This is a Fly&Drive group tour that will run in the following dates: February 28 - March 11, 2019
Winter rest in Karelia is an exciting adventure that will leave noone indifferent: the delight of the magnificent snow-covered landscapes and the intense emotions from driving through endless picturesque forests and frozen lakes. Winter in the Russian North is snowy and long. The first frosts begin in the end of November and stay until the end of April.
Experience the robust Russian off-road car: the renowned UAZ Patriot! In winter conditions at that - all the more fun!
Karelia is the place where one can experience the real winter. The snow is fluffy, not caked, and iridescent with the colours of the rainbow; a little frost makes the air fresh and pure... This winter stays in your memory for ages.
Highlights of the route:
Petersburg – Sortavala - Petrozavodsk – Kizhi – Vologda – Koprino – Sergiev Posad - Moscow
Arrival to Saint Petersburg: walking tour with our guide.
Test-drive of SHERP - the unique Russian ATV. Ice, water and mud for 2 hours.
Petrozavodsk: ice driving near New Ladoga.
Kizhi Island: Russian wooden churches, the most scenic sights. Hovercraft (2 hours one way) ride across the lake.
Tihvin - Svyatozero: places first inhabited by men long before Russia came to exist.
You get to try Russian Banya (steam bath) as well.
Vologda: vast expanses of Russia. Open Air Museum of Architecture and Ethnography: Russian village of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, theatrical programme.
Rybinsk lake: winter driving experience.
Koprino Bay Park Hotel: snow Golf, or drive Snowcat, or ski along small trails, or drink vodka in the Ice Bar, or just relax in the Wellness Center.
Sergiev Posad - Uglich - Myshkin: medieval Russia and the most prominent Russian Orthodox monastery - the Trinity Lavra. Museum of Toys. Off-road driving on snowy roads on the way.
Spare day in Moscow. Walking tour of Moscow downtown.
Full of impressions, you leave Russia on Day 12!
Стоимость тура
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Входит в стоимость:
- Accommodation ½ DBL in hotels according to the programme (see above)
- Meals (day 2 - day 10, dinner and lunch)
- Vehicles according to the size of the group (3 people per car), including gas and parking fees
- All activities according to the program and entrance fees:
- English speaking guide
- Instructor-mechanic
- Support car with all necessary equipment
- Logistics
- LOI for Russia
- Meeting/seeing off at the airport
- Sightseeing tour in Moscow and SPB (only walking tour without entrance fees)
- Single supplement USD 530 per person
- Lunch and Dinner on day 1 and day 11
- Alcohol
- Extra car in case you would like to have a personal car for yourself (USD 2,300)
- Ski and ice skates rental in Koprino
- Extra night and early check-in for hotels in Moscow or SPB
Программа тура
- Arrival to Saint Petersburg. Transfer to hotel. Rest and walking tour with our guide. (-/-/D)
- Hotel: Kempinski
- After breakfast we drive 60 km from St. Petersburg to the special place where we get to test-drive Russian monster cars called SHERP. You will have an opportunity to try ice, water and mud for 2 hours and test unique vehicles that have no analogue in the world. Back to hotel. (B/-/D)
- After breakfast we start driving towards Petrozavodsk. On the way we try a short ice driving near New Ladoga. Let’s enjoy our first driving day. Driving distance - 290 km. (B/L/D)
- Hotel: Onego Palace
- This day takes us to Kizhi Island. Spending about 3 hours on the Island will live noone aloof. Blessed with one of the most picturesque ensembles of Russian wooden churches, the Island provides the most scenic destination on Russia's greatest waterway. It has long been a strategic stopover for travellers. We get there by hovercraft (2 hours one way). Enjoy the sightseeing tour and get back to Petrozavodsk. (B/L/D)
- Hotel: Onego Palace
- Drive to Tihvin. After breakfast we start driving to Tihvin. If time allows we might also visit Svyatozero on the way: according to archaeological finds of stone tools around the village of Svyatozero, the territory was inhabited by people at the end of the third millennium BC. Some ethnographers believe that the first inhabitants were the ancestors of the modern Saami.
- After such a long way, take a rest in the Russian Banya (steam bath). People in Russia go to the banya with a special purpose in mind. It’s common belief that the banya atmosphere brings people closer together, allows them to communicate and interact on a more common level. Russians don't spend all their time in the parnaya (парна́я is the room with hot steam). During the break they walk out to another room called predbannik, which usually has a large long table and a few benches. In the predbannik, people take a break from the hot temperature and relax, drink aroma tea or special herbal tea, have conversations about life and share their ideas or beliefs with each other. (327 km.) (B/-/D)
- Hotel: Verizhitsa Hotel
- Drive to Vologda. One of the longest days of the route. We will admire vast expanses of Russian land, aged wooden houses and the villagers who have chosen a simple measured life. Open Air Museum of Architecture and Ethnography welcomes you to the world of northern Russian village of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Here you can get the first-hand experience of Russian traditions, attitudes and cultural background.
- Hospitable housewife Agapievna is glad to host you any time. She meets you in the warm, generously heated izba. She tells you about peasant life, makes delicious treats, makes you feel at home...
- You will witness: national Russian games, Russian dancing, songs accompanied by accordion. (430 km.) (B/L/D)
- Hotel: Aria Spa Hotel 4*
- Drive to Rybinsk lake. Some winter driving experience. Driving distance - 250 km (B/L/D)
- Hotel: Koprino Bay Park Hotel
- We spend the whole day in Koprino. This day is amazing, full of surprises. What you can do is:
- - play Snow Golf, if you are an avid golfer, why can’t you play golf in the winter? White snow is good for shot-making: you learn how to hit it long and short, high and low, hooking and slicing,
- - drive Snowcat. It’s a pretty surreal feeling at first, because you start going' up hills you don't think a machine could be able to go up,
- - ski along small trails, the aria around is all about walking on ski, the region provides beautiful views of surroundings,
- - drink vodka in the Ice Bar, after you have done something good to your body, please, do not forget your soul!
- - or just relax in the Wellness Center.
- Delicious Dinner (B/L/D)
- Hotel: Koprino Bay Park Hotel
- After breakfast we start driving to Sergiev Posad. On the way we visit several towns of the Russian Golden Ring: Uglich, Myshkin (if time allows we might visit Mouse Museum).
- Driving distance - 250 km. Experience the ice-crossing on the Volga river. (B/L/D
- !!! If the water is not covered with ice, we head to Rostov.
- Hotel: Imperial Village 4*
- After breakfast start visit Lavra Museum and Museum of Toy. After lunch we will drive Moscow (80 km). We will do some off-road driving on snow road on the way. (B/L/D)
- Hotel: Kempinski
- Spare day in Moscow. Walking tour of Moscow downtown. (-/-/-)
- Hotel: Kempinski
- Departure.