Day 1
Friday - St. Petersburg
Arrival in St. Petersburg. Transfer to the Railway Station. Departure to Petrozavodsk
Our driver will meet you in the arrival sector with a Go Russia sign board and transfer to the railway station. You will travel on a comfortable train to Petrozavodsk, arrival - next day early in the morning.
Day 2
Saturday - Petrozavodsk - Kizhi - Petrozavodsk - Kinerma
Petrozavodsk Walking Tour. Ethnographic Museum. Kizhi Guided Tour. Transfer to Kinerma
Today you will have a guided city tour around Petrozavodsk. The city was founded by Peter the Great in 1703 in an effort to win The Great Northern War against Sweden. It’s located on the shore of Lake Onega and has a reputation as the green city with plenty of beautiful parks. We will visit the National Museum of the Republic of Karelia where you will learn about the local history and traditional culture of Karelian people and the Russian North.
Later we take a hydrofoil to Kizhi Island. The Kizhi museum is one of the most interesting cultural sights in the Northern Russia; it is also included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. This open-air museum includes more than 80 magnificent structures. The most amazing is the 22-dome Church of the Transfiguration, one of the oldest wooden churches in Russia. Dating from the 14th century, its whole structure was built without a single nail!
In the afternoon we take a hydrofoil back to Petrozavodsk and travel by car to a local village of Kinerma. In the evening we learn how to bake traditional Karelian pies “Kalitki” - tiny pasties made of unfermented dough with rye flour and usually served with tea.
Day 3
Sunday - Kinerma - Petrozavodsk
Walking Tour of the Village. Transfer to Petrozavodsk. Departure to Kem
Historic village of Kinerma is a natural open-air museum representing a unique complex of traditional wooden architecture in Karelia. Seven of seventeen buildings of Kinerma have status of monuments of architecture. During a guided walking tour you will see dwelling houses and utility structures and visit a wooden chapel of the XVIII century. In the evening we travel back to Petrozavodsk and take an overnight train to Kem.
Day 4
Monday - Kem - Solovetsky Islands
Departure to Solovetsky Islands. Solovetsky Monastery Walking Tour
Upon arrival in Kem we depart to the Solovetsky Islands by ferry (3-3.5 hours). The Islands are renowned for their unique historical and cultural heritage, as well the beautiful Northern nature and their abundant sea life. In the afternoon we have a guided tour of the monastery which was founded in 1430. As centuries passed the monastery grew bigger and became famous all over the Orthodox world, thousands of pilgrims visited the monastery every year. In the early Soviet period the island of Solovki was turned into a political prison and during the WWII the island was the home of a school for young sailors. Nowadays Solovki is a functioning monastery again. You will get acquainted with legendary monastery buildings and fortresses walls, and learn the history of the infamous Stalin's Gulag camp situated within the Solovetsky Kremlin wall.
Day 5
Tuesday - Solovetsky Islands - Kem
Tour to Zayatsky Island. Transfer to Kem. Departure to St. Petersburg
Zayatsky is a small tranquil island in about 45 minutes boat ride from the Monastery. This group of islands has a lot of attractions, including prehistoric sacred labyrinths, burial mounds (thought to have been created by the protosaami people), a medieval church, household structures and a stone dock. The main places of interest of Zayatsky, covered with the tundra-type vegetation are its mysterious stone labyrinths dating back about 4000 years and a small wooden church of St. Andrew (1702). In the afternoon we take a ferry back to Kem where we board an overnight train to St. Petersburg.
Day 6
Wednesday - St. Petersburg
Arrival in St. Petersburg. City Tour
Our driver will meet you with a Go Russia sign board at the platform. You will start your discovery of St. Petersburg with a guided city tour by car that will take you around the stunning "Venice of the North"; you will see the Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Church of Christ's Resurrection (The Saviour of the Blood). You will also see the famous cruiser Aurora; the legendary ship whose canon gave the signal, on the order of Lenin, for the beginning of the Great Social Revolution more than 90 years ago.
Day 7
Thursday - St. Petersburg
Hermitage Museum (Winter Palace)
A guided tour of the Hermitage, former residence of the Russian Tzars (famous Winter Palace) and one of best museums of the world. This stunning palace, an architectural masterpiece in itself, contains a collection over 3,000,000 works of art re presenting the development of world culture and art from the Stone Age to the 20th century. The collection includes works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Titian, Raphael, French impressionists, sculptures and treasures icons, coins and Tsar’s jewelery. The Hermitage is an unforgettable place to visit.
Day 8
Friday - St. Petersburg
Petrodvorets - Palace and Gardens
Half day tour to the suburbs of St Petersburg to visit one of the magnificent summer palaces - Petrodvorets. The Peterhof (Petrodvorets) is a world-famous palace, fountain and park complex, and an outstanding landmark of Russian artistic culture of the 18-19th centuries. Founded in the very beginning of the eighteenth century by Emperor Peter the Great not far from his new northern capital St. Petersburg, Peterhof was intended to become the most splendid official royal summer residence.
Day 9
Saturday - St. Petersburg
Airport Departure Transfer from the Hotel
Transfer to the airport. Our driver will meet you with a Go Russia sign board at the hotel lobby.
Tour Dates & Prices
Book Now
When you choose to travel with Go Russia, you are assured of the highest standards of service for every element of your
holiday, with the class of hotel as the only difference between our packages.
All our hotels have been carefully selected and personally tested by Go Russia product development team.
They have been chosen for their central location, available facilities, tastefully designed interiors, and friendly service
and customers’ feedbacks. Please note all our hotels are recommended on Tripadvisor and have above average ratings.
Please view hotels details below.
On all our city-break tours we also offer early-check / late check-out option in hotels as well as extra nights.
Please
view prices.
Hotel Nevsky Grand St. Petersbrug 3*
Hotel Nevsky Hotel Grand is ideally located in the center of St. Petersburg, and within easy walking distance of the famous landmarks of St. Petersburg - such as Hermitage; Kazan, St. Isaac's and Savior on Spilled Blood Cathedrals; Russian museum. The hotel features elegant interior and cozy homelike atmosphere. The hotel’s 135 guest rooms and 5 suites are designed in the modern style with a touch of antique, complimented by the technological amenities, including telephone, free WiFi, interactive satellite television, safe, air-conditioning system. There is a hall on every floor with soft drinks, coffee and tea, open 24 hours a day.Learn more
M-Hotel St. Petersbrug 3*
Located in the Golden Triangle District, the 3 star M-Hotel is convenient for many of St Petersburg’s attractions including being just a twenty minute walk from the Hermitage Museum. In addition, it is well connected to public transport; the nearest Metro station, Nevsky Prospect, is only a two minute walk away. The hotel’s rooms and suites are bright and airy, furnished in a comfortable fashion. WiFi is available throughout the hotel at no additional cost.Learn more
Guest House Kinerma Village
Located in historic Kinerma, a small village found midway between Lake Onega and Lake Ladoga, this little guest house is a good choice for visitors wishing to stay in a typically Russian wooden house. Kinerma is as much an open air museum as a village, its collection of traditional wooden structures showcasing the best of Karelian architecture.
Learn more
Guest House Priyut Solovetsky Island
If you’re looking for an accommodation option packed with rustic charm, then this might just be the place. Each of the rooms within the cottages that comprise the Guest Hotel Priyut is attractively furnished and features local crafts and home furnishings to create a homely feel. The guest house is located on Solovetsky Island, near the Bay of Happiness.It’s just a hundred meters from the Kremlin, with upstairs rooms offering fabulous views of the island’s monastery.
Learn more