some of her life's experiences which gave us a better understanding of what it was like to be raised in the comunist system in St Petersburg, followed by Perestroyka.
The Hotel , Arbat Nord 's location was not very good....some of the neighborhood, let a lot to desire; their breakfast good,but no variation at all during the 6 days we were there . NO internet access, which made it a pain to have to go somewhere else to check your e-mails.....they would charge $250 Ruble for an hour, or a fraction of it!!!!!  The van was old, and  not up to the standard you would expect from a tour like this. I would totally recommend this tour, good program,amazing cities, magnificent churches, museums, palaces and gardens..The opulence, just incredible!!!!!

Russian Tour - F.T. & Dorinda Frick - July 15 thru July 26

We want to let you know that we thoroughly enjoyed our tour. The pace, choice of activities, and sites we visited were well planned. The tour guides in Moscow and St. Petersburg were very professional, knowledgeable, prompt, pleasant, and helpful.  They looked after us well.  The hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg were great. They were very clean, with good breakfast, and helpful staff.  However, one recommendation for future tours would be to change the hotel in Suzdal even if the cost of the tour has to increase. The hotel was not air conditioned, there were no fans, the windows only opened a crack at the top, and the long hours of sunlight made the room unbearable. Adding to the heat were towel bars in the bathroom which were part of the hot water piping for the hotel.  I asked to have them turned off but that could not be done without turning off hot water to the entire hotel. The bars were so hot I could hardly touch them. As a result, taking a shower that night was like being in a sauna.  None of the staff spoke any English. The info about the towel bars was obtained the next morning when we complained to the tour guide about our problems and she spoke Russian to them. We realize the heat was unusual during our visit but the room would still be unbearable during their normal summer heat. Another disadvantage is the location of the hotel. The tour guide told us that it was too far to walk back to town as we had planned. Therefore, we were left in the hot hotel with no water and none available to us until our late dinner when we had to buy it at a high price. Also, the food in this hotel was not good. This was a sharp contrast to the other hotels where we enjoyed breakfast and ate dinner by choice. All the other included meals along the route were excellent. The train ride was very smooth and a great experience. The train was beautiful, clean and the amenities were well planned. Other than the hotel in Suzdal, everything about the tour was wonderful. We will highly recommend the trip and East West Tours to our friends.  We want to write an excellent recommendation for our guide in Moscow .  We filled out an evaluation for our guide in St. Petersburg, giving her execellent all the way through, but didn't have a chance to fill out one for Claire (nickname). We would like an e-mail address for Academ Services and  Claire's real name. Thank you for your help with this.  

Regards, F.T. & Dorinda Frick

We arrived home Saturday night from 2 wonderful weeks in Scandinavia (rainy weather aside). All our transportation connections worked out perfectly and we couldn't have experienced an easier time moving from city to city. The car rental company provided us a brand new Passat wagon, and the drop off point was within walking distance of the Color Line terminal. Transferring from boat to train, train to train, ferry to ferry, etc. were all effortless!

Thanks again for your help! Kevin Green (Now, if you could work on the rainy weather!)

"Masha, you are fantastic, you far exceeded our expectations!!!!We are leaving St.Peterburg with memories that will last for alifetime. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, your care andconsideration and your selection of restaurants.

Sincerely, Rita's Road Warriors"

Great trip to Stockholm, Kalmar, Copenhagen. Just great! Gota Canal was wonderful. All the hotels are fine & so well located. Trains and ferries right on time. Flam railway great. No problems. Favorite hotel was Kvikne’s in Balestrand. Good health, still have kroner left. Boarding the Hurtigruten today. Entire trip warm and sunny.Thanks for all your efforts. Well done! p.s. economy extra on SAS = great deal 

Carol and Bill McDade

Hi Susie,

Here is a testimonial from Dave Full regarding Iceland. All in all great comments. Thank you for all your assistance, I could not have done this without you!

Cordially,
Sheryl Graddon                         

Cruise & Incentive Specialist

We had a great time in Iceland. It really is an amazing place. The landscapes and scenery are unworldly and breathtaking. So many waterfalls, glaciers, mountains, coastlines, lakes, rivers, lava fields, and, of course, volcanoes (active and dormant). We also were lucky and saw a herd of reindeer, a colony of puffins and kittiwakes roosting on seaside cliffs, and so many ponies and sheep. The people were very friendly and welcoming. 
When we got to Reykjavik, we decided that the rental vehicle was not big enough for the five of us so we had to upgrade to a bigger vehicle. It was another $800 for the week, but, ultimately, a good decision given the comfort of the passengers and the ability to transport our luggage.
The hotels were clean, but nothing super fancy. We all were amazed at how small the showers were in almost every hotel. It was difficult to turn around in the shower without hitting something (the shower door, the water control knobs, etc.).
And, as you are well aware, it was quite expensive there. We did anticipate having sticker shock and that certainly happened.
Everything worked smoothly. The hotel vouchers were readily accepted and we did not have any glitches with respect to our rooms.
All in all, I would go back in a heartbeat (and, especially if the rates become a little more reasonable).
Thanks for all of your hard work and assistance in making this vacation a reality.

Dave

Dear Susie,

Just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our St. Petersburg Express Tour from Helsinki. Everything worked out exectly as planned and our tour guide Maria Ganina was superb. Thank you for arranging things for us.I have friends here who are thinking of doing the same tour in September and I will give them you e-mail address.

Many thanks, Diana and Walter.

Bobby and Dora, 

Thank you for organizing our recent tour to Russia. We were on the June 15 Grand Tour trip. The trip met our expectations and was well organized. The itinerary gave us a good overview of Russia, the guides did a good job answering our questions and the hotels were excellent.  Feedback for improvement: On arrival to Moscow our plane was 30 minutes late and it took us 1 1/2 hours to get through customs as they had only three people processing a large crowd. When we got to the Academservice desk we were told we were late and that we missed our shuttle. We had to take a taxi to the hotel which was an unexpected $75 expense to start the trip. I'd recommend that future itineraries mention that the shuttles are available for only a certain time frame so that one can be prepared to take other transportation. I do not know if slow processing is a common problem with the Russia Passport Control.  Our guide in Moscow, Nikolai(sp), could have done a better job the first day explaining what we were doing for the day and introducing himself. This was the first time the group was together so not only  did we not know each other but did not know the guide. He basically said "I am Nikolai let's go". His English was not as good as the other guides and he had the tendency to give us more information then we needed to know. On the first day he did not schedule a lunch (nor beverage) stop for us which was not good since the tour was from 10 - 4. We told him the next morning that we had to have a lunch and he scheduled this in. The hotel in St. Petersburg, Arbat Nord, met our needs but it would be nice if they had a computer for guest use. This is common these days and no one would complain if they had to pay for this service. It was difficult locating an internet cafe. Thanks again and I would consider East West tours in the future.

Doug Tracey

The trip was great. We had a wonderful time. Everything went very smoothly. Even the weather was perfect! I would gladly recommend you to others thinking of going to Russia.

Steve

From: Jane Mitchell

Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 9:29 AM

To: dora@east-west-tours.com

Subject: successful trip to St. Petersburg 

Hi Dora I just wanted to let you know that our trip to St. Petersburg went off without a hitch. Everything worked as it was scheduled. Anna, our guide, was wonderful. She was easy to understand and provided us with great information without going overboard. Our hotel accommodations were great. Did you reserve suites for us or did we just luck into them? We had large corner rooms that were welcome after having been in typical European small hotel rooms for a week. If you ever need a reference for someone inquiring about this trip or the company, I would be happy to help. Thank you again for your assistance. 

Jane Mitchell

From: Mimi Tannen 

Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2010 6:28 AM

To: dora@east-west-tours.com

Subject: RE:

Hi Dora, trip was very good.  The main guide was excellent- understood what we wanted and was very accommodating, as was the driver.  The hotel in Suzdal was very nice.  I didn???t have time to shop at the local market because we had to get to Sergiev Posad- if I had to do it over I would cut short a church and visit the shops, but not everyone would feel that way. Other than that, it was a very good trip, and I would recommend it to friends.  The lunch at the local ???house??? was excellent, lots of fun, good food, relaxing, etc.  The tours through the towns and churches very interesting- we learned a lot.  The ride through the country side and seeing the buildings added to the trip.  The guide and driver could answer all of our questions.  Your suggestion to stay near the airport the last night worked very well.  We would do it again, and would use your services if we travel there again.  Thanks for your help- everything went very smoothly.  

Mimi  

Masha,thank you for being a gracious host! You representedyourself, St.Petersburg and East-West-Tours in the best tradition.

Rod and Joan Myers

From: Scott Smith 

Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 9:52 PM

To: Dmytro Prokopenko

Subject: RE: Kiev Voucher

Hello Dmytro: I just returned from my trip and had a wonderful time in Kiev. Thanks so much for all your help with the trip. Everything worked out perfectly. Constantine, Slavie, and Helen were great. I loved my time in Kiev and hope to go back in the future, or if not there then perhaps to Moscow or St. Petersburg. Thanks again for making this a great trip!!! 

Scott

Timothy S. Gillen, CPCU

From: Rita Horsfall 

Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2010 11:04 AM

To: alex@east-west-tours.com

Subject: Thankyou

Alex - this is a very belated "Thank you??? - it has been on my list of things to do since we got back in October! Our trip to Moscow, The Golden Ring and St Petersburg couldn't have been better - it far exceeded our expectations. It all went very smoothly except for not getting our suitcases until we were ready to leave Moscow - the fault of British Airways) - but we smiled and managed in the same clothes for 3 days - no "dress-up " restaurants though!  Our guides were extremely knowledgeable and fun to be with.   I am glad that Dora suggested the pie restaurant "Stolle" in St Petersburg, we loved it.

 A GREAT TRIP, 

Thank you, 

Rita and Russ Horsfall

From: BURKE, JASON EM2 (CVN73) 

Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 5:03 AM

To: alex@east-west-tours.com

Subject: Thank you 

Dear Alex, You have been talking to my father, Bob Burke, in regards to my friends and my trip to Russia.  I just wanted to say thank you so much for helping us with that trip.  The entire time in Russia all we could do is say how amazing it was there and how great this tour group is.  We experienced no problems and are very appreciative about that.  Thank you again from the both of us.   

V/RJason Burke and Paul Ramer

From: Robert Burke 

Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 1:08 PM

To: Alex Vilkevich

Subject: Fw: how did it go?

Importance: High

THEY HAD A BLAST and wanted me to thank you for them, their 1st day in Moscow was so cold they bought mink hats (see attached), they think it makes them look 'hot'. They enjoyed every part of it, enjoyed the tours even went ice skating in Red Square one night.  The guides and drivers were great and gave them suggestions on where to go and how to get there each night; all of the places they suggested spoke English. The hotels were perfectly placed so they could walk to a lot of places. Again thanks for setting up a great time for the guys.

Bob

from: Peter Jensen 

Sent:Mon 10/19/2009 

Subject:

Dora,The entire tour was excellent. The Budapest Hotel was the better of the two hotels (vs. Asteria, of course 4 star vs. 3) although the staff was nicer in the Asteria. Red Square and the Bolshoi theater (under renovation) are only a few blocks from the Budapest. I'm so glad we opted for the closer hotel as we went to Red Square or GUM once or twice daily. I don't recall what the Moscow 3 star hotel you offered was but central location at the Budapest was extremely valuable and I'm glad we chose that one. The Budapest is on a fairly busy street and there is a nightclub below it that was very loud until midnight on Saturday and Sunday nights. You might suggest to your clients that they request a room in the rear, not on the street. Fortunately, we were extremely tired from travel so were able to sleep through it. We did get tickets to Sparta ballet at the Bolshoi (actually held in the state theatre next door) and it was superb. The artist playing Sparta (Ivan Vasiliev) was as acrobatic as Baryshnikov used to be. And Swan Lake in the Marinski was superb as well and it was the ballerina's debut. We DID enjoy the Russian Cultural performance enough to suggest to you to advise that to your clients. I guess there is more than one such show in St. Pete's, the one we saw was at the Nikolai theater. The Red Arrow train from Moscow to St. Pete's was absolutely first class, clean as can be. The train we took to Voronezh (Northern something or other) was OK, acceptable, although not as clean as the Red Arrow. The Don Hotel in Voronezh is quite basic, but clean enough. It is only two blocks from Lenin square (just as you had said.) I consider St. Pete's to be pretty much a walkable city and the Asteria location is excellent for placement and for scenic value. We had a room overlooking the Fontanka that was very nice. Polot airlines sucks. You'll recall you could never get a straight answer out of them. I now know why. You can't get a straight answer out of them if you standing at their counter, especially if you don't speak Russian. After cancelling our 11:10AM flight to Moscow, it took them almost two hours to find somebody who could speak a little English to us Russian challenged Americans to explain that the flight would be rescheduled for 2:30PM that day, but didn't actuallyleave until after 4:30 or so. We had planned to take the train from Domedodovo to downtown on our last day, but arrived too late for this to be feasible. The guides were friendly, knowledgeable, reliable, punctual and spoke excellent English, and we were very pleased with them. Our guide in Moscow's first name was Tatyana and Julia was our guide in St. Pete's. I would use either of them again without hesitation. We were overall very pleased with your handling of our trip and wouldn't hesitate to recommend East-West tours to others. 

Peter Jensen

From: Nina

Sent:Tue, 13 Oct 2009 

Subject:

Rajiv thanks for arranging a wonderful trip for New York-Niagra Falls-Washington DC-Boston. 

Nina

From: karen 

Sent:Thursday, October 01, 2009 

Subject:

Hi Dora,This email has been a long time coming, since my trip was back in May. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed my trip to Russia. I wanted other travellers who are plannig to travel on their own to know that even though I was travelling on my own, I felt safe and extremely well taken care of by the tour guides in both Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Meridien in Moscow was a great hotel and the perfect spot for seeing the military parade on Victory Day since the roads are closed and the parade goes right past the hotel into Red Square. There were so many celebrations on the streets that day, it was great way to spend my first full day in Russia. We were able to get a last minute ticket to the Bolshoy ballet which I attended before taking the night train to St P. I loved St. Petersburg with all its history and Maria as a tour guide full of every kind of story. The Radisson in St P was also a very nice hotel on the main street, which made it easy for me to navigate my way when shopping or looking for local restaurants. 

Thanks for your support

Karen

From: Pascoe, John R. 

Sent:Mon 9/28/2009 

Subject:Thank-you

Hi Alex:just a short not to say thank-you to you, Dora, and Bobby for all of your assistance with my recent trip to Russia. All of the transportation with Academ Service worked out incredibly well, very courteous, professional and punctual. I arrived sufficiently early at SVO from DME that I was able to go on the same flight as Kelley and called Elena from St. Petersburg to cancel my driver -- so hopefully that happened so someone was not waiting for me unnecessarily. The commuter flight from St. P to SVO on Rossiya (for Aeroflot) was like a 30-40 year trip back in time after Aeroflot but nevertheless fine. I certainly appreciated Dora and Bobby expediting my visa. I realize that you have your own connections for hotels in Russia but wanted to share with you that both hotels - Hotel Vera (St P) and Iris Congress (Moscow) were very good, so you at least had that information.Again, many thanks, John********************* Hotel Vera (St Petersburg): Great hotel (interesting history), recently renovated, very clean, comfortable and quiet (although street noise at night if windows open). Superb staff with fairly good to excellent English. Free tea or coffee brought to the rooms on request. Internet connection excellent and free. Had a deluxe room (2 queen beds) - very spacious, excellent bathroom - single rooms looked comfortable also. Breakfast buffet, modest (typical European - cereal, cold cuts, tomato, cucumber, boiled eggs, fresh fruit, juice, tea, coffee, bread and pastry selection) but plentiful. Hotel is an easy 6+ block walk to Moscow station subway on Nevsky Prospect. Easy walking in the area around the hotel to Smolny Institute/Church, delightful parks and also walked through the back streets back to hotel from the central part of St. P (~ 30 mins). Some good restaurants, bakeries, produce shops around the hotel (certainly within a few blocks). Would absolutely stay here again.Iris Congress (Moscow): located in a quiet neighborhood ~ 9 miles out from city center (~ 1 hour by free hotel shuttle at 9 am to 6 Tsverskaya St ~ 2 blocks from Red Square and about 20 minutes return on the evening shuttles (3 from downtown at 7pm, 10 pm, and midnite ). Will drop at selected Metro stations on the trip in and stops at Pushkinskaya on the way in and out. Hotel staff spoke excellent English and attentive. Hotel quiet, clean and very comfortable with a good, varied breakfast buffet (mix of European and American and some variation each day). Health club had good exercise equipment, sauna and a small pool. Hotel has a gift shop and bank. The free hotel shuttle made the stay outstanding; however you need to plan on staying downtown for the day as there is only 1 shuttle in the morning. The hotel provides helpful instructions on how to navigate the metro and local buses if you do not use the shuttle. Internet available but ridiculously expensive ($12/hr). Since it was 3 nights for the price of 2 it was a great deal. May not be convenient for folks who want to be more centrally located because there did not appear to be much in the way of other shops/restaurants in the local area.

From: Sally Logan 

Sent:Monday, September 28, 2009 

Subject:Russia 101/Sally Logan

DoraYour tour guides are fabulous and the trip overall was excellent. One issue was that there needed to be some instruction or help in finding the bus to take from the local airport in Moscow over to the International terminal; we finally took a Taxi, but we were uncomfortable. Also, do you do bookings for Hawaii? My husband and I are planning a trip for December, but only need help with the airlines? And, Maria in St Petersburg mentioned that you are setting up 'INDIA' and I am interested in India for 2011. 

Regards,Sally Logan

From: Githa Keralavarma 

Sent:Sat 9/19/2009

Subject:big thanks!!

hello dora....just a note to thank you for the lovely trip we had in russia thanks to your efforts... i am now back in chennai... and though the memories are there, it feels like i was never away!!! we had a really good time in spite of a few glitches--none of them really significant, and hope to be in touch with you again soon... bye for now...

githakv

From:

Sent:Sat 9/19/2009

Subject:Baltic trip

BobbyJust wanted you to know what a great trip we had in the Baltics. The guides were exceptional, the accommodations were very nice and in good locations and all our transfers worked out very well. 

Thank you for your help.

From:Lisa Hagan 

Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2009

To: alex

Subject: russia

Alex:
Had a great time. Everything worked out great. Thanks for all your help! 

Lisa

From:E Scott Pretorius 

Sent: Saturday, August 29, 2009 

To: dora@east-west-tours.com

Subject:fyi, my tripadvisor review

We just returned from a 13-night trip to Moscow, Suzdal, Vladimir, St. Petersburg, and Kiev (2 people, privately guided), booked through East-West tours of Bothell Washington, and are happy to report that we had an excellent experience with them. I looked at a number of tour companies (including Exeter International), but was ultimately very happy I chose East-West. Russia and Ukraine are expensive places to travel, but I felt like we got very good value-for-money in these expensive destinations. For those of trying to decide between independent travel and guided travel, Russia is one of those few places in the world where I would really recommend a guide -- especially if your time is limited. For many sites, there seem to be lots of confusion about tickets, "special" tickets, and "super-secret special tickets," and as a first time traveller you will spend a lot of time unravelling all of this. Also, for places such as the Kremlin and especially the St.Petersburg - area palaces (Catherine Palace, Pavlovsk, Peterhof and the Hermitage/Winter Palace) we saw very long ticket lines that we were very happy NOT to be in, bypassing them with our pre-arranged tickets. Overall, we spend three nights in Moscow, one in Suzdal, one night on the overnight train Moscow-St. Petersburg, 5 nights in St. Petersburg, and 3 in Kiev. If I were doing it again, I'd probably try to spend an additional night in Moscow since I really didn't have any real free time there. The overnight train was okay, but I spent 5 grim hours waiting for it in the Leningradskaya station, which was not fun. I might take one of the fast day trains or fly, if I were planning it again. Underrated and/or highly recommended: 1. the Moscow metro. get on the circle line and get out at each station. This is easy to do as trains come every 1-2 minutes. 2. the Novedevichy convent 3. the inside of St. Basil's (smaller than most would expect, but really interesting construction) 4. Sergyev Posad. Easy day trip from Moscow, even if you aren't going to the Golden Ring 5. Suzdal and its museum of wooden architecture 6. the Church of the Intercession of the Nerl, near Vladimir (a gorgeous, UNESCO-listed small church, beautifully set. Not in most tour itineraries, but only about 4 km from Vladimir) 7. Peterhof and its fountains; try to get tickets for the "grotto" which shows you some of how the fountains work. If you have time for only one of the suburban palaces, I'd make it this one. 8. The Great Patriotic War Museum in Kiev. Great Stalin-era reliefs and huge "steel-lady" celebrating WW II victory 9. St. Sophia's, in Kiev. Extraordinary Byzantine mosaics, which I havn't anywhere except, well, Byzantium Overrated and/or not recommended: 1. the Arbat shopping area in Moscow. 2. expensive crappy Russian restaurants. you're better off shopping in grocery stores and picnicking. Take PowerBars. I just hate paying large amounts of money for terrible food 3. Russian and Ukrainian airports; please be advised that THERE IS NO PLACE after flight check-in to change your rubles/hrivna in the Moscow or Kiev airports. 4. Tretyakov (moscow) and Russian Museum (St. Petersburg). We went to both. They're both good museums, but unless you're really interested in Russian art, I'd go to one or the other, but probably not both. I enjoyed the Tretyakov more. Hotels: Moscow: Golden Apple (very nice design, good location, small rooms, ridiculously expensive restaurant, friendly English-speaking staff) Suzdal: Pushkarskaya Sloboda (odd but nice place in Suzdal, multiple restaurants) St. Petersburg: Novotel (good location, free internet in business center, outstanding breakfast, English widely spoken) Kiev: Hotel Opera (nice location, free internet in business center) Flights: Aeroflot's direct flight from LA-Moscow. This was by far the fastest option from our Southern California location. Aeroflot flies an older 767 on this route (2-3-2 configuration in coach), no personal video system, very mid-80's feel, 32" pitch in coach. Not luxurious, but affordable. We paid $860 per person for this flight, and among East-West's best decisions was to wait to book the flight because when we first looked the lowest price wast $1440/person. Aeroflot is not a great carrier by any stretch of the imagination, but any other option for us involved changing planes a couple of times. Overall, we enjoyed our trip and felt we had made the right choice by using East-West tours. Their contact info: http://www.east-west-tours.com/ email: dora@east-west-tours.com 800-776-3341

From:Pat Walker 

Sent: Saturday, August 22, 2009 

To: Alex Vilkevich

Subject:

We had a great time in Moscow. Tatyana was a great and helpful host. We enjoyed spending time with her and all the great history she showed us. Alex, thank you very much for having these tours arranged for us it made the trip very pleasant.

pAT

From:Susan Goldberg 

Sent: Saturday, August 15, 2009 

To: Alex Vilkevich

Subject:RE: Sue and Carol in russia

Hi Alex.

just wanted to let you know your guides have beeb excellent. Peter 1 Hotel was lovley and great location. Saw alot and enjoyed Moscoe. Overnight train was fun and very comfortable. Julia, our guide in st Petersburg is young,smart and very good and enjoyable, Spent the whole day in the Hermitage,took canal ride today-weather has been nice and just alittle rain. thanks for your help--WE'll be sorry to leave but am looking forwrd to Latvia and Estonia.

Be well-Sue Goldberg

From:Falguni Shroff 

Sent: Mon 7/27/2009 3:41 PM

To: bobby@east-west-tours.com

Subject: Thank You!

Hi Bobby,

I just wanted to let you know we had a wonderful time in Kiev, Ukraine and in Russia. Hotel in Kiev was in a excellent location and we had nice time, We did have bad experience with bus driver and when they came to pick us up in a Van it was not big enough for luggage and all 14 of us and driver was angry (I was very nervous and praying that  hope rest of the trip is not like this) Bus driver just dumped us at the airport when leaving Kiev and our luggage was coming in station wagon. Hotel was nice and tour guide was nice but was in Hurry on 1st day and last day because she had another tour. Kiev is a  great city and our Hotel Location helped us enjoy it even more.St. Petersburg we had great time, again location of the Hotel was excellent and tour guide Vladimir was excellent, he was going out of his way to do things, did not worry about time and made sure we enjoy his city and he stayed with us till end.He made sure restaurants we wanted to go to was open and he would drop us there and show us the way back to hotel.  We all had river view room so we could see Bridge opening right from our room and was very convenient to go to heart of the city on our own from the Hotel. Bus driver was very polite and nice and helped us get off and on the bus.  Our Suzdel/Vladimir  experience was OK, tour guide and driver not so friendly.I am glad we were only there for one day. Hotel had no hot water for shower and no fans or AC. though included meals were good.In  Moscow we had great tour guide, She was very friendly and worked with us. Bus drivers were different every time but they were all good. Hotel location was not as convenient as other ones but It was the best Hotel among all the others we stayed at.
 Your Itinerary worked very well We were not bored and it was not very rushed. Your planning was perfect.
 Thank You again and I will definitely recommend you to our other friends.

Falguni

From:Susan Greenhalgh 

Sent: Tue 7/28/2009 1:29 PM

To: bobby@east-west-tours.com

Subject: Gary/Susan Russia trip

Dear Bobby,
Just a note to let you know that Gary and I are back from our St.Petersburg/Moscow trip, and -- with one exception -- had a wonderful experience.We hope you will take note of the exception and not use that place again.

Almost everything worked out perfectly. Our two guides spoke superlative English and were extremely knowledgeable about all the important places in their respective cities. We enjoyed them very much. The trip itinerary worked well, and the drivers (pickup, transfer to/from airport) were always on time and professional.Our hotel in Moscow -- Hotel Budapest -- was great fun. We enjoyed the high ceilings, spacious room, big breakfast, and location very near Red Square. It was a winner.Our hotel in St. Petersburg, however, was a disaster. We strongly urge you to never send another traveller to Hotel Piter. We paid for the second of four rate levels, so expected at least a decent room. The room they showed us was very dark with one small window looking out onto a brick wall. It was located in an ancient, crumbling old apartment building. To get there you had to go through a huge metal door, which took you into a big, dark lobby with all the paint chipped and falling off the walls. Then you had to go through another metal door into a dungeon. There were several rooms back there. Even Gary, who is the calmest, most accommodating person in the world, was not willing to consider staying in that horrible room. I was scared I would be locked in the dungeon and never get out.We ended up paying extra to get a room with a window that looked onto the street. The first three nights we paid US $8 extra a night. That room was booked for the next two days, so we had to move to another room. The only one available was US $37 extra a night. Those rooms were acceptable, but definitely not worth the money. And the breakfast was very disappointing... perhaps a Russian visitor might have liked it, but we did not. They served oatmeal or eggs, some nasty coffee, a small glass of juice, yogurt, and some packaged sweet. We checked the whole area for a coffee shop, but there was none, so we were stuck with that unappetizing breakfast every day.I hope this feedback might be useful as you help others plan their trips. We appreciated your always prompt and friendly responses to all our questions.

Susan and Gary

From:Anne Helms 

Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 3:59 AM

To: info@nordicsaga.com

Subject: good tour guide!

We recently went on the Classical Baltics tour and I wanted to commend our guide, Mrs. Ona Sageviciene. She did a wonderful job of sharing her enthusiasm and knowledge about the three countries, and she handled any problems that came up with grace and tact. The guides in the other cities were also very good. 

Anne Adams Helms

From: Jeff Wallace 

Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 1:47 PM

To: alex

Subject: Wallace Family Tour/ Russia, July, 2009

Alex-- thanks so much for organizing our wonderful excursion to St Petersburg and Moscow this past July. I've rarely been on a trip where the planes, trains and automobiles all ran on schedule (including the wonderful "Red Arrow'" overnight train to Moscow!), and the accomodations were exactly as advertised. Also, the AcademService guides in both St Petersburg and Moscow were EXCELLENT! Knowledgable, personable and dependable. Thanks again for helping make this the trip of a lifetime for us!

The Wallace Family
 

From: Osa

Sent:Sat 7/4/2009 12:12 PMPM

Subject:

Bobby

Sorry it took me so long to contact you following my trip to Russia in May. The trip was excellent. The one main hitch was the flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg that was finally resolved after some aggravation. City tour of Moscow by car was very rushed and the guide Alexey was so-so. The Moscow city tour segment needs some more time. Visit to Arbat street in Moscow was time wasted. It could have been omitted. The golden ring was great and St. Petersburg was priceless and the guide in St. Petersburg was by far the best. I have been telling anyone and everyone who would listen about the trip and also about your company. 

Thank you. Osa A.

From: Freyman, Marcia (Bluegrass) 

Sent:Wednesday, July 01, 2009 12:11 PM

Subject:our tour

We just wanted to let you know that our tour was even better than we expected. All the tour guides were really professional and very knowledgeable. Jeff especially liked Eugenia in St. Petersburg, and wanted to contact her to thank her. Is there a way you could send us her email address or even her entire name? We have business cards for the other two guides we had.It was interesting being with the four older people from India. I think they had a little trouble keeping up with some of the tours as they tired easily. And we all quickly found out that Russia is still not accustomed to vegetarians! We very much enjoyed the hotel in Moscow's large, comfortable room with great breakfast. And the Ibis in St. Petersburg was new and conveniently located. We will certainly consider East-West tours again for our travel plans in the future. 

Thanks Dora. 

Marcia Freyman

From: Sam

Sent:Mon 6/29/2009 12:02 AM

Subject:Thanks

Bobby

the trip to Russia, Finland and Sweden went well. Thank-you for good planning and recommendation. As per your suggestion, the hotel in town was very convenient and allow easy access to food and shopping.Elena was also an excellent tour guide from the feedback by the shadow group tour travelers.. . 

sam

From: martha jo morehouse 

Sent:July 02, 2009 10:55 AM

Subject:comments on tour

maria ganina is a wonderful guide. her knowledge is extensive, particularly in art history. we had many great discussions. she also has an extremely pleasant personality. she was always punctual and smoothed every obstacle. i would recommend her to anyone.you should think twice about putting american tourists in the demidov bridge hotel. most would run screaming. the approach to the hotel is terrible. there isn't any sign, just a steel door, looking like one to a jail cell. anyone traveling alone wouldn't know how to get in. once inside you are assaulted by stale tobacco smoke. the stairs and landings have grime from the time of peter the great. the elevator is so filthy you feel contaminated just getting in it. covered with grafitti and so dark you can't see the buttons, much less know which one to push. although it's so secure there is grafitti on freshly painted walls which should be removed immediately.the room seemed nice, spacious with a nice bath. but the only place to sit in my room was a padded backless stool. i never could find any english tv. the switch for the lights over the sink are so high i had to stand on tiptoe to reach it as well as an outlet to charge my camera ( and i'm 5 feet 8 inches) the sheets aren't large enough for the bed so they won't stay tucked in. half the time you wound up sleeping on the mattress. street noise very loud, couldn't have windows open. breakfast room dismal but may be temporary as maria and i stumbled into an unfinished breakfast room.i had trouble finding restaurants or cafes in the area.since i was rarely in my room, i could take it but i would never stay there again.the tour itself was excellent. i was picked up at the bus station without much difficulty - complicated by the fact the bus was 40 minutes early. the driver arrived at 3:00 am to take me to the airport.all of the things i saw were wonderful, never rushed for time, never had to stand in a line to get in. i particularly liked pushkin and pavlovsk. i had some free time and was able to make my way around on foot. not being able to read any signs was not a problem as i had a good map.although you were not involved i had wonderful seats for the opera and ballet at the maryiinsky which was within walking distance. maria found a concert for me at the yusupov palace that was very enjoyable. also within walking distance. i was able to avoid taxis completely.because of the crowd, huge tour groups. i realize it would be almost impossible to do it by yourself. the tour was a great idea and met my needs completely other than the hotel. i would recommend the tour.

martha jo morehouse

From: Giana Hulet 

Sent:Thu 6/25/2009 2:10 pM

Subject:Graff/Hulet Russian Ukraine Trip

Bobby,Thank you for helping us with our trip to Russia and Ukraine. I wanted you to know that our guides and drivers were wonderful. They were prompt, knowledgeable, professional, and really nice! I can honestly say that our guides took a personal interest in us and our interests. Never once did we wait for a guide or driver. They were easy to find at airports and train stations. Moscow: Svetlana, and our driver Victor were wonderful. We especially enjoyed the subway tour. Svetlana had energy and knew her Russian history. St. Petersburg: Maria (Masha) Ganina, our tour guide, our van driver, Igor showed us a beautiful city. Masha has so much knowledge. We loved asking her questions about culture and history. She showed us our favorite souvenir store. Masha made St. Petersburg come alive for us with her personal approach. Igor was so polite and helpful. Kiev: Guide Elena Parshutina and Sasha, our driver showed us a wonderful time in Kiev. We appreciated them making an extra stop for us at one our church sites. Elena was patient and taught us so much. Kievo-Pecherska Lavra was such an interesting site. Crimea: What can we say? Aleksandr Shybanov and driver Peter are now our friends. We loved Sevastopol and Yalta. Aleksandr helped us to tweak our tour a bit so that we could have a day of much-needed rest and not miss any sights. Peter not only drove us, but entertained us with his beautiful music. Aleksandr has recently been a guest in our home here in Utah. No one should tour Ukraine and not see the Crimea. Such wonderful history.Kharkov: Alex and our driver were fantastic. Alex had excellent English skills and showed us unique things about the city. Highlights: 1) Hotel Maxima Irbis. Even though it was far from city center, we liked the rooms and the restaurant was very good.Highlights: 1) Hotel Maxima Irbis. Even though it was far from city center, we liked the rooms and the restaurant was very good. 2) Kremlin and Red Square--Thanks Svetlana!3) The tea room in the basement of the Tretyakov Art Gallery. The art was so nice and the tea room gave us a needed rest.4) The overnight train from Moscow to St. Petersburg was beautiful. Clean with great food.5) Maria (Masha) Ganina. Perfect. Everything in St. Peterburg was a joy. Nice hotel with excellent restaurant in basement. Great location.6) The Hotel Rus was wonderful. Everyone spoke English. Fantastic Breakfast Bar.7) Kiev is not-to-be-missed. Our guide was very good and helpful. We really liked Elena.8) Balaclava was great! The Hotel Sevastopol had a beautiful porch that overlooked the Black Sea. We ate breakfast there and it was perfect. Wonderful Guide (Aleksandr Shybanov)9) The Hotel Bristol in Yalta had nice rooms and a beautiful indoor pool.10) The Hotel Central in Donesk was our very favorite. Clean with wonderful staff.11) Kharkov apartments gave us a glimpse into "real-life Ukraine". Suggestions: 1) Never use the 2nd-class train from Simferopol to Luhansk. Horrible. 2) We would have liked to be closer to City Center in Moscow. The extra expense would have been worth it. We ended up taking taxis and vans to the ballet and train station. They travel was about an hour (one-way). 3) Hotel Luhansk was okay, but not near the quality of our other hotels. (It did have a great Chinese restaurant on the 7th floor!) 4) Check out the apartments in Kharkov before renting. Our 2 apartments were blocks away from each other and there was not an internet caf? or restaurant near.

Thanks Bobby--Good Job! The Hulet/Graff Family

From: Arlene Karpel 

Sent:Tuesday, June 16, 2009 

To: alex

Subject:Excellent Tour!

Hi Alex:
We are home after nearly 3 weeks of travel and had the most amazing time in all the cities that we visited. I wanted to let you know that the two guides that were assigned to us in Moscow and St. Petersburg were both delightful and intelligent young people, the tours were great as were the hotels.
Our flight from Vilnius to Moscow was delayed due to mechanical failure on the aircraft. Our original arrival time of 9 am was delayed until 3am the next day so we unfortunately missed an entire day in Moscow. Our guide, Alex, did his best to compensate working extra hours to be sure we had a wonderful time in Moscow, and we did!
I have two issues that were a bit disappointing. Our expectation was that we would have a Jewish Tour in each city. Neither guide was versed in Jewish history and only knew where the synagogues were located. We were fortunate in Moscow in that the director saw us and gave us the history.
The most difficult part was not having a place to relax while waiting for the midnight train to St. Petersburg. It should have been arranged for us to have access to our hotel room for those hours. The lobby was not adequate in that it was filled with smokers and we are both allergic to smoke. 
Thanks for your assistance in making my dream of visiting Russia come true!
 

Arlene Karpel

From: Nanette

Sent:Mon 6/15/2009 1:07 PM

Subject:Russia trip

Hi Bobby,i just wanted to let you know that we had a great time on our recent trip to Russia. adding Vladimir and Suzdal was definitely worthwhile and we really enjoyed it. the guides, with the exception of the one in Moscow, were exceptional and the accommodations and transportation superb. the guide in Moscow was adequate but he was very much in a hurry all the time and just not our style. the others, especially Maria in St. Petersburg were delightful and so personable and friendly. what happened with the flights from Moscow to St. Petersburg is anyone's guess, but all ended well, and this was our only glitchthe hotel in St. Petersburg was spectacular. i have already and will recommend you to my friends.

thank you again Nanette Wendel

From: Theresa Ashmore 

Sent:Wed 4/8/2009 

Subject:trip

Bobby,just wanted you to know that Shirley and I had a fantastic time in Russia. The guides and drivers were excellent and everything went smoothly. I will definitely recommend east-west tours to others. 

Thanks for your hard work.

From: Halyna

Sent:May 31, 2009 10:23 AM

Subject:Thank you

Alex,We have just returned from our trip. I want to thank you for all of the arrangements you made for us. Everything worked out very well; the guides were great, the pickups were on time and the train tickets were just right. Thanks again for your help. 

Halyna Breslawec

From: Dayal, Umeshwar 

Sent:Wed 4/8/2009 

Subject:

Hi Bobby,We had a great trip to St. Petersburg and Moscow. Thank you very much for the arrangements, including the flights, hotels, transfers, local tours, and ballet and opera tickets. Thanks also for arranging to get us the Russian visas so promptly. I was impressed with how smoothly and professionally you handled all the arrangements. My colleague, Chetan, also appreciated your help in arranging his transfers between the airport and the hotel. St. Petersburg is a wonderful city, and we got to see everything we wanted to. We liked the Novotel in St. Petersburg -- it's a nice hotel and well located. Maria (Masha), our local guide in St. Petersburg, was very helpful and knowledgeable, and it was clear that she took special care to do her job well. We enjoyed the Moscow part of the trip as well, although we felt that the guide there, Sergey, was not as painstaking as Masha was. The Borodino hotel was nice, although the location was not as convenient as the Novotel in St. PB. One suggestion: you might consider offering the option of taking the fast evening train from St. PB to Moscow and spending the night in Moscow (there is a train that departs St.PB around 6 p.m. and arrives in Moscow around 11 p.m.). I think we would have preferred that, even though it would have meant paying for an extra night in Moscow. As it is, we paid for an extra half day at the hotel in St. PB since their check out time was 12 noon and our train was at 11:30 p.m. Also, when we arrived in Moscow at 7:30 a.m., we weren't able to check into the hotel there, and had to leave immediately for the city sightseeing trip. Some of your clients might prefer to arrive at night and check into the hotel. Thanks again for all your help. If we travel again to Russia (or if we get a chance to go to the Baltics), we will definitely consider contacting you. 

Best Regards, Umesh

From: Sue

Sent:March 23, 2009 

Subject:the trip

Dora,Just wanted to thank you for putting together our trip. It was fantastic. Our guide, Serge and driver, Valentin were wonderful. Serge took care of my mother like she was his mother. The palaces we visited were unbelievable. Serge pointed out things of interest during the entire time we were in the van. The trip to Catherine's Summer Palace still seems unreal to me, I can't believe the opulence and wealth the ruling class had. It is no wonder the peasants revolted. The sancutuary where the tsars are buried was a fitting place to end our trip. It held so much history. I have travelled the US extensively but have never experienced the sense of history and era like I did in Russia. And I almost forgot the ballet. Experiencing Swan Lake in St. Petersburg is something I will never forget. It was beautiful. Tho costuming was supurb, the dancing flawless. Thank you so very much for your attention to detail. I will encourage my friends to contact you when they are planning their vacations.

Thanks again.

Sue

From: Tim

Sent:March 13, 2009 6:48 PM 

Subject:Thanks from Lawrenceville tour to Russia

HI Dora,I just wanted to report that our tour in Moscow and St. Petersburg went very well, and we returned this afternoon (Friday) to JFK from Moscow. The tour guides Olga Kareva in Moscow and especially Masha Ganina in Petersburg were excellent. Both were extremely well informed and seemed to enjoy explaining the sights to our students, and helped us navigate through a very busy schedule. The visit to the US ambassador's residence in Moscow was very interesting, and we invited Olga to come along with us, which she did. Masha's knowledge of history and architecture was thorough, and she worked hard to explain to our group the significance of the buildings and sights they were seeing in Petersburg. She told us she enjoyed spending time with you in Seattle. The only thing I would recommend not including in future tours is having a meal at the Hard Rock Cafe on the Arbat in Moscow. The food there is unbelievably bad -- even the teenagers with us thought it was awful. All the other restaurants were fine, and were nicely decorated. Thanks for putting the tour together for us. Our students thought it was great fun, and even as we recover from jet lag in the next few days we'll have many good memories of the trip. If you need any more specific information about a particular item on our itinerary, let me know. I'd be interested in finding out about how much to tip Russians these days -- we did give tips to Masha, Olga, our bus drivers, etc., but we were just guessing based on the current exchange rates.

Best, Tim Doyle

From: Margo Ranucci 

Sent:Mon 10/13/2008 

Subject:St. Petersburg

Bobby,I just wanted you to know that we were very pleased with the St. Petersburg tour arrangements made through your company. The hotel was in a good location and the room was very pleasant. Our tour guide, Ann Statina, was always prompt, well-prepared and very knowledgeable about the city and history. We were extremely pleased with the service she provided. 

Thank you again for your assistance.

Margo Ranucci

From: Ringel, Ronnie 

Sent: Tue 7/29/2008 

Subject:we're back

Bobby-Our trip to Russia was an eye opening experience and we really appreciated the quality of the guides you provided. The night at the ballet was fantastic.Thank you for your help.

Ronnie

From: Feldman, Audree

Sent:Friday, July 25, 2008 

Subject:Report on our Bravo Russia Tour

Thought you would like some feedback on our trip to Moscow & St Petersburg. First, there aren't words to describe what an absolutely fantastic guide Tatyana Surkova is. When we met her and explained that we wanted to visit the Impressionists Gallery at the Pushkin Museum as well as the Diamond Fund at the Armory, she immediately said it was no problem & worked it into our sightseeing program. The evening we decided to stay on the Arbat and have dinner before returning to our hotel, she wrote out our hotel information in Russian, including the price we should pay, to give to the taxi driver and showed us the best place to get a taxi. She was with us almost constantly, up to putting us onto the overnight train to St Petersburg & into our compartment. My camera stopped working in the middle of Red Square & she took us over to GUM to see if there was a camera repair shop or a place to buy a disposable camera. Unfortunately there wasn't, but she surprised us on the way to the train station with an evening tour of Red Square so we could take pictures with our other camera. The Borodino Hotel in Moscow was perfect, except for the fact that it was way too far from town if you've never been to Moscow before & don't speak Russian. The room & the breakfasts were wonderful and the staff very pleasant. The Arbat Nord in St Petersburg was a good location as we could walk to Nevsky Prospect. Decent size room, but no dresser or mini bar. Again, excellent breakfasts. Our guide, Victoria Barskaya, was a pleasure to be with. She went out of her way to handle our requests. Our driver, Alexander was also a pleasure. Our last day in St Petersburg, Carolyn decided she wanted to check through her carry-on bag, but needed a small lock & key. We didn't pass any place to buy one. Alexander dropped Victoria & us at the Russian Museum and we said our good-byes to him. About an hour later, Victoria received a phone call from him saying he had bought a lock & key and left it at the front desk of our hotel. What a nice thing for him to do! We couldn't have seen as much in St Petersburg as we did without them. It was a trip we will always remember.

Thank you so much.

Audree

From: Donna Salerno 

Sent:Jul 17, 2008 

Subject:Dottie & Luther Foster ~ Thank You!Bobby ~

Thanks again for all your help with these folks (Dottie & Luther Foster) ~ they had an amazing time!!You're the BEST! Thanks, Donna. We had a wonderful trip. Three beautiful cities with unique charms. Here are a few comments on the hotels. Each was very comfortable, ideally situated, with lavish breakfasts. Hotel de Rome had no "style," badly in need of an interior decorator. The room in The Three Sisters was very charming, but located right next to an outdoor cafe and an alleyway....So you needed to keep the shades drawn to avoid being in on the conversations of people at the cafe. Hotel Kamp--superb! All the transfers worked well, with one exception and that was my fault. I didn't read my paperwork carefully enough to realize that we had to go to another hotel to pick up the ride to the airport. By the time a realized my mistake, it was the pick up time (4 AM). We just took a cab. Trekking across town to catch a cab at another hotel at 3:30 in the morning wouldn't have been very convenient anyway. All three tours were excellent and the local guides, particularly the one in Tallinn, were charming and informative. I'm so glad you included the guided tours in the package. They oriented us to the city and showed us some sites we wouldn't have seen otherwise. In Riga there was a music festival in the town square, in Tallinn a medieval festival with crafts and music/dancing. Hilton and I did a lot of walking around. The food was splendid and we had some memorable meals--particularly the tasting menus at The Three Sisters and Chez Dominique in Helsinki. I really enjoyed the decorative arts museum in Riga. Also, the Arsenal Museum was having an exhibit of Soviet era Social Realism--all the smiling faces were chilling, a fascinating museum. Riga was Hilton's favorite. The market in Riga is truly something to behold. Its the largest in Europe. Hilton thought that Tallinn was almost too Disneyland perfect. I thought it was great -- charming cobblestone streets, spectacular views of the city from old town. I enjoyed the churches and the ecclesiastical art museum. Hilton like the maritime museum. The climb to the top of St. Olaf's is not for the faint of heart, but its worth the effort. There were more American tourists in Helsinki. We had some rain one day, but not enough to slow us down. We took a ride around the harbor. I took a walking tour recommended by a guide book that took me through parks, the residential area where embassies are located, and along the harbor where I had a glass of wine at Cafe Ursula. Finnish design is simply the best. The shop windows around the hotel were full of exquisite clothes. However, Helsinki is very expensive. We purchased little. All in all, truly enjoyable. I was concerned that there might be too much moving around. But that was not the case. Thank you. We don't have any immediate plans--but certainly we'll be going somewhere next summer or fall and we'll be sure to use you to make the arrangements. 

Dottie

From: John Hamilton 

Sent: 7/14/2008 

Subject:Delta.com Itinerary

To: BOBBY (bobby@east-west-tours.com)

Thank you very much for arranging this trip for us, Bobby! Seat selection is great! Seat selection is great!

John

From: Peter Rosacker

Sent: 7/8/2008 

Subject:Had a wonderful time!

Dora,Just wanted to thank you for helping us plan such a wonderful trip to Russia. The trip occurred flawlessly with everything as planned and promised. We especially would like to praise the efforts of both our guides. Elena was excellent at making us feel welcome and comfortable in Moscow -- nothing was too much trouble, and it was much like visiting an old friend. Irina in St. Petersburg was just as outstanding, and had no difficulty keeping up with our desire to see as much as possible. Thanks, again! We would suggest your services to anyone we know who might need to plan a trip to these fantastic cities.

Sincerely, Peter Rosacker and Kevin Sexton

From: Lorraine Panizzi 

Sent:7/8/2008 

Subject:Lippert Party

Hi Bobby,The Lippert's had the best trip. Thanks for all your help.

Lorraine Panizzi CTA,DS

From: Christian J. Streck 

Sent:July 01, 2008 

Subject:Bram-Streck trip

Alex, Just wanted you to know that our trip went very well. The hotels were all excellent - just the right size (small but not too small) and location. All the staff at all the hotels were very good. We also enjoyed our guides. Our Moscow guide, Natasha, was especially good and we enjoyed working with her and learning about Russian history and art. In fact, if you have an e-mail address for her we would like to send her a note.Thanks for your work organizing the trip. I would highly recommend East-West tours to anyone planning travels to Russia.

Chris Streck

From: Jon Nachison 

Sent:June 29, 2008 

Subject:Thank you!

Hi Susie,Our trip to Finland was fantastic! Thank you so much for your help. The hotels were excellent and our flights and car rental went very smoothly. Our guide and driver in St. Petersburg were excellent. I would never attempt to visit there without one! It was so nice to have our own guide and not be part of a huge mob. We loved the Swan Lake ballet, it was the perfect ending to our trip, as we had seen flocks of wild swans in Lapland. 

Thank you again.

Have a wonderful summer!

Sincerely, Sharon and Emily Nachison

From: Marian Shapiro 

Sent:June 30, 2008 

Subject:Photo- the drinking sign

Thank you SOOOO much, Masha, for a wonderful tour in St. Petersburg!!!! You are a SUPBERB guide! Here are the two photos I took of you giving the sign you showed us referring to drinking. I'm also including a few photos of our group so you can remember the wonderful time we had with you.

Love,Marian

From: Vallie Bram 

Sent:June 30, 2008 

Subject:Thank you for your help on our trip to Russia

Alex, Thank you so much for the splendid arrangements you made for us on our trip to Russia and The Baltic States. The air and rail travel went smoothly. The hotel accommodations were well located, well appointed and offered excellent breakfasts. Our tour guides were very knowledgeable, professional, courteous and helpful. Very importantly, I feel certain we never would have been able to see and enjoy all that we did if we had tried to go it on our own. Special mention: Our guide in Moscow, Natasha, was outstanding. Also, the hotel in St Petersburg had a great bathroom. (Always popular with us females.) .

Thank you again.Vallie Bram

From: 'Dave'

Sent:June 24, 2008 

Subject:Masha Ganina

Dora, In case you have not heard from Cindy about our St. Petersburg tour, I want to let you know that we have traveled the Mediterreanen, S. America, Hawaii, S. Pacific, etc. and Maria Ganina was the best guide we have ever had. She is just exceptional. I would like to have a mailing address for her, as we have several pictures with her in them that I think she would like to have. Please, if you can, send me the address so we can send her some remembrances of our visit with her.

Thank you again.

Dave Hubler

From: Karen

Sent:June 20, 2008 

Subject:

Hi MashaWe four ladies have returned to the US and are recovering from our travel. That 11 hour time difference is a killer! I would just like to thank you for making our visit to St. Petersburg so memorable. You are an wonderful guide and have an incredible knowlege of history, artwork, antiquities, etc. We really enjoyed your company, as well. I hope you will keep my email address and allow me to show you Santa Barbara if you visit southern California. (I really mean it.) I know Pat, Shirley and Francoise would also be delighted to take you around the San Francisco Bay Area.It was a wonderful trip.

Thank you so much!

Karen McElwain

From: Karen

Sent:June 18, 2008 

Subject:

Hi Dora, Many thank for arranging a great tour for us. Everything went like clockwork and we couldn't have been more pleased with the arrangements. I would definitely recommend Sergei in Moscow as a guide and you know how wonderful Masha is! Her knowlege is unbelievable. Thank you for all your help! 

Best regards

Karen McElwain

From: Jack Hansen 

Sent:June 28, 2008 

Subject:Thank you for all your help in the planning of our Russia trip last month

Alex, Just a note of thanks for all you did to make the trip my wife and I took to Russia a success. The Golden Apple Hotel was an excellent choice for visiting Moscow, and the guide you arranged for us to visit the Diamond Fund and the monastery was both pleasant and competent.

 Thank you again.
Jack

From: Alex Svyatenkiy 

Sent:June 06, 2008 

Subject:Thank you for a good quote Bobby!

It's good to have business with you, keep that in mind. :-) Have a good day 

Alex

From:'Noela'

Sent:May 28, 2008 

Subject: Thank You

Hope all is well with you. Just wanted to drop you a quick note to thank you for all of your efforts in arranging my trip to Russia. I had a great time and had no problems with my transportation and hotels. Also, Masha was an absolutely WONDERFUL guide!!! I can't thank you enough for putting me in touch with her. She was very helpful and accomodating and even helped me get a cell phone when I realized that the one I had bought in Spain would not work in St. Petersburg.I will contact you again for my next trip to St. Petersburg - and there will DEFINITELY be a next time. I plan on recommending your company to everyone who is planning to travel to Russia.

Take care.Noele Porta

From: Doug 

Sent:17 May 2008 07:25

Subject:

Thank you so much for the great job you did in planning our trip. The hotels and guides were excellent and the visa process was easy with your help. I will definitely contact you again on any future trips that include Russia/Ukraine or the Baltic's. It is wonderful to work with travel agents that you know you can trust and depend on. 

Doug Havely

From: julie smith 

Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 3:28 PM

I just returned from my tour of St. Petersburg and want you to know that you and your company did an outstanding job. Just wanted to send you a note to thank you for the great tour in Russia. The people you got me in contact with were extremely nice. It was fun meeting them and I really enjoyed the tour. 

Julie Smith

From: Frank Fujioka 

Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 8:34 AM

Subject: good tour

I just returned from my tour of St. Petersburg and want you to know that you and your company did an outstanding job. My guide Masha was very accommodating and she quickly learned of my interests and guided her comments accordingly. She was very well informed and was able to answer any question I had. She was very prompt to our appointments. If all your guides are as qualified as Masha, your clients will be very satisfied. The visit to the Siege Museum was a very good choice and it gave me a feeling for what the citizens experienced. I don?t think that as an English speaking person, I could have toured the city very easily. With a guide, I truly gained the most from the experience. 

Frank Fujioka

From: Tom Karpowski - NBO 

Sent: Friday, January 11, 2008 1:25 PM

To: dora@east-west-tours.com

Subject: Re: Private tour reservation made

Thank you...We had a great time.We loved St. Petersburg the best...!

Take Care,

Tom KarpowskiBennett and Company

From: Harry Streep

Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 20072:37 PM

To: dora@east-west-tours.com

Subject: Re:SUPER!

 The trip was fabulous and Elena wonderful.  I will tell you more when I have time, but thank you thank you thank you.

Harry

From: Ellen Victor 

Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2007 11:10 AM

To: dora@east-west-tours.com

Subject: thank you 

We had a wonderful time on the trip.  The guides were knowledgeable.  However, the guide in St. Petersburg was spectacular.  My only problem with the trip was that we couldn't get to the diamond funds in Moscow or St. Petersburg.  I would be willing to pay any additional charge to see those sites.  Perhaps, people could be informed before they went that if they wanted to see those sites, they would be charged an additional fee.

 Thank you for a special trip.

From: Gertrude Burr 

Sent: Monday, July 30, 2007 5:41 PM

To: dora@east-west-tours.com

Subject: Thank You

Hi Dora, Thank you so much for arranging such a wonderful tour for us in Russia.  Our guides and drivers in Moscow and St. Petersburg were polite, knowledgeable and punctual.  The boat was an interesting experience, to say the least.  Although plain and not very fancy, traveling the river is a terrific way to see many of the towns between Moscow and St. Petersburg.  It was also extremely relaxing as I had enough time to read two books. Seeing St. Petersburg was the highlight of the trip.  I am so glad that we had almost a week to experience many of the palaces and museums.  Both hotels you recommended were also lovely, especially the breakfast room at the Metropol where a harpist was playing at 8:00 AM.  It is difficult to top that one. Everything considered, this was a vacation that will provide a lifetime of good memories. 

Best regards, Trudy Burr 

From: Anita Wentworth 

Sent:Wednesday, June 20, 20072:47 PM

To: dora@east-west-tours.com

Subject: RE: Wentworth 

Dora, We returned from our trip today.  I just wanted to thank you?we could not have asked for a better experience in St. Petersburg.  Everything was perfectly organized, our guide was fantastic, and the driver was so nice and flexible.  Thanks for all you did?it was a magical experience.  

Anita and Bob Wentworth 

From: Janice Cassidy 

Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 8:02 AM

To: Dora

Subject: Russia 

Dora, We returned from Russia yesterday and I just wanted to thank  you for the great job you did organizing this trip for us.   We had a  great time.  The drivers were excellent ( and it looked like a very  challenging job!... the traffic was incredible in both Moscow and St.  Petersburg.)    We loved St. Petersburg.... you were correct to have  us go to Moscow first and end our trip in St. Petersburg.    All of  the guides were great, especially  Helen and Masha.... The Mariinsky theater was a highlight... we had great seats!  ...  all- in- all it was an excellent trip..... 

Thanks again..... Jan Cassidy

From: John Newcomb 

Sent: Thursday, June 14, 20079:00 AM

To: dora@east-west-tours.com

Subject: we're home 

Dora, we had a great trip.    Svetlana and Elena were terrific.  They were very knowledgeable and personable.  We would recommend both of them to anyone.  The cars and drivers and guides were right were they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be.  We were very happy with the entire experience. 

 John Newcomb

From: Ellen Newman 

Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 7:42 AM

To: Dora Rozet

Subject: trip 

Dora,Thanks for all of your help on our trip plans.  We had a fascinating time. Both hotels were fine. The Ambassador was just lovely and the staff at both was very helpful. Also, our ballet and opera tickets were great...very good seats...delivered almost as soon as we arrived in St Petersburg. ?.St Petersburg is beautiful; the Kremlin is amazing, but I know you've heard all of that before. Again for all of your help and hard work.  I am looking forward to referring you to my friends.

Ellen

From: Nancy Tobin

Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 20072:42 PM

To: dora@east-west-tours.com

Subject: A wonderful trip 

Dora: 

I am really remiss that thanks are so late in coming for the package you put together for me and David. The guides were excellent and the planning was terrific. If we had had the luxury of more time, we might have done something slightly different, but you really saved us! Moscow and especially St. Petersburg were places that we will always treasure as memories. I doubt that we would have made the visits without your excellent recommendations and assistance.

Thanks so much, Nancy

From: Brenda Moroz

Sent: Friday, May 25, 2007 12:31 PM

To: Dora@east-west-tours.com

Subject: Trip  

Thank you for organizing a great tour. Enjoyed Moscow more than I thought?. Sergiev Posad was interesting, so glad we were able to do that. The Metropol Hotel was fabulous & the grander & more lovely of the hotels we thought[ maybe b/c we like older buildings] St. Petersburg was great -- we had 4 days of sun & only one of light drizzle--the day we were at the Hermitage. Masha is a superlative guide who is not only well educated but extremely well informed. She knows her way around the Hermitage like the back of her hand & really kept us moving! We really, really enjoyed her.

Again, thank you. Brenda Moroz

From: Luss, Hanan

Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 20078:38 AM

To: alex

Subject: RE: trip 

Hi Alex, We returned yesterday from our trip. We would like to thank you for the planning and arrangements. The itinerary was great and both guides in Moscow and St. Petersburg were indeed excellent. The trip was very educational, interesting and fun. We will certainly recommend it to anyone interested in going to Russia. 

Best wishes, Hanan 

Dear Alex, We are back from Moscow! Just want thank you for your assistance and let you know that we had a great time and the service provided by Academ was great. The drivers were friendly and helpful, and our tour guide Olga was excellent. We will keep in touch regarding our trip to Hawaii and we look foward to your assistance and services for our trip to St. Petersburg next year.

Thank you!Dania Benavides 

From: Harry Streep

Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 20072:37 PM

To: dora@east-west-tours.com

Subject: Re: SUPER!  

The trip was fabulous and Elena wonderful.  I will tell you more when I have time, but thank you thank you thank you.

Harry

From: Ann 

Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2007 5:00 PM

To: dora@east-west-tours.com

Subject: Thank you! 

Hello Dora, I traveled on with my sister for a couple of weeks after our incredible week in Russia so this is my first opportunity to email you. Our trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg was everything we hoped it would be.  Your arrangements worked perfectly.  We were delayed by snow on our way to Moscow but were able to contact Julia and there was a driver to meet us at 2:00AM!  Our guide, Elena was concerned about the extra charge, but it was well worth it to us and we thought very fair.  The hotels were very comfortable and the one in Moscow was truly unique and in a wonderful setting. Both Elena and Masha were great guides.  They picked up on our interests very quickly and their knowledge of Russian, culture, art and architecture was incredible.  Now we are back home with a thousand photos to sort through and million wonder memories.

Thank you so much! Ann & Martin Harris

Do you remember me?

Want to say the trip that you helped me plan throughout Russia, Kiev, and Budapest was
a "Trip of Dreams". The private tours were fantastic! Masha was great and very informative!
(You were right with the guided tours! Stuart and Victoria loved it!)
Look forward to speaking with you.

Regards,

John Napper

Greetings!  I called your office today and was told you were on vacation until next week, so I thought I would send an email.

We wanted to thank you for all of your help with our recent trip to Russia.  All of the flights and the transfers you booked for us worked wonderfully and without a hitch.  Pastor Matthews has made many trips to Russia and he said this was by far the smoothest ever, referring to the transfers to/from the airports and hotels.

Thank you again!

Sincerely,
Ryan P. Ringwelski
Executive Assistant
SolidRockChurch

Sorry that I am so late but I wanted to say thank you and send you a photo from my trip.  I really appreciated your helpfulness and kindness - you really helped make my visit to St. Petersburg a special one!  I wanted to ask you for your mailing address as I have some yarn that I bought you as a thank you gift that I'd like to send to you

Jenny

Tom & I made it back home safe and sound.
Let me restate how much we enjoyed your country and hometown: it was wonderful.
And you helped to make it so. Your command of information and fine presentation of that knowledge is first class. We will always remember our visit.

Best wishes to you.

Philip Desiere

Thanks again!

Donna Sheperd

Thanks again for showing us Peterhof.  It was one of the highlights of our trip.  Here are a couple of pictures from our trip.  The first is of you and Bettsy.  The second is on the train - it does have separate rooms in first class, but the rooms hold six people, so it is possible we could have had company.  However, since the train was nowhere near full, we got the cabin to ourselves.

Best of luck in your continued pursuits. 

Tom & Bettsy Leib

Thank you again for sharing your beautiful country.  I had a great time and I appreciated your informative tour and Alexander's safe driving.

Matt Aho
Kirkland, WA

I just wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed having you guide us through our visit to St. Petersburg last month.  We all appreciated your vast knowledge of the art and history of the city.  We know you helped us see the most possible in the short time we had and you made our visit there a memorable highlight to our trip. We also appreciated the services of your driver, who, despite the language barrier, was very helpful in negotiating for tickets and overweight baggage charges.  Please pass on our thanks to him.

Again, we certainly did enjoy you during our tour in St. Petersburg.  In fact, I was showing my pictures to someone today and they asked how we managed to see so much in such a short time - I told them we just had a wonderful tour guide. We will all recommend your services to anyone else who might be traveling to St. Petersburg in the future.

Best wishes to you and your family for the upcoming holidays,

Molly Keeney
Executive Director
VolunteerCenter of Greensboro

From: Iris Groten
Sent: Thursday, August 10, 2006 8:26 PM
Subject: Thank you

Dora,

I wish to thank you for all your help in planning our trip from St. Petersburg to Moscow.  All went very well.   The train ride was uneventful.  We did need some assistance from the concierge at our hotel in St. Petersburg in deciphering the signs in the railroad station.  We had her write our the words "departure" and "arrival" in Russian, so we would know what track our train would be leaving. By the way, I would strongly recommend the Helvetia Hotel.  It was extremely clean.  The service was excellent and the room was large and had closet and drawer space to make unpacking very easy.

Our guide in Moscow was informative, helpful and tireless.  We got to see quite a bit in our three day visit to Moscow.  The driver was very competent, he was always on time but I must admit driving around in that city is extremely scary.  I now know why so many New York taxi drivers are Russian.  The Meridian National was a wonderful choice.  The location could not have been more convenient and it definitely is a five star facility.

We thoroughly enjoy our visit in your native country, but I am glad I live in the US.  Life is not easy there for many, many people.  Thank you again for all your help and feel free to use us for a recommendation at any time.

Iris Groten