Day 1	Departure from St Petersburg by train 022 at 17.20 on the preceding day 09.42 – arrival by train 022 from St Petersburg in the town of Kem in the north of Karelia. Meeting by a guide, transfer to the settlement Rabocheostrovsk, the quay of Kem (15-20 min), breakfast. 11.00 – departure by sea boat for Bolshoy Solovetsky island in the White Sea (3 hrs). Transfer to the Solovki Hotel (***), check-in (twin-basis). 14.00 – Lunch in the hotel restaurant 15.00 – A guided tour of the main grounds of the Solovki monastery, a UNESCO Heritage site, a holy place and a prison for political criminals during Stalin’s period. Return to the hotel 19.00 – Dinner in the hotel restaurant A walk to the maize (subject to tourists interest). Overnight in Solovki hotel
Day 2	Breakfast. Check-out. 10.00 – A tour by rowing boats along the Small Circle of man-made canals along the most scenic sites of the island (appr 2–2.5 hr). A non-hurried walk along the eco-trail. Lunch as a picnic. 16.30 – departure by sea boat for Rabocheostrovsk (appr 3 hrs in the White Sea). Check-in at the hotel located next to the quay (twin-basis) 20.00 – Dinner and rest. Overnight in Prichal hotel in Rabocheostrovsk
Day 3	Breakfast. 09.00 – departure by a comfortable bus, a long transfer southwards to Sandal lake with stops on the way (440 km). Stop on the way for an hour visit to the White Sea petrogliphs (pre-historic drawings of hunters, animals, etc on the horizontal rocks made 4-5 mln years ago). Continuation of transfer. Lunch on the way (lunchbox). 17.00 – 18.00 – stop at Girvas, a site that used to be a volcano crater 3 bln years ago. Walk around Girvas (1-1,5 hr). Continuation of transfer for an hour or so. 19.00 – 20.00 – arrival at Sandal tourist camp located on the shore of the picturesque Sandal lake, check in (twin- and triple-basis, shared facilities). Late dinner. Overnight in Sandal tourist camp.
Day 4	Late breakfast. A half-day trip (4-7 hr depending on the weather) by boat across Sandal lake to Lychny island to see its Peter & Paul’s church (1620), and to Ershi village with its Michael the Archangel chapel typical for northern wooden architecture. Lunch (lunchbox). Return to Sandal camp. Time at leisure (optional services to be paid on the spot are at your disposal incl bike and boat rental, angling) Dinner. Overnight in Sandal tourist camp.
Day 5	Breakfast. A half-day trip (4-5 hr) to Kivach waterfall. Transfer to Kivach (15 min), walk to the waterfall with a visit to the small local museum and dendrarium, walk along the eco-trail. Lunch as a picnic at Kivach. Transfer back to Sandal or in case of tourists wish further walk (8 km) to Sandal camp. Time at leisure (optional services to be paid on the spot are at your disposal incl bike and boat rental, angling) Dinner. Overnight in Sandal tourist camp.
Day 6	Early breakfast. 08.00 – transfer to Petrozavodsk in a comfortable bus (1.5 hr) A brief city tour of Petrozavodsk with a short visit to a local museum (upon preliminary request - history and local lore museum; art museum with an exhibition of icons; Tatiana Kalinina’s museum of a tissue doll) 12.00 – departure by air-cushioned boat from the quay of Petrozavodsk to the Kizhi island, across Onego lake, the 2^nd largest lake in Europe (1 h 20 min). Lunch on the way (lunchbox) 13.30 – further transfer by a small motor boat to Bolshoy Klimenetsky island (12 km, 30-40 min). Accommodation in the simple guest house in Garnitsy (triple- and quadriple-basis). Time at leisure (optional services to be paid on the spot are at your disposal incl boat rental, angling) Dinner, Russian banya. Overnight in Garnitsy guesthouse
Day 7	Breakfast. Half-day trip “Kizhi necklace”. Transfer by a small motor boat to Bolshoy Klimenetsky island (12 km, 30-40 min), guided visit to Kizhi, the UNESCO heritage site, an open-air museum of wooden architecture with an amazing creation of the XVII-XIX centuries’ masters of the Russian North – an ensemble of traditional wooden structures - church, mills, barns, and Russian houses (1.5-2 hr). Guided tour by boat of the so-called Kizhi necklace - the islands of the Onego Lake with old wooden chapels dating back to the XVIIc surrounding the Kizhi island like a precious necklace (1 hr), return by boat to Garnitsy. Lunch in the guesthouse. Time for activities of your choice: you can rent on the spot a boat or go angling with the owner of the guesthouse, or walk on your own to the nearby village. Dinner, Russian banya. Overnight in Garnitsy guesthouse
Day 8	Breakfast. Time at leisure. Lunch in the guesthouse. 14.30 – transfer by a boat to the Kizhi island 15.45 - departure by air-cushioned boat from the Kizhi island to the quay of Petrozavodsk (1 h 15 min). 17.00 – transfer by bus to Kinerma, a small traditional village of Karels-livviks (2-2.5 hr). Upon arrival in Kinerma, meet our host Nadezhda, the owner of a small village museum. Accommodation in basic conditions in Nadezhda’s house or/and in the houses of the local families (in rooms for 2 and 4 persons, facilities outside). Late dinner in Nadezhda’s house, Russian banya, overnight in Kinerma
Day 9	Late breakfast in Nadezhda’s house. Walk around the 440-years old village Kinerma with Nadezhda. Time at leisure. Lunch of national cuisine in Nadezhda’s house. Workshop in baking kalitki (a local sort of pastry) or making traditional Karelian tissue dolls or heating black Russian banya or weaving the brichbark into a souvenir (to be specified well in advance). Free time or a walk to Vedlozero lake (4 km) Late dinner in Nadezhda’s house, banya, overnight in Kinerma
Day 10	Breakfast. 10.00 – transfer to Ruskeala (150 km, 2.5 hr). A walk around the Ruskeala lake with its marble rock shores, visit to the vertical mine used for marble mining for St Petersburg in Peter the Great’s time Lunch in a local café. Transfer to Sortavala, with a stop at the waterfall on Tokhmajoki river (1 hr transfer) 16.00 – arrival in Sortavala, a town on the shore of Ladoga lake, the largest in Europe. Visit to the museum of Kronid Gogolev to see the masterpieces of woodcarving by a local master. Check-in at the hotel Piipun-Pikha (twin-basis) Dinner and overnight in Piipun-Pikha in Sortavala
Day 11	Breakfast. Check-out. Half-day trip to Valaam island: 9.00 - Trip by air-cushioned boat across the Ladoga lake (50 min), guided tour of the main grounds of the Valaam monastery and Red Skit (Chapel). Lunch in a café on the island. 16.00 Return to Sortavala by boat (50 min). 17.00 - a brief city tour of Sortavala. Transfer to Petrozavodsk (3-3.5 hr) Late dinner of national cuisine in Kareliskaya Gornitsa restaurant, with a small folklore programme (30 min) Transfer to the railway station and departure for St Petersburg by train 657 at 23.00

The Tour Operator reserves the right to introduce changes in the itinerary due to weather conditions

TOUR PRICE per person, summer 2008:

Number of pax in the group	10+ pax	15 pax
Price in EUR per person	1 770	1 590

- valid for own groups of Tour operator / Travel agent for standard departure dates (10-15 pax).

The above price includes: local German-speaking guide in Karelia; accommodation twin, triple, quadruple-basis as per itinerary; transfers (auto and water transport) as per itinerary; full board; banya as per itinerary; sightseeing programme as per itinerary incl museum entrance fees, Kivach national park entrance fee, a workshop in Kinerma.

The price does not include: train fare to/from Karelia (appr EUR pp in a 4-berth compartment), spirits, optional services (available for extra fee on the spot)

Dates of departure in 2008:

upon request for your own groups (price valid for group size 8+ pax)

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