Itinerary in Murmansk Region
 

This summer I'll be driving (in my own car) up to Murmansk and the Kola Peninsula. I won't have a lot of time, but I'd like to spend a few hours in Murmansk, and also drive up to the Barents Sea at Teriberka.

I'll be coming from Arkhangelsk via Kargopol and Pudozh, and stopping in Kem on the way to visit the Solovetskiy Islands.

I'd also like to see some of the mountainous area around Kirovsk and Apatity. Is it possible to drive (in a 4x4) along the east of Umbozero Lake, from Revda down to Kirovsk, avoiding the main highway?

How about from Kirovsk down to Umba - how is this road? Is it asphalted?

I'll be heading back down to St Petersburg after Murmansk - is there an alternative road to avoid repeating the main highway? How is the route from Loukhi - Tungozero - Kalevala - Voynitsa - Kostomushka and then back onto the main M18 near Nadvoitsy?

I'll be stopping in Petrozavodsk on the way south again, to see Kizhi Pogost.

Any other suggestions? Is Varzuga worth the effort to reach it down a dead-end road?

Thanks!

EO