Wonderful places of Karelia. An abbreviated program

When visiting active temples and the territory of the inner square of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery, men should be without hats, women should have skirts and a headdress. It is not allowed to visit the monastery in sports and outdoor clothes. We recommend that you have comfortable clothes and shoes during the excursions. In the icon and souvenir shops of the monastery you can buy icons, candles, and submit notes.

We would like to inform you that in the territory of the Valaam Archipelago, in accordance with the Federal Law on the introduction of fees for visiting specially protected natural areas (protected areas), you will need to pay a visit fee of 100 rubles/adult on your own on the spot. There is a list of preferential categories of citizens with free admission.

Water crossings on Lake Onega (on Kizhi Island) and Lake Ladoga (on Valaam Island) are carried out under favorable weather conditions and in the absence of a storm warning. In case of a storm warning, for the safety of tourists, the trip will be replaced by a visit to another tour facility. In the absence of such an opportunity, the cost for unproven services is refunded to the customer.

Additional medical insurance is not included in the price of the tour. If desired, you can apply for insurance on the website of a Large Country without commission directly from insurance companies.

The climate in Karelia is temperate continental. The summer is cool, but prolonged heat is possible. The weather often changes, there are thunderstorms and prolonged rains. The water in rivers and lakes warms up in late June – July to 18-20 degrees C. White nights last until midsummer.

The weather in Karelia is changeable, the wind may suddenly increase, and a storm may start on the lakes. This is especially true of the Onega and Ladoga lakes. In this regard, there may be changes in the excursion programs related to movement on the water.

With a large wave on Lake Ladoga, high-speed vessels do not enter the route for technical reasons, but are replaced by slow-moving ones. Therefore, the travel time to Valaam Island is up to 2 hours one way (instead of 50 minutes), and the excursion program on the island is reduced or changed (if it is impossible to get to a particular hermitage by water due to weather conditions).

Due to the announcement of the city of Sortavala as a border zone, all tourists visiting this region should carry an identity card (civil passports, birth certificates for children) for possible passport control.

It is also important to remember that the period from early May to mid-June is particularly dangerous due to the activity of encephalitic ticks. Prepare in advance for a trip to Karelia during this period – get a preventive vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis, take a special ointment with you, as well as clothes and hats that cover all parts of the body as much as possible.

The best protection against ticks is compliance with safety regulations:

1. It is not recommended to climb into the impenetrable thickets of low-growing shrubs unnecessarily.
2. Moving along the forest road, do not tear off branches.
3. The legs should be completely covered (shorts are not recommended).
4. Sweatpants, tights (preferably with a smooth surface) should be tucked into socks.
5. It is mandatory to have a headdress (cap, shawl).
6. It is advisable to hide long hair under a headdress.
7. After hiking in the forest, it is necessary to check (shake off) both outerwear and underwear.
8. Examine the whole body.
9. Be sure to comb your hair with a fine comb. If you find a crawling tick, it must be burned. Ticks are very tenacious, it is impossible to crush it.

If you find a tick that has already dug into your skin:

1. In any case, do not pull it yourself, because you can tear the body away from the head (the head can exist without a body).
2. To remove the tick, it is necessary to pour it with camphor or vegetable oil, after 10-15 minutes carefully pull out the tick with tweezers.
3. Lubricate the bite site with green paint or iodine.

Vaccination provides the most effective protection. If the immunization schedule is followed, human diseases are extremely rare and usually occur in a mild form. The difficulty of vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis lies in the duration of the course of vaccinations, you can find out more in detail at the vaccination center in your region.

It should be remembered that all vaccinations must be completed 2 weeks before the start of the tick activity season, i.e. by the end of March.

Tick bite insurance is not included in the tour price. We recommend that you insure your health.

Due to the entry into force of the new Rules for the provision of hotel services, in accordance with paragraph 18 of these rules, from 01.01.2021:

Check-in at the hotel of minors under the age of 14 is carried out on the basis of identity documents of their parents (adoptive parents, guardians), accompanying person(s), provided that such accompanying person(s) provide notarized consent of legal representatives (one of them), as well as certificates about the birth of these minors.

Check-in at the hotel of minors who have reached the age of 14, in the absence of legal representatives being near them, is carried out on the basis of identity documents of these minors, subject to the provision of notarized consent of legal representatives. 

The company reserves the right to change the procedure for providing services without reducing their volume.

Water crossings on Lake Onega (on Kizhi Island) and Lake Ladoga (on Valaam Island) are carried out under favorable weather conditions and in the absence of a storm warning. In case of cancellation of the tour due to weather conditions, the customer is refunded the full cost for unproven services.