Karelia traditionally one of the top most attractive tourist destinations in Russia.And, judging by the plans of tour operators, in 2023 it will only be more popular. Leading specialists of the Russian tourist industry will go on a unique tour of Karelia, who told ATOR Vestnik what this region is attractive for them.
An amazing and harmonious combination of relaxed contemplation of nature and extreme pastime is offered to tourists this year by the tour operator “Igora Tour”, which developed the program “Under the winter sun of Karelia”, which included the most diverse activities for every taste: for the whole family or a group of friends. It is important that the top officials of the leading Russian federal tour operators and agency networks will go to get acquainted with the most famous and important tourist attractions of Karelia within the framework of this program. Tour participants, including the heads of FUN&SUN companies, ALEAN National Tour Operator, Sletat.ru and Level.Travel online travel agencies, will be able to take part in active entertainment (downhill skiing, ride a husky sled, etc.), relax in the best hotels in the region and visit the museum of retro cars near the famous resort “Igora” in the Leningrad region. Of course, the organizers of the tour also took into account the gastronomic component, which is extremely important for the modern tourist – the participants of the tour will have the opportunity to enjoy authentic Karelian cuisine.< /p> “Bake fresh Karelian fish soaked in berry sauce on a scorched log, have a picnic on the shore of a winter lake to try pancakes with cloudberry jam and warm up with fragrant tea from a wood-fired samovar, taste delicious duck with dried carrots and redcurrant sauce and honey cake with sour cream ice cream – gastronomic offers for adults and children are prepared by the brand chefs of the Gustav Vinter and Favorit restaurants, Igora Tour told. The tour program will begin with a visit to the auto museum, located near the Igora resort. The museum displays iconic cars of the 20th century. Some of the machines have survived in only a few copies, which is why they are difficult to find even in the largest museums. The Automuseum is a unique space at the Igora Drive autodrome. There are real rarities of world auto history here. Photo: provided by the tour operator “Igora Tour” The day will continue with winter karting at the Igora Drive autodrome. And in the evening, travelers will have a delicious dinner at the Favorit restaurant of author's cuisine overlooking the most modern race track in Russia. The next day of the trip is built according to the same scheme: active trekking with a visit to the Valley of Waterfalls in the first half of the day: accompanied by a local guide, tourists will plunge into the world of Karelian flora and fauna, take part in a wood burning master class. Afterwards, they will go to rest in the park-hotel “Dacha Wintera” – one of the best hotels in the region, where dinner is planned in the panoramic restaurant “Gustav Winter” and a pleasant pastime in a modern bath complex with an all-season outdoor jacuzzi on the terrace. Hotel “Dacha Wintera” in Karelia. Photo: provided by the tour operator “Igora Tour”. “I immediately liked the idea of seeing Karelia in winter, because this is an opportunity to see familiar places in an unusual way, drive a snowmobile where there are endless expanses of water in summer, see frozen waterfalls and swim in the hole in Lake Ladoga after a hot bath,” says the General Director of the National Tour Operator ALEAN Ilya Umansky. Especially a winter trip will be decorated with a trip on the retro train “Ruskeala Express” under a locomotive traction to the most, perhaps, the most famous sights of Karelia today – the mountain park “Ruskeala”. Ruskeala Express in winter Karelia. Photo by Vladimir Lipetskikh, https://sight.photo/users/98639. In addition, on the third day of the tour, travelers will have the opportunity to ride a hovercraft along the Ladoga skerries. “I can fully relax only in active travel and in nature. This is an indescribable feeling when you admire the largest reservoir, walk through the forest or, for example, be on top of a high mountain, from where endless, beautiful views open up. Karelia has everything: Ladoga, forests, mountains and quiet islands, classy hotels,” Evgeny Danilovich, Managing Director of the Sletat.ru group of companies, shares his impressions. Winter Ladoga. Photo: provided by the tour operator “Igora Tour” For the remaining three days of rest, tourists will be able to enjoy the snowy expanses of this northern region: the program, in particular, includes exciting snowmobile rides. Snowmobiling in Karelia is exciting. Photo: provided by the tour operator “Igora Tour” “Karelia has amazing nature, conducive to putting things aside for a while and rebooting. In the summer in Karelia there are white nights, fishing, boat trips, in winter – a real winter fairy tale, the opportunity to get to the most hidden corners on snowmobiles, ride on deer or in dog sleds. If you're lucky, you might even see the northern lights!” Vladimir Rubtsov, General Director of the FUN&SUN tour operator, is sure. Perhaps , accommodation facilities in Karelia and the Ladoga region can become the “discovery of the year” for tourists. The tour operator “Igora Tour” is the official representative of the resort “Igora”, the network of hotels “Point on the map” and the park-hotel “Dacha Vintera”. And these are, without exaggeration, the most comfortable facilities in Karelia and the Leningrad Region. Hotel “Point on the map” Vidlitsa “. Photo: provided by the tour operator “Igora Tour” These hotels in the style of northern minimalism are distinguished by truly unsurpassed quality and thoughtfulness in every detail. Firstly, they are certainly beautiful at any time of the year, also due to their careful integration into the natural landscape. Secondly, the architects and managers of these objects were able to achieve an incredible result, when the feeling of complete solitude and contact with modern comfort are present at the tourist at the same time. All hotels are located around the largest lake in Europe – Ladoga – in Priozersk, Sortaval, Vidlitsa and Lodeynoye Pole. Accommodation in any of these hotels will successfully complement the kaleidoscope of emotions from exploring the nature of Karelia, giving travelers additional impressions, a new emotional experience, and a long-awaited rest after all excursion activities. Restaurant “Gustav Winter” is one of the highlights of the tour “Under the winter sun of Karelia”. Photo: courtesy of the tour operator “Igora Tur” “The fireplace, reminiscent of the hearth, will become a symbolic detail of the trip. Every evening, tourists can gather near the fire to share their impressions,” say experts from Igora Tour, the organizer of the Under the Winter Sun of Karelia tour. To make the experience as vivid as possible, the tour creators recommend a little get ready to make the trip more atmospheric: take a thermal mug with you, wrap yourself in a warm sweatshirt, put on mittens and put your favorite book in your bag to read it on winter evenings by that very fireplace. Attention to details that create atmosphere – a distinctive feature of the Igora Tour specialists. Largely due to this approach, the route “Under the winter sun of Karelia” in 2021 became the winner in the competition of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives “Discover your Russia” as one of the most conceptual excursion novelties developed by Russian tour operators. Ekaterina Tropova
“UNDER THE WINTER SUN OF KARELIA” – A JOURNEY FOR EXPERIENCED TOURISTS
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