Getting to Kamchatka
MOSCOW IS NOW SERVICED BY both Delta and Aeroflot from JFK and LAX. All international flights arrive at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Terminal D, where everyone must declare their firearms and ammunition. Hunters are all met by our English-speaking representative, assisted with the necessary permits and declarations, and shepherded to their hotels or connecting flights.
Continuing flights to Petropavlovsk depart from either of two terminals: Sheremetyevo Terminal A (in the same airport, or Domodedovo (the most modern international airport in Russia, and a 1.5 hour taxi ride from Sheremetyevo). Flights to Petropavlovsk depart in the evenings, allowing for same day connections from the States. Hunters may choose to continue to Kamchatka immediately or extend their holiday with a visit to Moscow and a chance to decompress.
Sample Hunting Itinerary
OUR HUNTS last two weeks and about nine of those days are dedicated to pure hunting. (It can be 8 or ten days and depends on the hunting trip you take). It takes most of the day, once you arrive in Kamchatka to travel hundreds of miles north of Petropavlovsk to the perimeter of our hunting region.
DAY 1
Arrival in Petropavlovsk. If you fly from Anchorage (you need to contact us about this flight; this flight is not all year-round) you clear customs in Petropavlovsk air port. Clear customs is usually brief and your group will be met by an English- speaking member of our staff the moment you step through the door. Hunters transfer immediately to a very comfortable bus for the first leg of the trip, to Esso. It’s a journey that takes approximately 8 hours, with scheduled breaks along the way. Though only the first third of the road is asphalt, the trip isn’t tedious. We’ll stop for lunch, and there’s coke, water & beer on board. When the group arrives in Esso, a cultural native center and one of the few small communities in this part of the world, you’ll be transferred to one of several local bed-&- breakfast hotels where you’ll stay overnight.
DAY 2
After a good night’s sleep and breakfast you’ll be taken to the heliport to meet the chopper. Helicopters don’t usually begin to fly earlier than ten in the morning, after receiving weather conditions and the forecast for the peninsula. We’ll inform you beforehand if there are going to be any anticipated weather delays. But, assuming the weather is fine, you’ll be in the heart of the bear’s kingdom and in our camp in an hour. The rest of the day will be yours to get acquainted with the staff, camp, check your guns, and organize your gear.
DAYS 3-12
Ten days dedicated to hunting!
DAY 13
As early as possible in the day you’ll be transferred to Petropavlovsk, where you’ll overnight in a hotel in our capital city. Our guests stay in one of Petro’s two best hotels, either the Avacha or the Petropavlovsk. Both are the same level of accommodation and the cost of a single room is about $100.
DAY 14
The final day in Petropavlovsk. You’ll begin the day with a city and cultural tour, with time for souvenirs and to see the markets and sights of this historic harbor town. Everyone will begin check-in for the connecting flight to the USA via Moscow. Or you will begin check-in for the return flight to Anchorage which is normally at 8 p.m. and the flight departs at 10 p.m.