Murmansk to St Petersburg

I am travelling from Murmansk to St Petersburg by train.

I have found a direct service but I would like to explore the possibility of stopping along the way at any recommended stops, does anyone have any suggestions please?

Thanks in advance!

When are you traveling as this will make a difference in my recommendations?

If you are traveling after June, then stop in Kem and take the boat to Soletsky Islands for a couple of days.

If you are not traveling in summer, forget Solvetsky as the boat only operates from some time in June to perhaps early September.

One place that you can definitely stop no matter the time of year is Petrozavodsk. Be sure to get to Kizhi from there.

Take a look at the Karelia page on my website for more information about both places.

Ruth

Thanks Ruth, I shall look into Petrozavodsk. I'm traveling next week.

Mike

Any other suggestions would be most welcome,

Thanks!

There really aren't too many possible places to stop. I have been to a couple of other places but I am not sure how interesting they would be to you. Here are two:

One possibility is Belomorsk. It is situated on the shore of the White Sea; it has some old petroglyphs, a couple of 17th and 18th century churches, and a regional museum.

Another possibility is Svirstroy. It is situated on the largest river flowing into Lake Lagoda in the north-east of Leningrad Oblast. The river actually flows from Lake Onega to Lake Lagoda. There are two hydroelectric power plants on the Svir and the river flows past the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery, which used to house Svirlag (one of Russia's infamous gulags). Although we went by car, Svirstroy is a port of call on Russian Waterways cruises between Moscow and Petersburg so sometimes it can be overrun with tourists. If I recall correctly prices on crafts were good here.

Another place we went was Sportavala, on the northern shore of Lake Lagoda. This town was in Finland until WWII and its architecture is very different from most of Russia. It think it was from here that we visited Valaam but if you look at a map you will see that it is not easily accessible from the train as it takes you out the way.

BTW This is not an area that too many foreigners visit. Again I refer you to travel agencies that specialize in Karelia.

Ruth

Ruth, that's Sortavala. It is indeed the standart departure point for Valaam. Also, the surroundings are nice.

yblanter - correct. I don't know what I was typing/thinking at the time. Clearly, I didn't proof what I wrote.

Ruth