Moscow and St. Petersburg stopover

Transcription

1 Moscow and St. Petersburg stopover pg 1

2 - 7 night s accommodation with breakfast - Return transfers - 2nd class rail to Moscow to St. Petersburg to Helsinki; - Sightseeing by private car with your own English speaking guide to Moscow: City tour, Kremlin, Cathedral & Armoury, Sergiev Posad; - St. Petersburg : City tour with Peter & Paul Fortress, Hermitage Museum, Pushkin & Catherine s Palace Day 1 - Arive Moscow Arrival by air. (Flight and time TBA ) On arrival, proceed through Immigration and Customs. Collect your luggage and walk to the Arrivals Hall. Intourist representative will meet and transfer you to your accommodation. Look out for your driver holding a sign with your name on display. In the event you cannot locate the representative, please proceed call INTOURIST tel: If your flight/train is delayed or if you miss your connecting flight/train, call INTOURIST with your new flight details. They will make every effort to meet you when you arrive. If you are not met due to a delayed or missed flight, please make your own way to your accommodation. Retain any receipts for taxis or other transportation in case you need to make a claim with the airline or your travel insurance. Rest of the day free for private sightseeing. PASSPORTS: In Moscow your hotel will hold your passport for 24 hours for registration purposes. Your passport will be available the following day from reception. Please note, a registration fee (approx. $8 per person) SIGHTSEEING: All sightseeing will commence from the hotel reception. Overnight HOTEL BUDAPEST Day 2 - Moscow Breakfast.10:00am - please be ready at hotel lobby for your City Tour of Moscow followed by a tour of Moscow metro. Your tour will introduce you to Moscow s highlights The Red Square enjoy a unique architectural ensemble of the 4th largest square in the world, the Cathedrals of St Basil and Our Lady of Kazan, the biggest History Museum of Russia, the GUM the White House of the Russian Federation. Drive through Moscow boulevards, a historical and cultural centre of Moscow with its museums, theatres and memorial places. See the Theatre Square, the world famous Bolshoi Theatre and Moscow University campus. Enjoy a panoramic view from Sparrow Hills. Then you go underground and travel on Moscow metro viewing an amazing display of marble, mosaics, chandeliers and sculpture Kremlin, Cathedral & Armoury tour (3.5 hrs). A must see! See the Cathedral Square, a breathtaking architectural ensemble of the 15th pg 1

3 17th centuries, where the life of Russian grand princes and tsars started and ended. Here you will find the Annunciation Cathedral where Russian tsars were baptised, the Assumption Cathedral where they were crowned and the Archangel Michael Cathedral where they were buried. You will have a guided tour of the Assumption Cathedral. Your next stop is the Armoury Museum, the oldest museum of Russia, a unique collection of crown jewels, gems, icon covers, crosses, thrones, carriages, coronation robes and top clergy vestments, Byzantine cameos and Faberge eggs. Day 3 - Moscow Breakfast. 9.00am Meet your guide at hotel lobby for your excursion to Sergiev Posad (6hrs) Travel 75 km north of Moscow, passing picturesque dacha settlements, to the historic Trinity monastery complex of St Sergius. Founded in the 14th century by St. Sergius of Radonezh, Sergiev Posad is the spiritual bastion of Russian Orthodoxy and a popular place of pilgrimage. Boris Godunov is buried here the only Tsar not buried in the Kremlin or St. Petersburg s Peter & Paul Fortress. The monastery is included in UNESCO s World Heritage List. Day 4 - Moscow Meet your driver at the hotel lobby. You will be transferred to the railway station for your train to St. Petersburg Depart Moscow on train # 152 (your reservation is for a 2nd class seat) Arrive St. Petersburg, Upon arrival, please wait on the platform. You will be met and transferred to your hotel PASSPORTS: In St. Petersburg your hotel will hold your passport for 24 hours for registration purposes. Your passport will be available the following day from reception. Please note, a registration fee (approx. $8 per person) SIGHTSEEING: All sightseeing will commence from the hotel reception. Optional evening excursion to Russian Folklore show or perhaps you prefer to go to watch a Ballet or Opera Day 5 - St Petersburg Breakfast.10:00am - please be ready at hotel lobby for your excursion to Pushkin & Catherine s Palace (4, 5 hrs) Tour the town of Pushkin, formerly called Tsarskoe Selo (Tsar s Village), located 24 kms south of St Petersburg. It was the residence of the tsars from the beginning of the 18th century to the end of the monarchy. Visit Catherine s Palace, a present from Peter the Great to his wife Catherine I. The palace is one of the finest examples of Russian Baroque architecture. See the now restored Amber Room, plundered during WWII. Walk through several other lavish rooms of the palace, including the Grand Hall, decorated with gilded wood carving and pg 2

4 mirrors, the Picture Gallery with 130 paintings, dining rooms and the Study of Alexander I. The palace is set in French style gardens with pavilions and ponds your tour will conclude with a short walk of the grounds. This afternoon after morning tour you will visit Russian Museum (3 hrs) this museum has the finest collection of Russian art in the world, tracing the development of Russian art through the centuries. Housed in the Mikhailovsky Palace, it was opened in 1898 by Nicholas II. The collection embraces art from Russian iconography to Avant-garde and Social Realism. Overnight HOTEL NEVSKY GRAND Day 6 - St. Petersburg Breakfast. 10:00 Meet your Intourist guide at hotel lobby for your City tour with a visit to Peter & Paul Fortress. Major sights include Palace Square, Nevsky Prospekt, St. Isaac s Square, Smolny, Senate Square, the Summer Garden and the Field of Mars. Peter & Paul Fortress, the site chosen by Peter the Great as the foundation of St Petersburg. All Russian emperors since Peter the Great are buried there. Explore the cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, wonder through grim cells of what used to be the main political prison of tsarist regime, and walk along the bastions and fortification walls of the citadel. 14:00 Afternoon visit the Hermitage Museum. Housed in the former palaces of the Tsars on the Neva Embankment, the Hermitage is a must for art lovers. Founded in 1764, the Hermitage Museum occupies 5 buildings the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the Old or Grand Hermitage, the Hermitage Theatre and the New Hermitage. It currently boasts a collection of more than 3 million exhibits in 400 halls. Should you decide to see them all, you are facing a 20km walk. Day 7 - St Petersburg Breakfast : Meet your guide in the hotel lobby for your excursion to Peterhof Palace & Park (5 hrs). Also known as Petrodoverts, Peterhof is located 20 kms wet of the city, on the Gulf of Finland. It was commissioned as a summer palace by Peter the Great to rival Versailles. In summer months, the main attractions are the spectacular cascading fountains and golden statues. We recommend arriving by hydrofoil for the most dramatic introduction to this magnificent palacepark complex. Day 8 - St Petersburg Your tour arrangements end after breakfast with transfer to the rail station. 13:30 Please be ready at hotel lobby for your transfer (your train to Helsinki St. Petersburg Module can be added prior to this tour. Helsinki Arrival in Helsinki guided transfer and check-in at Hotel Cummulus Hakaniemi*** or similar, overnight Day 9 - Helsinki Breakfast, all day at leisure, overnight at Cumulus Hakaniemi or similar. pg 3

5 Day 10 - Helsinki Kirkenes 5:00 am transfer airport from hotel, Flight Helsinki Oslo Kirkenes Overnight Thon Kirkenes Hotel Day 11 - Kirkenes-Norwegian Coastal Voyage Own transport from Hotel in Kirkenes to the terminal ready to board the Norwegian coastal steamer. (BD) Day 12 - Honningsvag- Hammerfest-Tromso Today you arrive at the most northerly town in the world Hammerfest. Then the ship steams south to the fishing port of Øksfjord, finally arriving into Tromsø late evening. (BLD) Day 13- Harstad-Sortland- Svolvaer-Stamsund Morning call at the coastal town of Harstad. The ship continues through the islands of Vesteralen and the Lofotens, calling at Risøyhamn, Sortland and Stokmarknes. Then through the narrow Raft Sound with, time permitting, a detour into the famous Trollfjord, breathtakingly wild and desolate. Then on to Svolvær and Stamsund. (BLD) Day 14 - Ornes-Sandnessjoen- Bronnoysund-Rorvik Early today you cross the Arctic Circle and stop at Sandnessjøen, the ancient seat of a Viking Chieftain. You ll pass peaks like Rødøyloven, Hestmannen (the Horseman), Lekamøy. Also the extraordinary Torghatten, a gigantic rock gouged with a huge hole which, according to legend, was made by the Horseman s arrow. In the evening head towards Trondheim. (BLD) Day 15 - Trondheim- Kristiansund-Molde On arrival in Trondheim an optional city sightseeing tour includes a visit to the 12th century Nidaros Cathedral. Then on to Kristiansund, built on three islands. An evening call at Molde, a town of traditional whitepainted wooden houses. (BLD) Day 16 - Alesund-Bergen The final day on board. Past Måløy, Florø, the ship patiently weaves its way through the skerries of the west coast and glides towards Bergen, the city of medieval Hanseatic merchants and Edvard Grieg. Overnight Hotel Marin or similar (BL) Day 17 - Voss Breakfast at the hotel then afternoon train from Bergen to Voss. Dinner and overnight at Jarl Hotel or similar (BD) Day 18 - Voss Gudvangen Flam - Myrdal - Voss Breakfast at the hotel then coach to Gudvangen,cruise from Gudvangen to Flam through the narrow Naeroy Fjord then join the famous Flam Railway Flam- Myrdal across the roof of Norway, with snow-capped mountains as a background to verdant orchards, deep and narrow fjords, glittering lakes and waterfalls, narrow valleys where the mountains seemingly bar all further progress and across bare and windswept mountain heaths with their glaciers and perpetual snow ascend the Flam Valley by electric train, a marvel of railway pg 4

6 engineering. From Myrdal you take the train back to Voss, passing through the tree-mile-long Gravhals Tunnel; dinner and overnight at the hotel (TBA) (BD) Day 19 Voss -Oslo Breakfast then train towards the sea and eventually, Oslo. Duration of journey is approximately six hours. Overnight Hotel Scandic or similar(b) Day 20 - Oslo - Copenhagen Breakfast at hotel. Day at leisure until ferry departure to Cophenhagen at Suggested museums and sights. Visit the Viking Ship Museum, Vigeland Park, the Kon Tiki Raft and Polar vessel Fram. Perhaps take a fjord cruise or relax around the harbour. Overnight Ferry tp Copenhagen(B) Day 21 - Copenhagen Arrive Copenhagen hr transfer to hotel Clarion Collection or similar. Spend the day at leisure exploring the city. Day 22 - Copenhagen Breakfast. Day at leisure. Suggest Copenhagen Canal Tour Day 23 Copenhagen Breakfast. Day at leisure. Suggest Copenhagen Canal Tour Overnight Clarion Collection hotel or similar (B) Breakfast: Castle Tour of North Sealand (7hrs). Drive through the magnificent Danish countryside and pass the coastline to Elisnore and Kronborg Castle Shakespeare s inspiration for his play, Hamlet. Here you visit the Chapel and the Knights Hall, the longest room in Northern Europe. After lunch (not included in cost), tour continues to Queen s summer residence of Frederiksborg Castle, built by King Christian IV. This pearl of history, built in magnificent Renaissance style, is now a national historical museum (B) Day 24 Copenhagen Breakfast Day at leisure suggest Hamlet Castle Tour (B) Day 25 Copenhagen - Stockholm Breakfast Flight Copenhagen to Stockholm depart am Overnight Clarion Hotel or similar (B) Day 26 Stockholm Breakfast Day at leisure, perhaps enjoy a walking tour of Gamla Stan, Stockholm s old town Overnight Hotel Clarion or similar. (B) Day 27 Stockholm Day at leisure to explore Stockholm. Possible optional excursions Millenium Tour (2hour walking tour), or Stockholm in a Nutshell or Under the Bridges of Stockholm. Overnight Hotel Amaranten or similar(b) Day 28 Stockholm to Tallinn Breakfast. Departure for Tallinn by overnight ferry at hr. Depart to Melbourne for those not doing the Baltics. pg 5

7 Day 29 Tallinn Arrive Tallinn hr Tallinn, Estonia s ancient seacoast capital, situated 80 kms across the Gulf of Finland from Helsinki. Tallinn has a history dating back a thousand years as a seaport and trading centre and is one of Europe s best preserved medieval towns. You will be met and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure to wonder through the narrow cobblestone streets.. Overnight Braavo Hotel or similar. Day 30 Tallinn This morning you take a walking tour of the Old Town, a virtual museum of medieval architecture. Visit the Upper and Lower towns and enjoy magnificent views of the Old Town from Toompea Castle, built in the 13th century by the Knights of the Sword as a small fortress within the larger fortress of Toompea. Overnight Braavo Hotel or similar (B). Day 31 Tallinn Riga Breakfast After breakfast, accompanied by your English speaking guide, you drive 310 km south to Riga, stopping at the seaside town of Pamu for a walking tour. Founded in the 13th century, Pamu became a member of the Hanseatic League, and in the early 19th century it became a health resort. Its wide sandy beaches and fresh sea air have made Pamu Estonia s most popular summer resort. Evening arrival. Overnight Europa City Riga Hotel or similar. (B) Town, Riga Castle, built in 1330 as a residence for the master of the Livonian Order, and the Dome Cathedral. Afternoon free to explore this cosmopolitan city rich in architectural variety including Gothic, Baroque, Classical and Art Nouveau. Riga has been a multicultural city throughout its 800 year history. Overnight Europa City Riga hotel or similar (B). Day 33 Riga Vilnius After breakfast, accompanied your English speaking guide, travel south for 330 Km to the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius. Crossing into Lithuania, stop at the Hill of Crosses,. Decorated with over 100,000 crosses donated by people from all over Lithuania. Overnight Vilnius (B) Day 34 Vilnius Breakfast. Your morning sightseeing of Vilnius includes the oldest university in Europe and the Old Town one of the most extensive and beautiful in Eastern Europe. It is included in UNESCO s World Heritage List. After lunch continue to Trakai the medieval capital of Lithuania. Visit Trakai Castle, the only lake castle in Europe. Overnight Vilnius (B) Day 35 Vilnius After breakfast, transfer to airport. Day 32 Riga Your morning sightseeing of Riga, the capital of Latvia, includes the Old pg 6

8 TERMS AND CONDITIONS Not Included in all Tours: Items of a personal nature, such as incidental hotel expenses (including phone calls, room service, laundry); Meals not indicated on the itinerary; drinks with meals; Expenses for any activities not included on the itinerary or listed as optional; insurance; and of course all personal shopping. Payment: A deposit of $700AUD per person is required at time of booking. Full payment is due no later than 60 days prior to departure unless otherwise requested. All payments are made to Jetset Blackburn, 124 South Parade, Blackburn Vic Late Bookings: Bookings made less than 60 days before the tour date will only be accepted if full payment is received when booking. Late booking fees may be charged if applicable. Changes to Itineraries: Jetset Blackburn reserves the right to amend or vary the itinerary or other services nominated in the tour should circumstances warrant that such changes would be in the best interest of participants or any other operational or security reason. The right is reserved to decline to accept any person, or to terminate any person s participation in the tour at the Company s discretion at any time during the course of the tour. Travelling Alone: Single rooms are offered for a supplement, but are subject to availability. No Airfares are included in the price from Melbourne to Europe and back and Helsinki to Kirkenes, Copenhagen to Stockholm, Vilnius to Warsaw Cancellation and Refund Policy: All cancellations must be made in writing. Cancellations made outside 60 days from departure are subject to 50% refund excluding a Non Refundable Deposit of $200. Cancellations made under 60 days are non-refundable. No refund is given for any part of the Tour in which you choose not to participate. It is highly recommended that travel insurance be taken out once deposits have been paid. Quotes of travel insurance can be given on request. Jetset Blackburn, is not responsible for any claims, losses, damages, costs or expenses arising out of injury, accident or death; damage, loss or delay of baggage; or delay, inconvenience or loss of enjoyment resulting from the act or omission of any party ; mechanical breakdown, government actions, weather pg 7

9 or factors beyond our control; cancellation or change for any reason in travel services offered; and your medical/health problems or physical disabilities. Jetset Blackburn reserves the right to cancel or alter the itinerary at its discretion. In the event of cancellation of the Tour by Jetset Blackburn we will refund all monies paid. The total price for module 1 (Moscow & St Petersburg) + module 2 (Helsinki) + module 3 (Norway in a Nutshell) + module 4 (Copenhagen Stockholm) Module 5 (Tallinn + Riga + Vilnius). pg 8