Staraya Ladoga

By road

A115 is good for hitch-hiking, with transit traffic from M10 to M18 to the north, though relatively empty at night. Try hitching buses off duty - may be a good choice.

From Volkhov a good lighted position is right under the new automobile bridge. From Yushkovo a position is good in daylight, but somewhat limited in light at night.

By train

The closest station is in Volkhov Volkhovstroy-1. From Saint Petersburg, you can get there by train, express train or by elektrichka suburban train from Ladogsky Station. Some elektrichkas not express ones also start for Volkhovstroy from Moskovsky station.

Sitting or obshchiy seats in passazhirskiy train class will be best by price/comfort combination, however you may not have such luck, because there just may not be trains with such seats. Currently January 2011 there's no trains with sitting/obshchiy seats to Volkhov at all. Platzkart seats, while comfortable, are above 400 rubles in passazhirskiy trains and above 600 rubles in firmenniy trains while suburban train will cost you only 200 rubles. Be aware however of possible discounts for some trains when kupe may be cheaper than platzkart, even on firmenniy trains. Both Ladogsky station and Volkhovstroy-1 station have computer terminals with extensive information on timetables, available seats and prices, however probably in russian only. Volkovstroy-1 station have two different terminals for long distance and suburban trains, each in the corresponding booking office hall. Consult timetable online as well. Trains reach Volkhovstroy-1 in 2 hours.

Timetable is also tricky: there's only 5 daily trains, the only morning train being firmenniy "Arktika" Moskva - Murmansk train one of cosiest econom-class firmenniy trains in Russia, start 08:59, arrive 11:18. Other trains are either summer, or run on days only. In general, train is more convenient, if you plan to stay overnight in Volkhov or Staraya Ladoga.

Trip by elektrichka will take about 2.5 hours. Express trains are a bit confusing: they are simple elektrichkas, reaching Volkhovstroy-1 making no Sankt-Peterburg - Babaevo, start 14:33, arrive 16:49, fridays and sundays only or 1 stop Sankt-Peterburg - Svir', start 18:42, arrive 20:42, daily, currently not marked as express. There's same somewhat unsightly plastic seats as in other suburban trains in Sankt-Peterburg region. However, express trains are good variant, if you want to take a look at the Volkhov GES - first GES of the GOELRO plan - from the train bridge across Volkhov river. Just took the trains off on Volkhovstroy-2 station next after Volkhovstroy-1, and look right when crossing the river.

You can also reach Volkhovstroy-1 station directly from Moscow by either "Arktika" or "Kareliya" Moskva-Petrozavodsk also cosy econom-class firmenniy train, and unlike Moscow - Sankt-Petersburg overnights, you may even get a nice sleep. "Kareliya", however, arrives to Volkhov early at 4:49am, you may find #23 bus soon after and enjoy dawn over calmly moving Volkhov river in Staraya Ladoga before the services will start to work.

A couple of trains from Murmansk to Moscow or other destinations may also stop on Volhovstroy-2 station, though mainly summer and rather than or on days and usually at night.

By bus

From the Volkhovstroy-1 station in Volkhov, catch the bus #23, marshrutka actually also bus, but with fixed price for the ride #K-23, or bus #23A, which will get you there in about 50 minutes, costing about 25 rubles 2009. The bus tends to be well synced with the arrival times of the elektrichka from Saint Petersburg you can find synced buses in the timetable site, referenced below. It's not terribly easy to tell when you have arrived in Staraya Ladoga if you haven't been there before, so it's best to ask a local to tell you when you have arrived: не подскажете мне, пожалуйста, когда мы доедем до Старой Ладоги nyeh pod-SKAH-zhe-tyeh mnyeh, puh-ZHAHL-uh-stuh, kahg-DAH myh dо-ye-DEM dah STAH-ruy LAH-duh-gee. You can also look in window for Staraya Ladoga kremlin on the right side, on the way from Volkhov, it will be in the middle of the village, the right stop will be right after it.

From the Volkhovstroy-2 station you'll have to walk from the station and cross the Volkhov river to catch on the #23 bus, as it doesn't cross the river. You can catch it on either "Il'inskiy park" stop right beside the park after the bridge, 20 min on foot, the stop is on the further side of road from side-shows, or "Raiispolkom" if you go by local #2 bus, first stop after the bridge, the stop to Staraya Ladoga will be on the other side of the street. You'd better find the time-table for the bus before trying this route though, because the schedule is sparse with intervals up to 2 hours, especially late in the evening, and may be not available on the stops. You might also want to hitch ride on the bus with a hand, especially if you see the bus or even better marshrutka outside the stop. Alternatively just take #2 bus to Volkhovstroy-1 station where schedule is available you may also take any seldom other is this direction, however be aware, that bus #3 from Volkhovstroy-2 takes a side root up the Volkhov river, passing the GES, which is sightly, and #5 takes side root to Murmanskie Vorota, which is not sightly and a bit long. Or ask locals when will be the bus: Когда пойдёт 23-й автобус в Старую Ладогу? kagh-DAH poi-DYOT dvad-tsat-TRE-tiy av-TO-bus v STAH-ru-yu LAH-duh-gu?

You may try to go by bus from Sankt-Peterburg, though it may not be as convinient. There are no direct buses to Staraya Ladoga; though some schemes may be confusing, #877 bus to Boksitogorsk does not pass the village, but go along right side of the Volkhov river via Babino. Some buses reach Volkhov, but even there are more of them to the stop "Yushkovo", which is on the cross of M18 and A115, which is passed by #23 bus as well. The trip is slightly more than 2 hours to Yushkovo, the bus may be crowdy and the road a bit bumpy after crossing Neva. It's tricky to find where the #23 bus stop in Yushkovo in the direction to Staraya Ladoga is, the stop is usually inside the ring around the "Turist" kafe, closer to river, and might be right the same, where you get out from the bus from Sankt-Peterburg, but it might change. Look for signs - they may be present, or ask locals Где останавливается 23й автобус в Старую Ладогу Hdeh ohs-tah-NAV-lee-vah-yeh-tsya dvad-tsat-TRE-tiy av-TO-bus v STAH-ru-yu LAH-duh-guh?

There sometimes exist #800 bus Velikiy Novgorod - Petrozavodsk, which passes Staraya Ladoga, but currently it is cancelled. Last timetable was once a week, on Sundays from Novgorod and on Saturdays from Petrozavodsk. The trip was about 6 hours from Novgorod and about 7 hours from Petrozavodsk, arriving to Staraya Ladoga somewhen around 4pm-5pm.

Semiupdated bus timetable can be found here. It contains local and even town Volkhov buses, however last update was about summer 2010. However is doesn't contain timetables for Staraya Ladoga and Yushkovo stops, so, for timetable of #23 buses traveling to Volhov, look in Novaya Ladoga New Ladoga section, add approximately 10-15 min for Yushkovo and about 25 min for Staraya Ladoga.