Russia Murmansk travel guide

Murmansk is located in the northwest of Russia. It is a large Russian city, the only one in the world that is located beyond the Arctic Circle. Murmansk is the capital of the Russian Arctic. It is an important seaport for the country, through which cruises along the Arctic Ocean depart to the North Pole. The Arctic Murmansk port does not freeze, thanks to the warm Gulf Stream.

The distance from Moscow to Murmansk is about 1500 km., from Saint Petersburg to Murmansk – 1100 km. Several flights a week operate between the cities, trains run. There are direct flights from the United Arab Emirates, several cities in China, Singapore, South Korea, and other foreign countries.

Travel to Murmansk

Murmansk was founded in 1916. The city has different architecture. The city has an old part, where you will see buildings from the period of the former Soviet Union (the USSR existed until 1991).

The central Lenin Avenue and its various monuments are an example of neoclassicism of the 1950s. On the highest hill in the city (173 meters) a grandiose monument to the defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 was built. In Murmansk you will see the longest automobile bridge 1611 km beyond the Arctic Circle across the Kola Strait. Here, Microdistrict-305 is interesting, which was built in the 1970s of the last century. Twenty-seven nine-story houses connected by jumpers to protect from the cold wind create the illusion of honeycombs stretching for 1.5 kilometers.

In the port of Murmansk you can see the famous icebreaker “Lenin”, which was the first in the country to be launched in 1957. By the way, it is in Murmansk that the Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet is based, the only one in the world that provides navigation on the Northern Sea Route.

What to see around Murmanks

From Murmansk, we recommend going on an excursion to Teriberka (distance 130 km) – a small village located on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Among the northern, wild nature, Teriberka is worth seeing in person, because further from this place is only the Arctic Ocean. This is the end point of the Eurasian continent. Whales and sea lions live here. On a boat, if you book an excursion in advance, you can swim close to them.

Kirovsk is a small town (27 thousand residents, 2024) on the Kola Peninsula, 240 kilometers from Murmansk, known for its excellent ski slopes on the Khibiny mountain range, one of the oldest on the planet. Here is an ideal polar winter and a unique tourist and excursion center “Snow Village”. On an area of ​​more than 2500 kilometers there are 25 halls of ice, inside and next to which, a huge number of ice sculptures about winter, many of which are real masterpieces of snow and ice art. Tourists are especially amazed by the huge, life-size, ice sculpture of the nuclear icebreaker “Lenin” (museum complex in Murmansk).

Visit Saami Village located 30 kilometers from Murmansk. Ethnographic complex dedicated to the life of the Sami people of the north of the country. You will get acquainted with the traditional life of this people. The Sami live in the tundra in frame pyramidal tents, the space of the house is completely covered with reindeer skins, in the center of the tent there is a fire. They wear clothes made of the same warm reindeer skins. An unusual experience awaits you: feeding reindeer with lichen, visiting a Husky farm, riding a snowmobile and a delicious berry pie with herbal tea.

Aurora borealis tour with guide-photographer

To forecast the Northern Lights in a particular place, experts use statistics on geomagnetic storms, the behavior of the magnetic field on approach to the Earth. Such methods help in searching for the “Right” place of the Northern Lights, but do not guarantee its presence 100%.

The tour for searching the Northern Lights is accompanied by a professional who knows where to go on this day. To be sure of the success of this process, set aside 3-4 days for the tour to Murmansk we plan trips to “Hunt” for the Northern Lights several times.

Murmansk tips

Murmansk has two polar seasons: the night from early December to Mid-January lasts 40 days, and the polar day lasts 62 days from May 20th to Mid-July 62 days. Walking around the city, you will literally feel the crispy snow under your feet, which does not melt, since the air temperature in winter here is consistently minus 03-15 degrees in January and February and there is even a thaw

To see the Northern Lights, go on a tour to Russian Murmansk from the end of January to Mid-March, when there is the greatest chance of seeing them, or rather, try to catching it.

Aurora Northern Lights TOP tourist season

25.01.27-29.02.27

24.12.26-10.01.27

New Year’s holiday period for Russians