1. Port Overview

  1. Sakhalin, Russian Far East

  3. Sakhalin is a large and very sparsely populated island which was the center of a long power struggle between Russia/USSR and Japan for control of its large oil and gas resources. Sakhalin is beautiful, but has an undeveloped tourist sector. Its largest city is Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

    The Lake Tunaycha region is only 45 km south east of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. This string of shallow lakes, including the islands largest fresh water lake, runs along Sakhalin's western coast line, and is a favorite with bird watchers and outdoor enthusiasts.

    The island of Moneron off Sakhalin's southwestern coast is popular with divers, snorkellers, and bird watchers. Above the water the scenery is quite enchanting with dramatic rock formations, waterfalls, rocky canyons and alpine meadows. The island has numerous bird colonies and is a breeding ground for sea lions.

    Things to See & Do

    * Lake Tunaycha
    * Moneron Island
    * Vaida Mountains
    * Zhdanko Ridge
    * Tyuleniy Island

    General information

    Cruise Season - Jan - Dec
    Currency - Ruble (RUB)
    Language - Russian
    Population - 600,000 approx
    Land Area - 74,492 km2
    Electricity - 2 perpendicular flat pins USA style or with a round pin below
    Time - GMT plus hours nine hours
    International Country Telephone Code - +7

    Port Location - The port at Sakhalin are located at Korsakov and Kholmsk.

    Travel Links - Sakhalin is connected by regular flights to Moscow, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, and other cities of Russia. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport has regularly scheduled international flights to Hakodate, Japan and Seoul and Busan, Korea. There are also charter flights to the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Niigata, and Sapporo and the Chinese cities of Shanghai, Dalian, and Harbin.

    There is a daily ferry service between Vanino on the mainland, and Kholmsk on the islands western coast. Vanino is linked with the rest of the Russian railway network by a daily service to Vladivostok, with stops in Komsomolsk and Khabarovsk en route. In the summer months another option is a Japanese operated ferry service linking Korsakov on the shore of Aniva Bay, at the southern tip of the island, with Wakkanai on the northern tip of Hokkaido.