A trip to Sakhalin, Kunashir and Shikotan

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Feel the powerful energy of the Pacific Ocean, stroll through the fumarole field and enjoy the gastronomic delights — all this is possible on this fascinating tour.

You will visit the iconic places of Sakhalin, Kunashir and Shikotan, admire the picturesque bays and capes, go to volcanoes and swim in wild thermal springs.

An unforgettable experience is guaranteed!

Location

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Contact the tour coordinator

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

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Tour highlights

Jeep tour of Shikotan

Visit Cape World's Edge, the filming locations of the film "Robinson Crusoe" and the lighthouse of Spanberg

Volcanoes of Kunashir

Admire the fumarole field of the Mendeleev volcano and the lakes of the Golovnin volcano

Picturesque cape

You will see the basalt lava, which froze millions of years ago in the form of five-hexagonal columns.

Boat trip

Take a boat trip across the Sea of Okhotsk and, if you're lucky, see dolphins and killer whales.

Getting to know Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Take part in a sightseeing tour of the modern and beautiful capital of the Sakhalin region

Variety of tastes

You will taste fish soup, Far Eastern delicacies, caviar, as well as herbal tea and Sakhalin sweets.

Itinerary

Day 1 - Arrival in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. City Sightseeing Tour
Arrival in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Meeting at the airport.
If arrival is at 09:15, then transfer to the hotel, we leave our things.
Free time ~2.5-3 hours.
Please keep in mind that check-in at the hotel is at 14:00. Early check-in is not included in the price of the tour.
If arrival is at 12:30, then we immediately go to the restaurant.
Welcome lunch at one of the best Japanese restaurants.
Sightseeing bus tour of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the capital of the Sakhalin region.
A modern, beautiful city with a history.
Return to the hotel.
Dinner (on your own).

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Day 2 - The bay is Quiet. The island Is Noticeable. The eastern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk
08:00 Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.
08:30 Departure from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk by bus. Travel time with stops is approximately 3 hours, 135 km, paved federal highway.
Along the way, we collect amber on the Amber Coast, visit the Japanese Torii gates of the Karafuto governorate, 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.
Upon arrival, we walk along the coast. Nature is truly miraculous!
Lunch is hot on the route — Sakhalin fish soup, caviar, Far Eastern delicacies, tea with herbs, Sakhalin sweets.
19:00 Return to the hotel. Dinner (on your own).

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Day 3 - Departure by boat to Kunashir
08:00 Breakfast at the hotel.
09:00 Transfer to Korsakov port.
Registration on the ship.
12:00 Departure of the Pavel Leonov or Admiral Nevelskoy motor ship to Kunashir 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.

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Day 4 - Arrival in Yuzhno-Kurilsk. Fumarole field and thermal springs of the Mendeleev volcano
09:00 The ship's approach to the port of Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Kunashir Island.
Meeting at the port.
Breakfast in the cafe.
Transfer to the hotel. We leave our things.
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 a short rest.
Parking on the fumarole field ~ 2 hours.
Fumaroles and solfatars are among the largest, if not the largest, in 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.

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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 of broken pillars.
Relaxing at the cape, swimming in the sea.
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.
Return to the hotel.

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Day 7 - Golovninsky cliff. Veslovsky Peninsula. Pacific ocean
09:00 Breakfast at the cafe.
10:00 Departure by car to the Veslovsky peninsula, Golovnino settlement, the southernmost part of the island.
Visit to the memorial sign at the site of the founding of the Russian settlement on the island of Kunashir in 1778.
Golovninsky Cliff is an extremely impressive natural site. The giant outcrops of this unique relief form capture the main stages of Golovnin volcano activity and climatic events over the past 2 million years.
The structure of the cliff deposits is very complex: the ashes of ancient volcanic eruptions alternate with strata of marine sediments and include peat bogs of different ages.
The cliff is "alive", constantly crumbling, and autumn storms play a particularly important role in this.
Please note! It is possible to drive to the cliff only at low tide.
Lunch by the ocean.
Dinner at the cafe.
Return to the hotel.
If it is impossible to travel to Golovninsky cliff due to a strong tide, a landslide on the coast, etc., the route will be replaced with another route: Dog Rock, Lagunnoe Lake.
Day 8 - Departure by boat to Shikotan Island
Room release.
Breakfast at the cafe.
11:00 Registration on the ship.
13:00 Departure of the Pavel Leonov or Admiral Nevelskoy motor ship to Shikotan Island.
17:00 Arrival in Malokurilskoye settlement, Shikotan island.
Meeting at the port, transfer to the hotel, check-in.
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.
Shikotan has the most beautiful coves! You can't find them anywhere in the Kuril Islands.
A trip around the neighborhood.
Dinner at the hotel.
Day 9 - Jeep tour of the most iconic places of Shikotan with local hiking
Breakfast at the hotel.
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.
Return to the hotel in the evening.
Dinner at the hotel.

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Day 10 - Sea kayaking trip. Cape Trident. Dimitrov Bay and Airfield
According to the weather, the route can be arranged on another day.
Breakfast at the hotel.
On shore, briefing, boarding sea kayaks is a safe, comfortable vessel. There is always a boat with the group on insurance.
Shikotan has incredibly beautiful bays with sandy beaches, surrounded by steep cliffs and protruding capes, with multiple kekurs and arches.
A walk through such places will give you great pleasure from the pristine splendor and endless Pacific Ocean.
Lunch on the coast.
Then transfer to Dimitrov Bay and Airfield – incredibly beautiful places.
Small walks.
Dinner at the hotel.
Day 11 - Snezhkov Bay. Pacific ocean. Departure to Sakhalin
Room release.
Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to the route "Snezhkova Bay" to the village of Krabozavodskoye, then 8 km on foot.
Have you ever crossed an island from one coast to another? Probably not. It's going to happen to you today – we're going from the west coast to the east coast.
A very pleasant, full of impressions walk with the delicious smells of juniper, the rustle of leaves of the endless bamboo fields here, the conversation of the ocean and the island coming from afar. No serious ascents and descents.
Snezhkova Bay is small, cozy, with a sandy beach. You fall into it like into a trap and you don't want to leave anymore.
Lunch lunch box in the bay.
Dinner at the hotel.
20:00 Transfer to the port, registration on the ship.
22:00 Departure of the ship "Pavel Leonov" or "Admiral Nevelskoy".
Lunch and dinner on the boat on your own.
Day 12 - A day on the ship and arrival on Sakhalin
Breakfast and lunch on the boat on your own.
20:00 Arrival at the port of Korsakov.
Transfer to the hotel.
Day 13 - Cape Bird and Cape Giant. The southeastern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk
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 grottos, 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).

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Day 14 - Free day
Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.
Free day.
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:
Sakhalin Museum of Local Lore.
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.
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!

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Day 15 - Departure
Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to the airport.
Departure.

Difficulty

Involves moderate physical activity

Tour organizer's comments

The tour includes hiking trails of moderate difficulty, as well as jeep rides.

Accommodation

Hotel

12 nights
Cabin on the boat

2 nights

Comfort

Midscale

The tour includes accommodation in hotels, a ship cabin and a motel.

The cost of the tour for 1 person is 325,000 rubles.

The surcharge for single occupancy on the tour is 41,000 rubles.

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 Mega Palace Hotel is located in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and is one of the largest urban hotels with a developed infrastructure.

The hotel offers more than a hundred rooms of different categories — from standard to apartments and presidential rooms. Many rooms offer views of the city, mountains and hills, and one of the hotel's features is a panoramic terrace on the top floor.

The categories "Standard", "Deluxe", "Residential Apartments", "Mega Apartments", "Residential family", "Royal Comfort", "Royal Apartments" and "Presidential Apartments" are available for accommodation.

The rooms vary in size and layout: there are both classic options for one or two guests, as well as more spacious apartments with a kitchen, living room, several bedrooms and work areas. All categories include Wi-Fi, climate control, TV, refrigerator, kettle, safe and daily housekeeping.

There are several restaurants and bars on site. The Grill on the Sky restaurant, the Asia restaurant, the BamBoo Japanese restaurant, the Baron lobby pastry shop, as well as the Duke nightclub and karaoke are available to guests.

Breakfast is served from 07:00 to 10:00, and room service is also available.

It offers a fitness center, sauna, spa treatments and additional relaxation areas. For residents, access to the fitness club is provided free of charge, as well as free admission to the Duke nightclub.

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Tour conditions

Group

From 15 to 25 tourists

Minimum age

7 years old

Duration

15 days 14 nights

Group meets at

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Included in price

airport – hotel – airport transfer;
habitation:
- in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk at the Mega-Palace 4* hotel (5 nights);
- in Yuzhno-Kurilsk at the Flagship Hotel, partial facilities (4 nights);
- on Shikotan at the Ostrovnoy Motel (3 nights);
tour guide services;
nutrition:
- on Sakhalin according to the program (5 breakfasts, 2 lunches);
- three meals a day on Kunashir (5 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners);
- three meals a day at Shikotan (3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 4 dinners);
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Korsakov Port – Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk transfer;
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, including port fees and linen on the ship (cost may vary):
- tickets for the Korsakov – Yuzhno-Kurilsk – Malokurilskoye – Korsakov motor ships (four–person cabin) - 25,000 rubles.;
meals on the ship;
surcharge for single occupancy;
additional payment for an increased comfort level of living on Kunashir (optional);
dinners in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk;
early check-in and late check-out of hotels;
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 necessary 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

$4,356

2 – 16 Aug 15 days 14 nights

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