Get Ready
Documents | Weather | Money | Equipment & Gear | How to Get Here | Booking Policies | Booking Form
 Documents
- Tourist visas are required and are issued for up to 30 days. They can be extended only in case of emergency for a minimum of time. To apply for a visa you will need to get an invitation and voucher from our partner company. To make these documents, send a scanned copy of your passport (valid for 6 months after you depart Russia), and your dates of travel and itinerary in Russia. When you get the voucher and invitation you must download the visa application from the Internet site of your nearest Russian consulate where you will apply for a visa. Fill it out and follow their instructions. North American citizens may want to use the visa expediting services from Red Star Travel in Seattle.
- Other visas include business visas which take 6-8 weeks to receive the invitation provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. If you need a business visa as us about what is required to apply for the invitation in order to apply for a business visa.
- Other permits for visitors to many areas of Kamchatka include permissions from the FSB (former KGB) and Border Guards. This is because Kamchatka is still an important military zone. When we arrange your itinerary and agree on a tour we will apply for this permit prior to your arrival. We also can arrange for any needed protected area entry permit.
- Registration on arrival is required of all non-Russians within 3 working days of your arrival in Kamchatka. We can do this for you by making a copy on arrival of your passport, visa, and migration card (you receive and fill this out on the plane arriving in Russia).
Weather
Kamchatka couldn't be better situated for stormy weather. Located between the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, and the wild North Pacific Ocean, Kamchatka gets almost a meter of precipitation annually. Kamchatka has many different climatic zones sometimes separated by just a few miles or minutes. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is a maritime climate while Yelizovo only 25 kilometers inland receives much less precipitation and often has sunny days to PK's fog, rain, or snow. Areas in southern Kamchatka like Kurilskoye Lake have more rain and fog but some brilliantly sunny days. In Kamchatka's Central Valley, the climate is more of an interior climate with less precipitation, hotter summers and colder winters.
| Location |
Mar 1-May 31 |
June 1-Aug 31 |
Sept 1-Nov 30 |
Dec 1-Feb 28 |
| Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky |
March -6°C
120 mm precip
April -2°C
80 mm precip
May +3°C
60 mm precip |
June +8°C
40 mm precip
July +12°C
40 mm precip
August +14°C
80 mm precip |
Sept +10°C
80 mm precip
October +4°C
120 mm precip
Nov -2°C
120 mm precip |
Dec -6°C
100 mm precip
Jan -9°C
100 mm precip.
Feb -10°C
80 mm precip |
| Kozirevsk near Klyuchevskoy group of Volcanoes |
-4°C
40 mm precip |
+14°C
110 mm precip |
0°C
160 mm precip |
-18°C
100 mm precip |
| Esso |
-4°C
110 mm precip |
+13°C
140 mm precip |
-2°C
100 mm precip |
-16°C
280 mm precip |
Yelizovo Weather link: www.gismeteo.ru/towns/32548.htm
English http://www.meteo.infospace.ru/cities/htm/index.ssi
 Money
- Rubles are the preferred currency in all shops, markets, restaurants, and bars. However there are ATMs available in Yelizovo and Petropavlovsk in many locations and at the Sberbank or federal bank affiliates in most villages in Kamchatka. You cannot buy meals in restaurants or make purchases in Kamchatka with credit cards.
- You may exchange dollars and euros in banks. It isn’t recommended to exchange money on the street.
- There is no airport tax in Kamchatka when departing.
Equipment and gear
- Having the right clothing for the season you are visiting can make a difference between a comfortable and safe trip or disaster. After you book a trip with us we’ll send you our recommendations for clothing and equipment you must have with you.
- Clothing is important. It often rains on Kamchatka so for summer to fall trips, be sure you have good quality rain pants and a hooded jacket that will cover your warmer underlayers. We suggest subdued colors over bright yellows or oranges especially if you're going on a wildlife-watching trip.
 How to get here
- From Moscow there are flights 6 days a week, year round on Aeroflot. As well, Transaero and Domodedova airlines companies have frequent departures from Moscow direct to Kamchatka. It’s a long flight, try to get some rest!
- From Vladivostok there are flights 3 to 5 times a week, depending on the time of year on Vladivostok Airlines.
- From Khabarovsk there are flights 3 times a week depending on the time of year.
- From Anchorage there are direct flights weekly to Kamchatka seasonally on Vladivostok Airlines, beginning in July through September 2009. Contact Red Star Travel in Seattle to make reservations.
- Vladivostok Avia http://www.vladivostokavia.ru/en/passengers
Aeroflot http://www.aeroflot.ru/eng
Transaero http://www.transaero.ru
Domodedova Airlines http://www.domodedova.ru/en
Booking and Trip Conditions Your trip is considered reserved when we receive your reservation form and a color copy scanned of your passport. After we receive this, you will be sent an invoice. We must receive a deposit for your trip within 14 days or the booking is cancelled.
Please click on “Booking” to supply us with the information we need to book your journey.
Some trips are based on a minimum group size. If the group is less than the minimum required, we may cancel the trip or offer it to you at the adjusted price reflecting the smaller group size.
Deposit at the time of Booking is 50% of the full price per person.
Final payment is required no later than 6 weeks prior to trip date.
Prices have been calculated in rubles. Upon booking a tour, we will give a quote that depends on the current currency exchange rate. Payment for tours are either in US dollars through our account or in rubles in cash on arrival.
Explore Kamchatka accepts liability for the negligent acts of its employees, agents, insofar as they relate to the trip while you are in Kamchatka. Explore Kamchatka is not liable for customer losses, damage, or injury during travel to/from Kamchatka or which result from third parties with whom the customer makes individual contact.
Explore Kamchatka reserves the right to cancel a pre-booked trip because of circumstances, which make it impossible to accomplish the travel due to reasons we aren’t responsible for and if we cannot offer a reasonable alternative. Explore Kamchatka is not responsible for bad weather conditions and all the consequences.
Cancellations received under the name of the person who reserved the trip are subject to the following charges: 5-8 weeks -loss of the deposit; 4 weeks and more 60% of the trip cost; 3 weeks and more 80% of the trip cost; less than 3 weeks 100% of trip cost.
Explore Kamchatka cannot accept liability for costs associated with your late arrival, sickness, accidents, or other unforeseen reasons for you not joining the group or staying with the itinerary as planned.
Trip insurance isn’t included in the cost of your itinerary. We highly recommend a personal trip insurance to cover you and your property while traveling. Explore Kamchatka offers adventures of a lifetime and you are responsible for making sure your health is up to the demands of the itinerary.
Included in your price: accommodations in the city, all meals unless stipulated in your itinerary, all ground transportation, licenses, fees, helicopter transportation, guides, interpreters.
Not included: alcohol, tips, and trip insurance.
Booking Form
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