Looking for private tour guides in the following places:
1- Helsinki, Finland
2- St. Petersburg
3- Tallinn, Estonia
4- Riga, Latvia
5- Klaipeda, Lithuania
6- Gdansk, Poland
7- Ronna, Denmark
8- Berlin
Any personal recommendations as well as must see/do in those places would be appreciated.

Alla Tours for St. Petersberg was great. They do take you to a shop at the very end for souvenirs and you get the sense the guide is paid to do so but other than that little thing, the rest was awesome.

Also check out Kompressor for crepe/pancake type place in Tallinn (was a great recommendation of friends who had lived there for a few years).

ToursByLocals.com

We used Dancing Bear Tours. Great! Small groups and good service.

TJ tours worked well for us
https://st-petersburg-tours.ru/baltic-tours#helsinki

Apolloni agree . Went there last year with them St. Petersburg

I lived and go back to Estonia almost every year - there are many recommendations I can forward to you about Tallinn. Its very easy to navigate in Tallinn with a little research beforehand. When I lived there I took a group trip to St Petersburg (english) through Fromte travel (based in Estonia) They took care of everything including the visa, hotel, travel and tour guides. They also coordinate trips within the Baltics. I enjoyed their service and the guides they have in their network.
https://fromte.ee/english/

Ingrid Soide sure! I would be happy to receive any info on Tallinn you wish to share. Should we do it on our own or get a guide?

Marnie
If you are ok with crowds - I would stick with the old town and take a walking tour offered through the cruiship or maybe better arrange one locally as they can give you the history and take you to some of the main sites and viewpoints. There is lots to see and learn, you'll just scratch the surface. Oleviste Church (if it is open then you can walk up the spirally stairs to.the top for birdseye view), Kiek in de Kök Museum and underground Bastion Tunnels are neat.
For really good Estonian authentic food I highly recommend "Vanaema Juures" (Grandmother's Place) make a reservation in advance (from website) - the service and food are very good, as are the prices, and atmosphere. Others to consider are Kaerajaan which is right in the main plaza or Farm, I have been to both and they are also both very good. Hansa restaurant is a medieval theme, it's pricey but you can visit the store and see people dressed up in medieval costumes. There is a place where you used to be able to shoot bow and arrows - close to the Kiek in de Kok .
Rukis Cafe is lovely - as are so many others - you'll see when you are there lots will catch your eye.
At the south end of the oldtown, past the main square, past the Viru gates, walk past the flower markets to Viru Hotel. They have a KGB museum on the top floor. You have to book in advance - it's great and also gives a good sense of what times were like during the USSR. My boyfriend really liked this.
But if you don't like crowds...then consider heading out of the old town vicinity to lovely Kadriorg Park and Palace, walk the grounds/gardens - Estonia Song Festival Grounds, Estonian National history museum and/ or Tallinn Television Tower - (I think a Hip.On Hop Off bus goes to all these places and they are all on the same route).
Or head over to Radisson Blue Hotel Skybar, it has the best and beautiful view of the town from the skybar at the top - I usually go there for a Vana Tallinn liquor tea at sunset.

Try Tours by locals

We used Alla Tours when we did a 2 week Baltic cruise this summer. Tours in the Baltic countries are expensive but well worth it for St Petersburg. Helsinki, Tallinn, and Denmark can easily be done on your own.

We used SPB tours in St Petersburg. We did the 2 day deluxe tour and evening river cruise. Loved the tour. Highly recommend them.

Just back from Helsinki. Just did a free walking tour of the town. Very interesting informative and they can suggest other places things to see as well. Google Free walking tours. Helsinki is super walkable. I never took transit the 3 days I was there. Walked everywhere!

I used https://www.withlocals.com/ in Italy and Spain, they were good.

We also used WithLocals in Italy last year. We met three different guides - all were fabulous. We’re using them again in Japan next year. Highly recommend.

We walked Helsinki and Tallin on our own. No tour guide. Very walkable.

Ronda totally agreed! Very easy places to get around and wander. Love Tallin for that especially!!

Tallin has a free walking tour we did.

Colleen through an App?

In St Petes, book with White Nights Travel, our private guide Masha was AMAZING!! We did a 2-day tour that included all admissions and front of the line entrances. www.wn-travel.com

I have a great guy in Berlin. Will find his name ASAP.

Hey Pam

Berlin

Nadav Berkin is his name?

Pamthe link doesn't work but I found Nadav Tours online. Which guide did you use?

We used Nadav.

You can ask them who took us-first week of June this year. Pacific CADCAM dentist from Vancouver. They should know. I can ask my dad if he remembers the guys name.

SPB tours is great and they organize your visa.

Following

Bestguides-sbp.com for st Petersburg. We had Irina and she was beyond fantastic. I worked with Natalie and we created the perfect day in St Petersburg: she walked us into the hermitage past the atrocious lines, we did a Nesting Dolls painting class, canal cruise, lunch at a local pie restaurant. The day was magical and Bestguides-SPB made it that way.

https://www.bestguides-spb.com

Jodie thank you! Do you have your itinerary? It sounds like just the kind of non traditional tour we are looking for!

I found that so many tours, even the small group tours, were all doing the same thing at the same time. Working with Best Guides we created an itinerary that went against those patterns.

We just used TJ travel in July , amazing company , great reviews , no issues at all
In st Petersburg ask them for tour guide Nadia , she was amazing , took us to our of the way places , local restaurants
We emailed them from here all the time and they responded within hours

If you do not receive enough recommendations, try airbnb as they now have that option on their site ~just fyi

https://www.cityunscripted.com/...