Petrozavodsk – Svirsky Monastery – Kizhi-Valaam islands – Ruskeala Mountain Park – Kivach – Mount Sekirnaya – Bolshaya Muksalma Island – Solovki – Kem

Tour dates: Wednesday-Wednesday

7% discount for 2+ persons in booking!

July: 10-17, 17-24, 24-31.07;
August: 31.07-7.08, 7-14, 14-21, 21-28, 28.08 - 4.09;   
September: 4-11, 11-18.

Tour program:

Day 1: 
South Karelia – Holy Trinity Alexander-Svirsky Monastery

09.00 am Arrival in Petrozavodsk. Meeting the group with SIVER pickup sign at the entrance of the railway station under the clock (at the side of the railway platform).
Breakfast at a cafe. Personal belongings are handed over for the safekeeping in the hotel.
Departure to the Holy Trinity Alexander-Svirsky Monastery. 
It was founded by a Veps and one of the most revered saints in the North-West — Alexander Svirsky, monk of Valaam Monastery, in late 15th century.  The tsar Ivan the Terrible prayed to Alexander Svirsky before capturing Kazan, and after the victory declared him a wonderworker nationwide. The sponsor of the monastery was Boris Godunov. Mikhail Fedorovich, the first tsar in the Romanovs dynasty, honored the saint too. Emperor Peter the Great also visited the monastery repeatedly.

• Tour around the two wings of the monastery: Holy Trinity wing that dates back to late 15th century, and Transfiguration built in the 19th century (1.5 hrs).  Visiting the church with the relics of Alexander Svirsky.

Lunch in the monastery's refectory.
Free time, visiting the candle shop. 

Day 2:
Lake Onega – Kizhi Island – Petrozavodsk
Breakfast at the hotel

•  Sightseeing tour around Petrozavodsk. Visiting the historically significant districts of the city and the famous Lake Onega embankment. Your tour guide will tell about the history and formation of Petrozavodsk.           
•  Departure from Petrozavodsk to Kizhi Island by Meteor motor ship. Duration: 7 hrs. The one-way trip takes 1.30 hrs. Tour around the museum & reserve.  Total stay on the island: 4 hrs.

Late lunch at a cafe in Petrozavodsk.

Day 3:
Lake Ladoga – Valaam Island – Ruskeala – Tohmajoki Falls
Breakfast in the hotel/packed breakfast.
06.00 am Departure to Sortavala (250 km).

• Visiting Valaam Island. 45 mins – trip on Lake Ladoga by a motor ship. Tour around the central estate: 1.5-2 hrs. Visiting the Transfiguration Cathedral. 
• Return to Sortavala.
• Lunch at a cafe in Sortavala.
• Transfer to Ruskeala Mountain Park. Tour around the marble canyon.  Paid extra: riding a trolley over the canyon or boating on the emerald lake.
• Visiting Tohmajoki Falls, a place where The Dawns Here Are Quiet movie was filmed.

Dinner on the go (paid extra).
11.00 pm Return to Petrozavodsk.

Day 4:
Rabocheostrovsk village – Kivach – White Sea petroglyphs – Kem
Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out.

• 09.00 am Trip to Rabocheostrovsk (400 km of Petrozavodsk).
• Visiting Kivach nature reserve. A picturesque Karelian corner:  woods, river, rocks.  The plain waterfall is one of the largest in Europe.
  Lunch on the go. 
• Lunch on the go. 
• Visiting the White Sea petroglyphs in Zalavruga, Belomorsk.
• 09.00 pm Arrival in Rabocheostrovsk village in the evening, Kem town. Accommodation in Prichal Hotel. Dinner at a cafe. 
• Visiting on your own: a place where Pavel Lungin's Island movie was filmed, on the shore of the White Sea.

Day 5:
White Sea – Solovki Kremlin – Dancing birches
Breakfast at the hotel's cafe.
08:00 am Onboarding. Voyage in the White Sea, 2 hrs.

• Sightseeing tour around Solovki Kremlin (3 hrs). 

Lunch at a cafe on the island (paid extra).
Accommodation in the hotel on Solovki.

• Promenade along the picturesque shore of the White Sea (1.5 hrs), where you will see the "dancing" Solovki birches and "labyrinths", cultural monuments of prehistoric civilizations. 
• Visiting Solovki Maritime Museum (1.5 hrs) with the exhibition of real wooden ships construction.

Dinner at a cafe.

Day 6:
Mount Sekirnaya – botanical garden – Bolshoy Zayatsky Island
Breakfast at the hotel's cafe.

• Bus tour to Mount Sekirnaya. Holy Ascension skete (3 hrs). Visiting one of the highest points of Bolshoy Solovetsky Island – Mount Sekirnaya, which offers a stunning view of the island and the White Sea. Explore the history and monuments of the Holy Ascension skete that functions until now! Back in the times of Solovki prison camp, it served as a punitive isolation ward, a place of detention and punishment of prisoners.
• Botanical garden (3 hrs). Visit Russia's northernmost botanical garden with a tour around the prior's summerhouse, Alexander Chapel and the memorial cross.

Lunch at a cafe on the island (paid extra).
Upon request (paid extra):

• Sightseeing tour to Bolshoy Zayatsky Island (3 hrs). Voyage to Zayatsky Island (45 min).  Visiting the largest pagan sanctuary of the 2nd-1st millennia BC, stone labyrinths, religious and burial structures, Russia's first stone harbor, the Skete of St. Andrew.

Lunch at a cafe on the island (paid extra).

Day 7:
Solovki – Bolshaya Muksalma Island – Rabocheostrovsk village
Breakfast at the hotel's cafe. Check-out. Personal belongings are handed over for safekeeping.

• Trip to Solovki special prison camps that operated in 1923-1939 (2.30 hrs). Uncover Solovki special prison camp, its historic milestones and reformation to Solovki special prison in 1937, as well as learn about the fate of its prisoners. Visiting the camp's exposition and monuments to Solovki prisoners.

Lunch (paid extra).
Upon request (paid extra): 

• Boat trip on the lake and canal system of Solovki (5-6 hrs). Boating along the man-made canals connecting 5 lakes; learn about the hydraulic monuments and structures of Bolshoy Solovetsky Island. Navigating a boat on your own, 4-5 person per boat. Walking to the boathouse and back (2.8 km from the tour bureau). The tour is arranged only if the weather is good.
•  Voyage to Bolshaya Muksalma Island  (5 hrs). Voyage by motor boat across the picturesque Dolgaya Guba Bay to Bolshaya Muksalma Island. Gasp at the colossal hydraulic structure, 1.5 km man-made boulder dam connecting Bolshoy Solovetsky and Bolshaya Muksalma islands, as well as explore the history of Sergiev skete of Solovki Monastery. 

Transfer from the hotel to the pier by 06.30 pm.

07.00 pm  Departure from Solovki by ship to the port of Rabocheostrovsk village (12 km from Kem).

09.00 pm Arrival in the mainland

!! For tourists from St. Petersburg: departure from Solovki at 04.00 pm to catch Train 21 

Day 8:
Breakfast at the hotel's cafe.

Check-out.

Transfer to the railway station in Kem/Belomorsk.
Departure of the group by morning trains:

For tourists from St. Petersburg: Train 015A Murmansk-S. Petersburg, 06:50 am

For tourists from Moscow: Train 091A Murmansk-Moscow at 08:51 am

Price: 

Tour discounts:

students – ₽300/person;

children aged 6-12 – ₽3,850/person, 

children under 5 years of age – ₽10,800/ person

Without the last night in Kem (leaving by night train on the day of return from Solovki):

- ₽1,250/person (double room)

- ₽2,100/person (single room)

Inclusive:

• Accommodation in the hotel  in Petrozavodsk 3 nights;
• Accommodation in the hotel in Rabocheostrovsk 2 nights;
• Accommodation in the hotel in Solovki 2 nights;
• Entrance ticket to Kizhi Island, Kivach reserve, Ruskeala Mountain Park, Solovki Museum according to the program;
• guided tour service on Kizhi, Valaam, Solovki islands, in Petrozavodsk, Kivach reserve, Ruskeala Mountain Park, petroglyphs;
• Ship transfers: By Meteor ship to Kizhi Island and Valaam Island, by ship to Solovki;
• 2 meals daily (7 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 1 dinner);
• guided tour and transfers according to the program.

*We reserve the right to adjust the route with the program core attractions unchanged.

*In case of unforeseen circumstances, the company reserves the right to replace the tours without reducing the total scope of the program.