Weekend tour to Solovki from St. Petersburg

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 tourists at the main entrance to the railway station with a sign “Причал” 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 belugas, feed sea gulls, see the archipelago of the sea 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 guide. Guide 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). Travelers can be also accomodated at the Solo hotel Nord or at the club hotel Ostrovito Morosco. These hotels are considered to be the best on Solovki for quality of service.

15: 00-Lunch at the hotel by yourself. The island has a number of restaurants and cafe. 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 organized in these places, and guide will tell you where they are located.

16: 00-Sightseeing tour of the Solovetsky monastery (2.5 hours). During the tour you will find out 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 walk around the fortress wall, you will have an excursion around the fortress territory and visit a number of temples, which are not allowed without excursion. 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!

18: 30-Free time. You will have time to visit the following places:

1. Walk to the Cape of Labyrinths, which is located a 15-minute walk from the monastery. You will have a walk to the picturesque shore of the White sea, where these stone constructions are situated. 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 does not will leave you indifferent. Sometimes by this place also swim Beluga whales and seals. 
2. You can go to the Negotiation stone, located 3 kilometers from the village. The words on this stone were 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 they failed to take monastery and went home with nothing. Monks of the Solovetsky monastery immortalized this event, having carved 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. 
3. Other road leads to Philippian or Jesus Deserts. It is about 2 miles away from monastery. Only a small cell building, a few cedars planted before the revolution and a Holy spring were preserved here. You can take a bottle and pour 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. It’s self-service and free.
4. For an additional fee, a speedboat trip to Zayatsky island, where the famous Solovetsky labyrinths, St. Andrew’s Hermitage, as well as burial grounds of ancient people are located. The nature of the island is also amazing. There are no trees, and the whole area looks like tundra. If you have never been to the tundra, then you can see it on Solovki. St. Andrew’s skete was founded by Peter I in the early 18th century. According to legend, there was consecrated St. Andrew’s flag, which is used by the Russian Navy to this day. About labyrinths during tour on Solovki from SPB was told in the first tranche. The cost of a trip to Zayatsky island with a guide is from 10 000 to 15 000 rubles, depending on the boat and the number of people. Speedboats take 4 to 7 people on Board (the guide and captain do not count).
5. 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.
6. 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? 
7. 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-Good breakfast in the hotel cafe. Check out and preparation for departure.

10:00 — The bus tour “Sekirnaya Gora-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 an 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.

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. 15: 30-Boarding the ship. Departure to the 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 one person