Day 1: Moscow. Individual arrival to Moscow. Shortly before 8 p.m. (local time) a briefing with the travel guide is scheduled. Right after the briefing, starts the Russian dinner, followed by a walk in Moscow in the evening. You will travel with the famous Moscow Subway to Arbat – a picturesque avenue, where such famous people as Pushkin, Gogol and Dostoyevski have left their footprints (a walk accompanied by the travel guide, subway tickets bought individually – about 0,8 Euro/person). Return to Hotel by 10 p.m. Bicycle-free day. Day 2: Moscow – The Red Square, The Kremlin, and the bazaar. Right after breakfast a guided tour (by bus and by walk) of Moscow’s main attractions awaits you. The tour includes an optional pause in the middle of the day. After dinner, a visit to the Kremlin (visiting area) is scheduled. Before 5 p.m. we come to a „rynok“ – Russian bazaar, where can be found almost everything imaginable – including interesting souvenirs. Dinner and accommodation as on day one. Bicycle-free day. Day 3: Russian province. From Moscow to Valday lake district. After breakfast, a bus transfer to Valday is scheduled. Valday is a 500 year old Russian town, which lies between Moscow and St. Petersburg, upon a trading route. Valday lake district is very picturesque and attracts thousends of tourists each year. After checking-in in the hotel, situated on the shore of a lake, begins your first bicycle trip, introducing you to the local folk. Accommodation and dinner in Valday. By bus: about 350 km, by bicycle: about 26 km. Day 4: Russian province. From Valday National Park to the Ivyersky Monastery. Today we have scheduled a bicycle trip through the Valday National Park. The Park, one of the last unspoilt regions between Moscow and St. Petersburg, extends upon more than 4000 square kilometers. It’s nature is varied and unique. Here you will find dense woods, marshes and numoerous (over two hundred) lakes. The park is inhabited by mooses, wild boars, wolves, bears and more than 220 bird species – but not only the wonderful nature is worth seeing. On the road we shall visit the holy spring, where each day hundreds of pilgrims receive drinking water. In the afternoon, we reach the mighty Ivyersky Monastery, built on the Rudnev Isle, in the middle of Lake Valday. Accommodation and dinner as on day three. By bicycle: 60 km, slightly elevated, for about 15 km – gravel road, 45 km - asphalt. Day 5: Russian province. From Valday National Park to Staraya Russa. Right after breakfast we leave Valday by bus, heading towards the Baltic on the old trading route Moscow –Veliky Novgorod – St. Petersburg. In the Demansk area we begin today’s bicycle trip. The route leads mostly by asphalt, through mighty woods. If we have luck, we can encounter such rare birds as grouse, and animals such as deer and moose on the road. On the way, we will have a picknick. We shall reach our destination – hotel in Staraya Russa, a town with 30.000 inhabitants, which probably gave Russia it’s name – in late afternoon. Accommodation in Staraya Russa. By bus about 140 km, by bicycle about 50 km, flat. Day 6: Russian province. From Staraya Russa to Veliky Novgorod. Today our trip takes us to the craddle of Russian state – the oldest city in Russia, the former Hansa city, 1000 year-old Veliky Novgorod. You ride through russian villages, fields and woods, where people can be rarely met. It is here where one can truly understand, that such concepts as „distance“, „open space“ and „time“ have a different meaning in Russia than in Western Europe. In an isolated place a picknick is scheduled – and don’t miss this opportunity to try some of Russian specialties. In the afternoon, after a short bus transfer, you reach Veliky Novgorod (about 250,000 inhabitants). The city, proudly looking back at it’s 1000 years of history, lays about 200 km from St. Petersburg. Accommodation and dinner in Veliky Novgorod. By bus about 110 km, by bicycle about 45 km. Day 7: Direction: Europe. St. Petersburg. A guided tour Russia’s oldest city: Veliky Novgorod awaits us in the morning. The tour includes the powerful Kremlin, the Millenium Monument and the Cathedral. In the afternoon you begin your last bicycle journey to a fishing village of Syelishche, which leads all the time by the mighty river Volkhov. A picknick is scheduled in the meantime. At the end of the day, after a bus transfer, you reach the former capital of Russia – St. Petersburg. In the late afternoon we take a wonderful boat ride through canals and rivers of St. Petersburg (optional, about 15 Euro/person, starts about 8 p.m.). Dinner and accommodation in St. Petersburg. By bus about 190 km, by bicycle about 16 km. Day 8: St. Petersburg. Right after breakfast you shall discover the impressive St. Petersburg (The Hermitage, Peter and Paul’s Fortress) by a guided bus tour. Free time in the afternoon. Before 7 p.m. we ride (subway) to a russian restaurant, where a festive dinner awaits. Accommodation as on day seven. Bicycle free day. Day 9: Russia – end of the journey and individual departure. Individual departure home after breakfast. It is possible to extend your stay and book individual accommodation in St. Petersburg or Moscow (travel to Moscow by EuroCity class train, about 5 hours). - Roads in Russia: Decent condition, asphalt, slightly elevated, on one occasion 15 km of gravel road. - Hotels: Accommodation in ***Hotels – double or single rooms. The Hotels are typical for Russian standard, but well maintained (always with a shower and WC). The most simple hotel along the route is located in Staraya Russa. - Arrival: Many flight companies offer flights to Russia – for example, Air Berlin, Germanwings, Eurowings, and more. The prices are about 250 Euro. From St. Petersburg you can reach Moscow with a good class train (about 5 hours, 50 Euro). Please book your flight individually, after making sure, that your tour is confirmed. Notes: - Single room surcharge: 280 Euro (two thundred eighty) 
Out-Of-The-Ordinary Ranking
Also see tour packages in: Europe Russia Outdoor: Land Rambler Bicycle Touring Sightseeing |
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