Cruise Valaam - Kizhi (4 full days/5 nights)
During this cruise you will see two lakes - Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega - and two islands - Valaam and Kizhi.
Upstream the Neva to Lake Ladoga and Valaam island - this part of the cruise will acquaint you with the natural beauty of the biggest European lake and ecclesiastical life of an old Russian monastery.
Then you will continue into Lake Onega, another big and picturesque lake with an island, where the most famous Russian wooden church was built. The 22-domed Church of Transfiguration in the small village of Kizhi is included in all textbooks and monographs dedicated to Mediaeval Russian architecture.
It is a real masterpiece of wooden building.
On the way to Valaam and Kizhi tourists will also see Petrozavodsk, a small old town with some historical monuments and the village of Mandrogy. In Mandrogy, those who wish to, can visit a village of craftsmen with their workshops and a windmill. A special excursion is dedicated to Alexander-Svirsky active Orthodox monastery in Svirstroy village.
Day-by-Day Itinerary:
1st day: departure from St.Petersburg at 21:00 2nd day: arrival at Valaam at 08:00 Two excursions (walking):
- "Valaam cloisters"
- "Transfiguration Monastery"
3d day: arrival at Svirstroy village at 11:00, departure at 16:00.
A bus excursion (around 3 hours, transfers 40x2) to Alexander-Svirsky Holy Trinity Monastery.
4th day: arrival at Kizhi 08:00, departure - 12.00
- Excursion of the Kizhi architectural ensemble.
Arrival at the town Petrozavodsk at 16:00. Departure at 21.00.
- Excursion of Petrozavodsk
5th day: arrival at Mandrogy village at 12.00. Departure at 16:00.
Picnicking and a visit to the village of Russian craftsmen.
6th day: arrival in St.Petersburg at 07:00
Dates:
CRUISE SHIP "KUIBYSHEV"
25-29 July; 14-19 August; 31 August - 04 September Price per person: one-person cabin, $689, two-person cabin $679, $556, $546, or $517
CRUISE SHIP "BELINSKY"
13-18 June; 19-24 July; 22-27 August; 19-24 September Price per person, June-August: one-person cabin, $828, two-person cabin $828, $756, $749, or $655 Price per person, September: one-person cabin, $761, two-person cabin $761, $731, $709, or $606
