Itinerary for: Cossack Explorer 2010 (SCOS)
- Copenhagen
- Stockholm
- Helsinki
- St. Petersburg
- Novgorod
- Moscow
- Minsk
- Warsaw
- Berlin
Day 1:
Welcome to Copenhagen, capital of Denmark. After check-in, time to relax and unwind.
Hotel: Scandic Hvidovre
Day 2:
We will see the Little Mermaid, the Renaissance Stock Exchange, the Royal Amalienborg Palace and Christiansborg Palace on our morning sightseeing tour. The rest of the day is free to explore the city. (Scandinavian breakfast)
Day 3:
First we cross the Oresund into Sweden. Then we continue our journey travelling north through lush forests and meadows to the resort of Granna at the head of Lake Vattern. Then northwards to beautiful island-ringed Stockholm, Sweden’s capital. (Scandinavian breakfast)
Hotel: Scandic Kungens Kurva
Day 4:
This morning’s sightseeing tour with a local guide shows us the Royal Palace and City Hall. Stockholm is constructed on a maze of islands and criss-crossed by many bridges, so it is a pleasant city to wander through, which you can do before we board the ship for our mini-cruise to Finland. (Scandinavian breakfast / Dinner)
Day 5:
An early arrival in Finland’s capital allows us time for a guided tour showing us Finlandia Hall, the Senate and market squares, broad boulevards and the domed Russian church. Then free time to shop and sightsee further before checking in to our hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure. (Continental breakfast)
Hotel: Sokos Tapiola Garden
Day 6:
Today we drive to the border with Russia, passing the timber centre of Kotka and on through the town of Vyborg. Then we continue across the forests of Karelia to St. Petersburg for our two-night stay. Enjoy complimentary champagne with dinner tonight! (Scandinavian breakfast / Dinner)
Hotel: Pulkovskaya
Day 7:
Featured on our sightseeing tour this morning are the Tsar’s Winter Palace, Nevsky Prospekt,
St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the Statue of Peter the Great and a visit of the St. Peter and Paul Fortress. The remainder of the day is at leisure. You may wish to visit the Hermitage Museum or maybe visit the residence of Peter the Great in Petrodvorets? (Buffet breakfast)
Day 8:
Today we cross the vast Russian plains to reach the ancient city of Novgorod. Here on arrival we see the Kremlin Fort, the Millennium Monument and St. Sophia Cathedral. Dinner is in our hotel tonight. (Buffet breakfast / Dinner)
Hotel: Beresta Palace
Day 9:
This morning we drive through picturesque villages to the Tver region where we have an included lunch. Then we continue via Klin, once the home of the composer Tchaikovsky, to the Russian capital city, Moscow. (Buffet breakfast / Lunch)
Hotel: Ismailova Alfa
Day 10:
Our sightseeing tour features many highlights such as Red Square, the Kremlin Walls and the domed St. Basil’s Cathedral. During your stay, why not visit the impressive Treasure Chamber of the Tsars? (Buffet breakfast)
Day 11:
An early departure takes us past Borodino, site of Napoleon’s great defeat. We stop for lunch near Smolensk before we cross the border and enter the independent state of Belarus and continue to Minsk, rebuilt in supreme Soviet style after the Second World War. Here an orientation takes us along wide avenues and past gargantuan concrete buildings – a legacy of the city’s Soviet past. Tonight we enjoy a dinner of traditional cuisine at our hotel. (Buffet breakfast / Lunch / Dinner)
Hotel: Orbita
Day 12:
Today’s drive takes us via the vast plains of White Russia and the Pripet Marches to the Polish frontier at Brest Litovsk where we stop for lunch. From here we cross the River Vistula before arriving in Warsaw, capital of Poland. (Buffet breakfast / Lunch / Dinner)
Hotel: Jan III Sobieski
Day 13:
Our morning sightseeing features the old town, reconstructed after wartime destruction and the site of the Warsaw Ghetto. This evening after dinner, why not listen to a Chopin piano recital? (Buffet breakfast)
Day 14:
Today we travel across the central plains of Poland to Poznan, with its charming City Hall and Gothic churches. Then we continue to the border town of Frankfurt-an-der-Oder and into Germany, where we soon arrive in Berlin. (Buffet breakfast)
Hotel: Best Western Spittelmarkt
Day 15:
Our morning sightseeing features highlights of a united Berlin including the Reichstag Building, Tiergarten, the Brandenburg Gate, Unter den Linden Boulevard and the German State Opera House. Later there’s time at leisure to perhaps join an optional excursion exploring Berlin’s secret past? (Buffet breakfast / Dinner)
Day 16:
This morning it is time to bid farewell to our Tour Director and new-found friends as our memorable tour together comes to an end. There are transfers available to Berlin Tegel Airport, conditions apply. (Buffet breakfast)
Day 17:
Visas may be required for this tour. Please speak with your travel agent at at time of booking to assess your specific requirements.