Classic tour to Solovki from St. Petersburg (4 days)

10:55 – Arrival in Kem trains (022Ч) Saint Petersburg — Murmansk; or individual arrival by car to the village Rabocheostrovsk, where is the port

11: 00 – Meeting of tourists at the main entrance to the railway station with a sign “Pier” between the station building and the first way. Boarding the bus. Transfer to the Rabocheostrovsk (12 km).

11: 30 – Breakfast in the cafe of the tourist complex “Berth”. Breakfast usually includes porridge, pancakes, scrambled eggs, coffee or tea. We recommend that you bring a couple of bottles of water before boarding the ship. Boarding the ship.

12: 30 – Crossing the White sea to the Solovetsky Islands (2-2.5 hours). During the trip from the ship you can see seals or Beluga whales, feed sea gulls, see the archipelago

And just enjoy the view of the Solovki from the water, imagining how the first monks got here through the harsh waters on their small boat.

14: 30 – Arrival to Bolshoy Solovetsky island. Meeting at the pier with the accompanying tour to Solovki from St. PETERSBURG for 3 days. The attendant will meet you with a sign “Polar Aurora” near the ship or at the exit from the pier. Transfer to the hotel (Solovki Hotel, Solovetskaya Sloboda). In agreement with the travelers check can be also performed in the Solo hotel Nord or at the hotel club Ostrovito Morosco. These hotels are considered the best in Solovki for quality of service.

15: 00 – Lunch at the hotel by yourself. The island has a number of catering facilities. This is the refectory of the monastery, cafe “Cabin Campaign,” restaurant “Izba” cafe “Pinagor”, restaurants in hotel Solo Nord and the hotel Solovetskaya Sloboda and cafe “Old Boat”. Lunch and dinner can be in these places, and our guide will tell you where they are located.

16: 00 – Sightseeing tour of the Solovetsky monastery (2.5 hours). During the tour you will be told about the history of the Solovetsky monastery from its Foundation (1436) to the present day. The tour takes place in the Central complex of the Solovetsky monastery, inside the walls. You will not just spend around the fortress wall, and you are in a group visit the fortress wall and a number of temples, which are not allowed without a tour. Guests of the island also get acquainted with the history of the Solovetsky special purpose camp, the Training unit of the Northern fleet and the Jung School. This is a very informative walking tour, which is held in any weather and political situation. For 3 hours you can learn almost everything about Solovki, visit the existing churches, expositions, exhibition cell and other premises. The tour is pedestrian and takes place exclusively within the fortress of the Solovetsky monastery.

18: 30 – Free time to continue independent acquaintance with Solovki. And our group guides will help you to spend it correctly – they will tell you about the main attractions of the island, about possible additional excursions, will help you to sign up for them, will explain where you can eat and where to go on foot or by bike in your free time. Do not forget about the White nights – this is an exceptional time for contemplation of the White sea, the fortress walls of the Solovetsky monastery!

On the first evening we offer to go to the attractions that are near the village.

1. Walk to the Cape Labyrinths, which is located a 15-minute walk from the monastery. You will come to the picturesque shore of the White sea, where these calculations are made. According to one version, they were laid out several thousand years ago for ritual purposes. On the other they were used for the repair of networks of ancient fishermen, establishing these spiral long pole. The third version says that it is a trap for fish. There are other mysterious versions, for example, that it is the remains of monuments of civilization that lived on the supercontinent Hyperborea, and even UFO versions. However, it is not known why they were made. And do not look on the shore of a giant maze. The height of the display is from 30 to 50 centimeters. Seascape and midnight over the horizon during the white nights the Sun will not leave you indifferent. Sometimes by this place also swim Beluga whales and seals. It’s self-service and free.
2. You Can go to the Negotiation stone, located 3 kilometers from the village. This slab was carved in the mid-19th century during the Crimean war. Here the negotiations of the captain of the English squadron and the Abbot of the monastery took place. Negotiations ended unsuccessfully for the British, but to take by storm the monastery they failed, and they went home with nothing. And monks of the Solovetsky monastery immortalized this event, having hollowed out on a stone this history. The negotiation stone is also located on the picturesque seashore, and the road to it runs through the untouched taiga. It’s self-service and free.
3.  On the other side is the Philippian or Jesus pustyn. Go until it 2 miles. Only a small cell building, a few cedars planted before the revolution and a Holy spring have survived here. You can take a bottle and gain water in it. You want to be quiet, as in private housing live monks of the Solovetsky monastery. And here you can catch during the tour to Solovki from St. PETERSBURG for 3 days. 
4. For an additional fee, a speedboat ride to the Beluga whales or fishing in the White sea. In good weather it is very interesting and inquisitive. Beluga whales can be observed from a boat at a distance of 50-100 meters. And while fishing you can catch cod, navaga or pinagora. You will have enough time for this during the tour to Solovki from St. PETERSBURG for 4 days.

08:00 – Breakfast in the hotel cafe.

10:00 — the complex bus tour “Sekirnaya Hill-Botanical garden” (4 hours) is offered for an additional fee. Holy ascension monastery (Sekirnaya mountain) is located 11 kilometers from the village on one of the highest points of the archipelago – mount Sekirnaya. Guests of the island will be told about the monastic and Soviet history of the monastery and the interesting legend of its creation. But there have been tragedies. At the time of the Solovetsky special purpose camp on the Sekirnaya hill was a punishment cell, where many people died. From the observation deck overlooking the other monastery, situated in the North of the Bolshoy Solovetsky island – Savvatievo. Beautiful landscapes also will not leave you indifferent. On the way back you will make a stop in the Botanical garden, founded in the days of the monastery by one of the archimandrites. Once even grapes and watermelons were grown here. Currently, the Solovetsky Museum supports monastic and camp planting, as well as creates its own. In addition to the variety of vegetation You will see the monastery buildings-the Dacha of the Archimandrite, Alexander and Unnamed chapel, as well as the ancient wooden cross on the Solovki. This is one of the northernmost Botanical gardens in Russia.

13:00 – Lunch in any cafe or restaurant of your choice. Our guide will be happy to tell you about all the places and cuisine.

14: 00 – Free time. Having indicated your wishes to your escort in advance, you can ask him to clarify the information about the availability of groups on the Hare Islands, or on the island of Bolshaya Muksalma, where there is a magnificent boulder dam. In good weather, a walk in the Northern forest and drive on the White sea — a pleasure. If you do not want to go with a group, you can book these tours individually, or just go for a walk to other places. The Central complex of the monastery is also open (except for a number of objects). You can go to the service in the temple. Tour to Solovki from St. PETERSBURG for 3 days suggests more free time to explore the archipelago.

Guests can dine at one of the restaurants or cafes located in the village. The village itself can be reached on foot in 20 minutes. Everything is nearby.

08:00 – Breakfast in the hotel cafe.

Are available at a surcharge excursions to Zayatsky island for the exposition of the Solovki special purpose camp, excursions to the monasteries Isakovo and Savvatyevo. You can also go to the cape of labyrinths, Negotiation stone, ride a boat with an electric motor on the lake-channel system. Schedule of excursions you can check with your escort on the tour to Solovki from St. PETERSBURG for 4 days

Lunch by yourself.

Also offer:

1. Maritime Museum — an excellent exhibition dedicated to navigation on the White sea. Located directly in the village, so you can go there and on the second day of your stay on the island. Admission is free. But the tour costs about 150-300 rubles, but without it you can see the most important exhibits.
2. Anzer — a long excursion to the neighboring island, where there are strict monasteries — Golgotha-Crucifixion and Holy Trinity. The tour starts at 9.00 and ends at 21.00. It is necessary to take food and water for the whole day. In total, tourists will have to walk about 12 kilometers.
3. Just walk through the woods, talk to nature and feel alone with the Solovki — also a great holiday option. Stunning seascapes begin just outside the village. Sea, forest, lakes, untouched nature-what could be better? 
4. Evening service in the Solovetsky monastery. It starts at 18.00. The visit is voluntary, but for a number of tourists, perhaps, the main thing. You don’t have to be in the service from beginning to end. But go that Spain. It was with the monks that the story of Solovki began. They built this impregnable monastery on a desert island. 

08:00 – Breakfast in the hotel cafe. Collecting things. Luggage storage. Renting rooms.

Visiting souvenir shops or exhibitions of the Solovetsky Museum-reserve (for an additional fee). You can have time to the Maritime Museum, the exposition of the Solovetsky special purpose camp, or Cape labyrinths. On request-a visit to the specialized shop of the Arkhangelsk algae plant.

Lunch by yourself.

15: 30 – transfer from the hotel to the port. Boarding the ship. Departure to mainland

16:00 – Journey to the White sea (2 – 2.5 hours) in Rabocheostrovsk. Transfer to the railway station in Kem.

20: 30 – Departure by train (021H) Murmansk – St. Petersburg.

*Price in rubles per person