One Day Jewish Immersion Tour

One Day Jewish Immersion Tour Photo #1 of 2 Photo copyright ShoreTrips.com.

Overview

This tour focuses one day on Jewish culture.

This tour was designed to fill a void for those who want to penetrate the history and culture of the Jewish people in more depth. We offer, therefore, 2 types of tours. This tour is a full day of Jewish history, culture, and more.

Peter the Great did the unthinkable. In 1703 on the marshes of the Gulf of Finland, he built a new city which became Russia’s capital. Then he scandalized his court by making Piotr Shafirov with Jewish ancestry his vice-chancellor. Jews were forbidden to live in Russia (until 1917). You will find out how fortunes of the Jews rose and fell with the whims of the tzars and Soviet leaders, about Pale of settlement and other interesting things.

Surprisingly, Jewish life has never been as vibrant as nowadays. You will visit one of the Jewish Community ?enters like Eva, Adain Lo or Yesod that run social, educational and welfare programs. Another visit is to the second largest in Europe Choral Synagogue, the heart of the city’s limited religious life located in the former Jewish area known as Kolomna. You will chat there with the Rabbi, cantor or local Jews. The memorial plague on the front door of the Synagogue has the names of the Jewish families who contributed to the survival of Jewish traditions: Ginsburgs, Polyakoff and others. Your guide will show you another remarkable memorial plague that commemorates the birth place of the first ORT in the world in 1880.

Our last stop is a visit to the Hermitage Museum, comprised of the Tsar’s former Winter Palace and four other buildings that house one of the world’s premier art collections. Your two hour guided tour visits display rooms with masterpieces by Da Vinci, Rafael, Monet, Rembrandt, and Renoir. Designed by Rastrelli, the Baroque Winter Palace boasts patterned parquet floors, ornate staircases, molded and decorated ceilings.

- You will make a lunch stop at a kosher or vegetarian restaurant - at your own expense.
- All admissions for the stops described are included.
- This one-day private tour can be combined with one or two-day PRIVATE tours to see the remainder of the city.
- This excursion is a non-visa tour for cruise ship passengers. According to Russian Federation law, visas are not required for shore excursions if you book through companies that are officially licensed and authorized by the Russian government to receive foreign cruise passengers and to operate inside St. Petersburg port areas. We will supply you with the tour ticket, called a blanket visa or booking confirmation, which you will pass to the customs/immigration offices. Due to the length of time needed to acquire these tour tickets, we ask that you please MAKE YOUR BOOKING NO LESS THAN 2 WEEKS BEFORE THE DAY YOU LEAVE HOME. Thank you.

We will need the following information at the time of booking: Each passenger's full name as it appears in their passport; Citizenship; Date of birth; Passport number; Passport issue date; Passport expiration date; Arrival date into St. Petersburg; Departure date from St. Petersburg.

Any information forwarded to ShoreTrips that is necessary to obtain a visa must be exact. We will pass on a $10 processing fee if corrections are necessary after we receive the visa. This is a per person fee, charged for each visa that requires changes.

This tour includes standard admission to all museums listed in the itinerary, guide's services for 1 day, driver's services for 1 day, car or minivan (Mercedes), permit for photo and/or video use in palaces and museums, and all port fees.

Cost of food and beverage is not included. Suggestions will be supplied by your guide for lunch that will be quick and typical.

If you wish to add an evening activity, such as a theatre performance, a folkloric show, a boat trip, or even a Russian dinner experience, please choose one from the add-on options.

Gratuity is not included. We suggest a 10% gratuity to your guide and 5% to your driver.

- VERY IMPORTANT: YOU MUST BRING YOUR RUSSIAN TOURIST TICKETS (BLANKET VISA) WITH YOU AS WELL AS YOUR SHORETRIPS TRAVEL VOUCHER OR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM. IF YOU FAIL TO BRING THESE THERE ARE NO REFUNDS.

PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU OPEN YOUR RUSSIAN TOURIST TICKETS ON A LAPTOP OR REGULAR COMPUTER AS MOST SMART PHONES OR TABLETS DO NOT SUPPORT PDF FORMAT AND YOU WILL SEE THEM BLANK.

You are not able to move around St. Petersburg alone. Your blanket visa requires you to travel only with a guide.

SHORETRIPS WILL SEND YOUR BLANKET VISA AFTER THE BOOKING IS CONFIRMED. THIS IS A DIFFERENT DOCUMENT THAN YOUR PRE-PAID VOUCHER, AND YOU MUST HAVE A PRINTOUT OF YOUR TRAVEL TICKET/BLANKET VISA BEFORE YOU DEPART. If you cancel your trip after the travel tickets have been issued, a $75 per person fee will be charged.

This tour is not available on Mondays, Saturdays and the last Friday of the month.

Days offered: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday

Departures:

• 09:00 AM, duration: 8 hours