Duration: 9 days/8 nights
Starting point: St.Petersburg
Recommended period: May - September
Destinations: Petrozavodsk, island of Kizhi, the Solovetsky Monastery, Belomosrko-Baltic Canal
Main sights: Island of Kizhi, the Solovetsky Monastery, Belomorsko-Baltic Canal
Accommodation: 3* hotel and the hotel complex “Solovki”
Meals: half board
Transport: train, motor ship

Itinerary

Day 1
Arrival in Saint Petersburg. City sightseeing tour. Dinner in the restaurant. Departure from St.Petersburg to Petrozavodsk by night train.

Day 2
Arrival in Petrozavodsk, the capital of Karelia. Breakfast in a restaurant (Karelian cuisine). Accommodation. The trip to the island of Kizhi by hydrofoil. The excursion around the Kizhi Architectual Ensemble and the historic village of the 19th century. Return to Petrozavodsk. Sightseeing tour.
The coach trip to the historic village of Kinerma. Walking tour around the village with the visit to a chapel. This small 17 houses village is a unique monument of folk wooden architecture of the Karelian-Livviks. Dinner in the Karelian house. Return to Petrozavodsk. Overnight.

Day 3
Breakfast. Visit to Belomorsko-Baltic Canal. Lunch in Medvezhyegorsk. Visit to the defensive constructions (the complex of the Finnish defensive fortifications of the Second World War, a unique system of military-engineering constructions, still impressive with its scale and unconventional methods of building). Return to Petrozavodsk. Dinner.

Day 4
Breakfast. Departure to Belomorsk by bus. Lunch. The bus trip to see the ancient rock drawings hammered by ancient people, the contemporaries of the Neolithic. The rock drawings of Besov Nos are the object of thorough examination of Karelian researchers. This is just a small part of the abundant rock art heritage of the inhabitants of ancient Karelia. Departure from Belomorsk to Kem. Accommodation in the hotel.Dinner.

Day 5
Breakfast. Leaving Kem for the islands of Solovky (2,5 hours by motor boat).Accommodation in the hotel. The excursion around the central architectural complex, the Solovetsky monastery, the Transfiguration cathedral, household buildings, a refectory, turrets, the exhibition “The History of the Solovky camp”. Lunch. The bus tour to the mountain of Secir with the visit to the Voznesensky small monastery, St.-George’s church, the cross of worship, and the panorama of the Solovky islands. Dinner.

Day 6
Breakfast. The boat trip to the island of Anzer (2,5 hours by boat). The excursion to the island of Anzer , one of the biggest islands of Solovky (10 hours). Two small monasteries (skits) were built here in the 17-18 centuries. Tourists will have an opportunity to see diverse landscapes, islands, to visit small monasteries, to learn a lot about the history of different periods of the island of Anzer (the island used to be a monastery and a concentration camp). Doggy-bag lunch.Departure from the island by boat (2,5 hours). Return to the hotel.Dinner.

Day 7
Breakfast. Free time on the island. Lunch. Leaving Solovky for Kem (2,5 hours by motor boat). Accommodation in the hotel. Dinner.

Day 8
Breakfast. Departure to St.Petersburg.

Day 9
Arrival in St.Petersburg. Breakfast Transfer to the airport. Departure from St.Petersburg.