Big Country Travel: Trips to Russia, Adventure Tours & Vacation Packages

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We invite you to an exciting journey through the beautiful Kuril Islands!

Majestic volcanoes, wild thermal springs, the endless Pacific Ocean and hot al fresco dining await you here.

Location

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

from

Early
booking

Contact the tour coordinator

Weekdays: 8am - 8pm
Weekends: 8am - 7pm (GMT +3)

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Tour highlights

The fascinating atmosphere

You will feel the magic of the place where basalt lava flowed to the sea millions of years ago as a result of the eruption of the Mendeleev volcano.

Picturesque expanses

You will find yourself at Cape World's Edge, where the Pacific Ocean stretches for thousands of kilometers.

Thermal springs

Plunge into the warm waters of wild thermal springs, relax and replenish your energy

Jeep Adventures

Take off-road vehicles to the most beautiful places and fill the gallery with great photos

Kitchen on the campfire

Try the delicious Sakhalin fish soup cooked right on the campfire

Majestic volcanoes

You will pass through bamboo to the fumarole field of the Mendeleev volcano, where you will see amazing "portals into the bowels of the earth"

Itinerary

Day 1 - Departure by boat to Shikotan Island
09:00 Transfer to Korsakov port. Registration on the ship.
12:00 Departure of the Pavel Leonov motor ship to Shikotan Island.
The ship 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).
Day 2 - Arrival at Shikotan Island. Jeep tour of the island's most iconic sites with local hiking
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.
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 cliffs with edelweiss blooming on them.
There are no volcanoes, thermal springs, bears or snakes on Shikotan.
Meeting at the port. Transfer to the hotel. We leave our things.
Route: Jeep tour of the most iconic places of Shikotan island with local hiking.
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.

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Day 3 - Mount Shikotan. Departure to Kunashir
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 on your own.
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 a powerful energy.
A short walk along the coast – kekur "Devil's finger", "Devil's Gate".
Dinner at the cafe.
Day 4 - Fumarole field and thermal springs of the Mendeleev volcano
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. Portals to the bowels of the earth. 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 (optional).
Dinner at the cafe.
Return to the hotel.
Day 5 - Cape Columnar. Stolbovskie springs. White Monks Rocks
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 / fragments of 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.

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Day 6 - Golovnin volcano. Lakes are Boiling and Hot
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 hot things in the lake.
Dinner at the cafe.

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Day 7 - Departure to Sakhalin Island
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.

Difficulty

Involves moderate physical activity

Tour organizer's comments

The tour provides hiking trails of moderate difficulty, including climbing, as well as jeep rides.

Accommodation

Hotel

5 nights
Cabin on the boat

1 night

Comfort

Midscale
Upscale
Premium

The tour provides accommodation along the route:

1 night on the ship (four-person cabin with amenities);
4 nights in Yuzhno-Kurilsk at the Flagship Hotel (partial facilities);
1 night at the Ostrovnoy Motel on Shikotan.

The cost of the tour for 1 person, rub.:

Double room	Surcharge for single occupancy
129 000	13 000

Additional payments on Kunashir are optional (increased comfort level of accommodation):

for a double suite at the Flagship Hotel (with amenities) on Kunashir Island – 9,000 rubles/person (4 nights);
for a single room at the Iceberg 2 hotel (with amenities) on Kunashir Island – 9,000 rubles/person (4 nights);
for a double suite at the Iceberg 2/Iceberg 1 hotel (with amenities) on Kunashir Island – 9,000 rubles/person (4 nights).

The Flagship Hotel has 7 rooms.

Breakfast is served in the village cafe, as there is no separate restaurant.

For an additional fee, you can choose an increased level of comfort – a double suite (with amenities).

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Tour conditions

Group

From 3 to 25 tourists

Minimum age

7 years old

Duration

7 days 6 nights

Group meets at

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Included in price

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Korsakov Port/Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport transfer;
accommodation on Shikotan at the Ostrovnoy Motel;
meals specified in the program (three meals a day on Shikotan and Kunashir);
accommodation in Yuzhno-Kurilsk at the Flagship Hotel (partial facilities);
port charges;
bed linen on the ship;
kayak and equipment rental;
transportation services according to the program;
accompanying instructors-guides on the routes;
Kurilsky Nature Reserve pass;
border pass to Kunashir Island and Shikotan Island.

Paid extra

flights to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and back;
tickets (the price is preliminary, the exact price will be announced in April):
- ticket to Korsakov – Malokurilskoye, Malokurilskoye – Yuzhno-Kurilsk (four-person cabin) and Yuzhno-Kurilsk – Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – 43,000 rubles/person.;
meals not specified in the program or specified "independently";
surcharge for single occupancy;
additional payment for an increased comfort level of living on Kunashir (optional);
early check-in and late check-out;
medical insurance.

It's important to know

lightweight headdress for sun protection;
trekking waterproof sneakers/boots (Gore-Tex), or treated with a water repellent + a replaceable pair of shoes;
comfortable sports sandals with a rigid fixation on the foot, in which it is convenient to walk on water and stones (necessary on the route Tikhaya Bay, for visiting thermal springs / baths on the islands of Kunashir and Iturup);
sports trousers are comfortable for trekking (2 pairs). It is also preferable to have waterproof trousers. It is especially convenient on the side zippers to quickly put on over sweatpants if necessary. They are light and do not take up space at all;
comfortable, lightweight, wind and moisture proof(!) jacket;
warm clothes: sweater, fleece jacket or similar warm clothes;
T-shirt with short or long sleeves with moisture-repellent properties for trekking;
lightweight cotton clothing: shorts/capris, T-shirts;
bathing suit;
socks are warm and thick;
a small travel towel (quick-drying);
a small backpack of 25-30 liters for one-day radial routes for water, photo/video equipment, swimsuit, towel, raincoat, etc. It is mandatory to have a waterproof backpack cover;
sunscreen and sunglasses;
a sunscreen adapted for you with a protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 units;
plastic water bottle for routes;
gloves;
telescopic poles for hiking (personal necessity);
photo/video equipment;
mosquito and tick repellents (personal necessity).

Dates and Prices

from
$1,526

23 – 29 Sep 7 days 6 nights

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7 days on the islands: Shikotan — Kunashir