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Airport taxes, fees & September 11th Security Fee, & tips to guides, driver, and tour escort/manager (see Terms & Conditions).
Land only price does not include arrival/departure transfers.
From late May to early July nights are bright in St. Petersburg, but the real ”Festival of White Nights” normally lasts from June 11 to July 2."White Nights" are unique to St. Petersburg and northern nights have received much poetic acclaim. What could be more romantic than walking along rivers and canals when night is as bright as early evening? It is the world's only metropolis where such a phenomenon takes place every summer. Every year there are days when downtown St. Petersburg is full of people, even at night.
Sunday. Depart USA to Vilnius (Vilna). Your flight includes meals, drinks,
and in-flight entertainment for your journey.
Monday. Arrive and transfer to your hotel. Balance of the day at leisure. This evening, enjoy a welcome dinner, orientation and a glass of sparkling wine with your tour manager at a local restaurant (D): VILNIUS
Tuesday. Depart hotel for a full day city tour of Vilnius, visit the Historical old Town: Vilnius Cathedral and surrounding square; the University; Pilies street with its16th-18th century historical and architectural monuments; Gothic Corner of Vilnius with St. Anne’s & Brenadine churches; the former Town Hall Square, The Dawn Gate. Highlight – visit to the KGB Museum. Afternoon visit to The Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum and to Vilna’s main Synagogue (visit subject to confirmation). Continue to Paneriai Forest, where 60,000 Jews, were marched to and executed during the Holocaust (B): VILNIUS
Wednesday. Today we depart Vilnius for Kaunas (Kovna). Arrive in Kaunas. Enjoy a tour of Kaunas, the former capital of Lithuania. The tour will include a visit to the Sugihara’s Museum, the Museum of Japanese Consul - Chiune Sugihara, the "Japanese Schindler”, who issued Japanese visas to thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. Sugihara is recognized as "Righteous Among the Nations" by the Yad Vashem Martyrs Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem. Continue to the Chiurlionis Art Museum, the oldest and the largest art museum in Lithuania. Visit a memorial to the victims of fascism at the Ninth Fort in Kaunas, Lithuania. The monument "symbolizes pain, sorrow, tortures, and eternal remembrance" (B): KAUNAS
Thursday. Depart Kaunas for Riga, cross the border to into Latvia.Visit Rundale Palace – 18th century Baroque palace built by Rastrelli.Check into your hotel. Depart for an Organ Concert at the Dome Cathedral. The 13th century magnificent Dome Church with its 240-foot steeple was built in 1212. The cathedral is known for its colorful medieval stained glass windows and a spectacular 6,768 pipe organ, one of the most splendid organs in the world(B): RIGA
Friday. Following breakfast enjoy a day at leisure to explore Riga on your own. Shabbat services and dinner with the newly established Reform community at the hotel (B, D): RIGA
Saturday. Depart your hotel on a half day walking Jewish city tour. The walking tour begins with a visit to Synagogue where you will attend the Shabbat service (10:00 to 12:00), then continue to the Jewish Museum and visit the former Jewish Ghetto. Walk through the old town of Riga. View Riga Castle; St. Peter’s Church where you will go up the steeple to get the panoramic view of Old Riga; great & small Guild Halls; fortification wall of Riga; the Swedish Gate; Parliament; Monument of Liberty and Brivibas Boulevard. Depart for the Riga train station. Overnight train to St. Petersburg, first class cabin,(B): TRAIN
Sunday. Arrive in St. Petersburg. At the train station you will be met by your guide. Porterage service upon arrival is provided. Transfer to a local restaurant for breakfast.Enjoy a short orientation tour of St. Petersburg: Visit to Peter and Paul Fortress and the Cathedral, the resting place of Russian Tsars. The Fortress is located on a small island in Neva river delta. The Cathedral (1712 - 1733), which Peter the Great named after his patron-saints is the heart of the Fortress. It is 122 meters high – the tallest historic structure in the city. All Russian tsars from Peter the Great to Nicolas II were buried in the Cathedral as well as Grand Dukes and Grand Duchesses. For nearly two centuries the Fortress served as a political prison. You will visit the Cathedral and walk along the Fortress grounds. Enjoy apanoramic view of the city. Continue the orientation city-tour. Pass by the Summer Gardens, the Field of Mars, the Square of Arts, stop by the Russian Museum, walk to the Griboyedov Canal to see the ornate Church on the Spilled Blood, drive along the Nevsky prospect.Check into your hotel. Evening at leisure followed by dinner (B, D): ST PETERSBURG
Monday. Enjoy a city tour, including Jewish historic and modern sights; visit the Grand Choral Synagogue, built in the 1883 in Moorish style and consecrated in 1893. Thanks to the gracious patronage of Lily and Edmond Safra, it has been restored to its former glory within the last severalyears. It is the second largest and second most architecturally elegant synagogue in Europe, its cupola reaching a height of some 47 meters. The synagogue was shelled during WWII but not seriously damaged. The main prayer hall holds 1200 men and has women's galleries on three sides. Visit the small Judaica shop located on the premises. Drive along the Neva river embankment, stop by the Bronze Horseman, the most famous statue of Peter the Great; meet with the local Reform Rabbi (subject to confirmation) to discuss Reform Jewish life in St. Petersburg. Visit YESOD, the major Jewish center (Yesod in Hebrew means "foundation"). Participate in a specially arranged meeting in YESOD either with the elderly Jews, members of Hesed Avraham program or with kindergarten children, members of Adain Lo program. Personal small gifts are welcome. Depart on a half-day walking tour to Yusupov Palace, walk along the Moika river embankment to the Palace of Prince Yusupovs. Evening at leisure (B): ST PETERSBURG
Tuesday. This morning enjoy the canal cruise starting from Moika river within a walking distance from your hotel. The delta of the Neva river is formed by 60 natural rivers and man-made canals, crossed by more than 500 bridges. All embankments are faced in red granite with ornate railings. Sail along Moika, Neva, Fontanka rivers and the many canals.Continue your walking tour to the Hermitage. Visit the Hermitage Museum with your guide - one of the world’s finest art museums. It contains more than two and a half million works of art representing different ages, cultures and peoples. The collection was started by Catherine the Great, who bought pieces of art in France, England, Italy, and Germany; admire the masterpieces of Leonardo, Titian, Raphael, and Rembrandt, works of the French Impressionists as well as the magnificent interior of the Winter Palace.Afternoon; visit to the Gold Room of the Hermitage. The collection shows the development of the jeweler’s craft from the third millennium B.C. to the start of the XX c. The collection includes watches; luxury weapons and walking sticks once owned by members of the Imperial Family; Royal snuff-boxes and works of Carl Faberge (B): ST PETERSBURG
Wednesday. After breakfast drive to the town of Pushkin, the Tsar’s village, summer home of the Russian Imperial family. You will visit the 18th century Baroque style Catherine’s Palace, the largest Royal summer residence, designed by Italian architect Rastrelli. The highlight of the tour is the world-famous Amber Room. Take a stroll in the French garden and English landscape park; admire the Cameron Gallery designed for Catherine’s the Great.Visit the “Formula of Sorrow”, a memorial to those who perished in Pushkin during the Holocaust. Drive to the nearby town of Pavlovsk, summer residence of Paul I, son of Catherine the Great.Lunch followed by a visit the late 18th century Classic style Grand Palace of Paul I, built by European architects in style of the Italian palazzo. Stroll along one of the largest gardens in Europe, covering more than 1200 acres. (B, L): ST PETERSBURG
Thursday. Breakfast at the hotel followed by day at leisure in St. Petersburg or enjoy an optional visit to Peterhof the magnificent summer residence of the Russian royal family, located on the coast of the Gulf of Finland. Return to St. Petersburg. Evening dinner at a local restaurant with traditional Jewish music followed by a transfer to the train station.Overnight train to Moscow, first class cabin (B, D): TRAIN
Friday. Arrive in Moscow, at the train station you will be met by your guide. Porterage service upon arrival is provided. Transfer to a local restaurant for breakfast. Enjoy tour of Kremlin including the Armory. The tour will take you on a fascinating interior visit to the Kremlin. Check into the hotel. Afternoon at leisure, followed by Shabbat dinner at a local restaurant with representatives of the Progressive movement (B, D): MOSCOW
Saturday. This morning, a sightseeing tour will focus on an introduction to Jewish Moscow. Optional visit to the Memorial Synagogue for a Reform Shabbat service. Enjoy a city tour, including the most famous landmarks of Moscow: Red Square, the spectacular onion-domed Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed, then drive up to Vorobjov Hill where you will enjoy a fascinating view over the capital and see the unique ”Stalin-style” building of Moscow State University. Visit the Poklonnaya Gora Holocaust Museum and Memorial Synagogue. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant. Afternoon tour of Tretyakov Art Gallery. The Gallery houses the world's largest collection of Russian art, which includes more than 50 thousand pieces of art. Havdallah service with Machon students (B, L): MOSCOW
Sunday. Transfer to airport for your departure flight. (B):
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