A trip to the islands of Sakhalin — Iturup — Kunashir

12 more

In this tour you will travel to three islands: Sakhalin, Iturup and Kunashir.

You will explore the enchanting White Cliffs, dine at a Japanese restaurant, swim in a natural Jacuzzi and go boating along the White Cliffs.

The vacation you've always dreamed of!

Location

Russia, Sakhalin region, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Sightseeing tours

Contact the tour coordinator

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

Or text us in messengers

Tour highlights

Interesting tastes

You will taste delicious fish soup, Far Eastern delicacies, tea with herbs and berries

Frozen splendor

On the Yankito plateau, you will admire the bizarre silhouettes of once boiling lava

Rest and recovery

Visit a real oasis among volcanoes and taiga, where you can relax under a hot waterfall.

Trekking to the volcano

Along the way you will see the most beautiful fields of the Kuril bamboo forest, and in the caldera of the volcano there are Boiling and Hot lakes

An unusual cape

Explore Cape Columnar, relax and swim in the sea

Getting to know Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Take a sightseeing tour of the capital of the Sakhalin Region

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 can be booked and paid in advance, if necessary.
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).

3 more photos
Day 2 - Flight to Iturup
Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to the airport.
Departure to O. Iturup.
The flight schedule for the 2026 season will be released in March, after which routes on flight days can be adjusted.
Arrival in Kurilsk.
Please note! Lunch is not included in the price.
Meeting at the airport, transfer to the hotel, accommodation.

3 more photos
Day 3 - Boat trip, Chirip Peninsula. White Rocks
According to the weather, the route can be arranged on another day. Boats provide an opportunity to disembark in the most attractive locations.
Breakfast at the cafe.
Departure to the pier, briefing, boarding the boat.
During the boat trip, you will see the most beautiful landscapes of the Chirip Peninsula, picturesque lava shores, bird markets, seal and sea lion deposits, Cape Chirip and Cape Spur. Next, go to the White Cliffs.
A boat trip along the White Cliffs is a wonderful opportunity to see this unique natural site from the sea.
Disembarkation, walk.
Lunch on the coast.
The white cliffs are white crested ridges of bizarre shapes, cut by canyons.
The landscape is constantly changing due to the fact that the rock formations (volcanic glass and pumice) are soft and prone to weathering and erosion.
The beach consists of white quartz and black titanium-magnetite sand.
Dinner at the cafe.

3 more photos
Day 4 - Fumarole field and thermal springs of Baransky volcano
Breakfast at the cafe.
Departure for the route, 20 km on the way.
An interesting educational tour to the fumarole field (fumaroles, salt tanks, mud boilers, steam griffins).
We cook eggs in the geyser – this is our attraction.
There is also a delicious lunch and eggs with caviar.
Transfer to the thermal complex – a stunningly beautiful paradise, an oasis among volcanoes and taiga.
In a natural Jacuzzi with a water temperature of 42 ° C and under a hot waterfall, you are truly reborn.
Bathing.
Route: Yankito Plateau
A trip to the Yankito plateau, Kuril Bay – frozen volcanic lava in the form of a pile of rocks on the seashore. Bizarre silhouettes and unusual shapes of lava that was once boiling.
Dinner at a cafe (included in the price).

5 more photos
Day 5 - Kasatka Bay, a rocky massif in Kasatka Bay. Pacific ocean
Breakfast in the cafe.
Departure for the route, 60 km south to the Pacific Coast.
Inspection of the "Devil's rock", visit to the caves. Tunnels were cut through the rocks by the Japanese for military purposes.
Lunch on the route.
Dinner at the cafe.

3 more photos
Day 6 - Departure by boat to Kunashir
Room release, breakfast in a cafe.
Transfer to the port.
Registration on the ship.
13:00 Departure of the ship to Kunashir.
Lunch and dinner on the boat on your own.
Day 7 - Arrival on Kunashir. The fumarole field of the Mendeleev volcano
09:00 The ship's approach to the port of Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Kunashir Island.
Meeting at the port.
Breakfast at the cafe.
Transfer to the hotel. We leave our things.
Route: Fumarole field of the Mendeleev volcano. Thermal springs of the Mendeleev volcano.
Departure to the route of medium difficulty "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 is optional.
Dinner at the cafe.
Return to the hotel.

2 more photos
Day 8 - Cape Columnar. The Sea of Okhotsk
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.
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.

3 more photos
Day 9 - 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.

2 more photos
Day 10 - Departure to Sakhalin with a stop at Shikotan
08:30 Room release.
09:00 Transfer to the port and dinner at a cafe.
10:00 Registration on the ship.
13:00 Departure of the ship to Sakhalin with a transit stop at Shikotan.
17:00 Arrival at Shikotan Island. The vessel is parked for 4 hours, but is allowed ashore only for 2 hours strictly if there is a border pass.
Meeting at the port and an organized tour of the surrounding area.
Lunch and dinner on the boat on your own.
Day 11 - 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 12 - 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 you 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).

2 more photos
Day 13 - Completion of the program
Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to the airport.
Departure.

Difficulty

Involves moderate physical activity

Tour organizer's comments

The tour provides hiking trails of moderate difficulty.

Accommodation

Hotel

10 nights
Cabin on the boat

2 nights

Comfort

Midscale
Upscale
Premium

The tour includes accommodation in hotels and cabins on the ship.

The cost of the tour for 1 person is 298,000 rubles.

The surcharge for single occupancy on the tour is 37,000 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 – 7000 rubles/person. (3 nights);
for a single room in the Iceberg 2 hotel (with amenities) on Kunashir Island – 7000 rubles/person. (3 nights);
for a double suite at the Iceberg 2 hotel (with amenities) on Kunashir Island – 7000 rubles/person. (3 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.

15 more photos

Tour conditions

Group

From 15 to 25 tourists

Minimum age

7 years old

Duration

13 days 12 nights

Group meets at

Russia, Sakhalin region, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Included in price

airport – hotel – airport transfer;
accommodation in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk at the Mega-Palace Hotel 4*;
transfer hotel – seaport Korsakov – hotel;
accommodation in Kurilsk at the Zarechnaya Hotel;
accommodation in Yuzhno-Kurilsk at the Flagship Hotel (partial facilities);
meals specified in the program (on Kunashir and Iturup three meals a day according to the program, meals on Sakhalin according to the program);
transportation services according to the program;
accompanying instructors-guides on the routes;
tour guide services;
Kurilsky Nature Reserve pass;
border crossing to Kunashir Island, Shikotan Island, Iturup Island.

Paid extra

flights to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and back;
Kurilsk — Yuzhno-Kurilsk— Korsakov motor ship tickets (four-person cabin) and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk—Kurilsk air ticket – 36 500 rub.;
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

$3,994

13 – 25 Jul 13 days 12 nights

Submit request
No need to pay now
$3,994

10 – 22 Aug 13 days 12 nights

Submit request
No need to pay now
$3,994

17 – 29 Aug 13 days 12 nights

Submit request
No need to pay now

Reviews Leave a review

No reviews yet