May 19, 2003 -- Occasionally, a travel experience comes along that is downright expensive, but if it's splendid enough, we're willing to ignore the steep price and recommend you give it some consideration. So direct your attention to the White Nights Festival of Opera & Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia taking place on June 18-30, 2003.
Over the course of the 13-day excursion, you'll attend seven operatic and balletic performances, visit the fantastic Hermitage Museum, Petrodvorets (the summer palace of Peter the Great), the Yusopov Palace, the Peter & Paul Fortress and other historic spots. All the White Nights Festival events take place at the renowned Mariinsky Theater, home of the Kirov Opera & Ballet companies. Among operas scheduled for the days on which the tour is in the city are Boris Godunov and Prince Igor and the Enchantress. Ballets during the same period include Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.
The all-inclusive price of $4,000 covers roundtrip air, the seven performances mentioned, lodging at a three-star hotel (the refurbished Polustrovo), all breakfasts, transfers and a gala farewell dinner. You'll also have plenty of free time to explore this fabulous city.
The prices are per person, double occupancy, with a single supplement of $500. There are only 15 spaces available, and you have to get your own Russian visa.
The tour is sponsored by White Nights, Inc. and the International Bed & Breakfast firm, the latter based in Pennsylvania, and operating since 1990. For trips not part of this Festival Tour, you can stay with IB&B hosts in their Russian homes (Moscow and St. Petersburg included among several cities), with someone in the family who speaks English, a phone, and private guest rooms. You share the bath with the host family, and begin each day with a big home cooked breakfast.
For information on the White Nights tour or other IB&B arrangements, contact them at www.ibed.com, e-mail ibb@dca.net, phone 215/663-1438 or fax 215/379-3363. Their snail mail address is PO Box 823, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006.