Duration: 11 days / 10 nights
Driving distance: 1700 km (highway, back roads, unpaved roads)
Types of driving: highway, back roads, unpaved roads
Type of tour: Self-drive tour
Vehicles: UAZ PATRIOT
Minimum driver age: 21
Group size: from 6 to 25 person
Accommodation: Best hotels on the route
Meals: Full board + coffee-breaks
Best time: May - September
Day 1. Arrival. Saint Petersburg
Arrival to StPetersburg. Pick-up at airport arrivals hall. Transfer to the hotel, check-in.
You will spend the whole day in the Northern Capital of Russia. We offer a to a walking orientation tour of the most significant landmarks of Saint Petersburg.
The most picturesque areas, where you get to make multiple photos , while engaged in entertaining and informative discussion about the city's history and present-day life. Take a stroll along Nevsky Prospekt; this 2.5 mile avenue is adorned with Russian History. Stunning buildings, breath-taking bridges and powerful palaces become only snippets of a walk down this eye-pleasing street. Admire the Kazan Cathedral, Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, have a view of the Zinger Building, the Russian Museum, the Admiralty, the Palace Bridge and Square, the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island, the Peter and Paul Fortress.
OPTION: Visit the Hermitage (up to 2 hours). You can be absorbed by Hermitage ‘s treasures for days and still come out wanting more. The enormous collection (over three million items, only a fraction of which are on display in 360 rooms) almost amounts to a comprehensive history of Western European art.
Welcome dinner to meet all the participants of the trip and the support crew is planned for the evening.
Accommodation in a 5* hotel (Meals: -/-/D)
Day 2. Saint Petersburg - Sortavala (300 km drive (5-6 hours)
Our morning starts with an introduction to our SUVs. We conduct a short briefing, and then our journey begins! We leave the city and adjust to driving in the convoy and interacting with each other on the radio.
Let us start the trip with a bang and begin exploring Russia by nice highway first!
The road from St. Petersburg to Sortavala is very beautiful. Leaving behind the Gulf of Finland and the city’s marvellous views, we enter Karelia and get close to Lake Ladoga, the largest in Europe! We will definitely take a drive into the woods following one of the forest trails and walk down to the water, which usually requires some driving skills, since there are no good roads to reach the shore. Walk along the white sands, amidst the famous Karelian pines and enjoy the endless expanses of this splendid enormous lake. Best time to snap the most gorgeous pictures of the amazing waterfront.
After lunch, a memorable point on this day will be meeting the early Middle Ages of these lands when we visit a wooden fortress close to Sortavala.
By evening, we take the short winding road to reach our cozy hotel for the night.
Accommodation in a hotel (Meals: B/L/D)
Day 3. Sortavala - Petrozavodsk (300 km drive (4-5 hours)
The graceful Karelian woods and forest paths are waiting for us, and today we continue exploring them on our SUVs.
Highlight of the day is Ruskeala Nature Reserve – a definitive must-see location!
The marble extracted in the Ruskeala quarry since the 1600s was widely used for decoration of palaces, churches and even some metro stations in St.Petersburg. The quarry was closed in 1985 and later officially recognized as a cultural heritage site.
Operated by a private travel company since 2005, The Ruskeala Mountain Park offers a walk around the flooded quarry, zip-lines, visit to underground caves. We take a walk around the artificial lakes of the flooded quarry, see the monuments of industrial architecture, enjoy the magnificent winter scenery with a coffee from a neat kiosk.
Having explored the Park, we’ll head to Petrozavodsk, the capital of Karelia region. Among the town's landmarks are the outdoor statues of Emperor Peter I and Gavrila Derzhavin (the governor of the region in the late 1700s century, but vastly known in Russia as a poet).
Our day trip finishes in a cozy hotel nestled right on the shore of the Onega Lake.
The appealing waterfront promenade invites for a leisurely stroll.
Accommodation in a hotel (Meals: B/L/D)
Day 4. Visit to Kizhi Island (Full day circle trip – no driving involved)
Today we will give our cars a rest, while we set off to the most gorgeous island in Karelia, Kizhi island, by motorboats.
There is a museum of traditional peasant culture of the Russian North on the island, one of the largest and most famous open-air museum reserves in Russia. It contains architectural masterpieces, iconography and household items that had been created in Karelian, Veps and Russian villages over the centuries.
The one way boat trip takes 1,5 hours, all the while we enjoy the dazzling views of Lake Onega, with its many islands and picturesque villages on them.
Then we go for a walk around the island. Local guides will tell us the history of the island and each and every building on it. In good weather, such a walk can bring a lot of pleasure. We will certainly climb the high bell tower to catch a glimpse of the island from above. After a nice picnic lunch, we head back, and return to Petrozavodsk by late afternoon. You still have some time for a walk along the embankment or just unwind in the coziest ever lobby bar before dinner.
Accommodation in a hotel (Meals: B/L/D)
Day 5. Petrozavodsk – Upper Mandrogi (220 km drive (3 hours)
We leave Petrozavodsk behind and head on to Upper Mandrogi, the most fabulous Russian village on our route, home to dozens of craftsmen who create traditional clothing, pottery, toys and lacework to this day. Hand-forged metal souvenirs, Matryoshka dolls, Christmas decorations, linen, felts – too many to name them all. Some will argue that the most important part is the famous local ‘pirozhki’, the characteristic Russian small pies filled with meat, fish, cabbage or berries.
Upon arrival in the village, we admire the fairytale wooden tower and take a walk around the island that is home to local traditional workshops.
The village if full of whimsical wooden houses painted in a multitude of colour.
Traditional Russian lunch in the local restaurant. We’ll get to ride in horse-drawn carts and visit the souvenir shop to buy local lace, pottery or traditional toys.
If time permits we can take master classes in various crafts, from Matryoshka dolls painting to forging metals in a blacksmith’s shop.
Accommodation in colourful wooden hotel (Meals: B/L/D)
Day 6. Upper Mandrogi – Veliky Novgorod (350 km drive (4-5 hours)
As you remember, our program is about the White Nights in Karelia. You just have to wake up at 1 am and look at the bright sun that stays above the horizon and will never set. That amazing phenomenon will not leave you indifferent. Still, it does not prevent us from getting enough sleep and going further on our journey.
After breakfast, we continue to Veliky Novgorod. It will be a long drive with some interesting stops. We’ll pass Old Ladoga, the oldest inhabited area in the Leningrad Region. According to many chronicles, this was the original capital of Northern Russia of the 800-900s. A fortress dating back to the 1100s, ancient churches, monasteries, barrows and caves make for a significant accumulation of ancient monuments here.
Later in the day we reach Veliky Novgorod on the Volkhov River. Novgorod enchants with the outlines of its landscape, church domes and classic white walls of its monasteries. First mentioned in the scripts of 1044, the Novgorod Kremlin is the oldest surviving of such fortresses in Russia, and we’ll definitely visit it.
Traditional dance and song show that leaves no one indifferent is planned for the evening.
Accommodation in a hotel (Meals: B/L/D)
Day 7. Veliky Novgorod – Lake Seliger (350 km drive (4-5 hours)
After breakfast, we hit the road towards the beautiful Valday Upland. First, we stop at Lake Ilmen that gives rise to the Volkhov River.
Another highlight of the day is the Source of the Volga River – the longest and decidedly most renowned river in Russia. We take a stroll around to see the vicinity, and then follow a back road to Lake Seliger.
Lake Seliger actually includes a chain of natural water reservoirs formed after the ice age. Hundreds of small and large lakes and islands surrounded by gorgeous coniferous forests create an amazing landscape.
Small dirt paths between the lakes; maybe even a couple of wade crossings – time to recall your best driving abilities.
The view from your car window will change from peaceful villages hidden between the lakes to the elegant Orthodox churches on the hilltops to the wilderness scenery – surely, a novel experience for some. Driving across the hilly terrain and walks along forest trails are definitely in store.
In the evening we arrive at our hotel, located near the water.
Accommodation in colourful wooden hotel (Meals: B/L/D)
Day 8. Lake Seliger Day (Circle trip, no driving)
Today, we pay a visit to Nilo-Stolbenskaya Pustyn (Nilova Pustyn), located on Stolobny Island. Founded in 1594, it was once one of the largest and wealthiest Russian Orthodox monasteries, and still is one of the most impressive ensembles of Neoclassical architecture in Eastern Europe.
We take a nice boat trip and then enjoy a stroll around the monastery to appreciate the splendid view of the surroundings.
OPTION: fishing / quadbikes for the afternoon.
Accommodation in a hotel (Meals: B/L/D)
Day 9. Lake Seliger - Moscow (400 km drive (5-6 hours)
We head south/south-east across Tver Region. We will pass Torzhok, a small city dating back to 1100s, and many nobility manors from the 1700s and 1800s that give out the vibe of a small provincial town in the heart of Russia.
Tver, the capital of the area, might have become the capital of Russia instead of Moscow back in the 1300s. Сity downtown hosts some very interesting monuments, one of which is directly connected to India, no less!
By the end of the day we join a highway leading to Moscow. Moscow will meet us with all of its grandeur. We will drive along the main streets and get to the city center, where we stay at one of the best hotels in the capital. Upon arrival, you still have a lot of time to take an evening walk around the city downtown.
FAREWELL DINNER in the evening to share recollections from the trip and unwind in a Russian style restaurant.
Accommodation in 5* hotel (Meals: B/L/D)
Day 10. Moscow
In the mood for sightseeing in Moscow? We offer you some ideas.
We are happy to take you on an orientation walking tour of Moscow center: Red Square and vicinity, followed by a short introduction to Moscow metro (1,5 -2 hrs). You will see the medieval Kremlin wall, St.Basil’s cathedral (exterior),Lenin’s Tomb, GUM mall , Kazan church, State History Museum and the Moscow metro (Revolution Square station).
Optional extras:
- Tour with a private driver to the most iconic streets and architecture (3-3,5 hrs), the highlights of which include: St.Basil's Cathedral’s, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Bolshoi Theatre and the Alexander Garden, the building of State Duma , Lubyanka Square, The House on the Embankment and The Russian State Library, Sparrow Hills vantage point, Moscow-City Business District, Victory Park at Poklonnaya Hill and much more.
Moscow River Cruise on amazing Radisson yacht (2,5 hrs). Enjoy the most remarkable landmarks from the water – with fine-dining in a comfortable restaurant onboard.
Accommodation in 5* hotel (Meals: B/-/-)
Day 11. Departure
Warm good-byes at the hotel when leaving for the airport for departure home. This trip is concluded, but many more await ahead!
Should you need additional service in Moscow or St Petersburg, we’ll be glad to arrange transfers, accommodation or guided tours.
Do come to Russia again and embark on more exciting journeys!
