Valaam monastery is located on an island in Lake Ladoga and you can get there by boat or helicopter.
Hydrofoil, slow boat, motorboat
Travel time of the "Meteor" 120-seat high-speed hydrofoil boat from Sortavala to Valaam is 50 minutes one way.
It takes 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to the island by hydrofoil from Priozersk.
The hydrofoil service starts in mid-May and ends in late September.
Slower vessels navigate from early May to late October, travel time from Sortavala is around 2.5 hours one way.
Some hotels and private persons in Sortavala have motorboats and provide transportation for small groups.
All boat trips are weather dependent. Sometimes cancellation info becomes available 1-2 days prior to the trip, and sometimes cancellation is announced on the basis of the operational report delivered at 6.00 am.
Helicopter
It is possible to fly to the monastery from St. Petersburg or Petrozavodsk, though you may need to charter a private helicopter as there are no regular flights.