Are there tours to Sakhalin? Sakhalin Island and Moneron Island. Diving, excursions, seafood. Estimated cost of travel
Travel plan
Arrival in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Meeting at the airport. Transfer to the hotel, accommodation.
14:00 – 15:00 Welcome lunch at the Japanese restaurant NIHON MITAI - authentic Japanese dishes from fresh seafood.
15:00 – 18:00 Sightseeing tour with a guide around the city with a visit to the Mountain Air Group, which offers a magnificent view of the entire Susunay valley and the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, surrounded by hills and ridges.
Return to the hotel. Dinner (on your own). There are many restaurants in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with Chinese, Korean, Japanese and European cuisine.
08:00 Breakfast at the hotel
09:00 Transfer to the port of Korsakov. Registration for the vessel.
12:00 Departure of the motor ship “Igor Farkhutdinov” to Yuzhno-Kurilsk. Accommodation in 4-bed cabins.
The ship leaves the port of Korsakov and follows the coastline of the Aniva Peninsula. Beyond Cape Aniva, the ship enters the open Sea of Okhotsk. Flocks of seabirds and dolphins accompany you all the way.
Lunch and dinner on the ship (on your own).
Pacific coast, “Devil's Gate”, “Devil's Finger”, “Sour” stream
Early in the morning, on the approach to Kunashir Island, in clear weather the majestic Tyatya volcano opens up to the eye.
09:00 (17:00 via Shikotan) Arrival in Yuzhno-Kurilsk. Meeting at the seaport, transfer to the hotel, accommodation.
Let's go say hello to the Pacific Ocean! Walk along the coast - kekkur "Devil's Finger" and "Devil's Gate".
Visit to natural baths on the Kisly stream (from the Mendeleev volcano).
Return to the hotel. Dinner in a cafe.
Mendeleev Volcano (or “Sleeping Beauty”). Fumarole field of Mendeleev volcano
09:00 Breakfast in a cafe.
10:00 Departure for the moderate difficulty route “Great Fumarole Field of Mendeleev Volcano” by transport up to 17 km, then trekking 2 - 2.5 hours one way through bamboo, 3 km. A route with stops for short rests. The last section before entering the field is 150-200 m along the bed of a volcanic stream on stones with a sharp climb. Parking at the fumarole field ~ 2 hours. Lunch (packed lunch). Inspection of fumaroles and solfataras, swimming in thermal springs. Return to the hotel in the evening. Dinner in a cafe.
Volcano Golovnina. Lakes Boiling and Hot
09:00 Breakfast in a cafe.
10:00 Departure for the moderate difficulty route “Golovnin Volcano. Lakes Boiling and Hot" by transport up to 42 km, then trekking 2.5 - 3 hours one way (6 km) along the path. The entire path is accompanied by beautiful fields of dwarf cedar and Kuril bamboo, completely impassable for humans.
The parking time in the caldera is 2 hours. Lunch (packed lunch).
The volcano is a caldera with a diameter of about 4 km, surrounded by a ridge (541 m). At the bottom of the caldera there are four small domes and two craters - lakes Boiling and Goryachee.
You cannot swim in Boiling Lake; there are hot springs, mud pots and hot steam at the bottom of the lake and along the banks. But swimming in Lake Goryacheye is a great pleasure. It is possible to climb one of the hills and take beautiful panoramic photographs. On Golovnin Volcano and Mendeleev Volcano you can see the remains of Japanese sulfur factories (sulfur was evaporated and processed).
Cape Stolbchaty, Stolbovskie thermal springs, White Monks rocks
09:00 Breakfast in a cafe.
10:00 Departure for the moderate difficulty route “Cape Stolbchaty” - one of the most amazing and unique places on earth. Ecological trail “Stolbovskaya”, hot mud springs, access to the coast. Rocks "White Monks". A difficult passage along small shelves to Cape Stolbchaty. Inspection of rocks of volcanic origin, formed from five-hexagonal giant stone pillars. The cape, open on three sides, is located on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. Beautiful aquariums and lagoons with crystal clear azure water. Swimming in the sea. Fishing for fishermen. Campfire lunch (fish soup).
Return to the hotel in the evening. Dinner in a cafe.
Cape Vodopadny. Bay in Tretyakovo
09:00 Breakfast in a cafe.
10:00 Departure by car to Cape Vodopadny up to 35 km, then walk 1.5 km along the coast. The entire path is accompanied by a wall, on which there were once a lot of waterfalls, which are reminiscent of potholes and gullies; now there is only one beautiful cascading waterfall.
Next we move to the Sea of Okhotsk side to Tretyakovo. From here there is a beautiful view of the “Fang” kekkur. Bathing in hot baths. Lunch – campfire (fish soup). Rest. Return to the hotel. Dinner in a cafe.
09:00 Breakfast in a cafe.
Walk to the Japanese lighthouse. Excursion to the local history museum.
Transfer to the port. Registration for the vessel.
13:00 (via Shikotan) or 22:00 departure of the vessel.
We say “Goodbye, Kunashir!” and throw coins into the ocean. The march “Farewell of the Slav” sounds as the ship leaves the port.
Breakfast and lunch on the ship (on your own).
20:00 The ship approaches the port of Korsakov. Meeting at the port and transfer to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Hotel accommodation.
"Quiet" Bay - o. Noticeable, eastern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk
08:00 Breakfast at the hotel.
09:00 Departure from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Travel time with stops is approximately 3 hours, 135 km one way.
On the way, we will stop by to see the Japanese Torii gate, which was installed in front of Shinto shrines.
Intermediate stop in the village of Vzmorye, where you can buy freshly caught crabs (boiled).
Arrival at the place. Exit to the route along the coast (walk 1 - 1.5 km one way) - lagoons, grottoes, gorges. The purest water allows you to see all the beauty of the underwater flora and fauna.
Climb to the sea terraces, there are amazing herbs, spicy smells and... edelweiss...
Sheer cliffs bordering the island, strict and gentle at the same time, black stones in green caps, rolling waves in silence... Nature is truly miraculous!
Lunch - fish soup, caviar, Far Eastern delicacies, tea with Sakhalin herbs. Rest, swimming in the sea.
19:00 Return to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Dinner (on your own).
Those wishing to get to the Kuril Islands will have to travel a long way: first 9 hours by plane from Central Russia, then a night on the ship “Igor Farkhutdinov” or “Polaris”. The motor ship is the most reliable means of communication with the Kuril Islands. Planes from Sakhalin fly to the Kuril Islands unsteadily due to frequent fogs on the islands, so in our tour programs to the Kuril Islands we only use a motor ship. Even with the construction of a new airport on Iturup, the problem with flight delays has not been solved, because the climate on the islands has not changed!
The Kuril Islands are a real Far Eastern exotic! The Pacific Ocean, crabs, red fish, caviar and volcanoes on the horizon. Once you get off the road, you end up in a thicket of bamboo. Picturesque bays hide traces of Japanese settlements from view. You can find shards with hieroglyphs and see surviving buildings. True, these buildings are of an industrial nature. The Japanese never lived on the islands permanently, they only set up temporary settlements for fishing with small factories.
The legacy of Soviet times is also impressive. Along the entire perimeter of the islands there are gun turrets and IS-2 tanks dug into the ground. Somewhere, fighter jets with variable wing geometry lie abandoned and rust... But the main thing is nature: picturesque rocks, volcanic lakes and the ocean.
Although the Kuril Islands seem similar to Kamchatka, the sensations from visiting them are completely different. Kamchatka is more contrasting. This is the realm where ice and fire meet. The Kuril Islands are softer in perception. There are no glaciers here. Wherever you go, the sea will be on the horizon. There are no difficult mountain climbs in the tour programs to the Kuril Islands. On Kunashir Island you can stay in a hotel for the entire tour and visit all the main attractions. In Kamchatka you have to choose: either comfortable hotel accommodation and a minimum of interesting places, or exploring all the most interesting things at the expense of comfort. In Kamchatka, tour programs focus on volcanoes, on the Kuril Islands - on picturesque bays, cliffs and lakes. There is no good river fishing in the Kuril Islands, but sea fishing is possible. And you will also be haunted everywhere by the feeling that you are somewhere far away, on the very edge of the Earth, in some unknown state, not quite in Russia, because around you are not birch forests and fields, but the ocean, hills and bamboo. And for people permanently residing in the Kuril Islands, Russia is exactly like that.
Currently there are tours to the islands of Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan. In addition to the sights of these islands, the program includes visits to the most interesting sights of Sakhalin Island - Cape Velikan, the observation deck at the Mountain Air ski resort and others. But you shouldn’t stay long on Sakhalin. All the most interesting things are in the Kuril Islands.
Each of the Kuril Islands, where it is possible to travel as part of an organized group, is unique in its own way. Iturup is brighter and more contrasting, but there is no good hotel here. Tourists are offered accommodation in a permanent tent camp with an electric generator, a cook, a toilet and other amenities of civilization. On Kunashir there is a hotel and the famous Cape Stolbchaty, for which it is definitely worth visiting this island. Both islands have volcanoes, hot springs and picturesque bays.
Shikotan is not a big island. The program of his visit lasts 3 days and is combined with a visit to Kunashir. Hotel accommodation.
The season for visiting the Kuril Islands is short: from early July to mid-September. The best time to visit the islands is the second half of August - the first half of September. This is due to the fact that the climatic summer in the south of the Russian Far East is shifted one month ahead relative to the calendar summer. Those. Summer weather in the Kuril Islands is in July, August and September, and the warmest days and weather for swimming occur between August 20 and September 10.
Our managers will be happy to help you choose the best tour for you and understand the intricacies of preparing for the trip.
Welcome to tours to Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands!
Underwater hunting and fishing on SAKHALIN (11 days/10 nights)By becoming a participant in this trip, you will get acquainted with the unique protected Russian island of Sakhalin - with its nature, its people and the stunning underwater world.
Accommodation at the base of the Sakhalin diving club "Polyana", this tour is aimed at underwater hunters and fishermen (tour leader is a representative of the MPO club)
Indicative tour program: Spearfishing and fishing on Sakhalin
Day 1 (July 7):
Departure from Moscow on Sunday evening on Aeroflot flight SU 895 (Flight time about 7 hours, time difference: +7 hours)
Day 2:
Arrival at Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk airport on Monday afternoon
Brief introduction to the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Transfer to the base. Travel time from the Airport and the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to the base is 40 minutes.
14-30 – 15-00 Arrival at the base, lunch, accommodation.
18-00 bathhouse
20-00 dinner
Day 3:
8-30 - breakfast,
9-30 - start of the program:
Spearfishing and fishing in the base area
Relief: small rocks. Underwater: seaside scallop, crabs, rapana trumpet and other gastronomic delights. Depth: smooth slope from the shore; at 12-18 meters, depending on the water temperature, Kamchatka crabs can be found.
Lunch: at 14-00
Continuation of the program, rest.
18-00 - bathhouse
20-00 - dinner
Day 4:
8-30 - breakfast,
9-30 - departure to the dive site, travel time - 1 hour
Dive location: “Sands” (2 dives). Relief: clean, non-silted white sand and small rocks, on which there are beautiful colonies of huge bright red and burgundy ascidians, clusters of stars of up to 25 species, seaside scallop (in this place it is “especially tasty”) Depth: 16-18 m
17-00 - gathering
18-00 - departure back
19-00 - return to base, bathhouse, dinner
Day 5 (expedition):
8-30 - breakfast,
First dive: “Kiryakov Gardens”. Relief: a pile of rocks up to 10 m high. Underwater: an incredible huge number of colored sponges, unusual species of fish and stars, and often catfish, sometimes of incredible size. Depth: 24-26 m
Second dive: “into the kingdom of sea anemones.” Depth: 22 m
Lunch: after diving, approximately 16-00
Near the parking lot there is a river full of brook trout (Dolly Varden). In the evening ear.
Night dive: Depth 6-8 m. Underwater: king crabs (very tasty), billions of unusual floating colored sea worms, grass shrimp (very tasty)
Day 6 (expedition):
Diving near the camp Relief: cliffs and rocks. Depth: 16 m. Underwater: sea anemones, many large scorpion fish (2-3 dives)
Lunch: after diving, approximately 16-00
17-00 - camp gathering
18-00 - departure back
20-00 - return to base, bathhouse, dinner
The expedition involves the joint efforts of all participants aimed at achieving the result: making full-fledged, interesting and safe dives in the most interesting and remote parts of Sakhalin Island.
Day 7:
9-30 - breakfast
10-30 - departure to the dive site, travel time 30 minutes
Dive onto a magnificent "oyster bank". Maximum depth: 2 m. Here you will see a fantastic macro-world filled with life, a forest of giant oysters inhabited by hundreds of different animals: fish, crabs, rapan trumpeter, various valve mollusks, cucumaria, sea anemones, if you are lucky you will meet sea cucumber almost completely destroyed by poachers . Due to the shallow depths, snorkeling and spearfishing are possible here. After the dives and between them - relax by the sea, you can fish, you can “dig up food” in the sand (this is about valve mollusks), catch chilim with nets. As a result, you will get miso soup from sea valve mollusks; I am sure that you will be lucky and you will find and try sea cucumber.
16-00 - lunch
17-00 - camp gathering
18-00 - departure back
18-30 - return to base, bathhouse, dinner
Day 8 (expedition):
8-30 - breakfast
10-30 - departure to the dive site, travel time 2 hours
Arrival at the place, light snack, setting up the tent camp
Diving at La Perouse Strait
First dive: Depth: 16 m. Relief: rocks. Fauna: a large number of colored catfish, some specimens reach 2 m and 30 kg in weight. These creatures “cannot put a finger (in this case, a hand) in their mouth” in the literal sense of the word.
Second dive: “Chic drift” in the kelp thickets. Depth: 6 m. Soil: round stones (it feels like they were turned on a machine). The kingdom of sea catfish, many other fish.
Day 9 (expedition):
8-30 - breakfast
9-00 - sea trip to the lighthouse. The lighthouse is 100 years old, built by the Japanese on a basalt rock-island, there are a large number of birds, nesting places for petrels, and there is a high probability of meeting killer whales along the way.
14-00 - return to camp
Dive in the parking area: hairy (the most expensive in Japan) crab - very medicinal, sea urchin. Sea urchin and hairy crab are considered by the Japanese to be very effective in preventing cancer. Sea urchins are also used in cosmetology for skin rejuvenation. Women will have the opportunity to make a mask from a hedgehog and see for themselves.
Lunch, approximately 16-00
17-00 - camp gathering
18-00 - departure back
20-00 – Return to base, of course, after the expedition – bath and dinner
“Forest” day (can replace any of the days of the program at the request of the group or due to weather conditions at sea)
8-30 breakfast
10:30 departure, safari begins right outside the gates of the base! the path runs along a logging road laid in the wild taiga, infested with bears
Program of the day: safari, fishing for Dolly Varden, bonfire, picnic in nature with fish soup and fried Dolly Varden - you won’t be able to forget the taste of both, and this will be one of the reasons why you will want to come to Sakhalin Island again, you tell me believe me! And for those groups who find the berries, there will also be dumplings with a panorama of a block of lakes: Tunaicha, Maly Chibisan, Bol Chibisan, Maly Vavaysk, Bolshoy Vavaysk, Buse. In good weather you can also see Cape Aniva.
19-00 – return to base
In the evening: Gala dinner (with Korean and Japanese cuisine).
The bathhouse, as usual, is at your service
Day 10 (departure day): July 16
9-00 – Breakfast, getting ready
12-00 - departure to the airport.
16:20 - departure on Aeroflot flight SU 896 (Flight time about 8 hours, time difference: - 7 hours)
18:35 - arrival in Moscow
The tour program is subject to change. Weather conditions may be a possible reason for changes. However, the location of the dive sites is such that it allows you to find a place with suitable diving conditions in almost any weather.
Possible additional excursions:
- Museum of Local Lore (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk)
- excursion to the largest fish canning plant on Sakhalin, Perseus, which produces red caviar and canned red fish and seafood (Korsakov)
Tour leader on the trip: tour project podvoh.ru
Dive conditions:
Water temperatures vary from dive location to dive site and can change even in the same location over a short period of time.
The range in which it is located is from +15 to +3, and sometimes currents drag very cold water from the depths from +3 to –1.5 degrees C.
This temperature regime is one of the reasons for the diversity and richness of the underwater world.
The behavior of marine animals depends on temperature, for example, this is clearly visible in Kamchatka crabs: at temperatures below +12 they appear, and when they further drop to -6 they leave again. Water visibility can be up to 20 meters, and can drop to 3 m, depending on the weather and currents.
Strong currents are usually predictable in known places, weak currents can be found almost anywhere. Due to the large amount of biological mass in the water at a depth of 10-12 meters it is already twilight and in order to enjoy the richness of colors and appreciate the diversity of the underwater world in all dives, including daytime ones, we recommend having a good flashlight.
An underwater hunter needs to use a 7-9 mm suit. Divers feel comfortable in a dry suit. You need to use thick 5mm gloves, preferably three-fingered ones.
The main types of fish and marine animals are possible objects of underwater hunting or fishing:
Fish: flounder, salmon, various scorpionfish (gobies), catfish, greenlings (sea bass), sea rudd (found up to 3 kg), malma (brook trout, fishing only), sesame, rarely found stingray and halibut.
Crabs: King (spiny) crab, king crab, hairy crab, Japanese brown crab.
Shrimp: A unique large herbal shrimp - chilim.
Shellfish: Far Eastern scallop, Swift scallop, Sakhalin spizula, maktra, cordate and other valve mollusks, trumpet rapan, sea cucumber, cucumber, oysters.
A large amount of tasty and healthy seaweed - kelp and very healing gray sea urchin.
Underwater you can find taimen. You will probably meet many seals and have the opportunity to swim with them. Meetings with killer whales and sea lions are possible.
The price includes:
transfer airport-base-airport
accommodation on base 9 days/8 nights with double occupancy
full board during the entire tour, tea, coffee, water - unlimited. Seafood is always in the diet.
Providing tents and sleeping bags during expedition days
transfers according to the program
use of motorized boats for fishing and delivery to spearfishing sites and back
fishing gear for fishing for malmu
The tour price does not include:
air flight Moscow-Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk-Moscow (approximately 17,000 rubles for the dates July 7-16)
tips for dive center staff
Beer and alcoholic drinks
Scuba diving in the base area. Scuba diving is not planned for this trip, but is possible.
At the kiosk at the base you can purchase:
Beer, soft drinks, beer snacks
Personal hygiene items
Batteries
Branded T-shirts with symbols of Sakhalin and the diving center
Dates of tours of the Tour Operator "KASHALOT-TOUR" in the 2009 season under the Sakhalin program:
07.07-16.07 Underwater Hunting and Fishing (tour project podvoh.ru)
18.07-27.07 Underwater Hunting and Fishing (tour project podvoh.ru)
07.29-07.08 Underwater Hunting and Fishing (tour project podvoh.ru)
09.08-18.08 Underwater Hunting and Fishing (tour project podvoh.ru)
08.19-30.08 Diving and recreation (Club trip of the Shaggy Sperm Whale DC)
02.09-13.09 Diving and relaxation (group booking possible)
Individual booking is possible for any group, subject to availability.
The maximum number of group participants is 12 people.