FAQ

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Why the tours are free?

Free tours is a system of a tip based tours which is quite common all around the world. It’s when guests pay what they want for the tour. This system motivates guides to make tours bright, that’s why many people prefer free tours to those where you pay the fixed price: as a rule, guides are more enthusiastic and tours are funnier.

All the free tours are carefully prepared and very informative. Living a tip is up to you, but guides always appreciate your donation.

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Why do you work on a tip-based system?

It is simple! We love Saint Petersburg and we want to share it with all the guest, no matter how much they are ready to spend on the trip. We do want your staying in Saint Petersburg to be interesting and fun. So there we are!

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Who are your guides?

We are locals, and most of us were born in Saint Petersburg or moved here many years ago. So we know both highlights and secret places of Saint Petersburg and are ready to share them with you! Some of us work full time, while others are part timed guides.

Please follow About for more information on our team.

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How large are the groups for the free tours?

We try to make our tours comfortable for visitors, that’s why the groups are up to 20 people. But sometimes people come without reservation and the number of guests can be different. The number of guests who come for free tours without reservation is out of our control, so we would appreciate your understanding.

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What languages are your tours in?

Our free, advanced and private tours are currently available in english only.

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Are the free tours walking tours or do you do them by bus?

Since the idea of the Smart free tour is to make tours available to everybody, we provide the range of free and advanced tours that we do by foot. With this solution our guests don’t need to pay a fixed price for transportation which gives us an opportunity to set some tours tip based and some – reasonable priced. Moreover, walking tours are eco friendly, cause we don’t use buses. Choosing a walking tour, you care about the planet, your budget and health.

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Do I need to book a free tour?

Yes, please. For the convenience of our guests the tour groups are not larger than 20 people, that’s why we need to know in advance who will join the tour on a certain date. Booking is also essential for a guide to show up for the tour.

Please be sure you’ve made the reservation for your Introductory Free tour, Off the beaten track free tour, Garden Free tour, Subway free tour in advance.

If you are the group of 10+ people, please, book the group tour.

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Do you run free tours if the weather is bad?

Soft rain or summer heat is not a problem for us to run a free walking tour. But please note that we CANCEL the Introductory Free tour, Off the beaten track free tour and we replace Garden Free tour with the Subway free tour if it rains HEAVILY, cause as the practice most of the guests, who made the reservation, don’t show up for free tours in a HEAVY rain.

If the tour is canceled we let you know via mail 1 hour before the tour. Please be sure you are able to check it before the tour starts. Thank you for understanding.

Subway free tour, Russian Cuisine tour, Hermitage tour, Winter Palace tour, White night boat tour and private tours are run despite the weather.

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What if I’m late for a free tour?

We start free tours on 11 am, 2 pm and 7 pm depending on a tour. But since we wait for all the visitors who made booking, we start 5-10 minutes later + we stay in the meeting place for introduction for about 5-10 minutes. So we usually move from the meeting point in about 15 minutes after the official start of the tour. If you are late for more and still want to join us, please call +7 (953) 351-53-65.

Please check general information chapter in the Introductory Free tour, Off the beaten track free tour, Garden Free tour, Subway free tour for more information on meeting time and place.

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What if I’m late for an advanced tour or private tour?

Don’t worry about that, but please let the guide know via mail at least 1 hour before the tour or via phone +7 (953) 351-53-65 if it’s less then 1 hour left before the tour. The waiting time for advanced tours and private tours (if we didn’t receive any call or mail from you) is 15 minutes.

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What if we are a big group (10+ people) for a free tour?

If you are a big group, please make the booking for a group tour here. Since you are a group of 10+ visitors extra guides might be involved to make your trip more comfortable and better experienced, so we need to know about it in advance.

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Why are the free tours available in period of March,15 till September,31? Can I do the free tour on another date?

The period of March,15 – September,31 is the best time for walking tours. It’s quite warm and it’s not very dark in the evening, so you can enjoy the sight of the city around. The rest of the year (October,1 – March,14) it’s quite cold and getting dark very early, which is not good either for making a 2 hour walk or for sightseeing at 7 PM.

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What will I see on the tours?

All the tours take place in the city center and cover the main sights within 1.5-2 hours. With tour duration of 1.5-2 hours you are not tired with walking long distance but you see enough sights to be inspired.

Please check the “Highlights” chapter in Introductory Free tour, Off the beaten track free tour, Subway free tour, Garden free tour, White Night boat tour, Hermitage tour, Winter palace tour for more details on what we’ll see on the tour.

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Do you run a free tour if I’m the only visitor?

We run free tours for a group of 4-20 people. If you are the only visitor for the date, we will let you know about this via mail and offer you to join the free tour on another date, when the group is of 4+ people. But please feel free making reservation for 1 person, cause in the period of March,15 till September,30 groups are large (sometimes 20+ people). So even if you make the reservation for 1 person you unlikely will be the only visitor for the period of March,15 – September,30.

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Do you run advanced tours and private tours if I’m the only visitor?

Yes, we do. Please note the price for a single visitor on the White night boat tour, Hermitage tour and The Winter palace tour differs from the price for a group (2+ people). Follow links above for more information.

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How many kilometers (or miles) do we walk during the free tours?

All the tour routes are located in the very city center where the most of the highlights can be seen within a short time. Our walking tours are of about 2 km (1.2 miles) distance with 7-8 stops.

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Is there an after party when the free tours are over?

If you’d love to have an after party and if guides have time, we may go on with a coffee break or launch. But even if the guide is in rush and can’t join you that day he/she will certainly recommend you the best places to stay.

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Are the tours all right for children?

Yes, they are suitable for children. At least with the content. But please keep in mind that tours are of 1.5-2 hour duration and some children can be tired with walking a 2 km (1.2 miles) distance.

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What if I need to leave a free tour before it ends?

Don’t worry about that, but please make the guide know you are leaving for not worrying we got lost you or something. And you are welcome on the rest part of the tour on the other date.

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Do we stop for any breaks during the free tours?

Since the tours are not that long (about 1.5-2 hours) we usually don’t make any stops for coffee or something. But please feel free to ask the guide for a brief stop if it’s needed.

Please check general information chapter in Introductory Free tour, Off the beaten track free tour, Garden Free tour, Subway free tour for more information on tour duration.

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What about the places you recommend on tours?

We don’t have contracts with the places we recommend on our tours, so all the recommendations given on a tour are just recommendations from us, Saint Petersburg locals. And those are the places that we trust and attend ourselves.

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