Valaam Island is part of the Valaam archipelago on one of the largest and most famous lakes in Russia - Ladoga. The Valaam Monastery is located on the islands, which attracts thousands of tourists and pilgrims from different countries. Geographically, the archipelago is located in the middle of a wide expanse of a beautiful and deep lake, which makes access to it difficult and fences off the monks from the outside world.
Conditions of accommodation and transportation
In our time, it is quite difficult to isolate oneself from the world, being in a unique natural and spiritual corner. Every year more and more foreign and domestic tourists arrive on the island, despite the difficulties of delivery and accommodation. The issue of accommodation for visitors is very acute, since the hotels of Valaam are few in number and simply cannot accommodate everyone.
You can get to the island during the navigation season on several meteors and ships of the monastery, which are so densely equipped with people who want to get to the monastery that it is not always possible to find a place there. In winter, the ice cover on the lake becomes expensive. In the off-season, only a helicopter serves as a link with the outside world. Most visitors come to Valaam for one day, trying to see everythingthe beauty of the islands of the northern archipelago between river transport flights.
Who can count on a place
After the fire in 2016, which burned down the "Winter" hotel on the island of Valaam and "Attic", the situation with housing has worsened even more. The monastery does not accept everyone who wants to stay on the island. Since the whole island is the territory of the monastery, the hotels are also under its jurisdiction. Available seats are exclusively for:
- pilgrims;
- employees;
- volunteers.
Other tourists get free seats if they are available. It is forbidden to set up campsites on your own. Tents can only be placed in designated campsites.
Where to stay
Valaam hotels are not always particularly comfortable. Since the island belongs to the monastery, the relevant procedures apply here. In local hotels you can not find room service, bars, TVs or plush huge beds. Women are not allowed to go out into the corridors in short skirts and without a headscarf. Men, on the other hand, cannot wear shorts and T-shirts.
The "Hegumenskaya" hotel is located next to the Transfiguration Cathedral in buildings intended for monastic cells. It can only accommodate about 40 people. The hotel rooms are double, and men and women cannot stay in the same room. There are three sanitary zones for the entire hotel - two toilets and one shower per block. So in the morning and in the evening the guestswaiting in line. The rooms are furnished very modestly:
- beds;
- cabinet;
- closet.
The cost of a room in Igumenskaya is about 4,000 rubles per day.
Valaam hotels are also represented by "Summer" and the motor ship "Admiral Kuznetsov". The "summer" hotel is the only one in which all rooms are equipped with private facilities. It also differs from others in that it is impossible to book a room in it in advance. Rooms at this hotel are subject to availability upon arrival as guests of honor usually stay here. The capacity is small - 25 rooms. Price per room - 5000 rubles.
Floating hotel
The double-deck ship "Admiral Kuznetsov" docked at the berth in Monastyrskaya Bay in 2016 to become a floating hotel and replace two Valaam hotels lost in a fire. It can accommodate 215 people in its cabins. In addition to modest economy class rooms with shared sanitary facilities, the ship offers single and double cabins, which have their own washbasins. Also equipped with three cabins "Lux" with all amenities. They contain:
- air conditioners;
- soft zone.
The rest of the cabins are much more modest.
The cost of accommodation ranges from 800 to 2700 rubles, depending on the type of cabin. A single suite will cost 4,000 rubles.
We talked about where you can stay when visiting the Valaam archipelago and must warn you that prices in a hotel on Valaam differ depending on comfortrooms and location. The most economical hotel for the wallet is Admiral Kuznetsov, the most expensive is the Letnaya Hotel.
