My purpose was to see the cultural sights of Moscow and St. Petersburg and attend as many classical music concerts as possible. Normally I purchase concert tickets in advance and then get my air tickets on trips like this. However, but for Maria Soboleva's help, that would not have been possible because concert programs are not published as far ahead as in the West, and many schedules are available only in Russian. After we obtained the major opera and ballet tickets, I bought my plane ticket, and then after the first of the year Maria sent me a spreadsheet of concerts in both cities on the days I would be there. I was able to pick from a selection of concerts ranging from conservatory student recitals to the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Ballets. I highly recommend Tour of Moscow for any tourist but most especially for music, ballet and opera lovers seeking to experience the best Russia has to offer. Tour of Moscow is owned by two very professional women who provided me with wonderful tours of the city, its museums,churches, metro and a great walking tour of an ordinary neighborhood.
Reviews
Here are the testimonials posted by some of our recent clients on Tripadvisor.com.
Knowledgable and charming guide - would highly recommend.
We were a group of 4 and hired Maria for 2 days in Moscow. Day one was to see the major museums and galleries and day two was a walking/ taxi/ metro tour around the city. Maria organised access to places we would not have got tickets to without a lot of hassle (like the Armoury and Diamond Vault) and she did brilliantly when it came to knowing where to avoid queues and group tours.
Her English was excellent and she was very knowledgeable and full of interesting and informative anecdotes. She was also sensitive to the need for coffee breaks and with a good sense of humour she always recognised when we were reaching museum/ art overload! Her knowledge of history and her pride in her city were infectious.
Sue - UK (September 2018)
BEST 3 DAY PRIVATE TOUR OF MOSCOW including TWO DACHA VISITS FOR TEA!!!
Svetlana and I worked out a 3 day private tour itinerary several months ahead of our trip to Moscow. My husband and I didn't want to see many of the sites offered on group tours nor did we want to be in a herd or share our limited days/time waiting in lines or for other people. Rather, we wanted an experience tailored to our interests and that's what we got. Svetlana organized all my check list into 3 full, exciting and varied days. She met us in our hotel lobby each morning at 8:30 (our choice) and escorted us via Metro back each evening (usually 5:30). Her energy never flagged and our interest in what she had to tell us never fell. She is a gem. One highlight was a visit to 2 delightful private 'dacha's in the countryside: her Grandmother's for tea and her Russian teacher friend's (proficient in English) where we were served home made blinis with the family at the kitchen table. What a great experience!
JDarlen - Canada (September 2018)
Micforhic - USA (August 2018)
MusicNerd - Florida (February 2018)
We took tours on 3 successive days with Svetlana who is just an amazing guide- very friendly, adapts to guests needs, very organized and had very good knowledge of Russian history. She was also very patient with us helping us piece together Russian history from quite ancient to present times. Our kids loved her too. We took a tour of Moscow city, food tour and Suzdal/ Vladimir.
One of the important things about tours is the location and the guide. As with many things in Russia, the locations are great so one important factor of any tour is more than satisfied. Great locations mean the tours can’t go wrong. A second and most important factor is the guide. A good guide can lift up a tour of a bad location as a poor guide can ruin a great location, so guides are one of the most important factors when taking any tour. As such we took a full day tour to Vladimir and Suzdal. Full day because it takes time just to get there from one’s hotel in Moscow, a two-hour trip in both directions. So one has an opportunity to spend a lot of free time with the guide. We had the pleasure to meet and spend time with a great guide named Svetlana. And the type of person that goes from guide to friend. Very quickly she establishes a wonderful approach and transforms the experience into a day tripping with a friend
Zvonimir - Slovenia (August 2017)
Maria Soboleva is a superb guide! I spent 3 days with her, 2 in Moscow and 1 in Suzdal. She has all that one would expect of a guide including a solid command and fluency of English, excellent historical knowledge of Russia as well as deep knowledge of all the sites visited whether religious, scientific, architectural or just of general interest. What truly sets her apart is, as she describes herself, the fact she is a “rooted Muscovite”. Born and raised in Moscow, this is her home. This connection and attachment is evident as she describes not only what you are seeing but how it ties into the city, how people feel about the changes happening and her perspective on all of it.
Robert - USA (April 2017)
AMAZING 3 day tour with FANTASTIC guide
"The itinerary that Maria suggested was similar to a well known company but at slightly more than half the cost and it was so much more personalized. Maria was willing to make changes and alternations to the itinerary at our request and made sure all of our requests were met"
Hillary - USA (January 2016)
Awesome way to learn about Moscow
"Maria S. met our group at the hotel, took us around to the sites we had determined by email. It is worth the cost to hire her, to make the most of a limited time in Moscow. I definitively recommend her and this company to anyone visiting Moscow"
Seema - USA (February 2015)
A long snowy weekend in Moscow
"Svetlana took us on an amazing snowy tour of Moscow and it was truly an brilliant experience. We went on a day trip around the city, seeing all that Moscow had to offer. She showed us places that we wouldn't have seen if we were just using a guide book. She was also incredibly knowledgeable and was more than happy to answer our hundreds of questions about the city’s history and general questions about life in Moscow. It was like being shown around the city by a friend!
Her enthusiasm and energy was fantastic! We highly recommend her and Tours of Moscow!"
Charlie - USA (December 2014)
Moscow came alive
Maria Soboleva gave us a memorable two-day tour of Moscow. She is young, enthusiastic, and is very well-organized. She speaks English very well, and is exceptionally punctual. She has a good knowledge of Russian history and culture, as well as the sights of Moscow. She guided us to shops and restaurants based on our interests.
I give Maria Soboleva my highest recommendation, without any hesitation or qualification!
Vijay - USA (November 2014)
Awesome!!!
I had done a tour of the city of Moscow in the past..Svetlana took it to another level. Made it totally worth while. I was amazed by her knowledge of art, architecture, folklore and of course the crossover between feudal Russia, USSR and then after Perestroika. We shared our love for the arts, and the respect she showed at the churches was something rarely seen today.
Rolnugam - Venesuela (September 2014)
Svetlana made my day
"I have travelled a lot and had many guides, but never a guide as good as Svetlana. Professional, but warm, personal and friendly. Her knowledge about Moscow and Russian history, culture and life is amazing. I was full of questions and Svetlana pretty much answered them all"
Bejoerg - Norway (August 2014)
A long snowy weekend in Moscow
Maria's love of Moscow made all the difference
"Maria's informative, smart, pleasant and engaging manner made us learn so much about the history, culture, art and attitudes of Russians. It was especially interesting to travel with her to the Kremlin and its churches, the Tretyakov Museum of Russian art, and the subway stations, which were like museums themselves. Her passion for all things Russian is quite evident, and added so much to our experience"
Wendy - USA (August 2014)
Guided tour of Moscow
"Maria Soboleva, who was our tour guide, was incredible. Though we have traveled to 46 countries taking many tours, with Maria, this was the best tour we have ever taken. We got an understanding of the history, culture, politics and life in Russia amongst these incredible people"
Jean - USA (August 2014)
Guided tour of Moscow
"How did I squeeze in all the important sights of Moscow in barely one day? Simple, I had Svetlana as my guide. She was such a ray of sunshine and my idea of the perfect guide. Not only was she professional and rich with knowledge as all guides should be, most importantly for me, she was warm, friendly, personable, and laughed at my jokes"
Vivian - Singapore (July 2014)
Moscow - Private tour
We took 3 Days in Moscow with Maria & Svetlana. Both guides were prompt, friendly & knowledgeable and helped us to get the most out of Moscow during our short break. We took their preplanned tours and well arranged! Value for money, highly recommended!
Chan - Hong Kong (July 2014)
My trip to Russia
I recently had the good fortune of a trip Moscow and being an American I wasn't sure what to expect. My host was wanting to share his culture with me and hired Svetlana S. to be our guide. I have to say it was really a highlight of my life, her love of history and her country was so wonderful. She beamed as I learned so much about Russia I never expected
Jim - USA (May 2014)
Off the beaten track tour
"...My wife and I do live now as "expat" almost since 3 years in Moscow and Maria offered a completely new and very interesting view on an "almost" hidden part of Moscow, that we never visited before"
Giovanni - Italy-Russia (March 2014)
The Armoury. Expertise and Passion.
“…Svetlana’s knowledge was able to link the beautiful masterpieces to vibrant stories and historical facts. Her passion made every minute of the tour an enjoyable and lasting souvenir of the Armoury Museum. I wish that every tour guide could transmit the passion for Moscow's history to every Tourist. Thank you again Svetlana for your passionate sharing of Moscow's Uniqueness.”
Chris - Switzerland (February 2014)
Magic Moscow with Svetlana Shubina
“Svetlana's strength is her broad expertise. She is a professionally certified Moscow tour guide as well as a native Muscovite. This gives her full flexibility to customize a tour ad hoc, according to the clients’ favorites.”
Helmut - Cologne, Germany (December 2013)
Monino - aircraft museum
"My 16 years old son, which is more than average interested in aircrafts, had a dream-day at Monino aircraft museum together with Maria's "driver" who is an aviation-historican! And I enjoyed it very much to. The museum is aproxemately one hour outside Moscow and not very easy to find, so I am very glad that we hired Maria to organize it. Good value for money!"
Kristin Tangvik, Norway (October 2013)
Foodie's tour of Moscow
"Maria also really understood the food in her homeland. Whether it was a Siberian or Ukranian restaurant, she has traveled extensively in and around her country so she knew how to steer us as far as food choices off the different menus"
Peggy, Los Angeles (August 2013)
Trip to Russia
"We had great time in Russia. We contacted Maria and she send Svetlana to take us to Kremlin and Armoury Museum and also took us to Sergiev Posad and Vladimir and Sudzal . She is a wonderful guide. We had fantastic time"
Kadakshi, USA (August 2013)
Learning about Moscow
"I contacted Maria as well as several other potential private tour guides several months before our trip to Russia. I had decided that a private tour guide was worth the additional expense to enable seeing more Moscow sites and to gain knowledge of the various sites. Maria arranged a detailed program and after some changes I commited to utilize her service"
Jim and Gerry Martin, North Carolina (July 2013)
A 2-day tour to Moscow with Tour of Moscow
"We booked this 2-days tour in three weeks before coming to Moscow. Maria took into consideration all our wishes, gave some valuable recommendations and made up a schedule for us... We were very satisfied with the whole trip. Both guides were friendly and well-organized, we felt really comfortable and confident with them"
Bridging between the present and the past
"It was a good mixture of history explained in a balanced way with good cross-references to Euopean Epochs and Svetlana's explanations were always garnished with hints to architecture and social stati of Russian church, nobility and society of the past and the present. Should I ever need another tour guide to learn about Moscow its rich history , I'd chose Svetlana"
Dr. Diethard Solderer, Germany (March 2013)
The Tretyakov Gallery
"Knowing about the life of painters is also knowing about the historical background of the time behind them. Listening the explanation from Maria, the person who has been drawn to the painting became much more reality to me and it was so nice experience that I felt I could share the air, the space, smells, and cultures with them though I can't go there absolutely"
Ai, Japan (March 2013)
Two days in Moscow in December
"I would recommend any tour that is given by Maria and Svetlana. I just wish that we had more time to see the Moscow area with these knowledgeable guides. If we ever make it back to Moscow, I will definitely reserve their services for every day that I am in town. Moscow is too fantastic to waste time trying to see it on your own. The tours were so reasonably priced that I feel like I got my monies worth and then some"
Sheila, The U.S. (December 2012)
Half day Tour of Central Moscow
"It was amazing how much we covered in the limited time we had available but we felt, thanks to Svetlana, we had a greater understanding of the history and culture of this incredible city.
I would definitely recommend to business visitors or leisure travellers that you take this tour, Seeing the sights is one thing but knowing the history brings it alive. Make sure you wear comfortable shoes and take your camera so as to capture some long lasting memories"
Julian, The UK (July 2012)