This journey will remain in your memory for a long time!
On Sakhalin, you will admire the picturesque bay, visit the Japanese Torii Gate, collect amber and stroll along the coast.
Kunashir Island will amaze you with its volcanoes, bamboo thickets and thermal springs. And on Shikotan you will find an exciting jeep tour of the most iconic places of the island with local hiking.
Visit Cape World's Edge, the filming location of the film "Robinson Crusoe" and see the lighthouse of Spangberg
Tastes of the Far East
You can enjoy delicious Sakhalin fish soup with red fish, Far Eastern delicacies and caviar.
The greatness of volcanoes
Admire the fumarole field of the Mendeleev volcano and the lakes of the Golovnin volcano
Hospitable Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
Take part in a sightseeing tour and welcome lunch at one of the best Japanese restaurants.
The Mysterious Cape
You will see basalt lava frozen millions of years ago in the form of 5-6-faceted columns
Picturesque bay
Go to Tikhaya Bay, stop at the amber coast on the way and watch the seals
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).
2 more photos
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.
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).
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Day 3 -
Departure by boat to Shikotan Island
09:00 Transfer to Korsakov port.
Registration on the ship.
12:00 Departure of the Admiral Nevelskoy 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.
Day 4 -
Jeep tour of the most iconic places of Shikotan 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.
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 cliffs 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 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.
Dinner at the hotel.
3 more photos
Day 5 -
Sea kayaking trip. Cape Trident. Dimitrov Bay and Airfield
Breakfast at the hotel.
On shore, briefing, boarding sea kayaks is a safe and 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.
According to the weather, the route can be arranged on another day.
Day 6 -
Snezhkov Bay. Pacific ocean
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 or 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 is a lunch box.
It's the same way back.
Dinner at the hotel.
Day 7 -
Mount Shikotan. Departure to Kunashir
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" 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.
Return to the hotel.
1 more photo
Day 8 -
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 a 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.
4 more photos
Day 9 -
Golovninsky cliff. Veslovsky Peninsula
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 the Golovnin volcano's 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.
It is possible to drive to the cliff only at low tide.
Lunch by the ocean.
Dinner at the cafe.
Return to the hotel.
Day 10 -
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 something hot in the lake!
Dinner at the cafe.
Return to the hotel.
5 more photos
Day 11 -
Cape Columnar. Stolbovskie springs. White Monks Rocks
09:00 Room release. 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.
18:00 Dinner at a cafe.
19:00 Registration on the ship.
22:00 Departure of the Admiral Nevelskoy motor ship to Sakhalin.
3 more photos
Day 12 -
Arrival on Sakhalin
Breakfast and lunch on the boat in a cafe on your own.
20:00 Arrival at the port of Korsakov.
Transfer to the hotel.
Day 13 -
Free day
Breakfast at the hotel restaurant.
Free day (reserve).
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!
1 more photo
Day 14 -
Transfer to the airport
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, including those with constant climbing, as well as jeep rides and kayaking.
Accommodation
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 246,000 rubles.
The surcharge for single occupancy on the tour is 38,200 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).
4* hotel in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk 4 nights
The tour provides accommodation for 5 nights in a 4* hotel in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
The Flagship Hotel 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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The cabin 2 nights
The tour provides accommodation in a four-person cabin of the ship.
Port fees and bed linen on the ship are included in the price of the tour.
Ostrovnoy Motel 3 nights
Ostrovnoy Motel offers accommodation on the picturesque island of Shikotan.
The hotel offers:
buffet buffet;
mini-kitchens on each floor for comfortable cooking;
private laundry for the convenience of guests;
Internet;
recreation room and luggage storage;
rooms of two categories.
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Tour conditions
Group
From 15 to 25 tourists
Minimum age
7 years old
Duration
14 days 13 nights
Group meets at
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
Included in price
airport – hotel – airport transfer;
accommodation in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk at the 4 hotel*;
tour guide services;
meals specified in the program, including three meals a day on Shikotan and Kunashir;
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Korsakov Port – Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk transfer;
accommodation on Shikotan at the Ostrovnoy Motel;
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 known later):
tickets for the Korsakov – Malokurilskoye, Malokurilskoye – Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Yuzhno-Kurilsk – Korsakov motor ship (four-person cabin) – 35,500 rubles/person.;
meals on the ship;
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
Personal equipment you need for the tour
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;
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).
What rules must be followed for safety?
The Kuril Islands are a region of increased danger for tourism, especially in terms of individual travel.
When visiting routes in an organized group, the tourist is obliged to comply with the requirements and recommendations of instructors and guides, and take precautions to ensure safety.
Dangerous places:
The caldera of the Golovnin volcano, the lakes are Boiling and Hot. Griffins and mud boilers with emissions of dirt and hot gas vapors. Swimming is prohibited in the Boiling Lake!
Mendeleev volcano, Fumarole fields. Emissions of hot steam, hydrogen sulfide gases, dangerous areas for passage (possible dips), hot hydrogen sulfide sources; hard bamboo stalks growing against the course of movement.
Cape Columnar. A dangerous crossing over steep rocky areas.
Dangerous objects:
Mustard plant — causes severe burns and allergies.
Kuril bears. Take all precautions to avoid encountering them (make loud noises while in the forest; carry a flare; never run away from the beast, slowly move aside, or stay in place).
We recommend getting vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis
Are plane tickets included in the price of the tour?
Air and railway tickets are not included in the price of the tour. You can purchase them yourself or contact us for help.
Is accident insurance included?
Insurance is not included in the price of the tour. You can purchase additional travel insurance on the website of a Large Country without commission directly from insurance companies.
What documents are required to obtain a pass to the Kuril Islands?
Documents are required to obtain a pass to the Kuril Islands:
a copy of the passport of the Russian Federation with a residence permit (adult) for citizens of the Russian Federation;
children under 14 years of age (a copy of the birth certificate);
a copy of the passport and a copy of the visa to the Russian Federation for foreign citizens.
Tourist Information:
Place of work (study), military service (full name of the company, institution, organization, educational institution, military unit);
Current position;
Office (work) phone number;
The home phone number.
Deadlines for submitting documents for registration of a pass:
for Russian citizens no later than 15 days before arrival;
for foreign citizens, no later than 30 days before arrival.
Are there any possible changes in the program?
The routes and their sequence can be adjusted depending on the weather conditions, which are extremely variable on Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, significantly affecting the entire course of the program, and the actual arrival/departure time of the ship.
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