Last June we went on a Globus escorted tour of the Scandinavian capitals (Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki) and St. Petersburg. I have nothing but praise for this trip. The tour director was nothing short of outstanding, the local guides were good, the program was excellent, the accommodations exceeded our expectations.

After having been in St. Petersburg, I am convinced that the only way to go to Russia is with a person who is thoroughly familiar with the ways and realities of life in Russia. Getting through the border is an experience, for example, but due to the experitse of our tour director (who even determined where certain people on the tour should be in the line at the immigration inspection) it only took the minimum 1.5 hours and was without incident. Thus, in my opinion, an organized, escorted tour is the only way to see Russia.

Also, if you are going to go by cruise ship, be sure your Russian visa allows you to move around without your group. (Apparently, there are two types of visas that are given to ship passengers, one of which only permits the individual to move with his/her gorup.)

I'd be skeptical of Contiki accomedations, I've heard from others (though from different tours that they offer) that they tend to be quite far from the center of town

I went to the Baltics and Russia with Globus in 2005. Normally, I'm an independent traveler, and I hadn't been on a tour in 20 years. However, I was traveling with my senior mother, and she prefered to be on a tour. Fast-paced- I'd have liked more time in each location, but we had an excellent tour director and an interesting, very-well-traveled group, ranging in age from 25 to 80s.