SAKHALIN + SOUTHERN KURIL ISLANDS

SCHEDULE AND COST:

Dates: August 9 - 16, 2024

Duration: 8 days / 7 nights

Number of participants: 7 – 11

Price per person:
- 192 900 rubles for 11 participants,
- 199 900 rubles for 9 - 10 participants,
- 209 900 rubles for 7 - 8 participants.

10% early booking discount (when booking before March 9, 2024)

All inclusive (including 2 domestic flights), except:
- flights to and from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk,
- health insurance,
- Russian visas (if required),
- dinners in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.


Estimated cost of air travel Moscow - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - Moscow with luggage: from 25,000 rubles. Usually purchased independently.

Supplement for single accommodation: 32,000 rubles (single accommodation is provided throughout the route).





TRAVEL PROGRAM: TOUR TO SAKHALIN and SOUTHERN KURIL ISLANDS
Day 0. August 8, 2024 (Thursday). FLIGHT TO YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK
Evening flight from Moscow to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk by direct flight (or another flight from another city).

* Recommended flight:
- direct from Moscow to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk by Aeroflot on August 8 at 20:20 with arrival at 12:35 pm on August 9,
- or direct from Moscow to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk by Aeroflot on August 8 at 17:10 with arrival at 9:15 am on August 9,
- either direct from Novosibirsk to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk by S7 on August 8 at 23:05 with arrival at 8:35 am on August 9,
- or any other flight from Moscow or another city with arrival in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk no later than 13:00 hours on August 9.

Meals Included: No
Accommodation included: no


Day 1. August 9, 2024 (Friday). Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
Morning arrival at Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, no later than 13:00.
Meeting at the airport and transfer to the hotel. Free time. Check-in at the hotel from 14:00 (early check-in is possible on request, with a surcharge). At 15:00 we will have an information meeting in the hotel lobby, where we will discuss everything about the upcoming journey.
At 16:00 we will start a tour on the most beautiful and iconic places of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Transfer to the restaurant and welcoming seafood dinner in one of the most popular restaurants in the city.

Meals included: dinner
Accommodation included: Mega Palace hotel 4*


Day 2. August 10, 2024 (Saturday). SAKHALIN - KURILSK (ITURUP ISLAND) - BARANSKY VOLCANO
Breakfast at the hotel. Check out from the hotel. Airport transfer.
Check-in for a flight and a direct flight to Kurilsk, to Iturup Island (departure time will be announced later).
Arrival at Yasny airport, Kurilsk. Transfer to the hotel Iturup, accommodation, basic conditions.
Departure to the Baransky volcano. Acquaintance with processing of volcanic activity. Walking through the Kuril bamboo.
Baransky Volcano is an active volcano on the island of Iturup. The slopes of the volcano abound with mud, mineral springs, and other thermal vents.
At the foot of the Baransky volcano, the "Starozavodskoye" fumarole field is located. A geothermal Okeanskaya station was built next to it. Now there is a normal road, which begins at the Kuril fish-breeding plant. From GeoTPP there is a little over a kilometer to the one of the main attractions of these places - the Boiling River. Famous springs of the Boiling River stream are Kotel and Blue Lake. Surprise picnic, walk on the Boiling River and swimming in thermal baths.
Return to Kurilsk. Dinner at the cafe. Arrival at the hotel, rest.

* Depending on the published departure time, the Iturup program will be adjusted without changing the number of the declared objects of visits.

Meals included: breakfast, dinner
Accommodation included: hotel "Kamelia"


Day 3. August 11, 2024 (Sunday). ORCA BAY (ITURUP ISLAND)
Breakfast and departure to Orca bay. Jeep tour of the Pacific coast. Some stops at the picturesque places on the way.
Stranded Corundum towboat and Mirror beach of Orca Bay. Inspection of the former Japanese tunnels.
Orca Bay is located on the Pacific coast of the largest island of the Kuril chain - Iturup.
On November 26, 1941, it was in the harbor on the Pacific coast of the island (Hitokappu Bay, now Orca Bay) that the Japanese aircraft carrier squadron and escort ships rendezvoused to attack Pearl Harbor. Here, the crews of the ships first learned about the purpose of the campaign, that delighted them, and they spontaneously began uncontrolled shooting at the island.
There was a naval base with an airfield where Japanese troops were based on the seashore.
This place is also interesting for the Devil's rock, in which the Japanese dug a tunnel for passing through it. The tunnels have been preserved to this day, during the visit we will be able to visit them and go through the rock.
Hot lunch on the coast of the Pacific Ocean (depending on weather conditions, lunch can be moved to a cafe).
Return to Kurilsk.
Every day - new hot springs! This time, the thermal complex "Vannochki" on the shore of the Okhots Sea.
Dinner at the cafe. Return to the hotel, rest.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: hotel "Kamelia"


Day 4. August 12, 2024 (Monday). WHITE ROCKS (ITURUP ISLAND)
Breakfast. Departure to a jeep tour to the White Rocks along the Okhotsk coast, to the bay of Olya and the bay of Prostor. Visit the White Rocks, exploring the "Grand Canyon of White Rocks".
White rocks are an amazing creation of the elements in nature. Stretched for 28 kilometers along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk on the island of Iturup, the mountains, consisting of soft pumice formed after a volcanic eruption, amaze with their beauty. The emerald greenery, which broke off the resulting composition, gives a special charm to this place. The pumice has undergone severe erosion under the influence of storms in the Okhotsk Sea, rains and numerous small rivers and streams, which eventually formed bizarre and amazing shapes of rocks. The sand of the coastal strip is mixed: white quartz and black titanium-magnetite. Probably, from their combination its unusual dark gray color is formed. We'll visit a place where all the sand is magnetic.
Feel the difference between the sea and the ocean! - On SUVs, we will go through the cowberry fields to the narrowest part of the island. Here we will see the "echo of war" - abandoned defences, and visit the waterfall in the bay of Parusnaya.
Hot lunch on the shore of the Okhotsk Sea (depending on weather conditions, lunch can be moved to the cafe).
Relax in "Hot Water" thermal springs in the middle of the forest.
Dinner at the cafe.
Arrival at the hotel, rest.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: hotel "Kamelia"


Day 5. August 13, 2024 (Tuesday). YANKITO PLATEAU (ITURUP ISLAND) – SAKHALIN ISLAND
Breakfast. Check out from the hotel. Jeep tour to the Yankito lava field.
The Yanquito Lava Plateau is a solidified volcanic lava formed on the seashore as a result of a volcanic eruption. The bizarre shapes of the formed rocks give a special charm to this place.
Walk on frozen lava. Photo stop. Snack before transfer to the airport.
Departure to the airport, check-in for the flight. Direct flight to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (time of departure will be known after the publication of the summer schedule).
Arrival in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Sakhalin Island. Transfer to 4* hotel.
Free time. Dinner of your choice.

Meals included: breakfast, light lunch
Accommodation included: Mega Palace hotel 4*


Day 6. August 14, 2024 (Wednesday). LIGHTHOUSE ANIVA (SAKHALIN ISLAND)
Breakfast and departure to the very south of Sakhalin Island, to the Aniva lighthouse. At 7 am departure to Novikovo. On the way, a comfortable stop in the village of Ozersky.
On arrival in Novikovo village, snack, briefing, boarding on boats* and departure to Aniva lighthouse. A sea excursion to the Aniva lighthouse is carried out on inflatable rubber boats.
Arrival at the Aniva lighthouse, exploring the lighthouse. Travel time and stay at the lighthouse may depend on the weather. The estimated time at the lighthouse is an hour and a half.
The Aniva lighthouse was established by the Japanese in 1939 on a small Sivuchya rock, near the rocky Aniva Cape, which is difficult to access. This area is replete with currents, frequent fogs, underwater stony shoals. The Japanese named the lighthouse Nakashiretoko, after the name of the cape. Later, both the cape and the lighthouse were renamed "Aniva". The lighthouse has been abandoned since 1990.
At about noon, departure to Cape Marble, sightseeing, snack.
Arrival back at Novikovo around 15:00, departure to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Arrival at the hotel around 16:30 - 17 hours. Free time. Dinner of your choice.

Meals included: breakfast, light lunch
Accommodation included: Mega Palace hotel 4*


Day 7. August 15, 2024 (Thursday). CAPE GIANT AND CAPE BIRD (SAKHALIN ISLAND)
Breakfast at the hotel. At 9 am departure to the south-east of Sakhalin, to Bird Cape and Velikan Cape.
We drive along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and further along the forest road. At noon, arrival at the parking lot.
Velikan Cape is a natural monument, one of the most picturesque places on Sakhalin, located on the eastern coast of the Tonino-Aniva Peninsula. The huge arch leading into the sea resembles a statue of a giant. There are also numerous bizarre rocks and kekurs, framed by a spruce-fir forest. There are seal haulouts and bird colonies on the protruding rocks.
Hiking along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, visiting Bird Cape.
A hot seafood lunch and departure to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Around 18:30 arrival at the 4* hotel. Dinner of your choice.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch
Accommodation included: Mega Palace hotel 4*


Day 8. August 16, 2024 (Friday). YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK - BACK FLIGHT
Breakfast at the hotel. Check out from the hotel. Visiting the fish market.
Transfer to the airport. Check-in for a flight and flight to Moscow or another city.

* Recommended flight:
- direct flight from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Moscow by Aeroflot on August 16 at 11:45 am with arrival at 12:15 pm on August 16,
- or direct flight from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Moscow by Aeroflot at 15:00 with arrival at 15:45 on August 16,
- either direct flight from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Novosibirsk by S7 on August 16 at 9:45 am with arrival at 11:50 am on August 16,
- or any other flight from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Moscow or another city with departure from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk at any time on August 16.

Meals included: breakfast
Accommodation included: no


* Depending on the weather conditions, the tour operator has the right to change the order of excursions and visits during the trip without changing their composition.

** The program may be forced to change due to delays or cancellations of flights by the air carrier.