Riding through Kareliya to the White Sea, Russia
 

We’re six Swedes who are riding through Kareliya to the White Sea next month (on BMW 1150GS & 1200GS). We’ve already got our visas and the accommodation is arranged.

Our planned 9-day route in Russia is Ivangorod - St. Petersburg – Karelian Isthmus (west of Lake Ladoga) - Petrozavodsk - daytrip to Kizhi Island – Kivach Waterfalls – a glimp of the White Sea Canal – two days at Solovetsky Island – west into Finland via Kalevala and Kostomuksha.

Is there anything along the route that we really shouldn’t miss? Anything related to the Great Patriotic War (WW2) is of special interest to us.

What about availability of fuel along the route? And what about the quality of the fuel, is 95 octane unleaded widely available?

We were in Belarus last year. There you paid for fuel in advance in a quite inefficient system. Same procedure in Russia?



Any advise is appreciated! Thanks in advance!


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Yes, same thing.
You tell the cashier how many liters you need, he makes the calculation of how much you owe him, you pay and he "gives authorization" to the pump for the supply of fuel of the amount you paid.
At least, that's how it worked the only time I had to gas up in Russia.

Hi Cider,

there are a lot of fuel stations, 95 ROZ everywhere. We have been there for few nights last year on our trip from St. Petersburg to Murmansk to Norway....

Here some coords of that region, if you are planning to stay in hotels:

Nice Hotel and Restaurant (1500 Rub, 2 pers/night): 61°31'3.42"N 30°12'10.42"E

Modern fuel station, accept credit cards: 61°41'2.83"N 30°39'45.95"E

Good food and (perhaps cheap) accomodation: 61°41'0.06"N 32°15'31.58"E (We would consider this next time.)

Perhaps cheap hotel: 61°53'52.30"N 34°14'0.76"E

The road around west Ladoga is (in 2010) approx. 40 km dirt road in total, good quality. There are lots of km of dirt roads right and left from the main road.

Sorry, thats all. :-) But we will perhaps go there again in 2012, because we really liked that region.

BTW: Can you give me some advice for Belarus (customs, registration, what to see, we already have visas)? We are starting a trip there shortly! Send me PM to not destroy your thread. :-)

Have a good trip!
Marc

Yes, we always gave them for example 1000 RUB (2 motorcycles) in advance, refueled full lets say it was 789 RUB, then they gave us back 211 RUB. Absolutely no problem. Same with creadit card, just give it before refueling. And then you know for sure, that they really accept credit cards.

Another advice: It can be helpful if you have your PIN code of your visa or mastercard.

Bye,
Marc

Although they concentrated on areas north of your intended route, they rode your way and you may pick up something from this thread which reports on a ride a few years back.
From Moscow to Rybachiy peninsula - ADVrider


The RUS fuel system annoys and frustates me daily (except the prices - about $0.90 per litre!). In UK I put GBP 100 of fuel in my car and walk to the office to pay, or could drive off ! In RUS the same tank costs about GBP30 to fill yet I have to pay in advance and walk back and forth several times to complete the transaction.
I usually try to give the cashier a higher cash deposit than I know it takes to fill up - collecting the receipt and change after. Sadly this is not always possible as some stations require you to state a quantity in litres and if you take less - tough luck, you paid, no refund.
And very remote stations with old equipment will dispence the ordered amount of fuel non-stop, without cutting-off, causing fuel to spill everywhere (including over your hot engine!) if you paid for more than the tank will take. Fortunately these are now very rare.