Practically the only way to get in or out of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and indeed the rest of Kamchatka, is to take a plane. There are daily flights to/from Moscow (9 hours) and Khabarovsk (3 hours), and flights three times a week to/from Vladivostok (3 hours).

With only one major road on the peninsula and no railways, the most common means of getting around Kamchatka is flying. Mi-8 helicopters operate like minibuses on Kamchatka, ferrying scientists, volcanologists and hunters between remote settlements and isolated cabins. A regular bus runs from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky via Esso, before going to Klyuchi. It may take you about 12-15 hours to get there. It’s recommended that you take advice on accommodation and route of your trip because winter avalanches, boiling pits and sulphurous fumes of volcanoes might be dangerous to explore on your own.