FARTHER OUT

If you have time it may be well worth your while to take a cruise up the Neva to Lake Ladoga and beyond. Cruises operate from around mid-May until October and are the best way to reach beautiful Kizhi and Valaam. Cruises also go to and from Moscow during the warm months and are an excellent way to see wild Russian countryside and small villages that haven't changed too much in the last few centuries as well as heaps of churches and icons.