Digital detox: where to go in Russia to hide from the news for at least a while?

The ubiquitous internet seems to have permeated every corner of the country. But there are still places where you don’t even want to read the news – and you’ll only pick up your phone for a photo. Catch a list of options where you can break away from the constantly disturbing background news.

expedition tours

Adventure tour companies (like Russia Discovery) take their customers to places so far away that digital detox is a must. You don’t expect to have a phone connection in the taiga or on the Putorana Plateau, do you? Internet-related conversations do not go in these parts. And these don’t have to be difficult tours with minimal comfort – there are glampings with cool chefs too. For example, in the off-season you can find yourself in volcanoes and hot springs in Kamchatka, go to the Cold Pole in Yakutia, go on a ski tour in the snowy forests of Lekshmozero in the Arkhangelsk region. Or take a jeep tour around the Kola Peninsula. You won’t even have time to take your phone out of your pocket on these tours. Yes and no need.

monastery

It’s a somewhat exotic way to “get away from the worldly hustle and bustle,” but it’s been proven for centuries. The use of tools is not welcome in any monastery, and monks and nuns follow it quite strictly. So all you have left is to observe the measured lives of the sisters, look at the centuries-old walls, listen to hymns in the temple, walk and contemplate eternity. Or about yourself. The main thing is that the outside world will remain outside the walls of the monastery.

This “pleasure”, as a rule, is quite expensive (from 500 rubles). You can try it both in the near Moscow region (in the same Savvino-Storozhevsky monastery in Zvenigorod), and in very remote places – for example, in the famous Buddhist Ivolginsky datsan in Buryatia.

Karelia

Karelian forests are notorious for their disconnection, so a guaranteed digital detox is worth going there. You can rent a private house on the lake or choose a hotel – for example, one of the two Point on the Map hotels. Both (in both Priozersk and Sortavala) are not only ideal places for complete relaxation surrounded by northern nature, but also excellent starting points for traveling around Ladoga Karelia.

Leningrad region

Here, too, there are many places in the forests and on the shores of the Baltic Sea, far from civilization in every sense. Here is an example: the active recreation and ecotourism base “More” is located on the Kiperort peninsula in the Vyborg region. Around – the forests of the Vyborgsky reserve, in front of the windows of cozy little houses with terraces – the waters of the bay. Pier, fishing, sauna. And yet observe the silence mode here. And this is St. Only a few hours from St. Petersburg! Another option even closer (40 minutes from the northern capital) is We Lodge, a world-class lodge hotel surrounded by coniferous forest on the shores of Copper Lake. You can rent a lodge on a separate island – and nothing will stop you from relaxing and enjoying nature.

Altai

This is where there is a completely different world, and the news of this world seems completely irrelevant! Even if you book a good hotel, the connectivity here is not very good and that’s just a plus. Finally you have to look at the mountains, hike, get a good night’s sleep and spa treatments. A good option for this is the eco-resort Maryin Ostrov in the secluded Chemal Valley in the Altai Mountains. Don’t forget to book an outdoor tub and check out local totems that are believed to help replenish energy sources. Now this will certainly not be superfluous.