You will start this exciting 6-day tour from the beautiful “Venice of the North”, St. Petersburg. In a very short time you can take in the history and culture of this truly unique and memorable city and explore its major attractions. From there you will visit Karelia, in the Russian Northwest, with a vast areas covered in forests, thousands of rivers and lakes, two National Parks and several Nature Reserves. Among the numerous cultural sights of Karelia, Kizhi Island is the most famous, with a unique complex of wooden buildings, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List: a beautiful example of authentic Russian culture.
You will feel like a real arctic pioneer riding a snowmobile on the frozen lake of Onega, the second largest in Europe, through the surreal beauty of frozen desert covered with fluffy Russian snow – and there will be plenty of it, for sure, as well as unforgettable memories of your amazing holidays in the heart of the Russian North!
All tours to Russia are operational. Visas are being issued Read more about cancellation policy in light of the Ukraine conflict
St. Petersburg City Tour & Guided Visit to the Peter and Paul FortressAfter your guided city tour around St. Petersburg you will visit Peter & Paul’s Fortress. Built on the small Hare Island to secure Russia’s position on the River Neva delta and in order to protect the Neva lands, regained during the Northern War, from possible attacks by Swedish troops, the Peter and Paul Fortress did not actually see the actual combat until 25 October 1917. Recently this doughty fortress-cum-prison has had many of its buildings converted into museums and features a splendid cathedral containing the tombs of the Romanov monarchs.
Half Day Guided Tour to Tsarskoe Selo (Catherine Palace & Amber Room)Guided visit to one of the major architectural treasures of the Royal St. Petersburg - settlement of Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin) located 25km south of the city. This small town has two gigantic palaces, set amidst huge and beautiful parkland: the glorious Catherine Palace, a Baroque masterpiece by the Italian architecture Bartolomeo Rastrelli, and the Alexander Palace, where the last tsar family dwelt. We will visit the Catherine’s Palace with the Amber Room. It features splendid interiors, designed by eminent architects Rastrelli, Cameron, Stasov and Monighetti.
Folk Show at Nikolaevsky PalaceThe folk show "Feel Yourself Russian" is comprised of the bright performances of St. Petersburg professional folk companies. During two hours of this dynamic colourful and picturesque show you will hear tuneful folk songs - romantic, and full of life, watch sparkling dances of different provinces of Russia, and learn that some items - such as saws, wooden spoons, and other traditional household appliances - can also be used as musical instruments! The national colour of the performance is enriched with the bright dresses made in accordance with Russian traditions.
Hermitage Museum (Winter Palace) Guided TourA guided tour of the Hermitage, former residence of the Russian Tzars 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 representing 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 jewellery. The Hermitage is an unforgettable place to visit.
Russian Museum Guided TourRussian museum features the largest collection of Russian art no other museum in the world can boast of. Over 400,000 exhibits reflect history of Russian fine art from the ancient icons to the 20th century avant-garde, presenting all the stages, schools and genres. The permanent exhibition of the State Russian Museum presents the works of Russian and Soviet artists and covers the period from the 11th century till nowadays. Along with paintings, the museum boasts unique collections of works of folk art, decorative and applied art, and numismatics.
Arrival in St. Petersburg. Our driver will meet you in the arrival sector with a Go Russia sign board. Transfer to the railway station. Departure to Petrozavodsk by an overnight train.
A snowmobile ride to Kizhi skerries along the beautiful Onega lake and its numerous islands
Meeting at the railway station, transfer to a café, breakfast. After breakfast you will receive equipment and safety briefing and snowmobile driving training. Then off we go! We will have a snowmobile ride along the beautiful Onego lake - the 2nd largest lake in Europe - and its numerous islands. Snack lunch on the way. Arrival and accommodation in a guest house. Dinner. Daily distance: 85 - 100 km (55 - 65 miles), on lake depending on the ice situation near Petrozavodsk.
A guided snowmobile excursion to the beautiful Kizhi island
Breakfast. Today we will have a guided snowmobile excursion to Kizhi island. You will be driving among the beautiful Russian churches. The Kizhi museum is one of the most interesting cultural sights in the Northern Russia, 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 (izbas). It is also included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. After visiting the Kizhi Museum we will head for the Kizhi Necklace - the islands of the Onego Lake with old wooden chapels surrounding the Kizhi island like a precious necklace. Lunch en route. Return to the guesthouse. Dinner. Russian sauna. Daily distance: 40 - 60 km, on lake (25-40 miles). Note: the day itinerary might be changed depending on the ice condition on the Onego lake
After breakfast we will start our last day of adventures and discoveries. We will have a snowmobile ride to Petrozavodsk enjoying beautiful winter Karelian landscapes. Lunch en route. Arrival in Petrozavodsk. Dinner. Transfer to the railway station to take the train back to St. Petersburg. Daily distance: 85 - 100 km (55 - 65 miles), on lake depending on the ice situation near Petrozavodsk.
St. Petersburg City Tour & Guided Visit to the Peter and Paul FortressAfter your guided city tour around St. Petersburg you will visit Peter & Paul’s Fortress. Built on the small Hare Island to secure Russia’s position on the River Neva delta and in order to protect the Neva lands, regained during the Northern War, from possible attacks by Swedish troops, the Peter and Paul Fortress did not actually see the actual combat until 25 October 1917. Recently this doughty fortress-cum-prison has had many of its buildings converted into museums and features a splendid cathedral containing the tombs of the Romanov monarchs.
Half Day Guided Tour to Tsarskoe Selo (Catherine Palace & Amber Room)Guided visit to one of the major architectural treasures of the Royal St. Petersburg - settlement of Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin) located 25km south of the city. This small town has two gigantic palaces, set amidst huge and beautiful parkland: the glorious Catherine Palace, a Baroque masterpiece by the Italian architecture Bartolomeo Rastrelli, and the Alexander Palace, where the last tsar family dwelt. We will visit the Catherine’s Palace with the Amber Room. It features splendid interiors, designed by eminent architects Rastrelli, Cameron, Stasov and Monighetti.
Folk Show at Nikolaevsky PalaceThe folk show "Feel Yourself Russian" is comprised of the bright performances of St. Petersburg professional folk companies. During two hours of this dynamic colourful and picturesque show you will hear tuneful folk songs - romantic, and full of life, watch sparkling dances of different provinces of Russia, and learn that some items - such as saws, wooden spoons, and other traditional household appliances - can also be used as musical instruments! The national colour of the performance is enriched with the bright dresses made in accordance with Russian traditions.
Hermitage Museum (Winter Palace) Guided TourA guided tour of the Hermitage, former residence of the Russian Tzars 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 representing 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 jewellery. The Hermitage is an unforgettable place to visit.
Russian Museum Guided TourRussian museum features the largest collection of Russian art no other museum in the world can boast of. Over 400,000 exhibits reflect history of Russian fine art from the ancient icons to the 20th century avant-garde, presenting all the stages, schools and genres. The permanent exhibition of the State Russian Museum presents the works of Russian and Soviet artists and covers the period from the 11th century till nowadays. Along with paintings, the museum boasts unique collections of works of folk art, decorative and applied art, and numismatics.
Arrival in St. Petersburg. Our driver will meet you with a Go Russia sign board at the beginning of the platform. Transfer to the hotel. Free day on your own to discover the city for yourself with optional excursions available to book.
Day 6
Transfer from the hotel to the airport
Transfer to the airport. Our driver will meet you with a Go Russia sign board at the hotel lobby.
All prices are per person, in Indian rupees. All included services are listed in the
tour dossier and the section "Included" in the tour description.
Price "Including flight" is subject to airfare availability and will be reconfirmed upon your booking. We advise not to delay with booking your tour as airfares may go up.
Price "Excluding flight" does not cover airfare, you are free to book your own flights.
Single supplement goes towards single room (cabin for cruises) accommodation.
"Train upgrade" supplement means an upgrade for a compartment for 2 people and refers to overnight trains only.
Advisable to book if you prefer more privacy and comfort during your overnight train journeys.
Read more about train upgrade.
See what our clients say about this tour
We are very happy to have served thousands of happy customers who travelled with us.
The experience of seeing the Kizhi area and the amazing churches was something special. I thought the skidoo adventure was well organised and Anna our interpreter did a very good job. I must say at this point I can not emphasise enough just how good our guide Sveltlana has been. We were also blessed everyday with blue skies and pleasant temperatures, I am sure it is like that all the time! Thank you all again.
Everything was very well organised, I felt we were being looked after, we felt safe and were with knowledgeable guides. All of the people we met involved in our tour were very keen to ensure we had a good experience.
The snowmobile safari was excellent with a most capable crew. The 2 night stay in the guest house could not have been bettered, warm, comfortable, great attention paid in producing good food, and jolly in the evenings during which I learnt the proper Russian way to drink Vodka. All in all this was a wonderful adventure.
Wir moechten uns ganz herzlich bei Ihnen bedanken fuer den wunderschoenen Urlaub in Russland. Es hat vom Abflug in Muenchen ueber St. Petersburg nach Petrozavodsk mit der Bahn alles ganz hervorragend geklappt. Wir wussten vor der Reise nicht was uns erwarten wuerde, aber all unsere Hoffnungen wurden weit Uebertroffen. Alles in allem sehr nette Leute, wunderbare Unterbringung und ein ueberaus beeindruckendes Land. Vielen herzlichen Dank fuer Ihre Bemuehungen uns einen unvergessenen Urlaub zu bescheren.
We had an excellent holiday, thanks very much for your help in putting it all together. The different parts all worked very well together, we were met at every stage as planned, the accommodation was comfortable and all the guides were very helpful. We loved the snow mobile trip and the guest house near Kizhi. I'm very impressed with your website, the information was very helpful as preparation for the trip.
It was a superb holiday that was well organised - we would not hesitate to go again! It was cold (as expected) but having been warned we were sometimes over-warm! We enjoyed the holiday immensely - and have already recommended it to friends and colleagues. Thanking you again for helping to organise a memorable holiday!