Chukotka, Kamchatka and the Commander Islands

Day 1 Boarding the Vessel in Anadyr

After arriving at Anadyr airport, a group transfer will take you to the port. You will board the vessel, settle into your cabins, and meet the ship’s crew. Then the Professor Khromov will set sail into open waters.

From the decks, you may spot beluga whales in the bay and seabirds soaring overhead. The dramatic Chukotka coastline stretches before you, with tundra, cliffs, and glaciers along the shore.

Days 2-3 Meynypilgyno Village and Cape Navarin

In the morning, the vessel passes along the western shore of Anadyr Bay to Navarin Cape, the windiest place in Russia. Millions of seabirds nest on the cliffs, and you may spot the rare white-tailed eagle. Coastal waters are home to whales, so keep your binoculars ready.

Later, you will reach Meynypilgyno Village (locals call it Maina). Here, the vessel will anchor, and expedition boats will take you to observe walrus rookeries and waterfalls cascading into the sea. Brown bears may also appear nearby.

There is a museum of Chukchi culture in the village. Nearby, a large population of critically endangered spoon-billed sandpipers spends the summer. A special incubator was built close to Maina, where international ornithologists breed chicks to release them into the wild.

Day 4 Bogoslova Island

The island is located between the entrances to the “Apostolic” bays. In the afternoon, you will arrive at Imatra Fjord, where the graves of whalers from the Aleut flotilla can be found, and enjoy a scenic hike to Lake Izumrudnoye (Emerald Lake)

Keep an eye out for brown bears, which are often seen along the shores of both bays and the island, feeding on local fish.

Day 5 Tintikun Lagoon

After a long sea crossing, Professor Khromov will arrive in the afternoon at another spectacular fjord — or rather, a lagoon, as it is separated from the sea by a sand spit. In the center of Tintikun Lagoon lies an island, and just a few meters from the water are hot springs (unfortunately, they are too hot for bathing).

Brown bears are common in this area, and if you’re lucky, you might even spot a wolverine, an animal so fierce that even bears avoid it.

Day 6 The Bering Sea

As the ship moves south, you will cross the vast Bering Sea. Whales and seabirds will accompany you along the way.

These two days are perfect for relaxing on deck, observing marine life, and sharing experiences with the expedition team.

Days 7-9 The Commander Islands

The ship will head southwest and stop early in the morning at the mouth of the Zhupanova River, one of Kamchatka’s best fishing spot.

For the next three days, you will explore the Commander Islands, discovered in 1741 by the expedition of Commander Vitus Bering, after whom they were named. You will visit all four islands of the national park, admiring landscapes filled with waterfalls, dunes, and rugged coastlines.

Your exploration begins with a visit to Nikolskoye, the only settlement on the Commanders. The local museum is one of the few places in the world where you can see the skeleton of the Steller’s sea cow, a species hunted to extinction in the 18th century. You can look for semiprecious stones on the beach and pick Arctic berries in the tundra.

You will also visit Commander Bay, where the graves of Vitus Bering and several members of his crew are located. The explorers, who reached the islands already sick and exhausted, did not survive the harsh winter. The island’s iconic rock arch — a striking sea stack — is named after Georg Steller, a member of Bering’s expedition.

The Commanders are home to an extraordinary diversity of marine mammals — unmatched anywhere else in Russia. At the Northwest Cape of Bering Island, you will see large colonies of Steller sea lions and northern fur seals, as well as sea otters and rare Stejneger’s beaked seals. Off the island’s southern coast, the waters host numerous cetaceans, including sperm whales, fin whales, humpback whales, northern minke whales, and orcas.

Expedition boats will take you to the bustling bird colonies of Toporkov and Kamen Ariy islands. Even if you’re not a bird enthusiast, the noise and energy of these rookeries will leave a strong impression. Here you can spot some of the Far East’s most striking seabirds — the tufted puffin, horned puffin, and red-faced cormorant. While walking on Toporkov Island, it’s important to step carefully to avoid damaging the puffins’ nesting burrows, which they dig in the ground.

Day 10 At Sea

If the weather permits, you will visit Cape Kekurny, where a permanent rookery of Steller sea lions can be seen. You may also spot sea otters and white-tailed eagles, and the waters here are home to a resident pod of fish-eating orcas.

Day 11 Arrival in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

Today the ship will arrive in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, located on the shores of Avacha Bay, the world’s largest natural harbor. Off the starboard side, you will see Kamchatka’s “home” volcanoes — Avachinsky, Koryaksky, and Kozelsky — as well as the Zhupanovskaya Sopka, a massif of four volcanoes

Upon disembarkation, a transfer will take you to the airport for your return flight home