Cruise around all Kuril Ridge islands

Day 1 Arrival in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

In the morning we will arrange transfer to the port of Korsakov, where your trip to the Kuril Islands will start. You will board the expedition vessel, get acquainted with the crew, have a safety briefing and check in to your cabins.

Day 2 Tyulenii Island

On the approach to Tyulenii Island you will see the largest rookery of seals and sea lions in the North Pacific. Approaching the animals from the sea, you will have a perfect vantage point for fantastic photos.

Day 3 Kunashir Island

Kunashir is the biggest and the southernmost island of the Greater Kuril Chain. Its name means “black island”. According to one theory, the island got its name thanks to the dark pine forests and a sullen Tyatya volcano. There are three other active volcanoes here as well: Golovnina, Mendeleev, and Ruruy.

You will visit the unique Stolbchatiy cape. An alternative route on this day is a bus trip to Golovnina volcano caldera with bathing in thermal springs.

Day 4 Iturup Island

On this day you will explore the Iturup Island, the largest island in the Kuril Archipelago. 

The main site of Iturup is the the White Rocks formation. These rocks are unusual in form and color, and stretch for 28 km along the coast. 

The rocks consist of soft pumice, formed after a volcanic eruption. The winds and storms of the Sea of Okhotsk have eroded the pumice significantly, which is why the rocks are of a bizarre shape. The unusual dark gray color of the sand makes this place especially beautiful. 

You will walk along the coast of White Rocks and swim in thermal springs.

Day 5 Chirpoi and Urup Islands

If the weather permits, in the morning you will land on the island of Chirpoi, where there are two active volcanoes and where thousands of black-legged kittiwake and fat-billed murrelets nest. You will travel to the active Snow Volcano (so named after G.J. Snow, and English fisherman), which last erupted in 2017. Currently faint fumarolic activity can be observed here. 

You will then travel to the island of Urup. Along the way there is a good chance of encountering sperm whales and killer whales. An expedition boat ride to the picturesque waterfalls of the island awaits you.

Day 6 Simushir and Yankicha Islands

Expedition boats will take you to the submerged volcanic caldera of Yankicha Island - Kraternaya Bay. It is one of the most picturesque places of Kuril Archipelago. Here you can bathe in thermal springs and see a lot of seabirds, including some rare species: red-throated pipits, common greenshanks , rough-legged buzzards, crested auklets, peregrine falcons etc.

On the approach to the island of Simushir you will be surrounded by thousands of puffins and little buzzards, looking for fish in the water. In these parts you can see Arctic foxes as well. During your walk around the island, you will visit an abandoned Soviet military camp in Broughton Bay.

Day 7 Onekotan Island

In the morning you will disembark at Mussel Bay on Onekotan Island and climb the 1324 m high crater of the Krenitsyn volcano (quite a difficult trek of 15 km on foot in both directions with an elevation gain of 600 m). This is a two-tier "volcano within a volcano"- the volcanic cone rises as an island inside Koltsevoye lake, lying at a height of 400 m - the views are mesmerizing!

Day 8 Shumshu and Paramushir islands

At dawn you will board the expedition boats to approach the vast bird nesting grounds, where puffins, seabirds, cormorants, and other species of seabirds nest. 

This day you will get acquainted with the Paramushir and Shumshu islands. On Paramushir island the vessel will stop at Krashennikov Bay. Here you will enjoy the magnificent views of active volcanoes Tatarinov, Karpinsky, Chikurachky and others. In the coastal waters of the bay whales and killer whales are often seen.  

Shumshu Island has preserved traces of World War II. You will see Japanese bunkers and visit the sites of fierce battles where you can still find soldiers' helmets and remnants of military equipment.
 

Day 9 Atlasova Islan

Today you will explore the northernmost island of the Greater Kuril Chain - Atlasova Island. First, you will land on the northwest coast and walk to the side cones of the Olympic rift.    

Then you have a short trek to the crater of the Taketomi volcano (1 km on foot in both directions with an altitude change of 126 m). From here you will have a great view of Alaid - the highest volcano in the archipelago (2285 m).

Day 10 Russkaya Bay

On this day the ship will sail to the Kamchatka coasts. You will take a boat trip to Russkaya Bay aboard zodiac boats to get acquainted with the animal world of Kamchatka.  

The shores of the bay are inhabited by sea birds, and sea lions rook at the entrance to the bay. During the spawning season you can see brown bears on the coast, and orcas and whales are often seen in the coastal waters. 

Weather permitting, you will make a landing on the coast where you can engage in some birdwatching. If you're lucky, you'll see rare birds: the endangered short-billed and long-billed murrelet, for example. 

In the evening there will be a celebratory dinner aboard the ship to mark the end of the expedition. 

Day 11 Arrival in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

In the morning the ship will stop at Avacha Bay, that is considered to be the largest natural harbor in the world. After breakfast you will say goodbye to the crew and disembark. From there you will be transferred to your hotel or the city center