Kizhi-Solovky

Company Intourist-Petrozavodsk

Type cultural

Season summer 2012

Petrozavodsk + Kizhi + Kivatch Waterfall + Solovetsky Monastery + Hill Sekirnaya

Tour summary:

Day 1

06:50 Arrival in Petrozavodsk. Meeting with the guide. Breakfast in the restaurant of Petrozavodsk.

08:30 City tour "The City of Peter the Great" Petrozavodsk, the capital of Karelia, is a pretty and calm city situated on the shore of a beautiful lake. During the city tour you will visit the historic centre of Petrozavodsk with its major sights and walk along the embankment of Lake Onego. Photo stop near the monument to Peter the Great.

11:30 Transfer to Kizhi Island by hydrofoil (1 hour 15 minutes).

12:45 Excursion in the Kizhi open-air museum of wooden architecture and cultural history. Kizhi is one of the first open-air museums and one of the most popular tourist attractions in Russia. The pearl of the museum is its world-known wooden church ensemble with the magnificent 22-dome church which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990.

15:45 Transfer to the guest house Kizhskaya Blagodat by boat (10 min). Accommodation. Kizhskaya Blagodat is a cozy family run guesthouse situated on the mainland right opposite Kizhi Island. You will be pleasantly surprised with a tranquil atmosphere of the place as well as with the hospitality of its hosts. ”Karelian“ lunch. Free time.

19:00 Dinner ”Welcome to Kizhi“.

Day 2

Breakfast ”Morning in the village“.

10:00 Transfer to Kizhi Island by boat (10 minutes). Excursion to the inhabited villages of Kizhi Island.

14:00 Lunch in the guest house.

15:45 Transfer to Petrozavodsk by hydrofoil (1 hour 15 minutes).

17:00 Departure for Kivatch Nature Reserve (82 km). You will see the second largest plain waterfall in Europe and listen to the melody of its roaring waters. You will also visit the museum of nature, get acquainted with the wildlife of Karelian taiga and walk along the alley of well-known Karelian birches.

21:30 Return to Petrozavodsk. Dinner at a local restaurant.

00:00 Transfer to the railway station.

00:56 Departure for Kem by train.

Day 3

09.00 Arrival at Kem. Transfer to the railway station. Boxed breakfast.

10.00 Departure for Solovky by slow boat.

13.00 Transfer to the hotel to leave your baggage. Lunch at a cozy restaurant ”Izba“.

15:00 Excursion around the Monastery complex. You will listen to the history of the legendary Solovetsky Monastery that once was one of the richest monasteries of Russia, visit its functioning church, and go along its thick fortress walls that no enemy could overcome.

19:00 - Accommodation at the Priyut Hotel. Dinner at the hotel.

Day4

Breakfast ”Morning on Solovetsky Island“.

10:00 – Excursion to Hill Sekirnaya. You will visit the highest point of Big Solovetsky Island and enjoy a breathtaking panorama over the northern shore of the island, see the buildings of the functioning skete, where the isolation ward was situated in the times of the Solovetsky Labour Camp, and a unique lighthouse church.

13:30 – Lunch on the island.

16:00 – Departure from Big Solovetsky Island to Kem.

19:00 – Dinner in Kem. Transfer to the railway station.

20:25 – Departure for St. Petersburg.

Group size: min 2 persons

Price includes: 1 night in the guest house near Kizhi, 1 night on Solovky (Priyut Hotel), transfers and meals according to the program, hydrofoil Petrozavodsk – Kizhi – Petrozavodsk, ship Kem – Solovky – Kem, entrance tickets to the museums, excursions with an English-speaking guide.

Price does not include: train tickets

Guaranteed departure dates: 16-19.06.2012, 28-31.07.2012, 04-07.08.2012