Expedition to the Shantar Islands

The journey begins in Khabarovsk, where you need to get to on your own.

It is necessary to be in Khabarovsk the day before the start of the program, and plan a flight back a day later after its end (the end time of the program is considered to be the time of return to Khabarovsk).

This way you can prepare for a long journey at the beginning and relax after it at the end of the program. On the first day before the route, we meet at the airport at the agreed time. Nevelsky in Khabarovsk.

We are ready to help you choose a place to stay in Khabarovsk.

VIP class hotels (residual expensive, but also with a high level of service):

• "Sopka". It is located on the banks of the Amur River within walking distance from the embankment and the main attractions (Kavkazkaya str., 20).
• "The sail." The president stays at this hotel during his visits to Khabarovsk, located in the very center, 20 meters from the embankment (Shevchenko str., 5).

Standard class hotels:

• «Verba». It is located on Istomina Street, 400 meters from the embankment in the city center (56a Istomina Street). 
• "Boutique Hotel". It is located on Istomina Street, 400 meters from the embankment in the city center (64 Istomina Street). 
• "Sapporo". It is also conveniently located in the center near the main attractions (Komsomolskaya str., 79).

Budget hotel:

• "The Seagull". The hotel of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, part of the Slavyanka group, 15 minutes by taxi from the center, the most attractive in terms of price /quality ratio (29 Georgievskaya St.).

The format of the trip is expeditionary in a remote area with full autonomy. 

The departure time depends on the weather. 

In case of bad weather, there will be delays on the route or cancellation of certain routes and excursions. 

Negative weather conditions create guaranteed discomfort.

Sudden temperature changes are possible.

The selection of personal equipment must be treated with maximum attention!

Parking lots, the location of bases, campsites, routes occur in places where large predators (tigers, bears, wolves, foxes, etc.) live, as well as other wild animals, the possibility of meeting them is as high as possible, for this reason, the occurrence of emergency and other negative circumstances is possible, the rules of personal and collective security should be strictly observed, to familiarize yourself with the instructions and rules for staying at bases, camping and on routes. 

The conduct of a particular route directly depends on the weather conditions and the sea situation. 

The tour manager has the right to make adjustments to the route and duration of the tour depending on the prevailing situation, without taking into account the opinion of tourists and immediately without notification in the interests of the safety of the group or individual tourists and staff.

In many places of parking and during routes in the wild there will be no toilets (with the exception of the Ongachan base, Wrangel, Gorbush camping, Cape Perovsky), at bases toilets are located on the street in the form of a separate building. 

There will be no communication (except for emergency satellite communications); Ongachan, Wrangel, and Gorbush campgrounds have an official Internet connection to connect base personnel and send current and emergency information. 

There will be no opportunity to contact medical institutions in a timely manner and receive qualified medical care. 

First-aid kits are available on each boat, at the base Administrator, the head of the campsite.

The routes pass through the Sea of Okhotsk, as a result of which various weather phenomena and the environment are affected, the conduct of certain routes, exits, excursions depends on weather conditions, negative weather conditions create guaranteed discomfort and can cause exacerbation of chronic diseases, malaise, high probability of catching a cold. 

The temperature per day can range from +35 to + 2°C.

The temperature in the evening and during the rain is mostly cool. During the tour, when staying on the coast, when traveling by boats, on routes, due to high humidity, things should be packed in a moisture-proof package, protecting them from getting wet (for example, in a hermetic bag, a large-volume polyethylene liner, a waterproof backpack or a hermetic bag). 

On the basis of Cape Wrangel, construction is underway daily from 9 to 19 o'clock, which is why noise can cause inconvenience and discomfort. 

Access to the routes, a boat trip directly depends on the tide / ebb phase, and therefore the exit time is set by the captain of the boat based on personal experience, weather forecast and stormy conditions. 

Early exits or long waits are possible. 

There are no guarantees of the presence of whales in habitats and on routes. 

Whales are wild animals that do not obey any schedule.

It is impossible to predict the presence of whales in one place or another.

Sailing on sap boards directly depends on the weather, the presence of fog, wind, the tide/ ebb phase, and is possible only after passing the briefing and accompanied by an instructor.

Due to the full autonomy and expedition format of the tour, the conditions of the wild nature, various emergency situations may occur that could not have been foreseen or predicted. 

During the tour, other tourist groups, scientific research, expeditionary field groups, raid and control and supervisory groups of law enforcement agencies will be located at the Ongachan, Wrangel, and Gorbusha campgrounds. 

During the tour, participants will have to face the technique of sea travel on open boats with environmental influences. Due to movement by sea and the occurrence of negative weather events, departure from the route may not be possible until good weather is established. 

The tour can be shortened by the number of days without refund.

The conditions of the tour provide for the participation of each tourist in economic activities in the places of accommodation and teamwork on the routes.

Air and railway tickets to Khabarovsk are not included in the price of the tour. You can purchase them yourself or contact us for help.

Khabarovsk — Nikolaevsk — Khabarovsk air tickets are included in the price.

Insurance is not included in the tour program. You can purchase additional travel insurance on the website of a Large Country without commission directly from insurance companies.

Delivery to and from the tour venue is carried out in combination.

By air transport on the route Khabarovsk — Nikolaevsk-on-Amur — Khabarovsk, on regular flights of small aircraft of the airline Aurora, Khabarovsk Airlines, flight time is 1 hour 40 minutes, flight departure depends on the weather, as well as sanitary and epidemiological standards, including restrictions imposed in connection with COVID-19. Due to advance and block bookings, air tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded, including in case of early departure from the route. Recalculation of the cost of the voucher, refund of funds in connection with the refusal of the tourist from the flight or the removal of the tourist from the flight for any reason is not performed.

By road from Nikolaevsk-on-Amur to the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and back, along a dirt road, the transfer and brand of vehicles depends on the condition of the dirt road, river flooding and weather conditions. Travel time is from 3 to 5 hours. The entire route takes place in the wild (there are no settlements, communication), which can cause fatigue, fatigue, motion sickness, malaise and other negative factors. Delivery to the place of the tour takes place along administrative, private, regime roads, with passage through fords. There are no toilets on the way.

By sea transport on open boats from Cape Perovsky to Wrangel Bay and back. The travel time is from 4 to 7 hours, depending on the sea situation, the strength of the wind, waves, fog and other natural factors. During sea crossings on open boats, environmental influences, negative weather events (rain, fog, cold weather, wind, etc.) occur, which can negatively affect general well-being, cause various ailments, and a high probability of getting sick. The departure of boats directly depends on the weather, in case of stormy weather, departure is not possible until good weather is established. There are no toilets in open boats.

Meals in settlements are provided at their own expense, including in case of delays in Khabarovsk, Nikolaevsk-on-Amur. 

Beyond the reach of public catering points, the Travel Agency organizes snacks, observance of drinking regime and provision of other non-perishable food on the way and during the routes. 

Meals on the basis of Wrangel, Ongachan, Pink Salmon are provided centrally in the dining room. 

Meals in field overnight stays are provided in the field in a tent, cooking is carried out in a field kitchen. 

In case of food restrictions, this should be reported to the administrator of the base at the location, or to the head of the group during field trips and camping.

At the Ongachan tourist base, accommodation in rooms with accommodation for 4 or 6 people, as well as at personal request in tents using sleeping bags. The settlement is carried out by the database Administrator. 

Accommodation at the Cape Wrangel base in tents with accommodation for 2 people using sleeping bags. The tents have cots and lighting. The settlement is carried out by the database Administrator. 

Accommodation at the Pink Salmon campsite in tents for 2 people with installed cots in each tent using sleeping bags.

The list of services included in the package:

Ongachan base: accommodation in rooms or tents on request, meals in the dining room, shower (separate room), bath barrel, electric generator for charging gadgets and lighting, walking tours (only accompanied by a huntsman), drying room, semi-automatic washing machine (in agreement with the administrator), bed linen in the rooms, gazebo, campfire area, toilet (separate building), wash area, fishing, fishing gear, cooking catches (in agreement with the administrator and depends on the workload of the chefs).

Cape Wrangel base: meals in the dining room, bath barrel, showers, electric generator for charging gadgets and lighting, drying room, camping, lecture hall, wetsuits, sap boards (access to the sea is possible only in the presence of weather, absence of fog, wind and after instruction, by agreement and accompanied by an instructor), hiking tours (only accompanied by a gamekeeper), fishing, fishing gear, a semi-automatic washing machine (in agreement with the administrator), a campfire area, a toilet (separate building), a platform for launching personal drones, a wash area, cooking catches (in agreement with the administrator and the workload of the chefs).

Pink Salmon camping: dining room, tents for sleeping, electric generator for charging gadgets and lighting, hiking and sea excursions, fishing, fishing gear, toilet, wash area, sauna, campfire area.

• alcohol consumption outside the accommodation;
• independent access to routes, to the sea by boats and sap boards;
• removal from places of accommodation and parking without warning to the head of the group and unaccompanied;
• violation of rules and safety instructions; - feed wild animals and approach them;
• violate the rules of whale and marine animal surveillance;
• being without life jackets on boats, speedboats;
• abusive behavior, deliberate creation of conflict situations;
• take any actions aimed at deviating from the route, falling behind the group, etc.;
• distract the driver, the captain of the ship from the controls;
• interfere with the work of research groups and staff of scientific teams;
• to treat nature carelessly, to litter, to burn bonfires outside specially designated areas;
• smoking outside designated areas in accommodation areas and while driving on boats and motor vehicles;
• violate the established sanitary and epidemiological norms, prohibitions and restrictions.

A tourist who grossly violates prohibitions and rules of conduct and (or) is in a state of alcoholic, narcotic and (or) other intoxication may not be allowed to further participate in the tour, while the Tourist or his legal representative will not be entitled to a refund or recalculation of the Tour. The tourist or his legal representative independently pays all additional costs, expenses and damage caused due to illegal behavior.

• meeting with wild animals, including large predators;
• meeting with reptiles, including venomous ones;
• poisonous plants and their fruits;
• poisonous mushrooms;
• bloodsucking and other insects; 
• rodents and other disease vectors;
• possible collapses of the coastlines, the fall of individual stones;
• The impact of wildlife;
• introduction of sanitary and epidemiological restrictions;
• full autonomy and expedition format of the tour;
• the inability to receive timely medical care and contact a medical institution;
• absence of people and settlements;
• high ultraviolet radiation and solar activity;
• no communication (except satellite emergency);
• high risk of injury;
• forest fires;
• negative weather events;
• a sharp deterioration in the storm situation;
• cold (icy) fogs;
• high humidity;
• sharp and significant changes in daytime and nighttime temperatures;
• occurrence of natural disasters;
• the occurrence of a tsunami;
•  the occurrence of fatigue, discomfort, fatigue, malaise;
• exacerbation of chronic diseases, disease;
• other circumstances related to the autonomous, expeditionary travel format, including force majeure.

The tour program may be changed by the tour leader based on the safety factors of the group, the weather, the concentration of whales in the observation areas and other objective circumstances. There may be delays in returning to Khabarovsk, or an early exit from the route.