kamchatka peninsula

The aim of this review is confute the huge list of stereotypes about Kamchatka. Before having been there, I thought that it was one of the most difficult places to travel; afterwards, it was quite difficult, but the only reason was the lack of information on the internet about Kamchatka.Had I found a review like the one I am writing, my travel would have been much easier: I hope that this review will be helpful to other travellers.The stereotypes can be divided into two categories:-1- Stereotypes of foreigners about Kamchatka (I actually read many of these on TripAdvisor)1.1 Whatever visa you have for Russia, it won't allow you to go to Kamchatka. To get a visa for Kamchatka you have to contact an unbelievably expensive travel agent that will arrange the visa for you.==> WRONG: russian visas allow their holders to go anywhere in the territory of Russian Federation (which by the way is the widest border-free land on the globe, even though few westerners realise it). If you have, let's say a humanitarian visa on which is registered the city of St Peterburg, you can still go to Kamchatka on the other side of the globe and be perfectly legal.1.2 In Kamchatka, and in general in the remote Дальний Восток (Far East), policemen are more likely to control you, and ask you for money, send you to prison, etc.==> WRONG: russian policemen just don't care about foreigners. I have been travelling alone through all Siberia until Kamchatka and I have been controlled only once, in Ekaterinburg, because I actually entered in a private room of the train station, which I took erroneously for the baggage deposit. The policeman just opened the passport on the first page without even looking at the visa, smiled and let me go. Another wrong stereotype is about bribes! Probably during Soviet Union people were poor and bribes were more common, but now it's just not convenient for any policeman to accept bribes, because their job is good and they don't want to risk loosing it.1.3 Russia is dangerous, let's not speak about Kamchatka which is so remote! You will find yourself alone in the forest with some drunk big guy threatening you with a Kalashnikov.==> WRONG: First, Russia is not more dangerous than, let's say, U.S. and Spain. Of course there are pickpocketers, and if you go alone in lonely places during the night it's possible that you have some bad experience, but this is just what happens everywhere in the world except for Scandinavia. Second, all the cities in Siberia and Far East are so modern, clean and safe! Also, you have to realize that in the Far East and in Kamchatka there are almost no foreigners, so when you travel there most people will be curious at you and helpful (even if you don't speak russian).NOTE about points 1.2 and 1.3: they are valid unless you drive your own car with non-russian plate. If you do this you will attract the thieves, and you'll have more troubles with the police because of the very complicated laws about driving foreign cars.-2- Stereotypes of russians about Kamchatka (yes, also russians don't know much about it)2.1 If you go to Kamchatka you have to spend 1000 USD a day, pay for helicopters, expensive boats, etc==> WRONG: there are a couple of things that are reachable only by helicopter (two or three volcanoes), but you can perfectly go to Kamchatka on your own, take a public bus, visit an attraction, eat in a normal restaurant, etc. Actually, if you don't take the helicopter to go on the top of that volcano you don't loose anything, because, even though such volcanoes are beautiful, you can find similar attractions in many other places in the world such as Iceland, New Zealand, Alaska, Indonesia. Kamchatka has many unique things, but excursions on a volcano with a helicopter are not among them2.2 Hotels are so expensive, you'll pay 100 USD a night==> WRONG: actually the hotels you find in the internet are expensive, but on the place there are many hostels for 10 USD a night. There is one in Elizovo, the city of the airport, there is another one at km 11 (a neighborood of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskij), and there is a wonderful one just in the center of old town in Petropavlovsk (it's called Hostel24). You cannot find them easily on the internet, and you cannot call them from abroad (or even from other regions of Russia: the line is very bad and calls are expensive), but generally they don't need reservations because there are very few tourists. There are also very cheap hostels in other cities of Kamchatka: in Esso for example you can find an accommodation as cheap as 300 rubles (6 euros). And just for a few euros more (around 15 euros a night) you can stay in very comfortable places with natural warm water pools, such as Grushanka (Грушанка), which I warmly recommend.One thing, you might need a reservation if you are going during peak season (July - August): in this case I suggest you to make a reservation with Hostel24 in PK (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskij) and ask them if they can call to reserve for you the accommodation in other cities of Kamchatka.2.3 There is no public transportation, nor roads, nor cities, nor people, only bears==> WRONG: Kamchatka has a very good public transportation system. Every day a bus leaves PK to go to Esso and other cities. There are many wonderful small towns that deserve a visit, such as Mil'kovo (Мильково). You can perfectly organize your trip alone and enjoy it. Be aware that the most important place, if you want to organize your trip, is the bus station in Km11 (a part of PK, which is called Km11 because it is 11 km away from the old town): in the bus station you will find timetables and everything you need. It's open every day, also on sunday.2.4 Unless you go in July - August you will be covered by snow and won't be able to do anything.==> WRONG: May, June, September and October are perfectly fine, it's not cold at all. And even during winter, when there is a lot of snow (but it's not very cold, because it's south and there is the influence of the Pacific, if in Siberia you have -30 C°, in Kamchatka you rarely go below -10°), if you just stay in PK I believe you will enjoy it a lot. The bay of PK is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in the world, together with Lofoten Islands, Gambier Islands and Ushuaia. It's a unique place where you mix northern atmosphere with Soviet Union buildings and volcanoes, volcanoes, volcanoes! It's true that it's difficult to have a perfect clear day, but on the other side clouds (and even fog) are so beautiful over that bay! Guess how beautiful it would be with snow and ice in the bay.2.4 Flying to Kamchatka is expensive==> WRONG: Go and visit www.s7.ru

It was my second trip to Kamchatka. September 2014. It was sunny weather every day, only one day fog. Great waves on Halaktyrskiy beach. Very consistent beach-break, water ~10 grad celsius. No Hotels on the beach, but you can sleep in camping in tent. September - the best time to visit Kamhatka for surfing.sorry for my english))

Kamchatka is beautiful with its volcanoes and mountains, Avacha Bay and the Pacific Ocean. If you go there, things to do would be: visit to valley of the geysers, Paratunka hot springs and, of course, fishing. There is not much to do in the city of Petropavlovsk, if you don't have anyone there. But... Take a taxi and drive on Ob'ezdnaya road. From top of the mountain you will enjoy the best views!

My family has spend 9 days in Kamchatka on a private tour with Lost World company. It was always the place I really wanted to visit and decided my kids were old enough to do it as a family. We didn't know what to expect when we were planning this trip particularly from the logistics perspective and I have found the comments on this forum very helpful.So here is my reflection on our trip with a view to assist whoever wants to venture into this relatively unknown world of tourism (outside of Russia of course).to start off be ready for:1. to be challenged physically and emotionally - the infrastructure is very run down and it was also surprising to see in some places everyday rubbish which probably never gets cleaned up amongst the amazing UNESCO scenery - just have to ignore. tour does have a fare number of rough-and-tough parts with no toilets or very primitive ones - only takes a day to get used to it really. if you never slept in a tent prior to tour suggest you give it a go before going to Kamchatka - the best places you can't get to without slipping in a tent and you really don't want to miss out.2. totally unpredictable weather - it is easy to blame the tour company for rain and snow and other bad conditions. But a better approach is to be prepared and do your research - suggest for 9 days allocate at least 2 days for 'in case of bad weather' activities and be very clear with the company what you'd like to do in that case prior. Also suggest to add an extra 2 days to your trip if you've decided to go with pre-defined itinerary, or if you can do a private tour allocate at least 2 days to activities which you are OK to give a miss n case of bad weather. We were lucky I think - or so it seemed - that we managed to travel to all parts we've planned to travel to. The only unfulfilled desire was climbing a volcano - may be we have to come back one day ;)3. in summer a lot of mosquitoes around the river banks and generally places with water like hot springs - we were not ready for it and got bitten really badly ... buy local anti-mozzie protection (ask your guide for recommendation) and cover yourself as much as possible even on a hot day. 4. it is cold near the mountains in early summer - bring snow warm clothes.5. lots of travelling from place to place - 3-5 hrs in a car. bring music and games.try to do:1. get to know the locals on your tour - may be we were lucky but I have to say all the staff on our trip - cook, driver, guide, interpreter - were absolutely great and funny and very warm hearted people. Russian have a great sense of black humour and lots of stories to tell which will stay with you for long. They also really like their country and keen to tell/ show you not well known secrets - just ask.2. we've actually quite liked the food that was cooked on a tour. There weren't many fruits and most vegetables were cooked - but we went in early summer so this is just a reflection of the season I think. From Russian food we've particularly liked and therefore recommend - kvas (traditional drink sold along the road usually), buckwheat porridge with meat/ veg rissoles cooked on a tour), dumplings with cherries and potatoes (at the restaurants in hotels) , caviar and various types of smoked fish - the best we've tried anywhere else in the world (have to buy it at the markets - most tours will take you there). And of course there is an amazing taste of Kamchatka's crab !!!!! 3. scenery - this is what this place is about. Don't think any recommendations are necessary - no matter where you go and what you do you'd be amazed by the expanse of beauty and a completely unreal (almost eerie at times) sense of world at its beginnings. it is all around you. One of the best views is from the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski hotel rooms - my son said 'mum, these mountains don't look real - like someone has drawn them on a piece of paper and just spread sugar on the top (there was still snow on the mountains when we went which was early July).' Europe and NZ and Japan and US do have similar landscapes - but we all agreed Kamchatka is unique and different somehow - it almost seemed to me that colour of the sky and grass and rivers is richer and more intense ... we didn't go to Esso and Kyrilskoe lake - we were too early for bears and Esso was a bit far away, but would think these would be some of the best places to experience uniqueness of Kamchatka.4. volcano climbing - if in Kamchatka try to do climb at least one! we've planned Mytnovski/ Gorely trip - but the weather didn't work out.5. avacha bay boat trip - excellent! fishing trip on one of the rivers - really great fun 6. Avachnski volcano - we've only wandered around and climbed the camel mount and we didn't have time for Avachincki climb. really beautiful place so definitely recommend.7. spend at least half a day in the city - we've liked the museum, gift shop (which is like a museum), triny church - new and very pretty and good views over the city, and markets of course.tour company and prices: Lost World has done a great job for us and I wouldn't say the prices were over the top although definitely on expensive side - with exception of helicopter prices which are ridiculous and can't be negotiated by tour companies. However one can see and do a lot without helicopters. In terms of tour prices you just have to compare to Alaska tours - Kamchatka value for money is much much better.All in all I think we'd like to go back some day and we'd probably would use Lost World again - and go to more remote Northern places. May be in Winter !

This was an experience of a lifetime. The trip delivered on seeing the bears, active volcanoes, awesome hiking, rugged country, spectacular views from the helicopter and mountain tops. The boat cruise into Avacha Bay with the seafood lunch was really nice. The tour of the Volcanology Institute was interesting. Our guide, Artyom, was brilliant - knowledgeable, fluent English, sense of humour and flexible. One of the tour company owners, Andrey, is excellent with his replies and advice. Would I go back? No, as I have now been, seen and have fantastic photos. Would I recommend it? Yes, for the experience, but prepare yourself for a company that is not really customer focussed. It is a lot of money and the company does not give value for that money.This company has the monopoly in this area and I felt took advantage of this. We were extremely lucky with the weather and got to do most things on the itinerary. However, we had friends (a few weeks after us) who missed out on the Avacha bay trip due to weather and the company did not organise a "Plan B'. They were left to their own devices. Be prepared for weather delays. There are museums, art galleries, volcanology institute, Russian Orthodox Churches, shops and markets that tourists may be interested in and the tour company should be able to organise something to see these in the case of bad weather.FOOD: I understand that we were out in the wild and I would eat what I was given. However, I feel that chicken heart soup as the only dish at lunch is unacceptable! When in the restaurants in Petropavlosk or Paratunka there were no menu choices. I don’t expect the full menu but at least a choice of a meat, fish or vegetarian dish- not just be given the meal of the day. The vegetarians in our group had a difficult time with what was placed in front of them and in some cases they ordered off the menu and paid separately. The "4 star" hotel in Paratunka knew they had a group of 16 coming, but they still ran out of fries, the beer was warm and they only had 1 bottle of the wine we selected. ALL drinks (including water) were not covered in the tour price. The itinerary stated that we would eat out in a restaurant in the town – this didn’t happen, we were only dining at the hotel restaurant with a preset menu. Our lunch on the last day was not included.SAFETY: what safety? The helicopter had no seat belts, no life-jackets, no emergency exit other than the one we entered through (the back doors where they loaded the luggage through were wired together when closed) and the luggage was not secured. It was piled up chest height in the centre of the helicopter with not one luggage net or tie down in place! When we were picked up from the lake the pilot was yelling out through the window "быстро быстро" "quick quick the fog is coming in"! We flew to the helicopter base as the weather was too bad to take us to the base of the volcano to the tents. At one stage the cockpit door was open, it was a total white out through the front window and the 3 in the cockpit were flying by what they could see through the windows at their feet and local knowledge. We were in a very mountainous area and had to fly through a pass. At one stage the helicopter slowed down and dropped altitude as they could not see. It meant something when we landed safely and the 3 in the cockpit all shook each other's hand and congratulated each other!The Kamaz truck we were transported to the volcano in got stuck in snow and it took almost two hours, with all of us helping, to get it out. This was unlucky, but lucky for us it occurred during daylight hours. The night we were driven to the tents because the helicopter was unable to land, meant we were driving over these snow fields in the middle of the night 2 days earlier. It would have been extremely cold if this had happened then. There was a bear in the area.BATHROOM FACILITIES: the bathrooms in the two hotels we stayed in were not fancy but they did the job. Be aware that in summertime the water supply in Petropavlosk undergoes its annual maintenance and the water gets turned off for 2-3 days. People in the tour group after us had no water for toilet or showers during their stay! The toilet facility at the lake and the volcano tent area was disgusting. I have used many long drops in my life and these were a disgrace. At the tent area there was only one long drop for about 50 people which is a squat style, hole cut in wood and you can imagine what was on the wood and the smell. The two toilets at the lake were long drops but with a toilet bowl/seat and not clean. A bathroom was being built in the lodge at the lake and they did turn the hot water on one night, when asked to, for those that wished to shower.AIRPORT TRANSFER: minor detail, but we were left for approximately two hours sitting in the company bus at the airport waiting for another plane to arrive. I felt for the money paid for this tour they should either have put us in a taxi to the hotel, or taken us in and then come back out to pick up the other passengers.SLEEPING: We took our own sleeping bag and roll up mattress for in the tent and in the lodge, but having seen the ones that were available to rent, I would rent to save weight/space in the suitcase. At the lodge there are 8 beds (3 bunk beds and 2 singles) in each of the two rooms. The rooms are extremely small and should really only have 4 people in them to be comfortable. The tents are meant to be 3 person but the two of us took up most of the tent and our luggage was on the outside of the tent.This trip was an experience of a lifetime, a moderate degree of fitness is required to manage the volcanoes where the views are spectacular, make sure you take a good camera, lots of memory storage and spare batteries (there were facilities to recharge). Walking poles were helpful and a camelback water system daypack is ideal for the hikes.I have given this an excellent rating as the experience was amazing, however my rating for the tour company would be poor to average. The guide, Artyom, gets 10/10!

The Kamchatka peninsula is one of the most surprising places of the world. Regardless of visiting it in winter or summer you will fall in love with Kamchatka even before landing, just with the view of the volcanos and the landscape you will see from the airport. We were there in May and there still was 2 meters snow in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The capital is not really beautiful, on the contrary, it is a terrible soviet era city, but the views of the volcanoes behind the Peter and Paul sculpture and the views of the Avacha bay are simply breathtaking. Just a summary of what can be done in Kamchatka: dog sledding, snow bikes, snow activities, thermal waters, trip by ship, cruises, animal watching (seals, whales, depending on the month), native villages (e.g. Koryak) with its traditions, music and dances, helicopter trips to the volcanoes or the Valley of the Geysers (better in July-August)... Besides, you can try salmon caviar (red caviar), great salmon (note that there are different species here) and king crab (amazing). Nature at its best. I want to come back!

We ( me and my wife) visited Kamchatka from 3rd to 11th August 2013. We did Muthnovesky, Goreily, Kurilskoye Lake, Valley of Geysers, Avecha Bay and Avichansky during this time and I would say, we did not even see 10% of the peninsula, but covered most of the tourist spots. The places we saw were exactly like what was shown in Natgeo/ Discovery and other sceintific knowledge TV channels. Before you go to Kamchatka, be prepared for these things. a. There are only few tourist companies who can correspond with you in English and it will be very difficult to do this alone even if you know Russian. b. This place and tours are very expensive. A grand Canyon helicopter tour in Las Vegas will cost only USD 250 per person where as a helicopter tour of Valley of Geysers will cost USD 1000 per person. A boat excursion of Avecha Bay costed us USD 750 ( for 6 hours with a lunch) for 2 persons and a simlar tour in Cape Town or in Paracas costed me less than USD 100 for both of us. . c. Be prepared for very quick changes in weather and you would end up doing nothing but waiting for helicopter to fly for many days. Usually, allow 2 extra days even in their Summer time. d. Be prepared to live in primitive conditions when you tour the volcanos ( very small tents, very cold nights and natural toilets). e. You will get very basic food. f. Above all, please work on your fitness level as this involves walking long distances, climbing or trekking, walk on the snow and water etc., Other dos and donts, please follow the instructions given by your tour company. But it is still worth and it is a " once in a lifetime " experience.

been to Kamchatka_Aug'11, turned out to bea trip which was run by a local agency and only 3-9 people were from Ibex,overcharged approx 60% more than the local agency, contacted several time no responce form Ibex, things mentioned on website didn't match, where we cab complanint about this.

I'm trying to come to Kamchatka every year. I have already been to many volcanoes, but the favorite is Mutnovsky - live volcano. It changes every time, every moment.The next place - Shiveluch. It is enough far from Petropavlovsk, but is one of the most interesting live volcanoes. Caviar and salmon - are perfect.

I stayed in Kamchatka for just over a week.A few days camping in the Nalychevo national park, no running water, no shower facilities, toilets are holes in the ground away from cabins, and cabins look good on the outside but are just basic shelters. You have to take everything you want in - including food, water, sleeping bags etc. They have 3 different hot pools a walk away from the camp, we couldn't go to one of the pools one day, because a bear had taken it over! The views are amazing and the experience priceless.The bears like the tundra, feasting on berries in the distance, and generally leave the camp alone.Spent a day on and off a helicopter checking out the Valley of the geysers and Uzon couldron, expensive but worth it.My only disappointment was that many bears had followed the salmon to lake Kurril, which was not a planned stop.