Sign in with Facebook
2 Gillugina Embankment, Petrozavodsk, Russia, 1850
Check Rates and Availability
of people enjoy staying here
9 Opinions
Petrozavodsk harbour
Coast boulevard of Onega
Snow Lady
The picturesque island of Kizhi
Are there direct trains or buses from Petrozavodsk to Helsinki? If so, about how long is the trip?
--Renaud
New York
looks like there are no direct transport to Helsinki from Petrozavodsk now. they had the flight but there is info that the airport will be close till March 25, 2009. if you will be there later, maybe you're lucky to have a flight. The trains go in St.Petersburg and then to Helsinki. There are some busses to Russian-Finish border, for example to Sortavala town.
All info I read in the sites (I didn't use the transport by myself there), I hope it will be useful for you.
I make some serch and I see that there is no
direct train line to Helsinki.
you have to go via "St Petersburg" you can have a look
at the train schedule:
http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml
about bus this is what I found in the net hope it will
be helpfull.
http://www.snegoweek.ru/put/hel-petr/
This is the bus. Unfortunately< it's in Russian. But at the bottom there is a phone of Finnish company. I think it can be cheeper there, and of course they speak English.
Thanks!
It's not un-useable if information is in Russian; I can read it.
If asked me definitely the most beautiful place in Petrozavodsk is the Onega’s coast boulevard.
In a summery day it’s a perfect place to walk & relax, have a saslik lunch and even visit in amusement park.
And during a warm night boulevard and its restaurants are full of life.
On the boulevard you can view gift statues that Petrozavodsk has received from its friendship cities from all over the world.
Petrozavodsk is an excellent base from which to explore Karelia, but we discovered that unless you are used to driving on poorly-maintained roads (so bad they can damage your vehicle) AND are fluent in Russian, travelling on your own in Karelia can be a difficult experience. A good travel agency can prevent many frustrations and make the trip much more enjoyable for foreign tourists.
For our excursions outside the city, we ended up turning to the Nordic Travel tour agency, and it turned out to be a great decision. Throughout our e-mail exchanges, our contact at Nordic Travel, Konstantin Simonov, was very courteous and efficient. He always answered quickly and even met us in person in Petrozavodsk to give us our vouchers and answer our questions.
We made two bookings with Nordic Travel. The first was for a half-day tour in the Karelian villages of Manga and Kinerma that turned out to be very interesting, with our guide Sasha being both very friendly and knowledgeable about the history and culture of Karelia. The second booking was for all the necessary arrangements (boat tickets, accommodation reservations) for a 3-day tour in the Solovetsky Islands. Just like the e-mails, the service was very efficient: we only had to show our vouchers along the way and enjoy the trip, as everything had been taken care of already.
If we ever go back to Karelia, we would likely use Nordic Travel's services again.
Website: http://www.nordictravel.ru/
Phone number: +7 (814) 256-0201
Address: Kluchevskoe Shosse 13
Petrozavodsk was founded by Peter the Great in the early 1700s as a site for state foundries because of the area's rich ore deposits. Cannon-casting works came first, followed by a gun factory. Hence, the origin of the city's name: "Petr" from Peter and "zavod" from works. Since this time, both the industry and settlement have grown. The city was officially named in 1777, when, under Catherine the Great, Petrozavodsk achieved town status. In 1923, Petrozavodsk was chosen as the capital of the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The city was also occupied for one thousand days by the German Army during World War II. The economy grew back to pre-war status by 1948.
The Russian alphabet, also known as the Cyrillic alphabet, was devised by a Greek monk St. Cyril in the 9th century. The alphabet consists of 33 letters, some of which were borrowed from Greek and Hebrew.
You will find it relatively easy to get started with the Cyrillic alphabet because many letters remind those in English. There are six exact sound and look-alikes (A, E, K, M, O, T).
The best way to sourvive in Russia is, beside talking a little bit of Russian, knowing the alphabet. Many things are still written only in Russian, specially if you travel outside touristic cities, so i would really suggest to learn it, in order to understand what is written there, and not to get lost.
To do that, i suggest those 2 links below, they have really good explanations.
http://masterrussian.com/russian_alphabet.shtml
http://masterrussian.com/blalphabet.shtml
While traveling in Russia, please note:
In some places, shopping centers, souvenir places etc... pictutes are absolutely not allowed at all and you will find some advertising at the entrance of the place too.
It can also happen, for example in churches or little museums, that you will be asked for additional money to take pictures.
What happened to me for exemples i was asked to pay 100 Rubles to take pictures inside a museum.
Well to be honest 100 Rubles don't change my life at all if you think how much they are in your country so i gave them.
Same experience into a church, i was asked to give an offer to take pictures, but it was worth, the Orthodox churches are really beautiful.
On the other side, in another church the lady didn't ask me for money, but anyway i gave an offer, just to be polite.
This is just to remember you to be polite, and always ask if you can take pictures before taking them.
Sponsored Links
Cheapest in Petrozavodsk
Sponsored Links
Latest Petrozavodsk hotel reviews
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Check Rates and Availability (from our partners)
