A boat trip is a very pleasant, interesting and romantic way to explore the city. St. Petersburg is often called the Venice of the North. It lies astride 42 islands washed by 65 rivers and canals. You will go along the old canals and under the bridges. You will see beautiful old palaces and mansions decorating the embankments. And during the trip you can try to imagine yourself in the 18^th - 19^th century St. Petersburg, where canals and boats existed - busses did not. So this tour will give you a better feeling of the nature and character of old Petersburg.

We recommend taking this tour not instead but after the general city tour, for this will give you an opportunity to view the buildings you have seen before at a different angle. We can provide any kind of boat from little private boats for 4 to 10 passengers to boats that can accommodate up to 40-45 people. The big boats usually have both - a weatherproof cabin and an open deck.

The tour usually lasts for 1-1.5 hours. The route depends on how high the water is in the canals and on how long you want the tour to last.

NB! One of the biggest advantages of this tour is that there are no traffic jams on the rivers so far.

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From our clients' reviews:

St Petersburg boat tour english

...I would strongly recommend the boat tour in St. Petersburg with Best Guides! The city is absolutely beautiful and and riding in a boat cruising the river and enjoying the scenery is a major highlight. (Bill Str.)

Best boat tour St Petersburg Russia
...The views of the buildings' architecture from the water are amazing. It was like being in Amsterdam and Venice combined - then you enter the Neva River at sunset, and I was truly speechless. Also, it might be worth doing the midnight bridges boat tour as well since the buildings started turning on their facade lights towards the end of my trip, and the colors were even more impressive. (Alexander, Ohio)

St Petersburg Russia boat tours
...Take a river cruise if in St. Petersburg you will enjoy. Lots of opportunities to take pictures of Places, Fortress, and Museums. Gave us a nice foundation of the city and sites with some history. This cruise was in beautiful St. Petersburg, a most photogenic city with hundreds of bridges and wonderful architecture. (Serge S, Manila)

Private boat St Petersburg Russia / Canal tour
...Because St. Petersburg was built to be seen from the water, it would be a shame not to see it by boat while you're there. There was a good private tour guide Elena from Best Guides. If it's cold, they have blankets available for you. (Dabby H)

English speaking boat tour St Petersburg
...Our guide Olga is fun and always excited and passionate to show us the beauty of her hometown. She is well prepared and knowledgeable to everything about St Petersburg including food, culture, monuments, history, etc. She talks flawlessly in English and we all enjoyed the whole evening boat trip with her. (Nikolas Bradly)

Best channels and river tour in St Petersburg Russia
...Thank you Best Guides for a beautiful and educational channels and river tour in St. Petersburg. Our tour guide Elena who is really a master docent was so knowledgable and fun! (Ahmad Shi)

Canals and river tour in St Petersburg Russia
...The river tour was excellent and our guide Olga provided a tremendous amount of information about St Petersburg, it's history and landmarks, as we were on the tour. Olga even brought a couple of bottles of wine so that we could enjoy a Georgian merlot as were on or trip. St Pete's is a city that really does need to be seen and appreciated from the water. (Eline Scott)