New Year in Karelia (3 days)

Also on the territory of the republic there is a huge number of tourist centers for every taste. And with almost one hundred percent certainty we can say that on New Year’s Eve in Karelia there is snow, and not a fine, nasty rain, or there is only gray porridge underfoot from the snow cover.
The main disadvantage is that the New Year in Karelia must be planned in advance. If you start dealing with this issue in late November-early December, then, unfortunately, it becomes difficult to find exactly the option that tourists would like. For example, in order to spend the New Year in Karelia in the Dacha Winter park-hotel, you need to take care of renting a cottage in September, or better in August. In this case, you can choose any cottage and any dates. The same goes for other camp sites. New Year in Karelia is loved not only by tourists, but also by large organizations that arrange corporate events for their employees or simply send them on vacation as a reward. And they can immediately take more than half, or even the entire camp site. And in December, all the best is usually already taken.
The same applies to entertainment during the New Year in Karelia and on weekends after it. Snowmobiles, fishing, hovercraft, aerobots, helicopters, Ruskeala, Kinerma, Kizhi, Valaam – everything available copes well with the flow, but not on these holidays. Therefore, the cultural part of the New Year in Karelia also needs to be taken care of in advance. If tourists do this, then the cost of the tour turns out to be much lower than when trying to snatch or outbid something worthwhile in December, when all the dates have already been scheduled.
The Polar Aurora Travel Club will gladly organize for you and your family / friends the New Year in Karelia. The only thing I would like to remind you of is the fact that prices in the republic do not differ from prices in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and in some places even higher. There is no need to expect to spend 10,000-20,000 rubles per person for the New Year in Karelia with good cottages and an excursion program. On average, spending 5-6 days starts from 40,000 – 50,000 rubles per tour per person with decent accommodation and a good program.

We can offer accommodation in the area of ​​Priozersk, Sortavala, Petrozavodsk and in the northern part of Karelia. The main places for the New Year are traditionally Winter’s Dacha, Ladozhskaya Usadba, Cherny Kamni, Lamberg, Sorola, Igora Drive, Bogatyri’s estate, Point on the map of Priozersk, Point on the map of Sortavala.
Near Petrozavodsk, the New Year in Karelia is most often spent in Karjala Park, Heliopark, the resort of Marcial Waters, at the tourist centers Malaya Medvezhka or Medvezhy Kray. To celebrate the New Year in Karelia in Petrozavodsk itself, the hotels Kosmos Petrozavodsk, Fregat, Piter INN, and the Karelia hotel are booked.
These accommodation facilities have all the necessary infrastructure for a fun and full-fledged holiday. However, again, in order to celebrate the New Year in Karelia, the issue of booking should be puzzled in advance.
The list contains a small part of tourist centers and hotels, but they confirm their reputation from year to year. The price list in them is not the smallest, but for the New Year in Karelia you can find another couple of thousand camp sites and cottages with a lower cost, and organize the holiday yourself.
If you only plan to order an accommodation facility, you can do it yourself, using their names from this material. We will be happy to find and book an accommodation facility for your company, provided that you book with us, and not just spend our time searching, in order to book everything yourself. All names are presented – you just have to call them.

The main entertainment during the New Year in Karelia, of course, is traditionally everything connected with snow. These are snowmobiles, dog sledding, reindeer, ice fishing, skiing, small hikes, visiting the local Santa Claus (Talvi Ukko) and much more.
Of the excursion routes for the New Year in Karelia, Ruskeala, Bastion Park, Valaam (in the presence of ice) are the most popular in the Sortavala region. Near Petrozavodsk – this is the island of Kizhi, Kivach and Marcial Waters, Petrozavodsk itself and its environs.
The cost of such routes during the New Year in Karelia is slightly higher than at other times. This is due to the fact that instead of national holidays, drivers, guides, attendants, organizers and accountants have to work in an emergency mode without rest. And there is no point in counting on a discount, since everything will be sold anyway, and there will not be a single free window for all 8-10 days of the holidays. Therefore, if you want to save a little, we again recommend that you start choosing entertainment for the New Year in Karelia in September-October, when the New Year is still relatively far away, and the lowest season has come.

First of all, it is worth taking passports, birth certificates, compulsory medical insurance and packing them in waterproof envelopes. Also, depending on the year and the epidemiological situation, additional medical documents may be required, for example, a certificate of vaccination. If you plan to actively spend the New Year in Karelia, then you can take care of additional medical insurance. Almost any insurance company in Russia makes them.
Also, for holidays in the New Year in Karelia, you will need warm clothes (winter jacket, winter pants, comfortable warm hiking shoes, gloves, mittens, thermal underwear). In winter, the temperature in Karelia can range from -5 degrees to -35 degrees Celsius.
Among other things, you will need chargers for phones, a spare SIM card, a certain supply of cash, dryers for shoes, necessary medications (diabetes, for heart disease, alimentary tract), which are not always available in pharmacies in a large metropolis.
In addition, for the New Year in Karelia, we recommend bringing with you expensive alcohol and rare types of delicacies that you prefer. For example, you simply won’t be able to get 5-6 bottles of wine of a certain brand in the price segment of 10,000 – 15,000 rubles. In the best case, there is one such bottle in all shops in Petrozavodsk, Sortavala and Priozersk. And then another brand. Oysters, lobsters, spinach and so on are also best to bring with you. In Karelia, such delicacies are extremely rare.

This region has long been famous for its trout farms. Of course, the New Year is over, and red caviar will no longer be so popular, but you can open this delicacy for another holiday. It is made immediately on farms, and not from raw ice cream, so its taste is radically different from what we are used to purchasing in cans in supermarkets.
The second is the trout itself, which is also raised in trout farms. The prices for caviar and trout do not differ much from the prices in stores in St. Petersburg or Moscow. However, these are fresh trout and fresh caviar.
Also, after celebrating the New Year in Karelia, you can bring home various berry jams, compotes, other canned local fish, venison and other game. Balms are popular among alcohol. In any store, you will immediately be shown the two alcohol brands that tourists most often take. They are usually added to tea and for colds in small doses. It is difficult to drink these balms in their pure form.

If the celebration is scheduled for the Karelian Isthmus (Priozersk and Sortavala), then there are several options. The first one is by train from Moscow (it takes about 12 hours). Tourists will arrive in Sortavala, from where they can get to their hotels by taxi.
The second option is to fly to St. Petersburg by plane. Then go to Sortavala on the Swallow or arrange a transfer (minibus, bus, minivan). On the road about 4-5 hours.
You can also get to Sortavala from Petrozavodsk to spend the New Year in Karelia. However, the travel time will also be around 4 hours. And you have to take a transfer. On the downside, much fewer flights arrive from Moscow to Petrozavodsk than to St. Petersburg.
The third option is to rent a helicopter or plane. In this case, tourists will arrive in Sortavala in an hour and a half, and on the way they will be able to fly to Valaam (by helicopter). The program is interesting, but expensive.
If the New Year in Karelia is planned to be celebrated in the vicinity of Petrozavodsk, then there are direct flights and trains from Moscow. There are also several flights from St. Petersburg, as well as Lastochka trains and electric trains.

We will be happy to help you organize your New Year in Karelia, so that you can spend time on business, and we will take care of the travel chores. You just have to come to everything ready and enjoy your vacation. However, we ask you not to forget that Karelia has long become a relatively expensive region for recreation, especially during the holidays. If your budget is limited, we are happy to offer group prefabricated programs for the New Year in Karelia. Their cost varies from 20,000 to 30,000 rubles per person. If you want an elite cottage, individual excursions and expensive transport, then the price can rise many times. The most expensive New Year in Karelia cost one of our tourists (6 people) several million rubles in 4 days. There were helicopters, sports cars, a personal guide, a personal chef and driver, the best cottage at a camp site, etc. But, unfortunately, for 30,000 rubles such a tour for the New Year in Karelia cannot be done. We are waiting for your applications!