LEARN HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY SELL KAMCHATKA TOURS

Hey… here what I am going to tell you I promise you; you will not find on Google or anywhere. Most all the travel blogs you will find describing the place, its beauty, and experiences. But there is not a single article on a holiday destination that can guide holiday experts and holiday companies in a practical way to understand and implement it into business. So I have described ‘Kamchatka” as an unconventional holiday destination completely in a different way. After reading this blog I am sure you will be able to have a good amount of understanding of this destination and you can be able to even design your product & learn the art of selling Kamchatka tours at your fingertips.

So let’s start the journey to an off-beat destination i.e. “Kamchatka”…

The topics I will be covering below are:

• The Highlights of Kamchatka
• The Main Attraction of Kamchatka
• Getaway to Kamchatka
• Tourist Places around Kamchatka
• Climate & Seasons
• Getting around the Peninsula
• Excursions around the Peninsula
• Accommodation at Kamchatka Tours
• Basic Idea of Itinerary Building and Routings
• Kamchatka Travel Advice
• Suggested Few Kamchatka Tour Operators

To sell efficiently a holiday you must need to know about the destination that you would like to sell. Many factors make one a tourism expert on selling a destination as a holiday. The holiday or package tour might be of any type i.e. a conventional one or a semi-conventional or unconventional or theme-based like most popular or special interest or adventurous etc. So one must have a piece of complete knowledge about the destinations, its sightseeing, activities and many more things. It is not possible for me to explain here all those factors and things. So I will be trying here to make it as simple as possible to explain to you so that you can be able to have the basic idea to sell “Kamchatka” holidays. Even this article could be very useful & interesting to the worldwide travel lovers.

Still ‘Kamchatka’ is an off-beat destination in the world. And all the tours of Kamchatka are not be considered as a general holiday package. We can say to more extent that most of the Kamchatka tours are expedition packages. In India and many parts of the world hardly the tour operators still thought to promote this destination. So I thought to begin the awareness among the world tourism market of such countries with hope in coming years those holiday companies will also promote these types of destination.

THE HIGHLIGHTS OF KAMCHATKA

In the Far East of Russia, we find Kamchatka that offers a great diversity of flora and fauna. It is a peninsula covering approximately 780 miles. The distance between Alaska and Kamchatka is around 1365 miles. Formally Kamchatka region is considered as part of the North of the Arctic Circle. So I mean to say that Kamchatka is a place of exploration and expedition. From a tourism point the highlights of Kamchatka are:

• It is called the land of Fire and Ice
• There are around 160 volcanos in this region, so it is considered the most volcanic area of the Eurasian continent.
• Among these 160 volcanos, approximately 29 volcanos are still active today
• And 6 of these volcanos comes under the UNESCO World Heritage Site considered as “Volcanos of Kamchatka”
• It is a place for the explorers who want to discover the isolated part of the world, the destination that is challenging and full of scenic beauty
• Kamchatka is also full of wildlife. Apart from that the largest number and size of Brown Bears is one of the main attractions of the Kamchatka holiday.
• Here we find the largest moose in the world i.e. Chukotka moose, the largest species of king crab i.e. Kamchatka crab as well as the most varied area for the Whale species.
• For Stellar’s Sea Eagle, Golden Eagle, and Gyr Falcons we can say that Kamchatka is a primary breeding ground.
• There are also some of the rare plants of Russia that are found in Kamchatka.

THE MAIN ATTRACTION OF KAMCHATKA

1. THE GORELY VOLCANO
2. THE KURIL LAKE
3. THE VALLEY OF GEYSERS
4. CAMEL MOUNTAIN
5. THE UZON CALDERA
6. AVACHA (AVACHINSKY) VOLCANO
7. EIWET ETHNIC CENTRE
8. SNOWDOGS ETHNIC CENTRE
9. THE DACHNIYE SPRINGS
10. THE RUSSIAN BAY
11. TOLBACHIC VOLCANO
12. VACHKAZHETS MOUNTAIN
13. THE MUTNOVSKY VOLCANO
14. STARICHKOV ISLAND
15. THE BYSTRAYA (MALKINSKAYA) RIVER
16. VILIUCHINSKY WATERFALL
    

GETAWAY TO KAMCHATKA

Getaway to Kamchatka I mean to say, in the language of tourism that how we can be able to go and what are the options of reach there.

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is the capital of Kamchatka Krai and it is the largest city with approx. 322,000 of population.

BY ROAD (NOT POSSIBLE)

By Car or you can say by road it is not possible to reach Kamchatka because no roads connecting the peninsula.

BY WATER(NOT POSSIBLE)

Even by waterways reaching Kamchatka is not possible but there are expedition cruises inside Kamchatka that allow you to see parts of the peninsula. I will be discussing those cruises below later on. But there is no facility for regular ocean passenger vessels to reach Kamchatka.

BY AIR (ONLY POSSIBLE)

The only applied way to reach Kamchatka is by air. And from a tourism point of view, we can say that there is only one Getaway for Kamchatka i.e. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky/PKC. Yelizovo or Elizovo is the name nearest airport which is 16 km from Petropavlovsk where commercial flights arrive.

• From Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky/PKC there are regular nonstop flights year-round. Aeroflot, Transaero, Domodedova airlines operate regularly. Please be noted that it’s a long flight so always try to advise guests to take some rest before travel.
• There are also connecting flights from Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, and Moscow. (It is advised to take out the list of those airlines going to Kamchatka)
• During summer that is July & August, we find Yakutia Airlines provides services in between Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Anchorage, Alaska, and the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Osaka and Russian Far East cities.
• If you want to skip the sightseeing of Moscow and connecting Kamchatka through Sheremetevo Airport, you can make your transit stay with an “in-terminal “capsule” hotel i.e. “Vozdushniy Express”.
• From Vladivostok there are flights several times a week, depending on the time of year on Vladivostok Airlines.
• From Khabarovsk, there are flights several times a week depending on the time of year. One may also connect to Vladivostok via Khabarovsk by train or air.

So those who would like to come to Kamchatka the most preferred way to go via Moscow.

Several airlines operate and as per your country of origin from where you would like to sell Kamchatka tours it is suggested to work out the list of airlines providing the services.

Hope this is clear to all the tourism experts. Remember before knowing about any destination, it is your first homework to know the getaway(s) of that destination and the ways to reach from different parts of the world. 

TOURIST PLACES AROUND KAMCHATKA

You see we can classify tourism destinations in 3 types i.e. conventional, semi-conventional and unconventional. In the same way, we can classify the tourists’ places of any region in three types i.e. most popular, rising, and off-beat. And if we would like to go much deeper then we can also classify the sightseeing & activities of those places into 3 types i.e. most popular, rising and lesser-known.

Though we know that Kamchatka is totally an unconventional destination for holidays, still here I am going to classify Kamchatka’s tourist places into 3 types on my way that has not been classified to date by anyone in the world. I believe this classification will make work easier for new holiday companies who would like to introduce Kamchatka into their coming product store.

How will you define ‘tourist places” in package tours or holidays? From the tourism point of view, we can define any place either it is a city, a town, a village, a plateau, a region, an area, and even a cruise. Let me logically explain to you. When we build an itinerary or tour plan we define places according to the night stay of a particular day. So the place where there will be night stay, it is suggested to consider as a ‘ tourist place’ of that destination. In Kamchatka, there is a Heritage Expeditions Cruise named Spirit of Enderby, so in a tour plan if we are showing night stay onboard at Spirit of Enderby then it has to be considered that  ‘Spirit of Enderby’ one of the tourists’ places of Kamchatka. I can understand many of you might be confused with the above note but when you will build an online package tour software then you will understand why I have told you that even the cruise can be deemed to be taken as a tourist place. Let’s not go into deep and start knowing the “tourist places” of Kamchatka as a reference only based on the above definition of ‘tourist places’.

I have brought under the category of “THE MOST POPULAR” places in Kamchatka package the following 8 types:

1. Petropavlovsk – Kamchatsky – The Getaway, capital and the largest city of Kamchatka.

• Paratunka – A village in Kamchatka located 70 km southwest of Petropavlovsk on the river Paratunka. There is a famous spa resort named Paratunka spa resort.

• Dvukhyurtochnoye (Kuril) Lake – It’s a caldera and crater lake one of the most famous in Kamchatka. It is also called Kurilskoye or Kurile Lake. This place attracts a huge number of bears from all corners of the Kamchatka because the lake is the largest reproducing of red Salmon.

• Kozyrevsk Village – It’s a village and from here one can visit the famous Tolbachik volcanoes and Klyuchevskaya volcanoes.

• Mutnovsky Volcano – Simply we can say that it’s a volcanic region. Mutnovsky is one of the most active volcanoes and in the year 2000, it has the latest eruption. Also, the lesser-known Valley of Geysers is on the foot of the Mutnovsky.

• Bystraya River – One of the most accessible rivers in Kamchatka famous for fishing, floating, and rafting tours. Almost 100 km route runs through virgin nature areas.

• Esso Settlement or Anavgai – Esso is a village in Kamchatka, and it is also called the “Switzerland of Kamchatka”. The best time to visit Esso settlement is August & September. Dogsledding is famous here. Other sightseeing is the Ethnographic Museum, Reindeer farms, Museum of Bears, Bystrinsky Nature Park, and Koryak Ethnic camp Chau-Chiv. Anavgai is a nomad camp of even people, situated near Esso village so we can treat both as one tourist place though both are different.

• Avachinsky Volcano – It’s a region of an active stratovolcano & lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire. The famous Camel mountain is one of the volcanic extrusions which surround the Avachinsky and the Koryaksky volcanoes.

Tourism Tips:

• Though Yelizovo can also be considered as the most popular place since it is just 27 km from Petropavlovsk, the travelers preferred to stay either in Petropavlovsk or Puratunka, so it has not brought into most popular place. There is a good number of hotels available. In Paratunka there are hotels where bathe in the hot thermal water swimming pool is available.
• Most of the tour plans (itinerary) that start with Petropavlovsk can also be started from Paratunka. So in case of non-availability of accommodation in any one place can be accommodated in the other place keeping the tour plan undisturbed.
• Any holiday company either online or offline and either it is small or medium or big, it is always suggested to begin selling Kamchatka with the most popular tour plans and keeping overnight stay only in Petropavlovsk for the first year. It is always challenging to promote & sell places like Kamchatka, so it is always suggested to add more products, more places, more challenging tours every year. Also start with those tour plans that are moderate level. Increased load or Heavy load types of tours must be avoided to promote and sell in the first year.

I will consider “THE RISING PLACES” that comes under neither most popular nor off-beat types of the following places in Kamchatka.

1. Tolbachik Volcano Area – The most active and largest volcanoes of Kamchatka are found in the Tolbachik Volcano area. It can be traveled in a day from Petropavlovsk, Bystraya River, Esso settlement, Milkovo & Bezymyanny Volcano.  From this area, one visits The Ploskiy Tolbachik Volcano, The cones of the Northern break, and The Dead Forest. 

• Pauzhetka – The Pauzhetka caldera expanses 25 km in an east-west direction and one of the largest and best-studied volcanoes in Kamchatka. Kuril Lake, Avachinsky, Petropavlovsk, Kronotsky, Apachinskiye Hot Springs & Ust’-Bol’sheretsk are close to this region and can be reached in a day. The day excursions of this region are Pauzhetka settlement & its surrounding excursion and Excursion to Geothermal Fields & The Rocky Town. A day drive to Petropavlovsk & Kronotsky is possible.

• Apacha Hot Springs – One can visit from Pauzhetka, Paratunka, Mutnovsky to Apacha Hot Springs that is a famous sightseeing spot. The overnight stay could be possible in a tent or hotel. Also, a day excursion from Paratunka and Mutnovsky is possible.

• Ganaly – The spectacular backcountry of one of the most beautiful mountain Kamchatka – in the Ganaly Range. This range is famous for Ski tours and one can easily be transferred from Petropavlovsk in a day.

• Yelizovo – It is famous for its international airport and is a town that is located on the Avacha River. From Petropavlovsk, it is around 27 kilometers away.

• River Bolshaya –  The Bolshaya river we find in western Kamchatka. In special interest tours like fishing & floating normally this range is considered in an itinerary of Kamchatka tours.

• Gorely –  Gorely volcano range is close to Mutnovsky. Generally, this range is used for an overnight stay in an itinerary. And if in this range it is 2 nights then a day excursion to  Mutnovsky Volcano is to be added. Either tent camping or few hotels we find in this region.

• Milkovo Village – Milkovo is a well-settled town, and we can also call it a village. It is 300 km from Petropavlovsk. From a tourism point, it is famous for fishing tours and excursions to the Ethnographic Museum.

• Olkhon Island – Olkhon is the third largest lake island in the world. Lake Baikal & Baikal village is the major attraction of this place. A day excursion to Olkhon Island is a must to include in a tour plan.

1. Kronotsky – Kronotsky is a Nature Reserve to the east of Lake Kronotskoye, the largest lake in Kamchatka. A day transfer is possible from Pauzhetka to Kronotsky. One of the most famous day excursions staying at Kronotsky region is brown Bear watching. This is a rising place of attraction in Kamchatka tours.

I will suggest the above 10 places a semi-conventional tourist’s place. Tours to all the above places are normally a moderate level of tours. I would like to tell you guys that Kamchatka is a destination that needs a minimum amount of good health. It is not like a tour visiting Goa, Paris, London, New York etc. Kamchatka tours could be a moderate or increased load or heavy load level.  I will be defining all the levels later part of this article.

Now let’s see “THE OFF-BEAT (UNCONVENTIONAL) PLACES” of Kamchatka that normally includes in an itinerary.  

1. Klyuchevsky (Klyuchui) – Klyuchevsky is a region where we find a group of volcanoes. One can reach in a day this region from Petropavlovsk, Paratunka, Milkovo Village, Bogdanovich Glacier & Ushkovsky Volcano. The only option to stay here is a tent or camping. The day excursion could be trekking in Klyuchevskaya group of volcanoes’ neighborhoods and Northern and Southern breaks ascending to Tolbachiskie cones and Dead Forest.

• Listvyanka Village (Irkutsk) – This is a very interesting off-beat of Kamchatka. The village is constituted of wooden cabins, stores, and churches with a tranquil setting. One can catch a ferry here for Port Baikal or ride the secluded cable railway up through the forest for a panoramic view of the sunset over the lake. Irkutsk is one of the largest cities in Siberia and the distance between Listvyanka village to Irkutsk is only 70 km. So normally those who would like to see Irkutsk prefer to stay in Listvyanka village due to the uncompromised beauty of the place. Please be noted that Irkutsk does not come under Kamchatka. It is itself a country and the most important hub for tourism in Lake Baikal. One can transfer in a day from Perm, Olkhon Island, and Petropavlovsk.

• Sopka Kopyto – Sopka Kopyto is also called Klyuchevskaya Sopka is a stratovolcano area and the highest mountain on the Kamchatka Peninsula. One can reach Sopka from Esso settlement, Dead forest, and Kozyrevsk. The day excursion is possible by a radial walk of 15 km both way to Studyenaya River Canyon, Edelweiss meadow, and Barany’ rocks.

• Nachiki – This is an offbeat region that is 44 km from Petropavlovsk and used as a transit point for an overnight stay in an itinerary in between Esso and Avachinsky. The attraction of this place is Malkinskie Hot Springs, Paratunskiye Hot Spring, and Andrey Pritchin’s Koryak Nomads Camp Eyvet and Nursery for Sled Dogs.

• Glukhoy Rivulet – Glukhoy is in Karshevitskoye Rural Settlement and a rural locality. This village is located on the left of the bank of the Volga River. Uzon Caldera & Dalynee Lake Day Excursion & the ecological educational lecture, explaining the behaviour rules on the territory of the preserve. can be a part of your tour plan. A day transfer can be done from Petropavlovsk and Valley of Geyser.

• Osvystannaya Valley – The region Osvystannaya is on the right of Gorely to the north, a beautiful and remote wilderness with the steep andesitic slopes of Mutnovsky rising to the south. In an educational or off-beat tour, a two-night stay at the Osvystannaya Valley can be suggested. The Mutnovsky 3 caldera and Osvystannaya River can be day educational excursion in your itinerary. This region is very close to Mutnovsky. A day transfer from Petropavlovsk and Paratunka is possible. Mainly in special interest tours, Geologists, and Volcanologist tours, we include this place for a night stay.

• Dolinovka Settlement – A small village where old traditions are still alive and has not changed even little in the past 100 years. Close to Milkovo village and Atlasovo Settlement, we find this village. Normally an overnight stay in camp can be included in a floating down tour.

• Atlasovo Settlement – Another remote and wild place in Milkovsky District. One can float down from Dolinovka to Atlasovo. And drive from Atlasovo to Mutnovsky, Toporkov Island is possible. We find in special interest tours like floating, river rafting this place is included in an itinerary.

• Ust’-Bol’sheretsk – The administrative center of Ust-Bolsheretsky District and is a rural locality. Apachinskie Springs and Ust’-Bol’sheretsk can be considered as the same area. It is close to Yelizovo, Petropavlovsk and Paratunka.  From here a day transfer of 6-8 hours can be done to Pauzhetka enroute sightseeing of Bolshaya, Opala, and Koshegochek.

1. Dead Forest – Dead forest and Kozyrevsk very close in proximity. Instead of showing the dead forest as a separate place, we can show it in Kozyrevsk. But still, it is suggested to identify ‘Dead Forest’ as a separate place in your itinerary if the night stay is in this specific area. It is also near to volcano Tolbachik. Staying here you can have day excursions of Eruption of 2012-13 and Plosky Tolbachik Volcano each full day. A day transfer to Petropavlovsk is possible from the Dead Forest area.

1. Sea of Okhotsk (West Coast)  (Palana) – The Sea of Okhotsk is surrounded by Kuril Island, Japan’s Island of Hokkaido, the island of Sakhalin, and the eastern Siberian coast. For photography tours, we find this place is the best, especially for Eagle’s photography. A day transfer from Esso settlement & Petropavlovsk, Esso Settlement to the Sea of Okhotsk is possible. Palana is an urban locality on the west coast and also the Sea of Okhotsk is on the west coast. So you can treat both the places as one place in a tour plan. One can make an overnight stay in any one of the places. Palana is also the capital of the northern Koryakia region of Kamchatka.

1. Koryaksky – Koryaksky area is an active volcano neighbouring Avachinsky. It has been chosen a Decade Volcano, worthy of particular study in light of its history of explosive eruptions and proximity to populated areas. In an education tour of Kamchatka, this place comes into consideration. In order to know & study about Avacha volcano, we can put a camp in Koryaksky.

1. Valley of Geyser – It is the second-largest concentration of geysers in the world and one of the most popular sightseeing in Kamchatka tours. This comes under the Kronotsky Nature Reserve and is included in the World Heritage Site. To visit the valley we have to take helicopters for our sightseeing because by any other means of transport it is difficult to reach.

There are also “INCREASED LOAD AND HEAVY LOAD TOURS” for trekkers, mountaineers, and Heli-Tours wherein the below-given places / regions the expeditors put their camps or tents.

1. Maly Semyachik Volcano
2. Karymsky Volcano
3. Karymskoye Lake
4. Base Nalychevo
5. River Shumnaya
6. River Pravaya Sedlovinskaya
7. Tolud Pass
8. Tolbachinskiy Pass
9. Pravy Tolbachik River
10. Base Plotina
11. River Suhaya Hapitsa
12. Base Apahonchich
13. Crater Mars
14. Rivulet Barany
15. Crater Perevalny
16. Volcanologists’ Pass
17. Crater Perevalny
18. Studienaya River
19. Ksudach Volcano
20. Khodutka Volcano
21. Asacha River
22. Gribnaya River
23. Bezymyanny Volcano
24. Voinovskye Hot Spring
25. Zhirovaya Bay
26. Zhirovaya Hot Springs
27. Apokhonchich Mt
28. Bogdanovich Glacier
29. Plotina Mt
30. Lunakhodchikov Base
31. Nikolskoye Settlement
32. Ushkovsky Volcano

Again there are such places that cannot be named & has no name. Those places where the trekker goes to the highest mountain area or extreme remote area and they need to put their camp for overnight. So in the case in an itinerary we would like to show overnight stay to those areas that cannot be named can be called:

• ‘Trek Of The Pass Camp’ or even simply ‘Camp” can be stated.

The only possibility to see the rare variety of the animal world in this part of the Pacific Ocean is to travel by “CRUISE OR EXPEDITIONARY BOATS”. So please find the following popular ones below.

1. Spirit of Enderby – It’s a Heritage Expeditions run 14 days expedition cruises from May to September every year. The capacity of this expedition ship onboard is 50 berths. It departs from Petropavlovsk and ends at Anadyr normally. The route of Spirit of Enderby follows the route of well-known discoverer Vitus Bering. During these 14 days tour, you will find the places that are so wild that you feel like a real adventure seeker. The journey crosses the Arctic Circle. Also, there is another expedition of 12 days famous as ‘Ring of Fire” where on every step of navigation through the territory one can find volcanoes. This also starts from Petropavlovsk and ends at Sakhalin. So there are different routes we find conducted by Spirit of Enderby for the expedition.

• Akademik Shokalskiy – It is a fully ice-strengthened expedition vessel for polar and oceanographic research. In Kamchatka tours, we find this cruise takes to the soul of the far east in 11 days. Starts from Petropavlovsk and ends at Magadan. During the cruise one can see several uninhabited Islands, rare ribbons seals, sea lions, northern fur seals, rare gray whales, bowhead whales, thousands of seabirds like tufted puffin, Steller’s Sea Eagle, and brown bear. The expedition will take you to the sea of Okhotsk.

• Athena – Athena is an expeditionary boat designed for voyages in the northern latitude. It takes you to the Commander Island. This Island is one of the most outlying and hardest places on the Earth to visit. Except for Nikolskoye village that can be called a settlement, all the rest of the Islands are still uninhabited. It takes you to the untouched wildlife of this severe area. There are lots of discoveries and adventures one can find. This 5-day expeditionary boat starts from Petropavlovsk and ends at Morzhovaya Bay and from there one can easily be transferred to Yelizovo airport for your onward journey.

• Kathleen Boat – There are many boats & cruises for day tours that start from Petropavlovsk and Kuril Islands. One of them is Kathleen’s boat for a sea trip in the water area of Avacha Guld to Kekurniy Cape.

So we can see most expeditions departs from Petropavlovsk that include the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Commander Islands, and further afield. I have given here few most popular Cruises that come under the destination Kamchatka. I have not included here more list that comes under the passage to Kamchatka and beyond. I am explaining all keeping Kamchatka as a destination. Hope the above details have brought more clarity on the places of Kamchatka that have not been described by anyone else before in such a simple and organized way.

Now we will move on to some other important facts and figures that require tourism experts and holiday people to know.

CLIMATE & SEASONS

The climate of Kamchatka is very moody, and it changes frequently. There are different climatic zones like alpine, coastal, geothermal Because of great extension from north to south, nearness to the ocean and cyclones, and local relief we find peculiarity in the climatic condition of this peninsula. We find Kamchatka that due to different climatic zones sometimes even just a few miles or minutes the climate changes. For example, Yelizovo is just 27 km far from Petropavlovsk has sunny days whereas in Petropavlovsk there is fog, rain, or snow at the same time. Again in Kuril Lake that is in the southern part, there are more snow, rain, and fog at the same period. And in Central Kamchatka’s Valley that is more, a continental climate finds less precipitation, hotter summers, and colder winters. Even in the summer season, the temperature falls significantly at night. So to summarize in one line about the climatic condition of the Kamchatka peninsula we can say that it is unpredictable.

As we define in tourism seasons of any destination into different categories i.e. Super Peak, Peak, Shoulder and Low season, let’s categorize Kamchatka tours’ season also.

Find the chart below that will help you to understand in a better way the climate of the Peninsula every month.

Months	Petropavlovsk- Kamchatsky	Kozirevsk near Klyuchevskoy group of Volcanoes	Esso Settlement
January	-9°C	-18°C	-16°C
February	-10°C	-18°C	-16°C
March	-6°C	-4°C	-4°C
April	-2°C	-4°C	-4°C
May	-3°C	-4°C	-4°C
June	+8°C	+14°C	+13°C
July	+12°C	+14°C	+13°C
August	+14°C	+14°C	+13°C
September	+10°C	0°C	-2°C
October	+4°C	0°C	-2°C
November	-2°C	0°C	-2°C
December	-6°C	-18°C	-16°C

HIGHLIGHTS:

High Season: June, July, August & September

In summer and autumn, the maximum temperature ranges from 15°C to 30°C so this period is considered the most popular among the tourists to arrive.

Shoulder Season: October & May

Low Season: November, December, January, February, March & April

The first snow shows on the top of volcanoes at the end of August and the beginning of September. And at the foothill at night the temperature can fall under zero.

So basically there are 4 months in a year when the Kamchatka tours comes under high-season. I will give you here month-wise the advantages and disadvantages to travel the peninsula in the high season.

June: Since June is the middle of the season & the end of Spring at this period we find fog, snow, and temperature between 8 to 10 C normally.

Advantages:

• We don’t find many tourists
• The availability of hotels is plenty
• There are no mosquitoes
• Chances to see the first flowers bloom including those listed in the Red book.
• Good time to fish on King Salmon
• Good tan on snow and
• There are chances that some tours can be made on snowmobiles because it is not cold during this month.
• The cost of the tour you might find cheaper due to cheap airfare and room rates.

Disadvantages:

• The condition of the road will be normally bad
• The weather will not be so much favourable due to fog, rain & wind and
• At the volcanoes’ slopes, you will find snow.

July: During this month the weather is comparatively stable and good chances for excursions like Salmon hatching, Helicopter tours to the Valley of Geysers and the Kuril Lake, and the lush greenery in the valley.

Advantages:

• Group tours departure every day during this month
• The weather is mostly pleasant
• Almost everyday chances of helicopter excursions to Kuril Lake and The Valley of Geysers (subject to weather conditions)
• You can climb Volcanoes
• A boat trip to Russian Bay and a very good chance to meet the killer whales.

Disadvantages:

• In the area of Tolbachik volcano and Esso settlement, you will find a lot of mosquitoes on the routes.
• On the routes, you will find lots of tourists.
• The cost of the tour will be high due to expensive air tickets and hotel rooms.

August: August is one of the super peak seasons & its summertime. So we find beautiful weather, starry nights, and bright blue sky. It always better to start the promotion of Kamchatka tours in December or January. Please note that all expedition tours are planned mostly before 8-9 months in advance.

Advantages:

• The weather is mostly good.
• You will find the possibility of a lot of excursions almost every day like helicopter tours to the Kuril Lake, Valley of Geysers, bear watching, fishing, killer whale watching, seabirds, and all the variety of Kamchatka nature.
• You can easily find group tours to any destination and join the group.
• Possibility to travel on all routes for climbing volcanoes, helicopter tours, fishing, floating, photography.

Disadvantages:

• During this period lots of mosquitoes
• The traffic is very high due to many tourists on the routes
• The accommodation cost will be high
• The airfare might be also high if not booked in advance

September: Autumn starts from September in Kamchatka and offers all the beauty and splendor of this region. In this month also like other months of the season, the tourists can take a tour of the Peninsula with any physical condition that may not harm the body.

Advantages:

• There will be less traffic comparing to July and August
• The weather mostly will be pleasant & beautiful with red leaves, clear sky, and good weather.
• Mostly all the excursion is possible and can see a lot of beautiful sights along the way
• You can also go snowboarding and skiing down the slopes of steep mountains
• Fishing, Rafting, Mountain climbing, Photography, Multi-day hiking tours deep into the Kamchatka is possible to get into the world of nature
• Surely you can be able to enjoy an active lifestyle
• There will be fewer mosquitoes particularly in the forest and near water absolutely no mosquitoes and other annoying insects.
• You can get the standard price for flights on Kamchatka.

Disadvantages:

• During this month sometimes the snows fall early on volcanoes
• At the end of September, we find it is cold in the mountain
• Everyday excursions or group tours are not available

Additional Season Tips:

• Furthermore in the regions, the brown bears nestle down their hibernation for six months from November to early March. So if you want to see the major species you can visit at these periods.
• It is a wonderful time for photography in Kamchatka in April, October, and early November because during this time you will find plenty of more colours and life than you can expect.
• If you want to see Polar Bears then you have to visit Wrangel Island in July and August.

GETTING AROUND THE PENINSULA

What are the types of transport that are used during the tour to the Peninsula? This is another important question we need to know. Find below the following means of transport are used by local tour operators getting around Kamchatka:

1. Cars and Jeeps
2. Snowmobiles and Snowcats
3. Buses And 6wd
4. Helicopters
5. Boats
6. Cruises
7. Dogsled

So depending as per your tour plan and the places of the visit there are Russian and Japanese jeeps, 6WD URAL and KAMAZ trucks which are well well-appointed with booths for travelers. Please note that 4WD vehicles are not capable of overcoming a majority of the dirt roads in the region especially if snow is involved.

Also, we find bus stations that give services to the routes around the region that are located in Yelizovo and Petropavlovsk.

In Esso settlement instead of a taxi, Dogs are used so it is called Dogsled.

EXCURSIONS AROUND THE PENINSULA

As a holiday expert one must be fully acquainted with the excursions of any destination. So here I am going to simply all the excursions of Kamchatka Peninsula in different types and categories. The categorization is very important in many ways like building tour plans (itineraries), selling the product etc. As we know Kamchatka offers excursions to Volcanoes, Lakes, Sea World etc. so find below a chart for your understanding.

VOLCANOES	LAKES	SEA WORLD	VALLEY OF GEYSERS	NATURE PARKS
Mutnovsky	Kuril Lake	Avacha Bay	Valley of Geysers	Nalychevo Nature Park
Gerely	Azhabachye	Khalakyrsky Beach		Southern Kamchatka Nature Park
Tolbachik	Kronotskoye Lake	Starchkov Island		Bystrinsky Nature Park
Vachkazhets		Russkaya Bay		Kluchevskoy Nature Park
Avachinsky				Blue Lakes Nature Park (Golubye Ozyora)
Klyucevskaya Sopka				Koryaksky Zapovednik
Viyuchinsky Volcano				Komandorsky Nature Reserve
				Kronotsky Nature Reserve

Mostly in Kamchatka all the group tours conducted by tour operators the number of people in a group varies from a minimum of 10 pax and maximum of 25 pax.  Many ground handlers conduct group tours and finding them is very easy. The FIT (Free individual tours) will be very expensive, so travellers always prefer to join a group tour. So as a holiday business owner it is always advisable to float a fixed departure group package for Kamchatka. The promotion should be started well in advance say 9 months to 12 months.

The day sightseeing can be conducted in three types:

1. By Vehicle and on foot (US$ 80 – US$ 100)
2. By Helicopter (US$ 900 – US$ 1200) and
3. By Boats and Cruises

The popular list of Excursions that can be done by Vehicle or on feet are:

• Variety of hot springs and waterfalls
• The slope of Avachinsky volcano
• The slope of Mutnovsky volcano
• Ethnic Itel’men village Pimchakh
• Blue Lakes
• Rise to Kozelsky volcano
• Rise to Gorely volcano
• Pacific coast

The popular list of Helicopter Excursion destinations is:

• Valley of the Geysers
• Kuril Lake (Kurilskoye Ozero)
• Mutnovsky volcano
• Avachinsky volcano
• The Nalichevo Valley
• Ksudach Volcano and Kurilskoye Lake
• Caldera of Uzon volcano
• Bear watching

It is always advisable to book helicopter tours in advance because of their popularity during the peak season. All the helicopter excursions are subject to weather conditions and sufficient passengers. Normally Mi-8 helicopters require a minimum of 20 seats to make excursions cost economical and viable. It is always suggested to keep one or two days as a reserve in your tour plan. 

The popular list of Boats & Cruise Excursions destinations is:

• The Russkaya Bay
• The Starichkov island
• The Bystraya river
• Crab safari in the Avachinskaya Bay.
• River fishing at Bolshaya, Bistraya (Malkinskaya), Plotnikova, Paratunka, Pinachevskaya, and Avacha.
• The Avacha Gulf to Kekurniy Cape (The Russian Bay)
• The Wrangel Island

TYPES OF SPECIAL INTEREST EXCURSIONS IN THE PENINSULA

Kamchatka is a land of special interest tours. We cannot say that there is the availability of any “Free & Easy” tours. We can categorize Kamchatka tours into three levels: Moderate, Increased Load, and Heavy Load. But still, we can make some theme-based special interest tour plans. Those can be as follows:

1. Dogsled tours
2. Volcano climbing
3. Acid lake Water Sports
4. Skiing
5. Heli-skiing
6. Salmon fishing
7. Big Game Hunting
8. Hiking

Few important interesting notes to remember under your excursions section.

• Kronotsky Nature Reserve & The Valley of Geysers are only accessible via helicopter
• Icha River for King Salmon fishing or rainbow trout fishing
• Bolshaya River for King Salmon and trout fishing
• Bastraya River for trout fishing
• Belogolovya River for Steelhead Salmon fishing
• Vakhil River for trout fishing
• Kolpakova River for trout fishing.
• Kolpakova River, Belogolovaya River, Bystraya River, and Vakhil River for camping and rafting. 
• Ganaly Range, the spectacular backcountry is for Ski touring
• From the end of May to the beginning of June is the best time for birds watching tours
• Wrangel Island is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a home to a large Polar Bear population. Pacific Walruses, Snowy owls, Arctic foxes, Musk Ox, Reindeer, and much more wildlife are abundant in Wrangel Island.
• The locals of Kamchatka consider themselves very separate from the rest of Russia and they are proud of their local culture. The Chukchi are very much the native people of Kamchatka and their inhabitant is further north in the Chukotka area. Several settlements were very much soaked in tradition. Still, they hunt traditionally and produce a lot of carvings. In order to experience those indigenous cultures, it is recommended to go for a wildlife cruise trip.

Though there are many more facts and figures we need to know and learn in order to know about the excursions of Kamchatka Peninsula, I have tried to shortlist the most popular ones that will help the tourism experts to build the tour plan in a customized way as per the requirement of the guests. Hope these excursions details will be helpful for all.

ACCOMMODATION AT KAMCHATKA TOURS

I am not going to give the list of hotels that can be recommended to stay during the trip because different tour operators of Kamchatka have their selection of hotels in cities. It is also strictly advised that as a B2C tour operator you should not book hotels or resorts directly online or offline and ask your B2B Kamchatka agent to handle the other part of the tour. If you are not in Russia especially not in Kamchatka you have to simply depend on your ground handler to take care of your tour. Please don’t try to be very smart otherwise anytime your business will be in deep trouble.

In cities, you will find hotels and resorts. It has to be kept in mind that the star level of Kamchatka hotels completely differs from other parts of Russia. The service level is lower compared to the other star categories of Russia, Europe, or the USA.

Even in developed towns and villages, you will find hotels on the peninsula. Also, cottages and huts are available.

Please note that all the hotels and resorts of the Paratunka region have open-air swimming pools with hot thermal water where people can swim throughout the year. So it is always preferred to stay in Paratunka comparing to Petropavlovsk.

There are also many hostels available in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky that are cheaper and if you are ready to share your room with other tourists. Apartments are also available, and one can look for them with the local tour operator instead of booking online or offline.

In remote areas or regions with different types of Backpacking Tents, camping is the only option for a night stay. For example VauDe Campo, Galazy III etc. backpacking tents you will find for a night stay. But one has a good tent and prefers to use his own then he should take his own. Even for groups in camps, a big Russian Kitchen Tent up to 20 pax capacity is used.

BASIC IDEA OF ITINERARY BUILDING AND ROUTINGS

The categorization is very important in many ways like building tour plans (itineraries), selling the product etc. As we know Kamchatka offers excursions to Volcanoes, Lakes, Sea World etc. so find below a chart for your understanding.

So I will try to explain here categorizing few tour plans concerning routing so that it can be easy for any tourism experts to understand the tour plans as well as to build the trip cards of own.

But before I start describing the routing I would like to define the different levels of tours that are conducted in the Peninsula.

Moderate Level: Suppose Level A if we consider those tours that are “Free & Easy” then moderate tours can be said Level B. Moderate tours are for those who can confidently climb a non-steep mountain even at a slow pace. In one daylight on average, 6 hours to 12 hours of climbing or walking is required on a moderate level of tours.

Increased Load: Level C can be considered as Increased load tour types. You must need a certain level of physical training of a non-specific nature, the physical shape must be good, and stamina is important on increased load tours. You don’t need any specific skills at this level. On a day, the walk will be 6-8 hours with an ascent and descent of about 1 km. Sometimes you should be ready to go great heights. There might be days for rest without crossings during the trek.

Heavy Load: We can categorize it as Level D and travel experience is a must require in this category. At this level imply long transitions and sometimes with ascents to high altitudes up to 4000 m, linked with changeable, cold weather etc. There are days of rest, but the tracks are long 8-9 hours in a day.

MOST POPULAR TOURS

3 things are important to know the most popular tours of any destination i.e. the places covered, the duration of a package, and the daily activities picked up in the itinerary.

As I mentioned that if you would like to sell Kamchatka Tours, in the first year you must stick to some 6-8 fixed tour plans of the most popular ones. Keeping your guests in Petropavlovsk – Kamchatka you can build different durations of tour plans. Furthermore, please be noted that the way we can define any tour as conventional, semi-conventional, or unconventional, the same way we can categorize the day sightseeing trip cards into the 3 categories. So in your most popular tour with different duration, it is always suggested to build an itinerary with day sightseeing of conventional trip cards. Also according to the season, your itinerary should differ. The summer tour plans will be different from winder tour plans. You see guys, what I am guiding you all here, you will not find in any books or anywhere even you spend thousands of dollars. So please try to understand nicely the basics of building any destination that will help you in your tourism business or your tourism career.

The minimum duration of most popular Kamchatka tours should not be less than 5 nights and should not be more than 9 nights if in the itinerary the night stay is only in Petropavlovsk.

• Petropavlovsk – Kamchatsky (05N)
• Petropavlovsk – Kamchatsky (06N)
• Petropavlovsk – Kamchatsky (07N)
• Petropavlovsk – Kamchatsky (08N)
• Petropavlovsk – Kamchatsky (09N)

So there are 5 different durations of tour plans that can be made for the most popular tour. Again these 5 different durations can be summer and winter tours. So at least 10 different tour plans you can easily promote in your initial year of Kamchatka promotion and sales.

Once in the first year you have created awareness of the destination in your market, completed your proper promotion and marketing, and managed to send some groups to the destination then you can include the below given suggested tour plans in your second year of business. All these also can come under the most popular category. I am just giving here the few routings suggestion. There could be many routings that are not possible to cover here. Also, it is not possible for me here to give you the complete tour plans of each one. And I hope you can understand. This article is only for your basic reference of Kamchatka as a tourism destination.  

• Petropavlovsk (01N) / Gorely (01N) / Petropavlovsk (02N)
• Avachinsky (1N) / Pauzhetka (1N) /  Kuril Lake (2N) / Paratunka (1N)
• Petropavlovsk (3N) / Ganaly (1N) / Petropavlovsk (2N)
• Petropavlovsk (01N) / Milkovo (01N) / Dvukhyurtochnoye Lake (02N) / Kozyrevsk Village (03N) / Petropavlovsk (02N)
• Petropavlovsk (01N) / Mutnovsky Volcano (02N) / Petropavlovsk (04N) / Bystraya River (02N) / Petropavlovsk (01N)
• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Tolbachik Volcano Area (3N) / Bystraya River (3N) / Petropavlovsk (1N) / Gorely Volcano (2N) / Petropavlovsk (1N)
• Petropavlovsk (3N) / Tolbachik Volcano Area (3N) / Esso Settlement (1N) / Milkovo Village (2N) / Petropavlovsk (2N)
• Petropavlovsk (2N) / Mutnovsky Volcano (3N) / Esso Settlement (5N) / Petropavlovsk (3N)

Important Note:

1. All the tour plans should be Moderate Level in your most popular category. Never include any such day trip cards that need an increased level of fitness.
2. While building any tour plan of Kamchatka it is always recommended to keep one day as leisure or free because of the unpredictable weather condition or for some optional tours.

SPECIAL INTEREST TOURS (MODERATE LEVEL):

You can also promote in your second-year special interest tours. I am giving here a few examples of routing of such special interest tours that can bring more clarity to you.

Fishing & Rafting Tours:

• River Bolshaya (4N) / Paratunka (2N)
• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Bystraya River (2N) / Paratunka (1n) / Gorely (2N) / Petropavlovsk (1N) / Avachinsky (2N) / Petropavlovsk (1N)

Geologists And Volcanologist Tour:

• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Koryaksky Settlement (1N) / Petropavlovsk (2N)  / Osvystannaya Valley (2N) / Paratunka (1N) / Petropavlovsk (1N)

River Floating Tours:

• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Milkovo (1N) / Dolinovka Settlement (3N) / Atlasovo Settlement (1N) / Esso Settlement (1N) / Petropavlovsk (1N)
• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Paratunka (1N) / Bystraya River (3N) / Avacha Volcano (2N) / Petropavlovsk (1N)

Photography Tours:

• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Milkovo (1N) / Dvukhyurtochnoye (Kuril) (4N) / Esso (1N) / Petropavlovsk (2N)
• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Pauzhetka (1N) / Kronotsky (3N) / Pauzhetka (1N) / Petropavlovsk (1N) / Cruise (3N) / Petropavlovsk (1N)

Skiing Tours:

• Ganaly (6N) / Petropavlovsk (1N)

Cruises Tours:

Athena  – Expeditionary Boat: 

• Petropavlovsk (1N) / On Board (5N) / Petropavlovsk (1N)

On board 5 nights it covers Navigation (1N) / The Olga Bay (1N) / Nikolskoye Village (1N) / Medny Island (1N) / Kronotsky Gulf (1N)

Spirit Of Enderby: (Covering the Ring of Fire route)

• Navigation (2N) / Commander Islands (1N) / Nikolskoye Village (1N) / Zhupanova River (1N) / Mutnovsky (1N) / Atlasova Island (1N) / Toporkov Island (1N) / Yankicha Island (1N) / Kuril Lake (2N) / Kunashir Island (1N)

 Spirit Of Enderby: (Covering the route of Vitus Bering)

• Navigation (1N) / Zhupanova River (1N) / Commander Islands (1N) / Nikolskoye (1N) / Karaginskiy (1N) / Koryaksky (1N) / Titina (1N) / Chukotka Coast (1N) / Unknown Island (1N) / Navigation (1N) / Chukotka Village (1N) / Kolyuchin Island (1N) / Cape Navarin (1N)

Akademik Shokalskiy: (Routing to the Sea of Okhotsk)

• Petropavlovsk (1N) / On Board (11N) / Magadan (1N)

On board 11 nights it covers Navigation (1N) / Tyuleniy Island (1N) / Sakhalin Island (1N) / Iony Island (1N) / Shantar Archipelago (2N) / Fiodorovsky Bay (1N) / Okhotsk (1N) / Talan Island (1N) / Magadanskiy (1N) / Yamskiye Islands (1N)

SEMI-UNCONVENTIONAL TOURS (MODERATE LEVEL): Few suggested semi-unconventional tours routing could be:

For Tolbachik Volcano:

• Petropavlovsk (01N) / Koyrevsk Village (03N) / Petropavlovsk (01N)
• Paratunka (1N) / Koyrevsk (1N) /  Dead Forest (2N) / Koyrevsk (1N) / Petropavlovsk (1N)

For Volcanoes Mutnovsky, Gorely, And Avachinsky Exploration:

• Paratunka (1N) / Gorely (2N) /  Petropavlovsky (1N) / Avachinsky (2N) / Petropavlovsky (1N)

The Seven Wonders Of Russia: This is a multi-destination tour. The 7 winning leaders have announced: the Valley of Geysers on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Lake Baikal in the south of Siberia, Man-Pupu-Nyor (or Manpupuner) in the Ural Mountains, the Peterhof Palace in Saint-Petersburg, Saint Basil’s Cathedral on the Red Square in Moscow, the Motherland Calls in Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, Mount Elbrus in the northern Caucasus mountains are the Seven Wonders of Russia.

• Petropavlovsk (3N) / Irkutsk (1N) / Olkhon Island (3N) / Irkutsk (1N) / Perm (3N) / St. Petersburg (2N) / Moscow (2N) / Pyatigorsk (1N) / Cheguet (1N) / Train (1N) / Volgograd (2N)

UNCONVENTIONAL TOURS (MODERATE LEVEL): Find few unconventional moderate levels of tour routing below.

Valley Of Geysers And Uzon Caldera:

• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Rivulet Glukhoy (2N) /  Valley Of Geysers (1N)

Steller Sea Eagles And The Nomadic Reindeer:

• Petropavlovsk (3N) / Sea Of Okhotsk (West Coast) (2N) / Esso Settlement (3N) / Petropavlovsk (2N)

The Highest Active Volcanoes Of Eurasia:

• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Koyrevsk Village (1N) / Dead Forest (2N) / Koyrevsk Village (1N) / Sopka Kopyto (2N) / Esso (2N) / Nachiki (1N) / Avachinsky (2N) / Petropavlovsk (2N)

Kurilskoye Lake And Western Kamchatka:

• Petropavlovsk (01N) / Pauzhetka (3N) / Apachinskiye Hot Springs (1N) / Mutnovsky Volcano (3N) / Paratunka (1N) / Avachinskiy (2N) /  Petropavlovsk (03N)

Bears, Red Salmons & Volcanic Cones:

• Ust’-Bol’sheretsk (1N) / Pauzhetka (1N) / Kuril Lake (2N) / Paratunka (1N) / Gorely (2N) / Petropavlovsk (1N) / Avachinsky (2N) / Petropavlovsk (1N) / Kozyrevsk (1N) / Dead Forest (2N) / Kozyrevsk (1N) / Petropavlovsk (1N)
• Petropavlovsk (01N) / Mutnovsky Volcano (2N) / Petropavlovsk Or Paratunka (02N) / Klyuchevsky Volcanoes (03N) / Milkovo Village (01N) / Petropavlovsk (01N)

TREKKING, MOUNTAIN CLIMBING, AND SKIING ROUTINGS (INCREASED LOAD) FEW OF THEM:

• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Maly Semyachik Volcano (1N)  / Karymsky Volcano (3N) / Karymskoye Lake (2N) / Base Nalychevo (1N) / River Shumnaya (1N) / River Pravaya Sedlovinskaya (1N) / Avachinsky Volcano (2N) / Paratunka (1N) / Mutnovsky Volcano (1N)
• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Kozyrevsk Settlement (1N) / Dead Forest (3N) / Tolud Pass (1N) / Tolbachinskiy Pass (1N) / Base Plotina (2N) / River Suhaya Hapitsa (1N) / Base Apahonchich  (1N) / Kozyrevsk Settlement (1N) / Paratunka (1N) / Gorely Volcano (2N) / Avachinsky Volcano (2N) / Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (1N)
• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Kozyrevsk Settlement (1N) / Dead Forest (3N) / Base Tolud (1N) / Pravy Tolbachik River (1N) / Crater Mars (2N) / Rivulet Barany (1N) / Kozyrevsk Settlement (1N) / Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (1N) / Avachinsky Volcano (2N) / Paratunka (1N) / Mutnovsky Volcano (1N)
• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Kozyrevsk Settlement (1N) / Crater Perevalny (1N) / Volcanologists’ Pass (3N) / Crater Perevalny (1N) / Camp (1N) / Studienaya River (1N) / Kozyrevsk Settlemen (1N) / Paratunka (1N)
• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Gorely (1N) / Mutnovsky Volcano (1N) / Apacha Hot Springs (1N) / Pauzhetka (2N) / Kuril Lake (2N) / Auzhetka (1N) / Apacha Hot Springs (1N) / Paratunka (3N)
• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Ksudach Volcano (2N) / Khodutka Volcano (4N) / Asacha River (2N) / Gribnaya River (1N) / Gorely Volcano (2N) / Mutnovsky Volcano (2N) / Gorely Volcano (2N) / Paratunka (1N) / Petropavlovsk (1N)
• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Milkovo (1N) / Tolbachik Volcano (3N) / Bezymyanny Volcano (4N) / Studenaya River (1N) / Kopyto Hill (1N) / Esso (1N) / Petropavlovsk (1N)
• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Mutnovsky Volcano (2N) / Voinovskye Hot Spring (2N) / Zhirovaya Bay (2N) / Zhirovaya Hot Springs (1N) / Viluchinskye Hot Springs  (2N) / Avacha Volcano Plateau (2nN) /  Paratunka (1N)
• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Milkovo Settlement (1N) / Apokhonchich Mt. (1N) / Trek Of The Pass Camp (3N) / Kluchevskoy Volcano (2N) / Bogdanovich Glacier (1N) / Plotina Mt (1N) / Tolud (1N) / Lunakhodchikov Base (2N) / Plosky Tolbachik (1N) / Petropavlovsk (1N)
• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Nikolskoye Settlement (5N) / Petropavlovsk (3N)
• Petropavlovsk (1N) / Avachinsky Volcano (1N) / Petropavlovsk (1N) / Esso (2N) / Krestovsky Volcano (2N) / The Pass (1N) / Kluchevskoy Volcano (3N) / Ushkovsky Volcano (1N) / Kopyto Mt. (2N) / Petropavlovsk (1N)

Note:

1. In any of these tours either it is trekking, mountain climbing, skiing where necessary buses or 6WD are used and it has to be clearly mentioned in your trip cards if you would like to build a sensible tour plan as a tourism professional.

• All the tours depend on weather conditions and other external factors so anytime there might be a change in the tour plan. Also, group tours are conducted subject to the overall fitness level of the group.

I believe you must have now the idea of building as well as understanding the Kamchatka itineraries and tour plan. Tourism is like an ocean so in one article it is impossible to cover everything.

KAMCHATKA TRAVEL ADVICE

Now I will cover some important general topics that need to be known one who is selling Kamchatka tour and the one who wants to visit the peninsula.

LIST OF NECESSARY THINGS TO CARRY: When you are planning to travel to Kamchatka you should consider your necessary equipment. Find below in general the list of that equipment that varies as per your itinerary.

SUMMER SEASON:

1. A small backpack for trekking and ascending (in the UK it is a “Rucksack”) (for personal things)
2. Mittens or gloves for trekking and ascending
3. A set of warm clothes (sweater, warm trousers, socks, hat, gloves)
4. Sleeping bag and mat
5. Strong boots and special trekking shoes (not trainers)
6. Head protection from the sun
7. Sunglasses
8. A flask or a plastic bottle for drinking water during trekking and ascending
9. Sun cream with UV protection
10. Insect repellent / spray
11. The second set of underwear and necessary things (for a two-day trip to the Avachinskiy volcano)
12. Trekking sticks
13. Water and windproof clothes
14. Sports trousers
15. A cap and a warm hat
16. Chapstick
17. Towel
18. Bathing suit
19. Photo and video equipment
20. Accessories for personal hygiene
21. Other things – at your choice

WINTER SEASON:

1. Warm underwear
2. Warm waterproof trousers
3. Waterproof / windproof jacket
4. Sweater
5. Gloves or mittens
6. Scarf
7. Hat
8. Sunglasses (skiing mask)
9. Sun cream
10. Chapstick
11. Towel
12. Bathing suit
13. Photo and video equipment
14. Accessories for personal hygiene
15. Other things of your choice

SUGGESTED PERSONAL GEAR FOR SKI TOURS

1. Ski touring equipment
2. Backpack for personal gear
3. Hooded wind/rain jacket
4. Set of warm clothing (sweater or fleece jacket, pants, socks, hat, gloves);
5. Sunglasses
6. Personal hygiene accessories
7. Towel
8. Swimming gear (togs/shorts/swimsuit)
9. Sunblock Sunburn cream/spray
10. Photo-video equipment

VISA FORMALITIES

To visit Kamchatka tourists need a ‘Russian Tourists visa” if you are not Russian. The maximum validity of a tourist visa is 30 days, and it can be either a single entry or double-entry tourist visa issued by the Russian Federation of Embassy or Consulate. Also, USA citizens may apply for a tourist visa for up to 3 years of multi-entry entry visas. A six-month valid passport is mandatory from the date of departing from Russia. The extension of visa is only possible in case of emergency for few days.

When the guests confirm the booking, the ground handler or tour operator will send an invitation with the application & other necessary documents for the visa to the nearest Russian Consulate or Embassy of the guest. It will take 6-8 weeks to receive the invitation provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Petropavlovsk. The guest needs to complete and signed the application form, with photographs, passport, and other documents to the nearest Russian Consulate or Embassy to apply for the visa. The guest or tour operator can also hire a visa services specialist in their respective country to get the visa on his or her behalf. 

Please be noted that as a tour operator or tourism expert you must get the invitation, guests’ date of travel, and the itinerary from your ground handler. So after booking confirmation you must ask for the tour voucher that will be issued by the ground handler. All these details you need to submit while applying for your guest’s tourist visa. The tour voucher will contain all the details like overnight stay, tour plan, hotels booked etc. You must be very CAREFUL in providing all the documents and detail while applying for a Russian visa for your guest.

FSB & BORDER GUARDS PERMISSION: Kamchatka is still an important military zone. So one cannot roam around anywhere as they can. There are many such areas where FSB & Border guards’ permission is required. These permissions will be taken care of by your ground handler who will conduct the entire tour as per the itinerary. So based on the itinerary the Kamchatka or Russian tour operator will take get these permissions to enter into the protected area.

The updated visa formalities, FSB and Border Guards permission it is always suggested to get it from your Kamchatka or Russian tour operator who will be conducting the tour and from whom you have confirmed the package.

FOODS & BEVERAGES

Russian food is as assorted as it is tasty. For delicious northern treats, many tourists go to Kamchatka to home laden down for their favourite foods. In the peninsula Seafood is plenty, fresh and exotic.

• Giant King Crab: It is also called giant Kamchatka crab that is delicious, and the price is 20 times lesser than anywhere else.

• Salmon Ukha (Poacher’s Broth): A hearty Salmon Ukha made from fresh fish with Cinnamon, cloves & pepper, simmered over an open fire.

• Pelmeni: A traditional Russian cuisine, a type of cappelletti is delicious meat-filled dumplings. This can be your delicious main course for lunch or dinner. They can be served drenched in butter or Siberian style i.e. sprinkled with vinegar and spiced with freshly ground pepper.

• Pirozhky (Pirozhki, Pirohi, Pirogui): Different sizes of tasty baked or fired cigar-shaped pies filled with meat, fish, vegetables, or berries also can be another choice both for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. These are sole at roadside stalls and cafes.

• Beef Stroganoff: The name of this comes from Russian Count Grigory Stroganoff who was one of the richest noblemen and held the highest diplomatic posts. These are finely chopped beef in a creamy sauce as a delicious dish. This is served with fern salad as a side dish.

• Borsch (Borscht): Traditionally prepared from beets and cabbage, the nourishing red soup and served with a dollop of sour cream is a most famous first course. There can be 40 types of hot and cold Borsch depending on the vegetables and or meat in them. You can soak up the soup with chunks of fresh sourdough bread, or tiny garlic buns or bread of Italian cuisine. It can be served as a one-course meal. This is both for vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

• Pickled Mushrooms: A symbol of the Russian countryside and a northern delight. A Podgzhybek mushroom is the “birch tree mushroom” that is found in near-ubiquitous birch trees. One can take a jar back home also.

Also, there are plenty of reasonable Ikra or Krasnaya Ikra (Red Caviar) and Blini (small pancakes filled with caviar, fish, melted butter or sour cream), Aladi (crumpets with the same filling and jam) you will find.

Brown berries, Cow berries, local Arctic Blueberries, and Honeysuckle berries one can also try.

In the seafood markets in Petropavlovsk, you can get a huge variety of Salmon Roe. In the PKC’s central market if you walk around you will get plenty of food stalls with pickled Korean salads, an endless variety of Russian cheese, loaves of bread, cream cakes, and meat. A Rynok, or open market, is full of local produce and general supplies, including office supplies and clothing.

Ask for ‘still’ water’ or ‘Byez Gaza” if you don’t like bottled water ‘wish gas’ that are available.

HEALTH & SAFETY

Kamchatka is generally very safe. During your trip, you must focus & listen to your guide at all the time that will reduce all the threats like active volcanoes and hungry bears that are the biggest threats. The most dangerous animal on earth is Polar Bears so just listen to your guide and never stroll off alone. Simply you will be safe if your respect the wildlife. It is also warned that not to approach any wildlife like Walrus and Musk Ox without the instruction of your guide.

There is a mandatory attendance drill for the cruise passengers and a lifeboat drill that is held normally 24 hours before embarkation on each voyage so listen to it carefully and remember the instructions.

Fit to Travel: To visit Kamchatka it is always advisable to get yourself ‘fit to travel’.  It is highly recommended to get a reasonable shape to get the most out of your Kamchatka tours. For example, boat trips have steep stairs and boarding zodiacs down a steep gangway is physically challenging. Also, other activities like Kayaking and Trekking across the uneven volcanic landscape demands fitter physically. So you need to prepare your body before you go on the Kamchatka trip. For expeditions normally “Fit to Travel’ Certification from the doctor is required within 3 months of travel which outlines any pre-existing medical conditions.

Vaccinations: The guest has to contact 8 weeks before the start of the trip with his General Practitioner to check any vaccinations other preventive measures are required or not. If required, it has to be done.

Travel Insurance: Nowadays travel insurance has become mandatory for mostly all outbound tours. So in Russia also travel insurance is mandatory. If you are cruising, you will be stopped from embarkation if you have no proof of insurance.

• If Cruising full Medical Evacuation / Repatriation Insurance mandatory
• Hospitalization or medical insurance that covers sufficient insured amount is mandatory
• One needs to double-check the travel insurance that covers all activities that the guests may partake like landing, cruising, charter flights, hiking, kayaking are covered with the travel insurance.
• If you are pregnant your travel insurance must cover pregnancy-related complications arising from adventure-based activities.
• One should also include baggage loss, cancellation, curtailment of the holiday, accident, and repatriation / emergency evacuation cover.
• Also, the insurance cover should be from a reputed travel insurance company worth at least US$ 100,000 to US$ 2,50,000 depending on the type of trip you are going for.
• Your tour operator is the best person to guide you regarding comprehensive travel insurance requirements travelling to Kamchatka.

Pre-Boarding Questionnaire: Generally the expedition will be requiring completing two questionnaires. 72 hours before departing and another before boarding. Those travelling from/through known high-risk COVID-19 affected areas or with acute illness will be denied boarding.

Temperature Checks: In expedition cruises, thermal infra-red scanners are used normally to check temperatures for all expeditions and crew before boarding and during the voyage.

Influenza Testing: It is always suggested to get influenza testing done before you start your trip to Kamchatka.

Cold conditions: If you are travelling in winter or a cold condition, the guest must dress in comfortable, loose layers. It is always better to wear layers of relatively light, loose clothing rather than thick and heavy items. Between each layer, there could be a film of trapped air and when heated by your body it will act as an excellent insulator and keeps you from overheating.

During Dogsledding and Winter Snowmobiles the guest will experience severe cold at night usually around -20C. It is necessary to bring the correct equipment. I have already given above all the necessary list of equipment required in winter tours, but you must get the list of that equipment from your ground handler with whom you have confirmed the tour.

Other Remedies: The guest should look into other remedies before the departure like patches, wristbands, tablets, and good old ginger.

Seasickness: There are possibilities of seasickness if you are spending several days at sea.

The ground handler i.e. local tour operator is the best to provide the detailed trip notes and packing lists so always have trust in him.

FEW MORE PRECAUTIONS

• During mountain, hiking makes sure to pack appropriate clothing as the weather changes fast and the temperature can quickly fall. Always warm clothing is recommended and sunglasses and sun cream that is always required when the skies are clear.
• Never try to walk off the paths to the scree and snow slopes.
• Sometimes the bears wander into the city so beware of that. Don’t leave food out because bears have an acute sense of smell. If they find human food, they will return to the place again and again.
• Making noise and talking is advisable while trekking. Bears will avoid unusual and mostly loud sounds.
• Poisonous plants are hardly found in Kamchatka but still, they exist.

OTHER TRAVEL INFORMATION

• A tailor-made Kamchatka trip such as families, clubs, societies, and companies for a FIT or group can be organized by many tour operators of Kamchatka. Maybe all the tour operators don’t entertain customized tours but many of them are experts to provide the service. So you need to find it out.

• Mostly for every tour of Kamchatka is accompanied by a guide. Depending on cases and tour plans there might be two or more guides in addition to local experts who often add further awareness and knowledge.

• No tour operator of Kamchatka is going to guarantee wildlife sightseeing because no one has control over either the weather or the wildlife.

• From the age of 20s to 60s depending on the fitness level we find tourists visit Kamchatka. Some of those who are teens and those are in the 70s and 80s also visit the peninsula. Still, some of the tours are not suitable for children so it is always suggested to accompany children who are above 16 years of age.

• If suppose a guest would like to travel alone then he or she can share a room of the same gender and join the group with another traveller that will be economical also.

• The itineraries are always flexible due to unpredictable weather conditions but normally the ground handler always tries to keep the tour plans as closely as possible.

• Petropavlovsk and Kamchatka are generally safe tourist destinations. All the hotels’ entrances are secured. It is also safe to walk around the town at any time. The locals are normally friendly, and they are helpful also. But still nowhere in the world can be said safe until and unless we use our common sense and avoid obvious danger.

• Most the majority of the group tours, it is carried with a satellite telephone. With this telephone, the guide keeps regular in touch with the tour operator office and its supervisor and also the clients can make and receive calls from all points of the globe.

SUGGESTED FEW KAMCHATKA TOUR OPERATORS

There are many tour operators in Petropavlovsk and even in Moscow acting as a B2B agent for Kamchatka tours. In today’s business world no one gives any reference until and unless any consideration is not involved. But I am giving here the reference without any business consideration and only for the betterment of the tourism world. It is always advised to work out your tie-up with proper communication and negotiation to start a business with your own Kamchatka ground handler. I am here below giving just a few names as a reference and you can get in touch with them also but the final decision to tie up and to do business will be yours only.

1. KAMCHATKALAND

683003, Russia, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Ulitsa Leningradskaya, d 100, office 406/3

Tel: +79112405175

197342, Russia, Saint-Petersburg, Torzhkovskaya Ulitsa, 5, 313

Tel: +79112405175

Email: hello@kamchatkaland.com

• THE LOST WORLD

Stellera 13A Str.,

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky,

683032, Russian Federation.

Phone/Fax: +7 (4152) 306009

Phone (24×7): +7 9622810177 (GMT+12:00)

E-mails: lostworld@mail.iks.ru & lostworldtours@gmail.com

• RED RIVERS TRAVEL

Address: 14 Vysotnaya St., Office 3,

(2nd floor) Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka, Russian Federation

Tel: +7(4152) 30-60-30 / + 7 (914) 990-26-15

Tel/WhatsApp / Telegram: + 7 (914) 997- 5518

• EXPLORE KAMCHATKA

41 Bolshakova Street

Yelizovo, Kamchatka, Russia 684007

Box 2378, Homer, Alaska 99603

Alaska Business License Number 284949

From within Russia: Mobile 8 984 163 9868

Mobile +7 984 163 9868 from abroad

Email: explorekam@gmail.com

• KAMCHATKAINTOUR

683003, Russia, Kamchatsky region, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Leningradskaya street 61,

4th floor “Avacha” hotel

Tel: 8 (4152) 42 72 10

Fax: 8 (4152) 42 70 71

Email: tour.info@kamchatintour.ru

• VOLCANOESLAND

SEVERO-VOSTOCHNY OFFICE

BRANCH №8556, KAMCHATSKOE

№ 40702978236171000093

TEL: +7 (914) 027 11 12

EMAIL: mail@volcanoesland.com

There is one Indian company who has started Russian holidays i.e. Trip Factory and has an office in Russia. So if you are an Indian agent and would like to introduce ‘Kamchatka” then you can get in touch with them also.

India Office:

• ORN TRPFACTORY PRIVATE LIMITED

WeWok, 10th floor, RMZ Latitude Commercial Building, Hebbal

Bangalore – 560024

Phone: 080 4710 4741

Email: care@tripfactory.com

Russia office:

123242, РОССИЯ, г. Москва, ул. Большая Грузинская, д. 12с2 офис 108

Email: ru.support@tripfactory.com

Tel: +7 (495) 127 7551

Website: https://ru.tripfactory.com

I believe this article will help our tourism professionals to learn about Kamchatka as a holiday destination in a much easier and more organized way. I will be glad to receive further suggestions, feedbacks so that I can try to deliver in a better way in my future blogs.

My next article on the future destination will be “Learn How to Successfully Sell Greece Tours” so STAY TUNED….

• If you would like to be in the community of Future World’s Largest “Core Tourism Professionals”
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Compiled By

Asad Siddiqui

(Founder @ Niche Tourism Academy)

connect@nichetourismacademy.com, nichetourismacademy@gmail.com

www.asadsid.com & www.nichetourismacademy.com