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

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A trip to the three islands of the Kuril Ridge is for those who like outdoor activities, hiking in volcanic zones and wildlife watching.

We will take a walk around Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the capital of the Sakhalin region, collect amber on the coast, and take a look at the Japanese gate of Torii. During the passage through the Sea of Okhotsk, you will have the opportunity to see dolphins and killer whales, and after arrival, embark on an exciting jeep tour of the most iconic places of Shikotan with local hiking.

Our adventure will be not only informative, but also delicious — we will taste local delicacies and enjoy hot lunches in nature.

Location

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

from

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

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Tour highlights

Shikotan Jeeping

We will explore the smallest and at the same time incredibly unique island in the South Kuril Ridge by jeep

Gastronomy of the Far East

We will enjoy delicious Sakhalin fish soup, Far Eastern delicacies, caviar and Sakhalin sweets.

Trekking to the volcano

The whole way we are accompanied by beautiful fields of cedar elderberry and Kuril bamboo

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Boardwalk

Let's go for a walk through the most beautiful city with lots of alleys and parks, fragrant flower beds and lots of fountains.

A mystical place with its own music

We will relax on the cape, which was formed millions of years ago as a result of the eruption of the Mendeleev volcano, and swim in the sea.

Scenic bathing

If desired, we will swim in the wild thermal springs near the Mendeleev volcano.

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 is 2.5-3 hours.
Please keep in mind that check-in at the hotel is at 14:00.
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 - Tikhaya Bay, Noticeable Island, 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.
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
08:00 Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.
09:00 Transfer to Korsakov port.
Registration on the ship.
12:00 Departure of the Pavel Leonov 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.
Day 4 - Shikotan and Kunashir
Breakfast and lunch at the cafe on the ship on your own.
09:00 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.
You can also enjoy freshly brewed coffee in the cozy cafe.
13:00 Departure of the ship
17:00 Arrival in Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Kunashir Island.
Meeting at the seaport, transfer to the hotel, accommodation.
Let's go say hello to the Pacific Ocean!
A short walk along the coast — kekur "Devil's finger", "Devil's Gate".
Dinner at the cafe.
Return to the hotel.

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Day 5 - The fumarole field of the Mendeleev volcano
09:00 Breakfast at the cafe.
10:00 Departure for 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 is about 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.
Day 6 - Cape Columnar, Stolbovskie springs, White Monks rocks. 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.
Day 7 - 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 max. height 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! Well, where else do you buy in the volcano caldera?!
Dinner at the cafe.
Return to the hotel.

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Day 8 - Departure of the Admiral Nevelskoy motor ship to Shikotan Island
Room release.
Breakfast at the cafe.
11:00 Registration on the ship.
13:00 Departure of the 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.
A trip around the neighborhood.
Dinner at the hotel.

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Day 9 - Jeep tour of the most iconic places of Shikotan Island 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 on 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.
Day 10 - Mount Shikotan. Departure to Sakhalin
Room release.
Early 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.
13:00 Departure of the motor ship "Igor Farkhutdinov".
Lunch and dinner on the boat on your own.
17:00 Transit stop on Kunashir.

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Day 11 - Arrival at the port of Korsakov
Breakfast and lunch on the boat on your own.
20:00 Arrival at the port of Korsakov.
Transfer to the hotel.

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Day 12 - Free day
Breakfast at 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;
Pobeda complex 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!
Day 13 - Transfer to the airport
Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to the airport.
Departure.

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Difficulty

Involves moderate physical activity

Tour organizer's comments

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

Accommodation

Hotel

11 nights
Cabin on the boat

2 nights

Comfort

Midscale
Upscale
Premium

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

The cost of the tour for 1 person is 216,000 rubles.

The surcharge for 1-bed accommodation is 41,000 rubles.

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

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

Paradise Resort Hotel is a new level of relaxation. The hotel is located in the area of Victory Square, which is important for the city, in the ecological area at the foot of Mount Bolshevik. Here you can relax away from the hustle and bustle of the city. This is a place that makes you fall in love with the mountains at first sight. The restaurant, comfortable rooms, Aquamarine water and wellness center, you can warm up body and soul after exciting descents.

Tour conditions

Group

From 15 to 25 tourists

Minimum age

7 years old

Duration

13 days 12 nights

Group meets at

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Included in price

airport — hotel — airport transfer;
tour guide services;
meals according to the program:
- 3 meals a day on Kunashir;
- 3 meals a day on a Shikotan;
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk — Korsakov Port — Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk transfer;
accommodation according to the program:
- accommodation in Yuzhno-Kurilsk at the Flagship hotel;
- accommodation on Shikotan at the Ostrovnoy Motel;
- accommodation in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk at the Paradise Resort Hotel 4*;
port charges;
bed linen on the ship;
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:
- tickets for the Korsakov — Yuzhno-Kurilsk/Malokurilskoye — Korsakov motor ship, 4-bed cabin — 16,000 rubles/person. (the price is preliminary, to be specified);
meals on the ship;
dinners in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk;
The surcharge for 1-bed accommodation is 41,000 rubles.;
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
$2,752

27 Jul – 8 Aug 13 days 12 nights

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Island trip: Sakhalin — Kunashir — Shikotan for 13 days