Hello! My name is Ekaterina (Katya) Chelpanova. I have been arranging private tours in Russia and St Petersburg for more than five years. Before I worked as a tour guide for other companies. I arrange all types of tours in St Petersburg in English, Spanish, Russian and other languages upon request. Visa-free entrance for cruise passengers is provided. Check my regular and smart programs for cruise passengers here:
Why should you choose my company if there are so many offers of private tours in St Petersburg? Here is the answer:
Before I started my own company, I worked as a tour guide for other companies, among them were big and well-known ones. I saw that when the company is big, usually, it has a stable good profit and the management does not have a need and desire to think about the need of each client as well as the strengths and uniqueness of each employee. A huge company is like a huge factory, which produces a standardized product. Myself I like products, which exceed the category of standard. I like tailor-made clothes, tailor-made food. That is why my company is smaller and I have time and desire to be aware of uniqueness of my employees, be very selective in my choice of guides, drivers and vehicles. In my company, be it a driver or a guide, you will meet people who are bright and gifted in what they do. Each of my employees is unique both as a person and as a professional. You can meet my team here: My Team
In my offer of the tours, I rely on my experience of guiding tours for many years, as well as on my passion for art and history. I should acknowledge that the sights, which are the most advertised, are not necessarily the best choices in high season. I will be more than happy to offer you a tour to the places which everybody knows, such as the Hermitage or Catherine’s palace, while, on the other hand, if it is the peak of the season or if you prefer something unique, I would also suggest visiting Pavlovsk palace, or Cottage palace reminiscent of Italian countryside villa, or Gatchina, a castle-type palace. Or maybe it will be the Hermitage tour but with the focus on the topic you are interested in. I am very good at hearing people’s needs and their characters. As a result, my tours are personalized.
Do I guide tours myself? Yes, I sometimes do but now I focus on managing tours. Besides tourist business, I work in academic field: I am a literary and film scholar.
Contact me and I will send you the customized offer within 24 hours!
Myself and my wife booked a cruise which stopped overnight in St Petersburg. As neither of us has ever been to Russia before we thought we would try to... read more make the most of our time and learn about the history and see the sights.
We found Ekaterina online, and she promised to make a tour that would cover all the items on our bucket list. The pre cruise arrangements we very simple as Ekaterina looked after everything and two weeks before sailing we received from her the documentation to allow us to get out of the port.
When the day arrived and we disembarked from the ship everything went smoothly and within minutes we were through customs, and Ekaterina was waiting with our name on the clipboard, and she had an excellent driver waiting outside.
The two days were action packed, and in fact on the first day, as my wife wished to add and additional palace to the original itinerary, this was made possible by over running our schedule 2 hours - thanks to Ekaterina and her driver for that.
I can honestly say that we had a terrific time and saw everything...... not just palaces and cathedrals etc, but had river cruise, trip on St Petersburg underground, visited the largest produce market and much more.
Ekaterina has a superb grasp of the English language, and I think there is simply nothing she does not know about St Petersburg and its history , so we were really lucky and had a fabulous two days, even the weather was not particularly kind to us, because we had a private car at our disposal, could be dropped right at the door of an attraction - then afterwards a quick phone call to the driver and we were back in the car.
All in all we would certainly recommend without hesitation Ekaterina to be you personal guide if you are thinking of visiting St Petersburg. Trust this information is useful to someone.
Mervyn & Mod (UK)
Mervyn H 7/23/2017
We wanted to have a tour of the palaces outside St. Petersburg. We contacted Ekaterina and initially she provided us with useful advice on how to make the most of... read more our time in St. Petersburg. We then used her company for a day trip to Peterhof and Pavolosk., engaging a guide and driver. Our guide, Svetlana was knowledgeable and as a bonus gave us some excellent tips for the balance of our time in St. Petersburg.
Susan P 5/25/2018
We had a group of 10 family members on a cruise ship, and the highlight was to tour St. Petersburg for two days. We all know that the excursion package... read more offered on board would be expensive for us, while the visa process for Russia's visa would be complicated and costly. So I did some research on trip advisor site, and found Ekaterina (Katya) Chelpanova.
A few months prior to our trip, I sent an inquiry to Katya, and got a response right away. After a few email exchanges, she sent us an itinerary that included the major attractions, but but at much lower cost. After we had booked our flights and cruise tickets as well as EU visa (for some of us), we send Katya the required information for tourist "visa" for Russia. Within a week, Katya had all the entry documents (a document issued by the government agency) generated and sent to us. When we noticed a typo in the document and reported it to Katya, she immediately worked with the agency and sent us the correct one within two days. The whole process was hassle free and we did not have to pay anything in advance (we paid the tour guide by the end of the first day in St. Petersburg).
After we got through the Russian Boarder Control at the Port, we saw a tour guide holding a sign with my name. We had a mini-bus for our group.
Raisa, the tour guide, was great. She teaches English at a local university, and her choice of English words was precise and lively. Her knowledge of Russian history was extraordinary. Some members of our group were very knowledgable of Russian history and literature, and asked some very detailed questions. Raise had no problem to provide us with good answers.
Raise also took us to two decent Russian restaurants for lunch. Although the food was a little pricy, they were really good. We had a Russian night on the ship the first night, which served famous Russian soup and beaf dishes. We felt luck that we had tasted Russian food at local restaurants. The so-called Russian food on board was junk. I felt bad for those who had not tried the local food in St. Petersburg.
Two days at St. Petersburg went by fast. The arrangement with private tour had saved us not only money but time. We had a great experience in St. Petersburg. And I highly recommend Katya.
Myself and my wife booked a cruise which stopped overnight in St Petersburg. As neither of us has ever been to Russia before we thought we would try to... read more 
We wanted to have a tour of the palaces outside St. Petersburg. We contacted Ekaterina and initially she provided us with useful advice on how to make the most of... read more