Start your journey at Valaam Island and its famous monastery. Then go to the historic village of Kinerma, then to the Kiji Island. After enjoying the charm of Petrozavodsk, you will discover the Solovki Islands and their legendary history.
Welcome at the reception of the hotel in St-Petersburg.
Transfer to Priozersk (156 km). Visit to the Korela fortress: The Korela Fortress-Museum was built between the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century, and subsequently severely damaged by a fire. Rebuilt, then renovated, the fortress has since become a museum with nearly 12,000 items in it.
Lunch in a cafeteria.
Transfer to Sortavala (122 km). Check-in at the Dacha Wintera hotel. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.
Breakfast at the hotel
Transfer to Sortavala (5 km). Departure by Meteor fast boat on Lake Ladoga to Valaam Island (50 min). Visit of the monastery, the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, the skit of the Holy Prophet Elijah and the skit of the Resurrection.
Lunch in the refectory of the monastery
Concert of the Valaam Choir. Excursion to New Jerusalem. Return to Sortavala.
Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel
Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out.
Transfer to Ruskeala Mountain Park (50 km) and visit of the park: Discovery of the Ruskeala waterfalls and the marble canyon, a national heritage of Russia since 1998. This unique natural environment is also a memorial to the history of marble that has been extracted by Karelians, Swedes, Russians, and Finns.
Transfer to the historical village of Kinerma (210 km). Check- in to a Karelian house. This village has the only chapel of the Mother of God in Karelian wood dating from the nineteenth century, surrounded by a pine forest, authentic houses, and some banyas of the nineteenth century. This village won the title of "Most Beautiful Village of Russia" in 2016.
Lunch (Karelian specialties). Free time. Dinner. Night in a Karelian house.
In option: Boat rental (up to 4 people) - 15€; bania in the evening - 86€ (per group).
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Petrozavodsk (110 km).
Departure by Meteor boat to the island of Kizhy (1h15). Walking tour of the Kizhy Ecomuseum: Considered one of the first open-air museums in Russia, it has the most remarkable wooden religious buildings on the island. These summer churches were built of logs using the traditional architectural technique of Russian carpenters and therefore were constructed without nails. Since 1990, the pogost of Kizhy has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Lunch in a cafeteria.
Check in at the 'Kijzskaya Blagodat' hostel. Free time. Dinner and night at the inn.
Breakfast at the hostel. Free time. Check-out. Lunch.
Return by boat to Kizhy Island. Return to Petrozavodsk (1.5h).
Petrozavodsk city guided tour: the capital of Karelia is a quiet city that lies on the edge of a beautiful lake. During this excursion, you will visit the historical center of Petrozavodsk and its main attractions. You can walk along the pier of Lake Onega. Stop to take pictures near the monument of Peter the Great.
Dinner in a cafe in the city. Check in at the hotel Onejzky Zamok. Free time to rest.
Transfer to Petrozavodsk station. Night train, departure at 3am towards Kem.
Reception by your guide at the Kem station. Transfer to Rabotcheostrovsk village (30 min).
Departure by Metel fast boat to the Solovki Islands (2 hours). Arrival, transfer to the hotel Priut and check-in.
Lunch in a cafe. Free time. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.
(In option: guided tour of the Kremlin (210€ 2.5h (group rate). Excursion around the monastery. You will listen to the history of Solovki Monastery, which used to be one of the richest monasteries in Russia, visit its church, and walk along the thick walls of the fortress).
Breakfast at the hotel. Free time for personal discovery. Lunch. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.
Option 1 - History of the GULAG of the Solovki Islands - 160€, 2h15 (group rate). During the visit you will discover the history of the Solovki Gulag, the stages of reformation and the creation of the Solovki prison in 1937. Visit to the SLON, the repressive complex of the Solovki Islands and the exhibition dedicated to the prisoners of the camp.
Option 2 - Mount Sekirnaya, Ascension Skite- 240€, 2h30 (group rate). Bus trip: 11 km. Discovery of the hermit houses of the Solovki Islands, and the magnificent panorama of the Big Island of the archipelago. Visit to the Ascension Hermitage where there were isolation cells of the camp, and the only lighthouse church.
Breakfast at the hotel. Free time for personal discovery. Lunch. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.
Option 1 - Canals of Solovki by boat - 280€, 5,5h (group rate). Visit of the Petit Canal of the island and crossing of 5 artificial channels dug by the inhabitants of the island (3 km by foot). You paddle alone on the boats.
Option 2 - Botanical Garden - 195€, 3h30 tour onfoot (group rate). Discovery of the most northern garden of Russia with the gardens of former prisoners. An unobstructed view of the entire Solovki Monastery.
Option 3 - Visit of Cape Beloujiy - 310€, 6h (group rate). Walking tour (15 km) on an ecological path along the White Sea to Cape Beloujiy. You will discover different landscapes, their climatic specificities, and the animal and plant worlds that inhabit the Solovki Islands. With a little luck, you will be able to observe belugas, white whales, that come here to breed.
The tours are organized from June 15 to August 15, during which beluga whales approach the shores of Solovki Big Island. Beluga whale watching depends on low tide times (whales are more visible when the sea is low). This is why visiting times are determined by schedule of the tides.
Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out.
Transfer to Solovki airport.
Return flight to Moscow or St-Petersburg.
. Accommodation in indicated hotels or similar hotels, in a standard double room (except if your quotation indicates another room category)
. Breakfasts
. Transfers mentioned in the program
. Excursions mentioned in the program, with an English-speaking guide and admission tickets
. Meals which are not mentioned in the program
. Tips and personal expenses
. Optional visits and excursions not mentioned in the program
. These services are not included in the price, except if there are explicitly mentioned in the quotation
. 30% deposit upon reservation
. Balance payment one month before departure
. The order of the excursions can be modified according the touristic sites or for any other technical reasons
. Non-binding pictures
. According to the Warsaw Convention, in case of delayed baggage delivery, in the context of air travel, the passenger must personally hand in a written protestation letter to the effective carrier (the air company ensuring the flight, which can be different from the selling company, in case of code-share flights) no more than 21 days after said luggage was given to them
. If the cancellation is made more than 30 days before departure, the fee is 100€
. Between 30 and 20 days before departure, cancellation fee equals 25 % of the total amount of the trip price
. Between 19 and 13 days, the fee equals 35 %
. Between 12 and 9 days, the fee equals 60 %
. If the cancellation is made less than 9 days before departure, the cancellation fee is 100% of the total amount
Ticketing service: except if specified otherwise, flight and train tickets are non-changeable and non-refundable
Other services: insurance and administrative fees are non-refundable
