Classic Kamchatka Russia Group Tour

Arrive in Petropavlovsk. Transfer to your hotel and check in for an overnight stay. In the evening, your group guide will discuss the trip over dinner. (D)

Enjoy a boat cruise on Avachinskaya Bay (5-6 hours), observing nesting places of sea birds at Babushkin Kamen (Grandmother's Rock) Island and Starichkov Island in the open Pacific Ocean. There is also the chance to see sea mammals including whales, dolphins and seals. Evening ride by all-terrain bus to the foot of Mutnovsky Volcano, considered the most impressive in the area and permanently active. Set up base camp for an overnight stay before a walk to a nearby waterfall. (B,L,D)

Journey to the crater of Mutnovsky (2322m) and view active fumarolas, mud siphons and acid lakes. The duration of the whole excursion is around 8 hours. Overnight in tents. (B,L,D)

Ascend Gorely Volcano (1829m), with its acid and freshwater crater lakes, before heading to Paratunka to spend the night. Enjoy bathing in thermal pools. (B,L,D)

Relax at Paratunka or take an optional excursion to the Valley of Geysers by helicopter. The helicopter excursion can only be booked and paid for locally. It is subject to the weather conditions on the day and the minimum numbers of passengers but it is an amazing opportunity to see this collection of  twenty large geysers, some of which erupt every 10-12 minutes, while others may spout once in 4-5 hours. The plumes of steam, fountains of boiling water, incredible colours of the slopes with hot water streaming along them and profuse vegetation is an incredible site. In the evening transfer to the old Cossack settlement of Milkovo (280km). Dinner will be at café in Sokochi village

Transfer by all-terrain vehicle to the Kluchevskaya group of volcanoes (460km). Cross the Kamchatka River by ferry and transfer to the foot of two picturesque volcanoes Ostry (Sharp) Tolbachik and Plosky (Flat) Tolbachik. If the weather is fine, see the highest volcanoes of Kamchatka: Krestovsky (4057m), Ushkovsky (3903m), Klyuchevskoy (4750m) and Kamen (4579m). Overnight in tents. (B,L,D)

The eruption of the volcano Flat Tolbachik in 2012-2013 became one of the most powerful on Kamchatka in the last hundred years. Two fractured breakthroughs formed at the southern slope. Powerful lava flows passed through the snow-covered volcano's slopes for about 18 km. Today observe the consequences of this eruption - see the young cone, caves made by the wide lava flows, the stone sculptures and the heaps of hardened lava. Overnight in tents. (B,L,D)

At Tolbachik in 1975, the earth split open as a string of new volcanoes was born. Vast amounts of ejected magma, airborne debris and black ash suffocated the surrounding land. Today, acres of bleached trees poke upwards from the ash like matchsticks. Take an excursion by all-terrain vehicle to the northern new cones, which are mini volcanoes. Climb the new cones before a driving further to the Dead Forest and the southern new cones. Scientists previously used the barren moon-like landscape of this area to test the first Soviet lunar vehicles. Overnight in tents at base camp. (B,L,D)

In the first half of the day take a walk through the Dead forest – a huge area destroyed by slag and ash eruptions in 1975. Then transfer back to Milkovo village, located on the banks of the Kamchatka river. It was founded in the XVIII century on the island of Itelmen – the indigenous people of Kamchatka.   There will be free time to enjoy a stroll through the one of the oldest settlements of the Kamchatka region. Visit the observation point, which offers panoramic views of the village, Kamchatka river and volcanoes. (B,L,D)

After breakfast, travel by 4WD vehicle towards Malka. Here visit the Ethnography Museum of Kamchatka's River settlers. There is also the possibility to join a 2-3 hour rafting tour. The section of the river covered has a few smaller rapids, which are safe for rafting beginners. Keep an eye out for bears coming down to feast on salmon. Transfer back to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (170km). Overnight in Geyser Hotel or similar. (B,L,D)

In the morning, enjoy a trip to the fish market before transfer to the airport for onward connections. (B)