Journey to Kuril and Commander Islands and Kamchatka

Day 1 Arrival in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

You will arrive in the administrative center of Sakhalin, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk city. You will be transferred to Korsakov port (about 1 hour) and board the ship. In the afternoon the ship goes to the sea and heads for the Kuril Islands. If the weather is clear, you can see the volcano Tyatya, which rises above the expanse of Kunashir Island.

Day 2 Kunashir, Kuril Islands

In the morning you will disembark on the coast of the largest island of the Kuril Archipelago – Kunashir. You will explore the nature of the Kuril Nature Reserve, accompanied by our guides. You will walk through the tropical forest, which reaches 1.5 meters in height and see picturesque volcanic landscapes. 

Day 3 Iturup, Kuril Islands

On this day you will disembark on Iturup Island and ascend Baransky volcano, which will offer dizzying views. You can also swim in the thermal springs.

Day 4 Simushir and Yankich Islands, Kuril Islands

In the morning aboard expedition boats, you will go inside a huge submerged volcanic caldera in the northern part of Simushir Island, where you will admire fantastic panoramas. Just a quarter of a century ago, the Soviet submarine base and the settlement where its personnel lived were located here: you will be able to walk around this abandoned town.

In the afternoon you can explore another submerged caldera on Yankich Island. This place is considered the most beautiful in the entire Kuril Archipelago. During the landing, you can see foxes and seabird colonies.  

Day 5 Ecarma and Onekotan Islands, Kuril Islands

The first half of the day will be spent exploring Ekarma Island, which itself is an active volcano. Onboard the expedition boats you will approach the coastal cliffs where noisy bird colonies nest. Among the inhabitants of the colonies are tufted and horned puffins, the brightest birds of the Far East. 

In the afternoon the ship will approach Onekotan Island. During the trekking to Black Lake, you will see the famous "volcano in volcano" Krenitsyn. Also on Onecotan, you can see traces of World War II: Japanese pillboxes and bunkers, soldiers' helmets and remnants of military equipment.

Day 6 Atlasova Island and the Bird Rocks, Kuril Islands

Today you will explore the northernmost island of the Big Kuril Ridge, Atlasova Island. Here is the highest volcano in the entire archipelago situated – Alaid (2340 m). The Japanese considered the shape of Alaid to be even more perfect than that of the famous Fuji. 

Then your expedition vessel will pass the Second Kuril Strait and approach the Bird Rocks. You will see a lot of seals, among which you can spot a rare mammal, the sea otter. The Bird Rocks are home to huge colonies of birds, including puffins, cormorants and other species of seabirds.

Day 7 Russkaya Bay, Kamchatka

Today you will come to Russkaya Bay. When the weather is clear, you can enjoy a panorama of volcanoes in the southern part of Kamchatka. Bears on the shores, sea lions, largha seals, sea otters, and killer whales in the coastal waters are often seen here.

Day 8 Zhupanova River, Kamchatka

You will travel up the river on the zodiac expedition boats to see the largest Steller's sea eagles on the planet. Encounters with bears are also likely. The landscapes of these places are very picturesque: you can admire pristine forests and smoking volcanoes in the background.

Day 9 Olga Bay, Kamchatka

Olga Bay is a part of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve. From here you can see the panorama of several volcanoes at once, among which one of the most beautiful is Kronotsky. Gray whales often feed in the waters of the bay. If you are lucky, from here you can take fantastic photos of whale tails against the background of Kronotsky volcano.

Days 10-11 Commander Islands

For 2 days you will explore the Commander Islands. They were discovered in 1741 by the expedition of commander Vitus Bering, after whom they were named. You will visit all the main islands of the archipelago – Bering, Medny (Rus. for Copper) and Ariy Stone. 

Your exploration of the islands will begin with a visit to the only settlement on the islands – Nikolskoye. The local museum is the only one in the world, where you can see the skeleton of Steller's cow, which was completely exterminated by man in the 18th century.

Then you will visit Bering Island in Commander's Bay, where the grave of Vitus Bering and several members of his expedition is located. The discoverers, who reached the islands already sick and exhausted, could not survive the long and difficult wintering. 

On Bering Island, near Northwest Cape, you will see a colony of seals, numbering more than 2000 animals, as well as Steller's sea lions and sea otters. Also here you can see Arctic foxes wandering among the thickets of wildflowers. In the waters of the southern coast of Bering Island, there are many cetaceous: humpback whale, northern minke whale, sperm whale, killer whale and Baird's beaked whale.

Next, the zodiac boats will take you to the bird colonies of Ariy Stone Island. Even if you are not into ornithology, you will not be left indifferent by the noisy colonies of feathered birds. Here you can see the most beautiful representatives of the bird world of the Far East, one of which is red-faced cormorant.  

On Medny Island, you are surrounded by amazingly beautiful landscapes. In the coastal waters, you are also likely to see sea otters.

Day 12 Course to the coast of Kamchatka

You will spend the day at sea, heading for the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Day 13 Arrival in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

In the morning your expedition vessel will drop anchor in the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. You will be transferred to the airport and return home.