Special offer: Winter Safari to Kizhi

Lesnaya st 43 (office 227) Moscow 127055
Tel. (495) 926-58-82, (495) 926-58-83, (499)978-69-65
Fax. (499) 972-40-32
E-mail: moscow@travelrussia.net
Web: http://www.travelrussia.net

WINTER SKIDOO SAFARI TO KIZHI
Saint Petersburg – Winter Skidoo safari to Kizhi – Saint Petersburg
(Offer valid from 07 January to 28 February 2009)

ITINERARY
Day 1		SAINT PETERSBURG
	am/pm/evening	Arrival in Saint Petersburg Airport Transfer to hotel, private, ES guide
	O/night in hotel	“Ibis” hotel, 3*, Double/Twin Standard b/b
Day 2		SAINT PETERSBURG Full day sight seeing including: Private car/minivan, ES guide
	am	City tour, visit to Peter and Paul’s fortress, St. Isaac’s cathedral
	lunch	Local restaurant
	pm	Hermitage museum
	eve	Transfer to railway station, ES guide, train #658 to Petrozavodsk at 22:02 2nd class 4-berth shared compartment
Day 3		PETROZAVODSK/KIZHI ISLAND Full day sight seeing including: Private car/minivan, ES guide
	am	Arrival to Petrozavodsk at 06:50 AM (local) Transfer to the safari starting point (90 km) Skidoo safari: Kedrozero – Pegrema – Yuzhny Dvor – Lipovitsy – Kizhi – Sennaya Guba (110 km)
	lunch	Hot tea with sandwiches en route
	pm	Visit to the “Kizhi” museum
	eve	Dinner, sauna
	acc	tourist centre “Ostrow” (located on the shore of lake Onego)
Day 4		PETROZAVODSK/KIZHI ISLAND Full day sight seeing including: Private car/minivan, ES guide
	am	Skidoo safari: Sennaya Guba – Yuzhny Dvor – Pegrema – Kedrozero
	lunch	Hot tea with sandwiches en route
	pm	Transfer to Petrozavodsk
	dinner	Local cafe
	eve	Transfer to railway station, train 657 to Saint Petersburg at 23:00 (local) 2nd class 4-berth shared compartment
Day 5		SAINT PETERSBURG
	am	Arrival to Saint Petersburg at 07:07 AM (local) Transfer from railway station to airport Departure END OF SERVICES

Total price in Euro per person:

	1-2 pax	3-7 pax	8 – 12 pax
1 person on skidoo	1155	1105	970
2 persons on skidoo	995	945	815

Included: 2 night accommodation in a double room b&b (Ibis hotel in Saint Petersburg, “Ostrov” hotel in Petrozavodsk), transfers as per program, meals as per program, 2nd class 4-berth shared compartment train tickets, entrances as per program, skidoo rent (“Yamaha VK – 540 III), skidoo equipment (warm wind-proof overall, skidoo helmet, helmet liner, skidoo shoes, skidoo gloves), skidoo instructor, insurance, visa support letters.

ITINERARY IN DETAIL
Day 1	am/pm/evening	Arrival to SAINT PETERSBURG, transfer to hotel
Day 2	AM	SAINT PETERSBURG. Full day Sightseing City tour, visit to Peter and Paul’s fortress, St. Isaac’s Cathedral In the morning the guests will have a chance to get acquainted with one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Founded in 1703 by Peter the Great, Saint Petersburg remains one of the most romantic cities in Russia. Among the many poetical names applied to St. Petersburg the most common are “Northern Venice” and “Northern Palmyra”. The fascinating palaces and cathedrals, beautiful bridges over Venice-like canals, spacious squares and wide streets decorated with edifices of flourished baroque and impressive classical styles, monumental sculpture and lacy iron grilles and, of course, the special spirituality of this city infects everyone who visits it. In 1991 the city was placed on the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage. With numerous palaces and the world famous Hermitage on the banks of the Neva river, the city is Russia’s most popular destination, drawing visitors from all over the world throughout the year. Begin the tour with the oldest sight of the city – Peter & Paul’s fortress. Standing on a small island at the centre of the Neva delta, the fortress was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great and is the oldest building in St Petersburg. Up to 1917, the fortress was mainly used for holding political prisoners, such as Dostoyevsky, Lenin’s brother Alexander and Peter the Great’s own son Alexei. At the heart of the fortress is the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul, with its landmark gold spire, where all of Russia’s pre-Revolutionary leaders were buried, apart from Peter, Ivan IV and Nicholas II. St Isaacs Cathedral is the main church of the city. Commissioned in 1818 by Alexander I, this imperial cathedral with its opulent interior and huge gold dome by its height occupies the 4th place in the world among domed cathedrals. The massive granite columns had to be transported from Finland on purpose built ships and rail and the dome is covered in nearly 100kg of gold; inside, there are 10 malachite columns and a beautiful iconostasis. For visitors with energy to spare, it is possible to climb the several hundred steps of the spiral staircase to the colonnade for a fabulous view of the city.
Day 2	PM	Hermitage museum Hermitage - is undoubtedly the largest museum of the world, possessing over 3 million exhibits within its four buildings and attracting around 3 million visitors a year. The exhibitions are diverse with works by Da Vinchy, Raphael, Rembrandt, an impressive collection of impressionists and largest collection of Titians in existence. The main building of the Hermitage Museum ideally located on the bank of the river Neva is the Winter Palace built in 1754 – 1762, which was once the main residence of the Russian Tsars. The Hermitage is one of the most prominent art museums in the world, Russia's best gallery and one of the main tourist attractions of St. Petersburg. The museum was founded in 1764 when Catherine the Great purchased a collection of 255 paintings from Berlin. All the exhibits of the Hermitage exposed in 350 halls are originals and their number goes up to 2 million 800 thousand items. The collection is constantly filled up by new exhibits. In the evening board the overnight train to Petrozavodsk.
Day 3	AM	PETROZAVODSK/KIZHI ISLAND Arrival to Petrozavodsk in the morning. Transfer to Safari Starting point Skidoo safari: Kedrozero – Pegrema – Yuzhny Dvor – Lipovitsy – Kizhi – Sennaya Guba A two-day tour is a wonderful choice to get acquainted with a true winter vacation in Karelia, with its thick woods covered with snow and frosty air. The pleasure of snow mobile safari in winter Kizhi will be supplemented with a chance to contemplate the beauty of Kizhi Architectural Ensemble. This short adventure will warm your heart for a long time when you are back home. During safari you will be treated to hot tea and sandwiches.
Day 3	PM	Visit to the “Kizhi” museum “Kizhi’ is one of the first open-air museums in Russia and one of the most popular tourist attractions in Russia. The heart of the museum forms a unique wooden church ensemble included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1990. Museum is famous for the 22-dome Church of Transfiguration (1714) and the oldest wooden church in Russia - the Church of the Resurrection of Lazarus dating back to the 14th century and the Church of the Protecting Veil. The Church of the Transfiguration (1714) is a world masterpiece of wooden architecture. It was constructed without the use of nails and, improbably! Five tiers of 22 domes, wonderfully changing color during the day, look magnificent from any point of the island. Tourists are mostly attracted by the iconostasis in the Church of the Protecting Veil which was selected from the richest collections of old icons from churches throughout the Onega region. The church is still functioning and the church ceremonies are held here rather often. Relax after long day in Sauna and have dinner afterwards.
Day4	AM	PETROZAVODSK/KIZHI ISLAND Skidoo safari: Sennaya Guba – Yuzhny Dvor – Pegrema – Kedrozero.
Day4	PM	Transfer to Petrozavodsk, departure to Saint Petersburg
Day5	AM	SAINT PETERSBURG Arrival to Saint Petersburg, transfer to airport, departure