Expedition to the Enge of Russia, Kuril Islands
We invite you to discover one of the most remote corners of Russia in order to explore the islands of the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk. The nature of the Kuril Islands resembles pictures from adventure novels: it is a different world with volcanoes, hot lakes, walls of waterfalls and fantastic coasts of white rocks.
Our tour with a visit to Sakhalin and Iturup, the largest and most beautiful island of the Kuril archipelago, will appeal to those who love active excursions. Every day new places and unique landscapes await you.
The Sakhalin Island is surrounded by the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. Due to its location in the Siberian Far East, the island has a cold and humid climate, ranging from humid continental in the south to subarctic in the centre and north. The local temperatures see dramatic changes, dropping to - 48°C in winter and raising to +22° C in summer.
Our tours to Sakhalin and Kuril Islands will guide you along the trails of the edge of the Earth so that you discover truly breathtaking landscape, where the grass is higher than human growth, where plants have been preserved since the times of dinosaurs. Here, magnolia blossoms and and the ground breathes with hot steam beneath your feet.
You will be inspired by the amazing beauty of dawn and walking barefoot into the sunset on the beach. You'll realize that you are on the edge of the world. We will show you the island of Iturup, coming out in the ridge of the Kuril Islands
Our tour with a visit to Sakhalin and Iturup, the largest and most beautiful island of the Kuril archipelago, will appeal to those who love active excursions. Every day new places and unique landscapes await you.
The Sakhalin Island is surrounded by the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. Due to its location in the Siberian Far East, the island has a cold and humid climate, ranging from humid continental in the south to subarctic in the centre and north. The local temperatures see dramatic changes, dropping to - 48°C in winter and raising to +22° C in summer.
Our tours to Sakhalin and Kuril Islands will guide you along the trails of the edge of the Earth so that you discover truly breathtaking landscape, where the grass is higher than human growth, where plants have been preserved since the times of dinosaurs. Here, magnolia blossoms and and the ground breathes with hot steam beneath your feet.
You will be inspired by the amazing beauty of dawn and walking barefoot into the sunset on the beach. You'll realize that you are on the edge of the world. We will show you the island of Iturup, coming out in the ridge of the Kuril Islands
Program 9 days/8 nights - SAKHALIN + ITURUP
1 DAY: YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK
Meeting at the airport with guide.
Transfer to the hotel, check-in.
Welcome lunch at the Japanese restaurant.
Сity tour of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
You will get acquainted with the most famous sights of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, see the main squares, streets and temples of the city, visit the place of the historical beginning of the capital of Sakhalin. Visit to the ski resort “Gorny Vozduh”, from where a magnificent view of the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and the entire Susunai Valley, surrounded by hills and ridges, opens up.
Return to the hotel.
Optional: dinner at the hotel.
2 DAY: YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK – SOUTHEASTERN COAST OF THE SEA OF OKHOTSK – YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK
Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to Cape Bird and Cape Giant on the southeastern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk.
Transfer 100 km, 3 hours.
The first half of the way goes along the federal asphalt highway, the second half of the way is a difficult road through the pass. You rush along the edge of the sea, then through the Sakhalin taiga through the pass, and suddenly majestic stone arches, columns and giant kekura, created by the wind and sea waves, soar in front of you. Cape Bird and Cape Velikan are a natural monuments, one of the most beautiful and amazing Sakhalin sea coasts with postcard and most recognizable views of Sakhalin. Stone arches created by the greatest architect – Nature are striking in their grandeur. On the tops of rocks and arches, screaming seagulls scurry about, cormorants proudly sit and swifts scurry.
Lunch-picnic with caviar, Far Eastern salads and tea.
Return to the hotel.
Optional: dinner at the hotel.
3 DAY: YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK – EAST COAST OF THE SEA OF OKHOTSK – YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK
Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to Tikhaya Bay on the east coast of the Sea of Okhotsk.
Transfer 135 km, 3 hours, federal asphalt highway.
Along the way, the Japanese Torii gates of the Karafuto period, which were installed in front of Shinto shrines. The gates faces east and was meant to greet the sun. An intermediate stop in the village of fishermen Vzmorye, where you can buy freshly boiled crabs.
Arrival to Tikhaya Bay.
Lunch-picnic with Sakhalin fish soup, caviar, Far Eastern delicacies and tea.
Tikhaya Bay is a secluded corner of nature, where the silence is only occasionally disturbed by the sound of waves and the cries of seagulls. A stunning place, protected from the cold winds blowing from the north and north-east directions. Incomparable silence, amazing views, pleasing to the eye, the unique beauty of nature – all this is Tikhaya Bay! According to the website RussiaTravel.ru, Tikhaya Bay is one of the five most beautiful beaches in Russia. During the walk, you can see fairy-tale characters who are frozen in stone on the seashore and feel the fabulous atmosphere of a place where time seems to have stopped... From Tikhaya Bay, there is a beautiful view of the Bold Peak and Zhdanko Ridge, which is a picturesque monument of Sakhalin nature.
Return to the hotel.
Optional: dinner at the hotel.
4 DAY: YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK – KURILSK (ITURUP ISLAND)
Breakfast at the hotel, check out.
Transfer to the airport.
Domestic flight to Iturup Island on the route Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Kurilsk.
Transfer to the hotel, check in.
Visit to the fumarole field and thermal springs of Baransky volcano.Transfer 20 km.
On the way, stop at the observation deck, from where a beautiful landscape of the city of Kurilsk and its surroundings opens. Baransky volcano is one of the active volcanos within a relatively easy reach on Iturup island. At the foot of the volcano you will find picturesque landscapes: mud baths, fumaroles, hot lakes of a very unusual turquoise colour and hot mineral creeks. You will see fumaroles and mud volcanoes, boiling small “Blue Eyes” lakes, giving rise to the “Boiling” (Kipyaschaya) sulfuric river.
Lunch as picnic.
Bathing in hot springs.
The baths of Baransky volcano on the Kipyaschaya River are a stunningly beautiful paradise, an oasis among volcanoes and taiga. In a jacuzzi with a water temperature from 42° to 70° and under a hot waterfall you are truly reborn.
*To bathing, you must have a bathing suit, bath slippers, a towel.
Return to the hotel.
Dinner at the hotel.
5 DAY: KURILSK – COAST OF THE SEA OF OKHOTSK – KURILSK
Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to the Yankito plateau in the Kuril Bay.
The Yankito plateau is an explosive beach – a frozen volcanic lava in the form of a pile of rocks on the seashore. Alien landscapes and mysterious, exciting imagination, silhouettes in the fog.
Visiting White Rocks and Black Rocks.
White Rocks are white crested ridges of bizarre shapes, cut by canyons. Black rocks are extrusive lava outcrops of basaltic volcanic rocks. 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. A wild, deserted beach in white and black watercolor (white quartz and black titanium-magnetite sand), azure-colored water and volcanoes on the horizon.
Lunch-picnic on the coast.
Bathing in the “Hot Water” thermal complex.
*To bathing, you must have a bathing suit, bath slippers, a towel.
Return to the hotel.
Dinner at the hotel.
6 DAY: KURILSK – PACIFIC COAST – KURILSK
Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to Kasatka Bay on the Pacific coast.
Transfer 60 km.
It was from here, from Kasatka Bay, in November 1941, the Japanese aircraft carrier squadron advanced to strike at the American naval base Pearl Harbor. On the coast of the bay there was a Japanese naval base with an airfield in the vicinity of the Burevestnik airfield. You will see the old Burevestnik airport and, which is especially impressive, the path that Iturup residents traveled to fly away from the island. You will inspect the “Devil's rock” with the remains of Japanese fortifications and an underground hospital. Tunnels for military purposes were cut through the rocks by the Japanese.
Lunch-picnic on the coast.
Return to the hotel.
Dinner at the hotel.
7 DAY: KURILSK – YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK
Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to the thermal complex “Vannochki” overlooking the Kuril Bay for bathing.
*To bathing, you must have a bathing suit, bath slippers, a towel.
Return to the hotel.
Check out, transfer to the airport Domestic flight Kurilsk – Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Transfer to the hotel, check in.
Optional: dinner at the hotel.
8 DAY: YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK (RESERVED DAY IN CASE OF LATE ARRIVAL FROM KURILSK)
Breakfast at the hotel.
Explore the city at your own.
We recommend to visit (сan be included as optional tours):
a new unique memorial complex “Victory” (on Victory Square) with interactive expositions and panoramas (similar to the Borodino panorama in Moscow)
the Sakhalin Museum of Local Lore
souvenir shops and the Fish Market
Optional: dinner at the hotel.
9 DAY: YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK
Breakfast at the hotel.
Check-out.
Transfer to the airport.
End of the tour.
The program is preliminary. The organizers reserve the right to replace the excursion blocks with similar ones, without changing main waypoints.
Meeting at the airport with guide.
Transfer to the hotel, check-in.
Welcome lunch at the Japanese restaurant.
Сity tour of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
You will get acquainted with the most famous sights of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, see the main squares, streets and temples of the city, visit the place of the historical beginning of the capital of Sakhalin. Visit to the ski resort “Gorny Vozduh”, from where a magnificent view of the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and the entire Susunai Valley, surrounded by hills and ridges, opens up.
Return to the hotel.
Optional: dinner at the hotel.
2 DAY: YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK – SOUTHEASTERN COAST OF THE SEA OF OKHOTSK – YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK
Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to Cape Bird and Cape Giant on the southeastern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk.
Transfer 100 km, 3 hours.
The first half of the way goes along the federal asphalt highway, the second half of the way is a difficult road through the pass. You rush along the edge of the sea, then through the Sakhalin taiga through the pass, and suddenly majestic stone arches, columns and giant kekura, created by the wind and sea waves, soar in front of you. Cape Bird and Cape Velikan are a natural monuments, one of the most beautiful and amazing Sakhalin sea coasts with postcard and most recognizable views of Sakhalin. Stone arches created by the greatest architect – Nature are striking in their grandeur. On the tops of rocks and arches, screaming seagulls scurry about, cormorants proudly sit and swifts scurry.
Lunch-picnic with caviar, Far Eastern salads and tea.
Return to the hotel.
Optional: dinner at the hotel.
3 DAY: YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK – EAST COAST OF THE SEA OF OKHOTSK – YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK
Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to Tikhaya Bay on the east coast of the Sea of Okhotsk.
Transfer 135 km, 3 hours, federal asphalt highway.
Along the way, the Japanese Torii gates of the Karafuto period, which were installed in front of Shinto shrines. The gates faces east and was meant to greet the sun. An intermediate stop in the village of fishermen Vzmorye, where you can buy freshly boiled crabs.
Arrival to Tikhaya Bay.
Lunch-picnic with Sakhalin fish soup, caviar, Far Eastern delicacies and tea.
Tikhaya Bay is a secluded corner of nature, where the silence is only occasionally disturbed by the sound of waves and the cries of seagulls. A stunning place, protected from the cold winds blowing from the north and north-east directions. Incomparable silence, amazing views, pleasing to the eye, the unique beauty of nature – all this is Tikhaya Bay! According to the website RussiaTravel.ru, Tikhaya Bay is one of the five most beautiful beaches in Russia. During the walk, you can see fairy-tale characters who are frozen in stone on the seashore and feel the fabulous atmosphere of a place where time seems to have stopped... From Tikhaya Bay, there is a beautiful view of the Bold Peak and Zhdanko Ridge, which is a picturesque monument of Sakhalin nature.
Return to the hotel.
Optional: dinner at the hotel.
4 DAY: YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK – KURILSK (ITURUP ISLAND)
Breakfast at the hotel, check out.
Transfer to the airport.
Domestic flight to Iturup Island on the route Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Kurilsk.
Transfer to the hotel, check in.
Visit to the fumarole field and thermal springs of Baransky volcano.Transfer 20 km.
On the way, stop at the observation deck, from where a beautiful landscape of the city of Kurilsk and its surroundings opens. Baransky volcano is one of the active volcanos within a relatively easy reach on Iturup island. At the foot of the volcano you will find picturesque landscapes: mud baths, fumaroles, hot lakes of a very unusual turquoise colour and hot mineral creeks. You will see fumaroles and mud volcanoes, boiling small “Blue Eyes” lakes, giving rise to the “Boiling” (Kipyaschaya) sulfuric river.
Lunch as picnic.
Bathing in hot springs.
The baths of Baransky volcano on the Kipyaschaya River are a stunningly beautiful paradise, an oasis among volcanoes and taiga. In a jacuzzi with a water temperature from 42° to 70° and under a hot waterfall you are truly reborn.
*To bathing, you must have a bathing suit, bath slippers, a towel.
Return to the hotel.
Dinner at the hotel.
5 DAY: KURILSK – COAST OF THE SEA OF OKHOTSK – KURILSK
Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to the Yankito plateau in the Kuril Bay.
The Yankito plateau is an explosive beach – a frozen volcanic lava in the form of a pile of rocks on the seashore. Alien landscapes and mysterious, exciting imagination, silhouettes in the fog.
Visiting White Rocks and Black Rocks.
White Rocks are white crested ridges of bizarre shapes, cut by canyons. Black rocks are extrusive lava outcrops of basaltic volcanic rocks. 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. A wild, deserted beach in white and black watercolor (white quartz and black titanium-magnetite sand), azure-colored water and volcanoes on the horizon.
Lunch-picnic on the coast.
Bathing in the “Hot Water” thermal complex.
*To bathing, you must have a bathing suit, bath slippers, a towel.
Return to the hotel.
Dinner at the hotel.
6 DAY: KURILSK – PACIFIC COAST – KURILSK
Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to Kasatka Bay on the Pacific coast.
Transfer 60 km.
It was from here, from Kasatka Bay, in November 1941, the Japanese aircraft carrier squadron advanced to strike at the American naval base Pearl Harbor. On the coast of the bay there was a Japanese naval base with an airfield in the vicinity of the Burevestnik airfield. You will see the old Burevestnik airport and, which is especially impressive, the path that Iturup residents traveled to fly away from the island. You will inspect the “Devil's rock” with the remains of Japanese fortifications and an underground hospital. Tunnels for military purposes were cut through the rocks by the Japanese.
Lunch-picnic on the coast.
Return to the hotel.
Dinner at the hotel.
7 DAY: KURILSK – YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK
Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to the thermal complex “Vannochki” overlooking the Kuril Bay for bathing.
*To bathing, you must have a bathing suit, bath slippers, a towel.
Return to the hotel.
Check out, transfer to the airport Domestic flight Kurilsk – Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Transfer to the hotel, check in.
Optional: dinner at the hotel.
8 DAY: YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK (RESERVED DAY IN CASE OF LATE ARRIVAL FROM KURILSK)
Breakfast at the hotel.
Explore the city at your own.
We recommend to visit (сan be included as optional tours):
a new unique memorial complex “Victory” (on Victory Square) with interactive expositions and panoramas (similar to the Borodino panorama in Moscow)
the Sakhalin Museum of Local Lore
souvenir shops and the Fish Market
Optional: dinner at the hotel.
9 DAY: YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK
Breakfast at the hotel.
Check-out.
Transfer to the airport.
End of the tour.
The program is preliminary. The organizers reserve the right to replace the excursion blocks with similar ones, without changing main waypoints.
What is included and not included in the tour?
Our prices include:
Supplementary:
HOW TO GET TO YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK?
Air traffic between Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Moscow is carried out daily by the Aeroflot and Rossiya airlines Time difference between Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Moscow: 8 hours Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk has air traffic with other major cities of Russia: Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk.
There are also flights to/from Tokyo, Sapporo and Seoul.
IMPORTANT!
On the Kuril Islands, due to the proximity of the ocean, the weather situation is very unstable, therefore, in all programs with flights between the islands, it is imperative to provide for a reserve day! Visit to Kuril Islands requires the issue of a pass (foreign citizens are to supply in the documents – copy of the passport and a Russian visa – not later than 30 days before the departure).
* If restrictions are imposed on the entrance to museums for a certain number of people, we can serve group requests with the division of groups into smaller ones, with the predominant use of the same transport (or with a different number and capacity of transport), but with a large number of guides.
** Some museums or excursions can be excluded from the program if circumstances beyond the control of the tour operator require it (time constraints due to covid-19 / bans on the operation of facilities). At the same time, as far as possible, we will offer an alternative replacement.
- Double accommodation in 4* hotel “Mega Palace” or similar in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (5 nights)
- Double accommodation in hotel “Ostrov” or similar in Kurilsk (3 nights)
- Domestic flight Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Kurilsk – Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (economy class)
- Catering as follows:
- breakfast at the hotels
- welcome lunch at an authentic
- Japanese restaurant on day 1
- lunch-picnic on days 2-7
- dinner at the hotel on Iturup Island on days 4-6
- All transfer and transportation services per program
- Local English speaking guide for the whole program
- Visa support letter if necessary
- Registration of permits for entering the border zone
Supplementary:
- Domestic flights Moscow – Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Moscow
- International flights to/from Moscow
- Hotel and program in Moscow for pre/post tour
- Single supplement in hotels
HOW TO GET TO YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK?
Air traffic between Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Moscow is carried out daily by the Aeroflot and Rossiya airlines Time difference between Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Moscow: 8 hours Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk has air traffic with other major cities of Russia: Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk.
There are also flights to/from Tokyo, Sapporo and Seoul.
IMPORTANT!
On the Kuril Islands, due to the proximity of the ocean, the weather situation is very unstable, therefore, in all programs with flights between the islands, it is imperative to provide for a reserve day! Visit to Kuril Islands requires the issue of a pass (foreign citizens are to supply in the documents – copy of the passport and a Russian visa – not later than 30 days before the departure).
* If restrictions are imposed on the entrance to museums for a certain number of people, we can serve group requests with the division of groups into smaller ones, with the predominant use of the same transport (or with a different number and capacity of transport), but with a large number of guides.
** Some museums or excursions can be excluded from the program if circumstances beyond the control of the tour operator require it (time constraints due to covid-19 / bans on the operation of facilities). At the same time, as far as possible, we will offer an alternative replacement.
Contacts
Feel free to write and call us
+7 922 1841362 whatsapp/telegram
info@inrussiaconmax.com
info@inrussiaconmax.com
Registered office in Russia
Maxelenatravel LLC - Ulitsa Turistskaya 2-2, Moscow
Company in Italy for tourism promotion
Italhouse Srls - Via Piraineto 44, 90044 Carini (PA)
Maxelenatravel LLC - Ulitsa Turistskaya 2-2, Moscow
Company in Italy for tourism promotion
Italhouse Srls - Via Piraineto 44, 90044 Carini (PA)
