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- Russia & Murmansk Northern Lights Hunting Adventure - Arctic Express - 2026 St. Petersburg– Petrozavodsk – Apatity – Kirovsk – Saami Village – Murmansk – Teriberka (Barents Sea) – Moscow
Russia & Murmansk Northern Lights Hunting Adventure - Arctic Express - 2026 St. Petersburg– Petrozavodsk – Apatity – Kirovsk – Saami Village – Murmansk – Teriberka (Barents Sea) – Moscow
Day 01 | ISTANBUL – ST. PETERSBURG
Meeting at 06:00 in the International Departures Terminal of Istanbul Airport and after our check-in procedures, flight to Russia’s St. Petersburg at 09:00 with THY flight TK 401. After our arrival at 12:50, following passport and customs procedures, on the panoramic city tour of St. Petersburg; Alexander Nevsky Monastery, Nevsky Prospekt Avenue, Count Stroganoff Palace, Palace Square, Winter Palace, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Smolny Monastery, Anichkov Palace and Bridge, and the 2nd Alexander Nevsky Church are among the places to be seen. In addition, we are also carrying out the tour of St. Petersburg Hermitage Museum, which has the world’s largest collection, during our city tour. One of the world’s most important art museums, the Hermitage consists of five buildings. This complex of buildings, which was once the residence of Russian tsars and tsarinas, and which also hosts the magnificent collection of the art museum founded by Empress Catherine and developed over the years, is considered one of the world’s select museums. After the museum visit, transfer to our hotel where we will stay at around 19:30. Dinner at 19:30 and overnight at our hotel..
Day 02 | ST. PETERSBURG –(SORTAVALA -RUSKEALA RETRO TRAIN) PETROZAVODSK
This morning, very early at 05:00, we leave our hotel with our suitcases and head to the Finland Train Station to board the nostalgic steam train that will definitely leave a mark on our tour and will be operated for the first time in Turkey. Departing from a special section with the Arktika Express, we leave the station at 06:15 towards Sortavala. Our breakfast will be a packed meal. Our journey will take approximately 4 hours. After arrival in Sortavala, at 10:50, an unforgettable 1-hour Retro train ride through the snow to Ruskeala, after a nostalgic and enjoyable journey. This is the only steam retro train operating between the cities of Sortavala in the Republic of Karelia and the Ruskeala Mountain Park, the most striking place in the Northern Ladoga region. In 1818, Russian Emperor Alexander I appointed the young and ambitious French architect Auguste de Montferrand as the chief architect of the new St. Petersburg. Special marbles for the construction of St. Isaac’s Cathedral, much
of which were found in Ruskeala by the chief architect, and thus the Ruskeala Express connected the shores of Lake Ladoga with the Ruskeala marble deposits. Our tour will continue with approximately 1 hour of walking around the area. After a free lunch break, transfer to Petrozavodsk with our private vehicle on an approximately 4-hour journey. In the evening, at around 18:45, upon our arrival in Petrozavodsk, we will transfer to our hotel where we will stay. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
Day 03 | PETROZAVODSK – APATITY
After breakfast at the hotel, we leave the hotel and leave our suitcases with the hotel for safekeeping. First, we will do our panoramic city tour in Petrozavodsk. In this city located on the shores of Lake Onega, we will visit the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the National Karelian Ethnography Museum, which sheds light on the history of the Karelian region. After our tour, after having lunch at a typical Karelian restaurant, we take our suitcases from storage, go to the train station, and continue our journey on the Arktika Express Train. (An appetizer dinner of salad and meat goulash will be served on the train!) Our arrival stop will be Apatity train station. Our train departure time is 17:08 and our journey will take approximately 15 hours 22 minutes. We will spend the night on the train.
Day 04 APATITY - KIROVSK (Snowy City and Mysterious Forest)
In the early morning hours (08:30), upon arrival at the train station, we are met by our private vehicle and transfer to the city of Kirovsk. After about a 20-minute drive, we stop on the way to have breakfast. After breakfast, upon arrival at around 10:30, we will begin our tours without wasting any time. Kirovsk is a legendary city, known as the capital of the Khibiny Mountains, which are as old as the Ural Mountains, and is referred to as such. Upon arrival in the city, after visiting a very comprehensive museum explaining the minerals extracted in the region, one of Russia’s most important mining areas, we will then visit the Snowy City. This is a city where various snow objects are made in different figures every year from December to March and where Russia’s largest snow architectures are located. And again, with a great activity, we will ascend Mount Khibiny by snow bus. After having our lunch, before going to our hotel, we will visit the art exhibition called “Mysterious Forest” in the amusement park in the city. After our tiring but extremely enjoyable excursions, at around 17:00 we will check in to our hotel, settle into our rooms and have our dinner, then go on a safari to see the region’s lights, known as Aurora Borealis. Overnight at our hotel.
Note: - For the NORTHERN lights, certain weather conditions must come together; if solar flares and a clear open sky cannot occur at the same time, the northern lights cannot be observed. Our agency cannot be held responsible for this situation.
Day 05 KIROVSK – (Snow Mobile)
After breakfast at our hotel, we leave the hotel to carry out our tour. In today’s activity, we will have a magnificent safari with snowmobiles from the Kukisyum glacier valley to the Kukisvumchorr pass at an altitude of 479 meters above sea level. We are sure that this enjoyable safari will be one of the best experiences of your life. After having our lunch at the 360-degree Plato Restaurant on a surprise summit reached by chairlift, a wonderful sunset will be waiting for us in these days when the polar nights have just ended (weather permitting!). After free time, we return to our hotel in the city center. Dinner is free. Overnight at our hotel.
Day 06 KIROVSK – SAAMI VILLAGE (Sleigh with Reindeer) – MURMANSK
This morning, after breakfast at our hotel, at 08:15 we leave the city with our belongings. Our destination will be Saami village, which we will reach in about 2 hours. We are heading deeper into the region. In the Saami village located on the Kola Peninsula, we will ride on sleds pulled by reindeer and receive information about regional life and cultures. We will be introduced to the traditions while immersing ourselves in the atmosphere of the northern natives. The Saami people have a semi-nomadic lifestyle, moving from place to place with their herds. They sustain their lives through hunting, fishing and collecting forest berries. Lunch will be taken during our tour.
After finishing our excursions, we head to Murmansk city with an approximately 2-hour drive by our private vehicle. Upon arrival around 16:00, we will check into our rooms. After a short rest, we will have dinner at our hotel and meet again in the lobby to continue our night tour. On our night tour, we leave our hotel to see the Northern Lights. We begin our excursion to see the region’s lights, known as Aurora Borealis. Tonight we will take many photos. After our excursion, we return to our hotel. Overnight at our hotel.
Day 07 MURMANSK (Husky tour)
After breakfast at our hotel, we head out of the city to do our Husky sled tour, one of the region’s most special activities. After a pleasant morning tour among the huskies and reindeer, we will watch a mini concert accompanied by traditional music. After lunch, we return to the city and begin our city tour. Murmansk is the most populous city in the Arctic region on the European side of Russia, located on the border of Scandinavian countries. On our city tour with our private vehicle, we will first visit the Icebreaker Museum, the world’s first nuclear icebreaker ship. After the museum visit, we will see the Alyosha monument and the monument of the waiting woman. We continue our tour by visiting the Church of the Savior on Waters, built in memory of the submarine accident that went down in history as the Kursk submarine disaster. After our excursion, we return to our hotel. We will have dinner at the hotel. We will meet again in the lobby of our hotel to continue our night tour. On our night tour, we leave our hotel to see the Northern Lights. We begin our excursion to see the region’s lights, known as Aurora Borealis. Tonight we will take many photos. Overnight at our hotel.
Day 8 MURMANSK – TERIBERKA VILLAGE – ARCTIC OCEAN
After having breakfast at our hotel in the morning, we leave the hotel to do today’s excursion. Our land journey by private vehicle will take us to the village named Teribarka, located at the northernmost point of the region. We will reach this village, which is 134 km north of Murmansk, in about 2 hours 20 minutes. This charming village, located in the area called the edge of the world, is on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. After arriving in the village, we head towards the seashore on sleds pulled by snowmobiles. We will see the ice-covered northern waterfall and the beaches of the unfrozen Barents Sea. We will also visit the rocky beach known as the Dragon’s Eggs and take photos. (In winter conditions, it can be seen panoramically from above!) After our visit, we will see the ship graveyard located on these shores as well. After our tour, we will have lunch at a local restaurant in the region. Then we get into our private vehicle and return to our hotel. Afterwards, on this last night, we go to a famous restaurant in the city for a wonderful dinner where we will also taste king crab. After dinner, we make our last attempt to see the region’s lights, known as Aurora Borealis. Tonight we will take many photos. Afterwards, return to our hotel and overnight.
Note: - The Teriberka Arctic tour depends entirely on weather conditions and whether the roads are open, and is a tour that can be carried out as long as conditions permit.
Day 09 MURMANSK – MOSCOW
After breakfast at the hotel, we depart for the airport and head to Moscow on an approximately 2.5-hour flight to take place in the afternoon. In the panoramic Moscow city tour we will arrange after arrival; Leningrad Avenue, Triumph Palace, one of the tallest buildings in Europe, Tverskaya Street, Parliament Building, Bolshoi Theatre, Lubyanka Square, KGB Headquarters Building, St. Basil’s Church, Red Square, GUM Shopping Center, Church of Christ the Savior, and the Parliament Building are among the places to be seen. We then transfer to our hotel as the city tour continues. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 10 Moscow
After breakfast at the hotel, we complete our check-out procedures and leave the hotel with our suitcases. First, we visit Nazım Hikmet’s Novodevichy state cemetery, then we carry out our Kremlin+Main Cathedral tour and then our Metro+Arbat tours. On this tour; first we go to Novodevichy, one of Russia’s most important cemeteries, and visit Nazım Hikmet’s grave. The cemetery, located on the shore of a beautiful lake, also contains the graves of many famous figures such as Anton Chekhov, Gogol, Khrushchev, Boris Yeltsin, and Mikhail Gorbachev. Then, after the tour of the heart of Russia, the Kremlin, we have a 1.5-hour tour of Moscow’s famous Metro. We will see the stations, each with its own beauty and almost like art galleries. After exiting the metro, we head to the famous Arbat Street in the center of Moscow. The traffic-free Arbat Street is one of the main places where Muscovites spend their free time walking and relaxing. Artists exhibit their various works here. You can browse the stalls and shops selling souvenirs and relax in the cafés here. The house where Aleksandr Pushkin, regarded as the father of Russian literature, and his wife Natalya lived for a period is also located on Arbat Street. After free time on Arbat, we meet at the specified time and transfer to Moscow Airport by our bus. After check-in and passport procedures, departure to Istanbul New Airport at 20:10 with Turkish Airlines flight TK418. Arrival in Istanbul at 00:20 local time (+1) and the end of our tour.
What's Included
- Flights from St. Petersburg to Moscow operated by THY
- Economy class airfare between Murmansk and Moscow with local airlines
- 1 night accommodation in St. Petersburg, breakfast INCLUDED
- 1 night accommodation in Moscow, breakfast INCLUDED
- 1 night accommodation in Petrozavodsk, breakfast INCLUDED
- 2 nights accommodation in Kirovsk, breakfast INCLUDED
- 3 nights accommodation in Murmansk, breakfast INCLUDED
- Train ticket for a 4-hour journey between St. Petersburg and Sortavala on the Arktika Express train in 1st CLASS pullman seats
- A nostalgic journey between Sortavala and Ruskeala by Steam Retro Train, followed by a walking tour of Ruskeala
- Train ticket for an overnight journey between Petrozavodsk and Apatity on the Arktika Express train in 1st CLASS and 2-person compartments
- Half-day panoramic city tour and visit to the National Museum in Petrozavodsk
- Panoramic city tour and mine museum tour in Kirovsk
- Visit to the Snowy City and Mysterious Forest Art Exhibition in Kirovsk
- Northern Lights viewing tour in Kirovsk
- Safari tour with snowmobiles in the Khibiny Mountains in Kirovsk (snow mobile tour)
- Visit to a Saami Village
- Reindeer sled ride in the Saami Village
- Visit to the Arctic sea coast Teriberka countryside in Murmansk
- Husky sled tour in Murmansk
- Panoramic introduction tour with sleds pulled by snowmobiles in Teriberka Village
- Visits to the Barents Sea, Stony Beach and Ship Graveyard
- 3-night Northern Lights viewing tour in Murmansk
- Half-day city tour in Murmansk
- Visits to the Icebreaker Museum, Alyosha Monument and Church of the Savior on Waters
- Half-day panoramic city tour in St. Petersburg and Moscow
- Hermitage Museum Tour in St. Petersburg
- Tours of the Kremlin and Red Square in Moscow
- Metro Arbat Nazım Hikmet tour in Moscow
- Vodka and caviar tasting
- King crab tasting (King crab meat will be served to guests for tasting purposes. Those who wish may place a full crab order in advance)
- 6 lunches and 7 dinners specified in the daily program throughout our journey (lunches and dinners have been carefully prepared with consideration of the local flavors of the regions visited)
- 1 light meal dinner to be taken on the night train
- All transfers specified in the program
- Professional Turkish-Speaking Guiding Services
- Professional Local Guiding Services
- 1 bottle of water per person per day in vehicles
- Arktika Explorer Certificate (Certificate given to explorers who go to the ends of the earth)
- Northern Lights Safari Certificate
- Dinner in St. Petersburg with the program
- Airline taxes
- All city taxes
- Entrance fees for all parks, villages, and museums to be visited
Not Included
- Any deficiency in the program and therefore no extra tour, as well as all requests not specified in the program (such as any extra excursions, meals, and vehicle usage that may be requested)
- Meals not specified in the program (the program includes 6 lunches, 7 dinners, and a light meal dinner on the train)
- Russia visa fee (green passport holders do not need a visa)
- Beverages taken at lunch and dinner
- Insurance including travel health and cancellation coverage is not included; we kindly ask you to recommend that your guests obtain insurance
- Foreign departure tax