Winter Activities

Outdoor Activities You Can Experience at the “Arctic Circle” in Winter

The majestic beauty of vast expanses of Karelia - the picturesque region of Northern Russia - attracts tourists, travelers and fishermen from all over the world, and not only Russian citizens. The winter season lasts from December to mid-April here. During this period the "Arctic Circle" Tourism Centre invites you to an amazing winter trip to the White Sea coast of Karelia. We have a great experience in organizing both regular and tailor-made trips to guarantee our guests a stunning winter leisuretime, full of vivid impressions and positive emotions.

In winter our tourism centre offers:

Ice-Fishing. You can drive to the lake by car or snowmobile to try ice-fishing. In winter fishermen lay and check nets under the ice. We also combine it with a picnic on a lofty and picturesque island in the middle of the lake, including fish soup cooked on a campfire.

Excursions. You have a chance not only to get positive emotions and vivid impressions during your winter trip to the White Sea, but also some new information and knowledge if you take part in various excursions organized by our Excursion Centre. We offer excursions to Panfilova Varakka Canyon where pegmatites, quartz and mica used to be quarried; to a 500-years old Pomor village Chernaya Rechka – a time-travel trip to a place with no roads where people live the hermit life in the taiga forest; to the White Sea Biological Station of MSU – an educational and research centre of Biology Faculty of Moscow State University; and also to some nearby islands in a sledge driven by a snowmobile along scenic shores of the frozen sea.

Ice Diving. An unforgettable experience of diving under the ice arch of the sea, ice-hummocks, and cavities with a fantastic visibility up to 15-50 meters. If you are a certified diver but have no Ice-Diver specialty, you can take a Course and get your certification with our highly qualified and experienced instructors. If you don’t have any diving certificate but are eager to swim in the winter sea and watch the sea-creatures you can try ice-snorkelling  - swimming on the surface with nearly the same equipment the divers use but without SCUBA.

Sports Activities and SPA: Cross-Country Skiing, Skijoring, Riding Snowmobiles, Russian and Japanese bath (Banya and Ofuro), different types of massage and seaweed wrapping etc.

You can also interact with our cute pets: visit our reindeer farm and nothern sled dog breeding kennel, feed and pet them, and even try sled riding.

Winter conditions for trips to Karelia

Winter is a wonderful season to spend your vacation on the White Sea coast and soak up the atmosphere of the Russian North. We do our best to meet our guests' expectations and guarantee them a comfortable stay according to the chosen type of accomodation. In winter our tourism center offers accommodation in the following types of twin-rooms: Basic room, Standart room, Standart Plus room, Comfort room, Comfort Plus two-bedroom suite. If necessary, the rooms can be equipped with a double-bed or extra beds to accommodate up to 3-4 people. Every room has central heating, equipment of the room depends on its category, e.g.  Standart Plus, Comfort and Comfort Plus rooms have a personal bathroom and a shower, while Basic and Standart rooms share it with the neighboring rooms.

The price of a full-board accommodation includes meals in the buffet style 3 times a day. In addition, hot and cold drinks and various types of pastry are available in our dining room at any time. Russian banya (steam bath) services are also included on a daily basis. On request we are ready to provide SPA-services, Japanese bath (Ofuro), rent of sports and tourist equipment, barbecue picnic (shashlyk) and various types of excursions and other outdoor activities for an extra charge.

Do come to the “Arctic Circle” Tourism Centre if you are looking for an unforgettable winter vacation and extraordinary experience in picturesque Karelian village amidst Arctic taiga! You can find all the necessary information to communicate with us in the Contact Us section, including e-mails, phone numbers and a travel route scheme. Our travel managers will inform you about the prices of our winter packages and help you to choose the most suitable variant.