►Tours ► Russian North Tours ► Winter Kizhi tour

A 3 day journey on Onega Lake including a visit to Kizhi Island - the pearl of Russian North enlisted in UNESCO. The main sight of the island is Kizhi churchyard and wooden Transfiguration Church with 22 domes built without using nails. In winter the complex especially beautiful surrounded by white endless field of Onega Lake.

The itinerary includes visit to some remote villages along the way such as Pegrema, Lipovitsy and Yuzhny Dvor. The accommodation on this tour is on the island in 10km from Kizhi deep into Kareli where you can enjoy beautiful nature and fresh winter air. Excursion on the Kizhi Island is included in the tour.  

The tour starts from Petrozavodsk - the capital of Karelia Republic. The city has a very convenient train schedule with Moscow - train leaves Moscow in the evening and arrives to Petrozavodsk in the morning. The train itself is a premium and has 1-st (SV), 2-nd and 3rd classes. We advice you to book tickets in advance as Karelia is one of the favorite destination Moscovites and it is often lack of available seats on weekends.

FEBRUARY

• 22.02.2021 - 24.02.2021 •

MARCH

• 07.03.2021 - 09.03.2021 •

 Arrival to Petrozavodsk.

 Breakfast in a cafe and then transfer to the start point of snowmobile safari to Kedrozero village.

 Distance: 80km

 Selection of snowmobile equipment. Briefing on management and snowmobile safety. Training session on the management of a snowmobile. Start of the safary.

THE ROUTE
Kedrozero village → Pegrema Village → Yuzhny Dvor Village → Lipovitsy Village → Kizhi Island → Sennay Guba Village  Distance: 80km

 Check-in at the recreation centre in Sennaya Guba village.

 Dinner and Russian Banya (2hours)

 A ring route on a snowmobile along the forest path.

THE ROUTE
Sennaya Guba → Kizhi Island → Podelniki village → Volkostrov Village → Yandomozero village → Sennaya Guba village.  Distance: 80km.

 On the way snack lunch with tea, sandwiches, fruit and sweets.

 Walking excursion in the Kizhi Island. Kizhi - One of the oldest in Russia, historical, architectural and ethnographic open-air museums. During 300 years in Karelia there is an outstanding monument of national architecture - the Church of the Transfiguration, making the ensemble of Kizhi in the list of World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

 Return to the recreation centre. 

 Dinner and Russian Banya (2hours)

 Returning to the start point of the tour - to Kedrozero village by snowmobiles.

THE ROUTE
Sennay Guba Village → Yuzhny Dvor Village → Pegrema Village → Kedrozero village  Distance: 80km.

 On the way snack lunch with tea, sandwiches, fruit and sweets.

 After return to Kedrozero village a transfer to Petrozavodsk.

  18:30 | Dinner in a cafe in Petrozavodsk.

  Overnight train to Moscow or St Petersburg.

• You must be 18 or over to drive the snowmobiles.
• The tour is recommended for children aged 12 and above.
• The places on the tour are limited so we recommend booking in advance.
• The premium train from Moscow has first-class (two beds in a compartment) and second-class (four beds in a compartment) carriages. As it is the most comfortable train to Petrozavodsk, tickets sell out quickly. Approximate prices for a place in first class - USD125, for a place in second class -USD94. The closer to the date of the tour, the more expensive the tickets.
• You should take with you: a backpack, suitable comfortable clothes: trousers, a warm sweater, thick outer socks and thin socks for wearing underneath, t-shirts, warm coat, warm hat, warm gloves and warm walking boots.
• All equipment for the snowmobile is provided, but we recommend that you bring your own head protection for wearing under the helmet.
• A special rate of cancellation fees applies for this tour.

  The Ostrov ("Island") Hotel Complex is located just 8km from Kizhi Island on the Bolshoy Klimetsky Island. In 2012 scenes from the film 'Anna Karenina' were filmed here and the director Joe Wright and the whole filming group stayed at this hotel.

  The two-storey mini-hotel has twin rooms, fitted out with beds, bedside tables and a chest of drawers. It can accommodate 12 people. Inside there is a reception room with a fireplace and a large communal table. In addition there is also a sauna which can hold four people.

  Also on the complex are five en suite family cottages which have two beds, a divan which can be used as another bed, a television, a table and chairs.