12 days on the islands: Sakhalin — Shikotan — Kunashir

08:00 Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

09:00 Departure from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk by bus.

Travel time with stops is approximately 3 hours, 135 km, paved federal highway.

On the way, we will stop at the amber coast and collect amber, watch the seals resting on the rocks.

We will visit the Japanese Torii gates of the Karafuto governorate period, which were installed in front of Shinto temples.

An intermediate stop is in the fishermen's village of the Seaside, where you can buy freshly boiled crabs and taste them during lunch.

There is a quiet walk along the coast in the bay, after which you will have a hot gastronomic lunch – delicious Sakhalin fish soup with red fish, Far Eastern delicacies, caviar, tea with herbs, Sakhalin sweets.

19:00 Return to the hotel.

Dinner (on your own).

09:00 Transfer to Korsakov port.

Registration on the ship.

12:00 Departure of the Pavel Leonov motor ship to Shikotan Island.

The vessel leaves the port of Korsakov and follows the coastline of the Tonino-Aniva Peninsula for 4 hours.

You can see the Aniva Lighthouse from aboard the ship, and dolphins and killer whales are likely to be seen during the passage through the Sea of Okhotsk.

Lunch and dinner on the boat in a cafe on your own.

Breakfast on the boat (on your own).

09:00 The ship's approach to the port of Malokurilskoye settlement, Shikotan island.

Meeting at the port. Transfer to the hotel. We leave our things.

Jeep tour of the most iconic places of Shikotan island with local walking tours.

Shikotan is a special place, a small Kuril island in the ocean unlike any other.

Shikotan – if the island has a soul, then it is here, among bamboo expanses, meadow terraces, juniper thickets and inaccessible rocks with edelweiss blooming on them.

There are no volcanoes, thermal springs, bears or snakes on Shikotan.

Cape Edge of the World is a long (protruding into the ocean at 800 m) and flat cape surface breaks off into the ocean on three sides with 40-meter walls. And you realize that you are really on the edge of the world... both literally and figuratively. There are 7,000 km of the Pacific Ocean ahead…

Bezymyannaya Bay – in these places S. Govorukhin shot the film "Robinson Crusoe" starring Leonid Kuravlev in 1972.

Cape Crab, the lighthouse of Shpanberg (1943) is the last lighthouse built by the Japanese in the Kuril Islands from the remaining large lighthouse construction program that was not implemented due to the war.

The lighthouse is named after the brave traveler and navigator Martin Petrovich Shpanberg, who explored the Kuril Islands.

Lunch is hot on the coast.

Dinner at the hotel.

Room release.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Departure by jeep to the foot of the island's most important mountain, Shikotan (412 m), from the top of which you can enjoy a magnificent panorama of Shikotan Island and the neighboring islands of Kunashir and Iturup (in clear weather).

A simple hike up the mountain.

Transfer to the port, registration on the ship.

Lunch on the ship by yourself.

13:00 Departure of the motor ship "Igor Farkhutdinov" to Kunashir.

Lunch on the boat on your own.

17:00 Arrival at Kunashir Island.

Meeting at the port, transfer to the hotel.

Let's go say hello to the Pacific Ocean! The endless Pacific Ocean... with a serious character and powerful energy.

A short walk along the coast – kekur "Devil's finger", "Devil's Gate".

Dinner at the cafe.

09:00 Breakfast at the cafe.

10:00 Departure for the medium-difficulty route "Large fumarole field of the Mendeleev volcano".

By car for 30 minutes, then trekking for 2-2.5 hours through bamboo with a constant climb, 3 km in one direction.

A path with stops for short rest. Parking on the fumarole field ~ 2 hours.

Fumaroles and solfatars are among the largest, if not the largest, on all the Kuril Islands.

From the erupting hum and high-temperature gases, it's even scary to imagine what's going on inside.

Lunch (dry ration).

Bathing in wild thermal springs is optional.

Dinner at the cafe.

Return to the hotel.

09:00 Breakfast at the cafe.

10:00 Departure for the route of medium difficulty "Cape Columnar" — one of the most amazing and unique places on earth.

Residents of Kunashir say, "Whoever has not seen Cape Columnar has not seen Kunashir." Millions of years ago, as a result of the eruption of the Mendeleev volcano, basalt lava flowed towards the sea.

Physico-chemical processes have created such columnar structures in the form of five-hexagonal columns. But once you get here, it's impossible to accept that nature created it.

A mystical place with its own music. The cape, open on three sides, is located on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk.

A difficult passage through small shelves of broken pillars.

Relaxing at the cape, swimming in the sea.

There are many sea urchins in the littoral lagoons.

Then 2 km along the shore to our cozy parking lot, where a bonfire lunch will be organized – delicious fish soup.

Dinner at the cafe.

Return to the hotel.

09:00 Breakfast at the cafe.

10:00 Departure for the route of medium difficulty "Volcano Golovnina. The Lakes are Boiling and Hot."

40 minutes by car, then trekking 2.5–3 hours along the path, 7 km in one direction.

The entire journey is accompanied by beautiful fields of cedar elderberry and Kuril bamboo, completely impassable to humans.

The volcano is a caldera about 4 km in diameter, surrounded by a ridge with a maximum height of 541 m.

There are four small domes and two crater lakes at the bottom of the caldera, Boiling and Hot.

The parking time in the caldera is ~3 hours.

Lunch (dry ration).

You can not swim in Boiling lake, there are hot springs, mud boilers and hot steam at the bottom of the lake and along the shores. It's possible and necessary to have something hot in the lake!

Dinner at the cafe.

Room release.

Breakfast at the cafe.

Excursion to the Museum of local lore.

Transfer to the airport.

Departure to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

The flight schedule for the 2025 season will be released in March, after which routes on flight days can be adjusted.

Arrival in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Transfer to the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel restaurant.

Free day (reserved in case of late arrival).

Walking through the beautiful Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with a large number of alleys and parks, fragrant flower beds and many fountains will give you pleasure.

In the evening, land in one of the cozy restaurants with Japanese, Korean or pan-Asian cuisine.

We also recommend visiting:

1. Sakhalin Museum of Local Lore.

2. Pobeda Memorial Complex with interactive expositions and panoramas using various modern technologies. The Pobeda complex has entered the top of the best military museums in Russia.

3. Shops with Korean and Japanese goods.

4. Souvenir shops and a fish market with a wide variety of fresh seafood and Sakhalin delicacies. You can't think of a better gift for your family and friends!

08:00 Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

09:00 Departure from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with a jeep guide.

The journey time is 3 hours, during which we will travel 100 km, the first half of the way is a federal paved highway, the second half of the way is a difficult road through the pass.

After Okhotsk, rush along the seashore, then through the Sakhalin taiga through the pass, and in front of you soar majestic stone arches, columns and kekurs-giants created by wind and sea waves, beautiful coves and caves, bird markets.

A walk along the coast will be a great pleasure, one Cape Bird is worth it.

A walk through the sea terraces and Sakhalin taiga will introduce you to the diverse world of flora. The guide will tell you a lot of interesting things.

Lunch — lunch box (Japanese cuisine), Far Eastern delicacies, tea with herbs and berries.

19:00 Return to the hotel.

Dinner (on your own).

Breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer to the airport.

Departure.