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

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The distant Kuril Islands invite you to visit!

You will sail to the Sea of Okhotsk by boat, admire the picturesque coves of Shikotan, do fascinating trekking and visit the volcanoes of Kunashir.

This trip will be remembered for a long time!

Location

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

from

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

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Tour highlights

Sea kayaking

During the boat trip, you will admire the incredible beauty of the bay with sandy beaches surrounded by steep cliffs and protruding capes.

The greatness of volcanoes

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

Picturesque cape

You will see basalt lava frozen millions of years ago in the form of 5-6-faceted columns

Rest and recovery

Swim in the Sea of Okhotsk and wild thermal springs

Jeep tour of Shikotan

Enjoy the beauty of Cape World's Edge, the filming locations of the film "Robinson Crusoe" and the lighthouse of Spangberg

Gastronomic diversity

You will taste delicious Sakhalin fish soup with red fish, Far Eastern delicacies, caviar, tea with herbs 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 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).
Day 2 - Departure by boat to Kunashir
08:00 Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.
09:00 Transfer to Korsakov port.
Registration on the ship.
12:00 Departure of the motor ship "Igor Farkhutdinov" to the island of Kunashir.
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.

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Day 3 - 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 at the cafe.
Transfer to the hotel. We leave our things.
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 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 (optional).
Dinner at the cafe.
Return to the hotel.
Day 4 - 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.
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.
Day 5 - 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.
Day 6 - 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 motor ship to Shikotan Island.
17:00 Arrival in Malokurilskoye settlement, Shikotan island.
Meeting at the port, transfer to the hotel.
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 7 - 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 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.

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Day 8 - 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 coves 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.

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Day 9 - 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.
14:00 Departure of the Pavel Leonov motor ship.
Lunch and dinner on the boat on your own.
18:00 Transit stop on Kunashir.
Day 10 - 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 11 - 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 12 - 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

10 nights
Cabin on the boat

1 night

Comfort

Midscale
Upscale
Premium

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

The cost of the tour for 1 person is 212 000 rubles.

The surcharge for single occupancy on the tour is 32,400 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/Iceberg 1 hotel (with amenities) on Kunashir Island – 7000 rubles/person. (3 nights).

The tour provides 3 nights accommodation in a 4* hotel in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

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Tour conditions

Group

From 3 to 25 tourists

Minimum age

7 years old

Duration

12 days 11 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 Kunashir and Shikotan);
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Korsakov Port – Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk transfer;
accommodation in Yuzhno-Kurilsk at the Flagship Hotel (partial facilities);
accommodation on Shikotan at the Ostrovnoy Motel;
kayak and equipment rental;
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 (the price is preliminary, the exact price will be announced in April):
- tickets for the Korsakov– Yuzhno-Kurilsk motor ship, Yuzhno-Kurilsk – Malokurilskoye, Malokurilskoye – Korsakov, (four–person cabin) - 37 500 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 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
$2,498

1 – 12 Jul 12 days 11 nights

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Sakhalin – Kunashir – Shikotan