Sue Woodward,UK

12 April 2010

I have known Polina for 2 years. Her English is very nearly perfect. She is confident to speak on a wide range of subjects having an extensive and varied vocabulary. Polina has a great sense of humour and is an honest, kind, reliable and trustworthy person.

Noreen Thompson,the USA

22 April 2010  

Highly energetic and professional, Polina is a grand problem solver and has very good command of English. She is warm and welcoming.

Bernice and Robert Jones,the USA

19 June 2010  

Polina was our guide for 2 days in St. Petersburg. She was excellent – She is very knowledgeable about the History, Art and Architecture of St. Petersburg and also very informative about the Russian culture. She is prompt, friendly and caring – a perfect guide. I believe we saw just about every important monument in our very short visit to St.Petersburg. I would give Polina my best recommendation and I would refer her to anyone who is going to Russia to be their guide.

Patricia Ann Selby,the USA

5 July 2010

When we booked our cruise my only interest was to see St. Petersburg. We took tours sponsored by the ship everywhere else, but a private tour in this city was a must. It was easy to make arrangements! Polina, our guide was even more informative than I thought possible! She always took us where we wanted and took our welfare into consideration. Her knowledge was impressive and personality a joy! Our driver managed to get us everywhere despite the fact that many streets were closed due to the economic forum. I would recommend this tour (guide+driver) to anyone - they are the best!

Dora, Albert, Shane, Millie and Sy,the USA

21 August 2010

  Polina, we all want to thank you! You provided a great education and understanding of the rich history of St Petersburg and took care of the diverse needs of our family. Your knowledge is astounding along with the way you can relay the stories of each and every place we visited. We appreciated all that you did for us.

Andrea and Arnold Messinger, Sheila and Peter Nislow,the USA

28 August 2010

Polina was our tour guide for 2 days in St. Petersburg this summer. We decided to take a private tour rather than one offered by our cruise company. This decision turned out to be a wonderful one. Polina was pleasant, knowledgeable and informative. Her English was perfect. The driver was always punctual and polite as well. I highly recommend Polina and have already mentioned her to friends and family! Thanks again Polina!!!

Dag Olav Tangen and his 14 friends,Norway

3-6 September 2010

We were a group of 15 friends traveling every year to a different location. This time we were visiting St. Petersburg for an oval weekend. An important success-factor is the guide when we are in a new location. After having discussed with several, we went for Polina, and we never regret on that.

She really made St. Petersburg for us, and we felt very comfortable as her guests in this fantastic city. We felt that she really cared for us, and she always double controlled every activity we were on, even if she did not participate. Personally I have been in St. Petersburg several times before, and my stays had been rather confusing and frustrating coursed by the different in culture and language. With Polina as an “anchor” and” local mother”, our stay was brilliant. She is also a very attractive, charming and intelligent lady, with a very good sense of humor. Her English is perfect, and her skill as a guide is impressive.

All in our group can highly recommend Polina. When we come back we will of course call Polina and ask her to guide us. If you want more information, please contact Polina for my phone number or e-mail address.

Bea Verlaan and the Dutch Concert Choir (79 people),Amsterdam

17-22 October 2010

Dear Polina, We want to thank you for the wonderful time we spend in your wonderful country. When you visit our country you can sleep/eat in our home.

Carol and Floyd Shepherdson,the USA

23, 24 October 2010

I enjoyed my tour very much. Our guide Polina was so knowledgable. Our visit to St.Petersburg is the highlight of our Baltic Sea Cruise.Thank you Polina for 2 lovely days!

Sandra Holden, Maryann Walker,the USA

25-30 October 2010

Ever since I was a teenager I've wanted to go to the Hermitage. To spend the day there with a true expert - Polina Kurshakova was everything I could have asked for. Her knowledge was not only impressive but her enjoyment of the art was contagious.

All the days we spent with her and every outing felt like a special day with a friend, not a guide whose job it was to be with us. Her personal touches, recommendations and enthusiasm for Saint Petersburg helped to create an amazing trip we will remember fondly. I just now hope I can bring my whole family to meet her and her family.

Feather Gordon, her son – Lee and her daughter-in-law – Amelia,England

11-14 November 2010

We can't thank you enough for the perfect program you organized for us. We now realize that there is so much more to see, but you managed to give us a wonderful insight into Russian history and its art world. When I sort my camera out I will try to send you a photo. Keep my e- mail address so when you visit Britain you have another place to stay.

Stephen Woodward,England

28 January - 06 February 2011

Having visited Saint Petersburg last year my wife and I decided we would like to see it in winter. It was the most amazing experience for us both, the temperatures ranged from +2 to-19c, we have never seen so much snow and it gave the city a new beauty. Peterhof was a quiet snow covered peaceful haven.

We contacted Polina before our trip and she suggested a visit to the Pottery and the Blacksmiths, both these trips were great fun and I practically enjoyed the blacksmiths. Polina was just as professional and informed on this visit as the last. Nothing is too much trouble for her and she happily answered all our questions before and during our visit in her excellent English. In my opinion SPb is one the most beautiful cities I have ever visited and with Polina as our guide again, we had another memorable holiday, we would recommend her to anyone who is thinking of visiting SPb in the future.

Dragan,Croatia

Just wanted to thank you for a wonderful tour of St. Petersburg; we definitively want to visit the city again sometime in the future, and see you, if possible. Our next big trip is a trip to Croatia this October. The best thing is to wait untill those (annoying) tourists are gone (ha, ha). Vsego horoshego!

Alastair and Lynne Grindlay,UK

3/4 July 2011

This was our second visit to St Petersburg and wanted to do a tour less frenetic than our last visit and a little more varied. Polina was an excellent and knowledgeable guide quite happy to adjust the programme as we went along. We had a wonderful trip and have no hesitation in recommending her if you are visiting this beautiful city.

Carolyn Zolli Hanson,The USA

July 2011

What a wonderful experience we had in St. Petersburg and for so much of it we have you to thank! In fact, Beth, Mari and I have come to refer to you as The Indispensible Polina Kurshakova! Your extensive knowledge and compassionate understanding of your city and its history provided a critical window for us into the it's past and present. Your professionalism, superb language skills and warm sense of humor were all so very much appreciated. We hope to return to St. Petersburg but first we will be sure include you in our itinerary!

Janice and Cliff Grill,The USA

August 17,18,19, 2011
We had such a wonderful experience in St. Petersburg thanks to you and Oleg. That was the highlight of our entire trip. Thank You!!! If we ever know of anyone who needs a guide in St. Petersburg, we will most definitely recommend you. I have also told my travel agent how wonderful you are. We truly enjoyed our time with you and thoroughly enjoyed St. Petersburg.

Netina and Jerry Bodine,The USA

8, 9 June 2011
Thank you again for the nice tour of St Petersburg. We had a great time! We wish we were back in Russia. If we ever get to Russia again we will look you up. Hope to see you again.

Carolyn Barr,The USA

12 September 2011
I spent an entire day visiting the Catherine Palace, the Alexander Palace and the gardens at Peterhof and I can't say enough about the entire experience. Not only did Polina personalize the tour to my interests, it was a walk back in time through her expertise and her own passion for Russian history. Being with a guide allowed us to skip the monumental line-up (even toward the end of the season), and made the visit more memorable. Polina was very personable, has excellent English skills, and she made the day an enjoyable experience. I would not hesitate to call upon Polina again for a tour, and I would highly recommend her guide service.

Sincerely, Carolyn Barr

Elizabeth Bradley,Australia

25 May 2011
Hi Polina, Our tour with you was exceptional. Your knowledge and the ease with which you communicated with us was amazing. I am always envious of people like yourself can speak and think in another language so fluently. We have told many of our friends how wonderful you were to us and how the impressions and wonderment of Peterhof were brought to life with your help. Our experience with you was certainly one of the great highlights in our 45 years of travel. I trust your web site will be filled with clients who want your guiding skills.

Mark and Dianna Rea,The USA

26 September 2011
Our private guided tour of the Hermitage was the highlight of our time in St Petersburg. Our guide Polina Kurshakova had us avoiding the big queues and crowds while giving a knowledgeable tour of all the highlights. Our specific request to see the impressionists meant that we could spend as long as we needed and Polina's knowledge gave insights to the paintings and artists that we were not aware of. Having her pick us up in a car and then after the tour delivering us to our next destination made the day extremely easy and enjoyable. We would be happy to recommend her tour to anyone. Thanks Polina, regards Mark and Dianna.

Dr William Chong, Marina Fursa,Singapore

June 4, 2011
Dear Polina, many thanks again for the wonderful and informative tour around your magnificent city. We were lucky to have a great weather with the white nights, as well as excited by your comprehensive knowledge of St Petersburg, its dramatic history... The trip will be in our minds for a long time. Your website is extremely helpful and well-organised. Great job! We wish you all the best, stay young and positive!

Flavia & Luiz Rudge,Sao Paulo, Brazil

12-13 June 2011
We had a wonderful experience visiting St Petesburg this summer! Our guide Polina Kurshakova, couldn't have been more helpful, avoiding the long queues at the Hermitage, explaining each and every important work of art,, always pleased to give new information and historic details about SBP. Having a guide in St.Petesburg is mandatory, specially if you don't have many days in town, what you should do... It is such a nice and rich experience in all senses, and having Paulina by your side makes it feel even better and valuable!

Adrian Cubbit,England

8 March 2012

I just wanted to thank you so much for organising our day at the Palaces... It was a very full day and you made sure everything went very smoothly, your knowledge is encyclopaedic! It was great being able to get into the Palace and the Hermitage without any queues in March, and everywhere looked beautiful with the clear skies and snow everywhere... SPB is an amazing place. We definitely needed someone local with all the inside information... and the Pie Shop needs to be on everyone's lunchtime list - tasty!

Nina Kjarland and a party of 9 very nice ladies,Norway

25 March 2012

Our visit to SPB was fantastic, one of the most interesting places we have ever been, and we have only seen a tiny bit of SPB, even though we were sightseeing for 3 whole days. On our departure day Polina came and fetched us and our suitcases at the hotel.

We were having a little problem with the hotel about a payment, and after being explained about the situation, Polina fixed everything for us. She then took us to the Catherine’s Palace, she guided us through the outskirts of SPB, and told us a lot of interesting things along the way. We went for a guided tour of the Palace, and thanks to Polina we learned a lot of interesting things about the previous way of life in Russia and also today`s way of life. We had lunch and afterwards she took us to the airport.

Polina has a very pleasant voice and speaks very good English, we are Norwegians and not all of us speak and understand English alike, Polina speaks clear and slowly so everyone understood her. Polina knows a lot, and has a great sense of humour, after only a few moments with her all 10 of us felt like we had known her for a long time. I can only speak for myself, If you need a guide when staying in SPB I would recommend her. All the other girls were talking about her after our tour, and there were only positive things said about Polina.