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Linda Be's Travels

12869 Noble Ridge, Dubuque , Iowa 52002 USA

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I set up travel and tours for groups of people. I take care of all of the details to assure that you have a great trip, with no worries.

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Whisky 101: A Light-hearted Guide to the Water of Life

#whiskey #smithville

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Varroa mite parasite detected in Victoria in first outbreak outside NSW

By Warwick Long

By Else Kennedy

Topic: Beekeeping

Bees are imported to the Sunraysia region each year to pollinate almond and stonefruit crops. ( ABC News: Else Kennedy )

An outbreak of the destructive varroa mite parasite has been confirmed for the first time in Victoria.

The detection comes after a major migration of beehives arrived in Victoria for the annual pollination of almond and stonefruit crops.

What's next? 

A national management plan for varroa will attempt to slow the spread of the pest through increased surveillance and treatment of affected hives.

An outbreak of the destructive varroa mite parasite has been confirmed for the first time in Victoria, just weeks after Australia's largest annual movement of honey-bee hives began arriving in the state.

More than 200,000 bee hives from across Australia's east coast have in August been trucked into the Sunraysia region — which covers north-west victoria and south-west NSW — to pollinate its almond and stonefruit crops ahead of spring.

More than 200,000 beehives have been moved into the Sunraysia region from across Victoria, NSW and Queensland. ( ABC News: Else Kennedy )

"We are managing the situation," Ms Spence said.

"Agriculture Victoria is working with the affected beekeeper and others that are nearby to minimise the spread and to guide those management actions going forward."

Varroa mite is a parasite that kills honey-bee colonies and transmits viruses to its hosts.

Victorian agriculture minister Ros Spence says the outbreak is being managed. ( AAP: Luis Ascui  )

Its detection in Victoria marks the first time varroa has been discovered outside of NSW since the pest was first detected in NSW in 2022.

Ms Spence said 12 Agriculture Victoria varroa development officers were on the ground in northern Victoria to support beekeepers following the detection, and a restriction had been lifted for beekeepers purchasing chemicals to eradicate the pest.

This year's pollination season in Victoria is taking place after NSW authorities gave up the fight to eradicate varroa mite in September and declared the pest endemic in their state.

Hives have been moved to the Sunraysia region to pollinate almond and stonefruit crops. ( Else Kennedy )

'A matter of time'

Victorian Apiarists Association president John van Weeghel said the spread of the pest into Victoria had been inevitable.

"It was as certain as the sun coming up tomorrow morning," Mr van Weeghel said.

"It will be a matter of time now, hopefully years, before it will spread across Victoria," he said.

In February, 26 industry groups that rely on honey bees to pollinate their crops agreed to a national management plan for the pest.

The federal government has allocated $100 million to fund 32 specialist staff to slow the spread of the pest.

Victorian Apiarists' Association president John van Weeghel says the mite's arrival in the state was inevitable. ( Supplied: John van Weeghel )

Mr van Weeghel said testing for varroa in Victoria would now "intensify drastically".

As the pest spread, he said Victorians could expect to see feral populations of European honey bees die out, but native Australian bees would not be affected.

"That will be a benefit for us … [the feral hives] will not be spreading disease anymore," he said.

Mr van Weeghel said people with backyard fruit trees would find the trees no longer pollinated by feral honey bees, and would need "managed beehives" to pollinate the trees.

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Transportation | California driver’s licenses and state IDs…

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Transportation | california driver’s licenses and state ids coming to mobile devices.

For state residents, this means the convenience of being able to show driver’s licenses and state IDs in their Apple Wallet and Google Wallet at select online retail businesses and TSA airport security checkpoints, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced this week.

“We’re trying to scale up identities so that they’re safe, privacy preserving and make sure that people can put it in the same device that almost none of us leave our home without,” said Steve Gordon, director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

The move to go digital is part of the DMV’s mobile driver’s license pilot program, which launched in April 2023, allowing participants to add their driver’s license or state-issued ID to their mobile device using the California DMV Wallet app. There is a cap at this time of 1.5 million people.

Since the program’s launch, more than 500,000 Californians have added a mobile Driver’s License — a mDL in tech speak — to their phone. Having the original, physical license on hand is still required .

Currently, the mDL program allows digital driver’s licenses and IDs to be shown for select online retail businesses and at the Los Angeles, San Jose Mineta and San Francisco International Airports. But, according to Gordon, digital identification will soon be more widely applicable.

“Coming to all California commercial airports, we’re being told, soon,” he said.

From travel to law enforcement, Gordon said he predicts digital IDs will be a part of “daily life.”

“There are a myriad of use cases,” he said, “that are envisioned by the industry.”

Find out more information at www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/ca-dmv-wallet .

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The Democratic Convention Kicks Off

Plus, a push for a Gaza cease-fire. Here’s the latest at the end of Monday.

By Jonathan Wolfe

The Democratic National Convention will open tonight in Chicago with a burst of energy and optimism, fueled by the replacement of President Biden at the top of the ticket with his vice president, Kamala Harris.

Biden will headline the evening with a valedictory speech that will serve as an opportunity to pass the torch to Harris. Hillary Clinton, who lost out on becoming the first female president to Donald Trump, is also set to speak tonight . Three women with harrowing pregnancy stories will step into the spotlight, including Amanda Zurawski, the plaintiff in the first patient-led legal challenge to state abortion restrictions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Polls show Harris gaining ground, and the next few days should signal how she intends to define her candidacy — and should help determine whether Democrats can remain unified despite deep divisions over the war in Gaza. Follow our live coverage .

Here’s what else to know:

Protesters have said they will gather by the thousands outside the convention. Chicago officials are confident they will avoid a repeat of the chaos that unfolded in 1968 .

A far-right takeover of Georgia’s election board now has a chance to influence the 2024 election results.

Trump shared A.I.-generated images on social media suggesting that Taylor Swift had endorsed him .

JD Vance defended his unsubstantiated claims about immigration and crime by citing the movie “Gangs of New York.”

Do you have questions about the election? Send them to us, and we’ll find the answers.

Stay up-to-date: Poll tracker | The Run-Up podcast | On Politics newsletter

Israel agreed to a proposal on a cease-fire

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had accepted a “bridging proposal” put forward by mediators trying to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

A spokesman for Netanyahu confirmed that Israel had agreed to the proposal. Hamas officials did not immediately comment, but they have called the mediators’ proposal fundamentally slanted toward Israel.

In Tel Aviv, the Israeli police said that a “powerful explosive” had detonated on a road in the south of the city, injuring one passerby. Hamas’s military wing and Islamic Jihad took responsibility for what they said was a suicide bombing, and they threatened further attacks.

Ukraine aimed to entrap Russian troops

Russian troops in the Kursk region near the border with Ukraine are at risk of becoming encircled, military analysts said. The assessment comes after Ukraine’s bombing over the weekend of bridges that are the only routes for resupply or retreat.

The potential entrapment of Russian forces in the area adds another challenge for Russia, after it was caught off guard by Ukraine’s startling incursion earlier this month. The operation has injected a new sense of optimism to Ukrainian forces that had been backpedaling for months elsewhere along the front line.

George Santos pleaded guilty

George Santos, the disgraced former Republican congressman from New York, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in federal court today. The plea allows Santos to avoid a trial on nearly two dozen charges for which he was facing as many as 22 years in prison. He agreed to pay nearly $375,000 in restitution and will almost certainly face prison time.

The plea offers a coda to one of the oddest sideshows in modern U.S. politics — the tale of a political underdog who catapulted to Congress in 2022 and whose career unraveled into a seemingly bottomless series of falsehoods.

More top news

Economy: Americans are increasingly worried about losing their jobs , the New York Fed found, as officials weigh potential interest rate cuts.

Congress: The House G.O.P. made its formal impeachment case against President Biden without proof of any crimes.

Connecticut: A storm system dumped nearly 10 inches of rain in some areas this weekend, causing flash floods and evacuations.

Business: Companies are stockpiling components and delaying expansions to prepare for tariff hikes that Trump has said he would implement if elected.

Sicily: One person is dead and six are missing after a yacht sank in a violent storm .

Science: Researchers used A.I. to develop individualized algorithms for deep-brain stimulation, helping a skateboarder with Parkinson’s disease .

Health: In huge numbers, older people are taking gabapentin for a variety of conditions .

Space: The blue supermoon, probably the decade’s last, will be visible through Wednesday .

TIME TO UNWIND

Remembering phil donahue.

For years, Phil Donahue, who died on Sunday at 88, was known as the unchallenged king of daytime talk television. “The Phil Donahue Show,” which began in the late 1960s, dispensed with familiar trappings like the opening monologue and band. Instead, Donahue turned the show into a participation event .

He would stalk the aisles, microphone in hand, soliciting questions and comments from the audience. Few subjects, if any, were off limits — they were as high-minded as human rights and international relations, and as lowbrow as male strippers and safe-sex orgies. “I want all the topics hot,” he is said to have told his staff.

These three episodes explain his daytime dominance .

Scuba diving with grandma

Sixty may or may not be the new 40, but it’s clear that many older adults are enjoying longer “healthspans” — the time they are active, fit and healthy. With the shift, many are joining their grandchildren on travel adventures like wilderness hikes, bike tours and even bungee jumping .

Dinner table topics

Mennonites in the Amazon: Groups are carving out new colonies in the jungle, raising fears that they are adding to deforestation .

NASA teams with artists: Sound collages and mechanical grass are being created in a collaboration to unlock creative pathways .

Skipping spoon-feeding: A growing number of parents are trying “baby-led weaning."

Want to feel happier? Try cultivating positive emotions .

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

Cook: Roasted zucchini and shrimp with za’atar yogurt is a simple, colorful sheet-pan meal.

Watch: With “Alien: Romulus” hitting theaters, we ranked all of the previous “Alien” movies .

Listen: Here are seven hot tracks from female rappers.

Read: For great dialogue, check out these books by Evelyn Waugh and Deborah Eisenberg.

Plan: Looking for a last-minute getaway for Labor Day? We have seven suggestions .

Shop: We tested portable Bluetooth speakers on a hunt for the best.

Play: Today’s Spelling Bee , Wordle and Mini Crossword . For more, find all our games here .

ONE LAST THING

Confessions of a hate-watcher.

Our critic Alissa Wilkinson loves to hate-watch: picking apart TV shows that are expensively made yet irritating to sit through. We start watching a show because it looks appealing, and then we keep watching because we want to complain about it at happy hour .

“At the end of an exhausting day,” Alissa writes, “when I need to distract myself from my anxieties, sniping at some new, terrible show about ice skaters or lifestyle journalists or advice podcasters feels like comfort food.”

Have an indulgent evening.

Thanks for reading. Matthew Cullen will be back tomorrow. — Jonathan

Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.

Reach our team at [email protected]. And follow The New York Times on Instagram , Threads , Facebook and TikTok at @nytimes.

Jonathan Wolfe is a senior staff editor on the newsletters team at The Times. More about Jonathan Wolfe

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When Barry Gibb made rare appearance with wife Linda to sing 'Silent Night' with their kids on TV special

15 December 2023, 10:48

Bee Gee brother Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb appeared their wives and children on Cilla Black's christmas TV show in a rare family outing for the famously private stars.

The Bee Gees - Barry Gibb in particular - may have been considered sex symbols at various points in their careers, but rare footage from 1983 shows the stars were down to earth family men.

Barry Gibb , Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb were appearing on Cilla Black 's Christmas, a one off show produced by LWT, when they invited their wives and children to join them for a beautiful rendition of 'Silent Night'.

The special event is not only unusual because the Bee Gees are joined by wives Linda, Dwina and Yvonne but because they weren't even recording any music together in 1983; They instead released solo albums and wrote Kenny Rogers’ Eyes That See In The Dark LP.

Barry Gibb and Linda Gibb (formerly Gray) have been married for fifty years after meeting on the set of Top of The Pops and marrying in 1970.

• Barry Gibb has revealed the real reason why the Bee Gees never recorded a Christmas song
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Barry had previously been married to Maureen Bates, whom he married in 1966 when he was just 19, but the couple divorced in 1970 not long before he married Linda Gray, who had recently been crowned Miss Edinburgh at just 17-years-old.

Barry and Linda have five children: Stephen (born 1973), Ashley (born 1977), Travis (born 1981), Michael (born 1984) and Alexandra (born 1991) and seven grandchildren and divide their time between their homes in Miami and England.

A fifty year marriage is almost unheard of in music circles, yet Barry says having his wife by his side through his career has made all the difference to him: “Linda, along with me, has seen everything you can see if you’re a pop group on the rise. She never missed anything and that’s something to take great comfort from,” Gibb told the Roxborough Report in 2012.

• Relive the Bee Gees' flawless impromptu acapella performance of 'How Deep Is Your Love' on live TV
• Watch a gobsmacked Bee Gees giggle their way through This Is Your Life episode

“We can talk to each other about any single instance in our lives and what happened to the group and she was there.”

Gibb called Linda a “tower of strength” in the same interview, saying she is “always right behind me and she’s either going to give me a top on the head or a kick up the ass.”

Barry attributes a lot of his success to his wife and thanks her for not allowing him to go down the same path as the other Gibbs (Maurice suffered from alcoholism and Andy Gibb died from a drug overdose when he was just 30-years-old).

“My brothers had to deal with their demons, but I was married to a lady who wasn’t going to have it,” he told The Guardian in 2020.

“I could bring drugs into the house, but they would end up down the toilet. She never allowed me to go in that direction. I had to deal with my brothers being pretty much out there, but I was lucky.”

Barry has also spoken about remaining faithful to his wife despite and both having many opportunities to stray in their half a century of marriage.

• Private studio footage of Barry Gibb and the Bee Gees recording 'Tragedy' is phenomenal
• When Andy Gibb and Olivia Newton-John sang a sizzling duet of Bee Gees hit ‘Rest Your Love On Me’

“I do remember [Australian tennis star] Evonne Goolagong tried to get me to go out with her about 25 years ago. She asked me if she could come over!” Barry told The New York Post in 2016, adding that his wife had had offers too.

“One time we were at the Record Plant in Los Angeles and Steve McQueen tried to take off with Linda on the back of his motorbike! She’s a very beautiful woman, and had just as many opportunities as me!”

CILLA BLACK & BEE GEES

Whilst Barry's 50-year relationship with Linda may be unusual, the other Gibb brothers also brief marriages followed by long and happy unions.

After being briefly married to the singer Lulu for four years from 1969, Maurice married his second wife, Yvonne Spenceley Gibb, in October 1975.

They had two children: Adam (born 1976) and Samantha (born 1980) and the pair were together for the rest of Maurice's life.

However, the star's alcohol problems came to a head in 1991, when he pulled a gun on his wife and children after a month-long binge.

• Bee Gees sing acapella 'To Love Somebody' in spine-tingling lost footage from 1993
• When three amazing kids pretended to be the Bee Gees and it was incredible

They left him and immediately went to brother Barry's house, refusing to return until he had got sober once and for all.

Maurice went to rehab, and eventually returned to his family when he recovered.

He and Yvonne renewed their wedding vows in 1992, with the ceremony attended by their families and many of the friends Maurice made while at rehab. He would stay sober until his death in 2003.

Barry Gibb emotionally reflects on losing his brothers

Robin Gibb first married In 1968, to Molly Hullis, a secretary in Robert Stigwood's company, and they had two children together: Spencer (born 1972) and Melissa (born 1974).

Molly and Robin divorced in 1980 after years of living apart from each other and he went on to marry his second wife, Dwina Murphy, an author and artist.

The second marriage lasted from 1985 until his death in 2012. and the couple had a son together, Robin-John (known as RJ, born 1983), who recently said he wants Rami Malek to play his father in a biopic about the Bee Gees .

Smooth's Untold Stories: Barry Gibb and wife Linda's beautiful relationship

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The 20 greatest Bee Gees songs of all time, ranked

Barry gibb and andy gibb sing rare duet of 'to love somebody' in candid video from 1987, ‘alright bazza’: remember barry gibb’s cameo on only fools and horses, barry gibb and barbra streisand squabble over how to make a cup of tea in hilarious video, when maurice gibb and lulu reunited for gorgeous duet 30 years after their divorce, when barry gibb and son stephen sang incredible acoustic duet of bee gees' words and stayin' alive, latest music news.

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Eco-tip: Bee and Aviation days cross environmental flight paths

National Honeybee Day on Saturday has a lesson for Monday's upcoming National Aviation Day.

Considering the way certain types of bee populations have recovered while others are in decline may provide insight into solutions for environmental issues such as the problem of greenhouse gas pollution from air travel. 

The flight patterns of the two topics intersect when you buy a plane ticket. Some airlines provide a box you can voluntarily check to be charged extra for “carbon offset.” If you consider checking that box, or directly purchasing from a company such as Terrapass , where offsetting credits are generated through projects including methane capture and forestry, consider the lesson of the bees.

Of the 4,000 bee species in North America, one in four is at risk of extinction, according to the nonprofit Bee Conservancy . However, as Washington State University apiary and laboratory manager Professor Brandon Hopkins told me in an email, honeybee populations are now stable, thanks mostly to measures taken by the West Coast almond industry, which needs honeybees for crop pollination. 

Rick Kushman, a spokesperson for the Almond Board of California, cited Hopkins’ research and said, “The reason the almond industry has propped up the bee population so much is because the bee population is so important to the almonds, and almond blossom nutrition is important to the bees as well.”

Kushman added: “You gotta have beekeepers, or else you don’t get bees,” acknowledging both the workers and insects essential to the industry. In California, 7,600 almond growers and 99 processors fund his organization through a 3-cents-per-pound charge levied under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

In other words, to produce California’s biggest crop export by weight, at 2.7 billion pounds shipped from the state last year, almond growers overcame a variety of challenges faced by bees, primarily by working with beekeepers who have been starting new hives faster than environmental challenges could kill the insects.

In Ventura County, avocado growers employ many of those same beekeepers, but the big hitters in the bee business’ funding lineup are the almond growers, whose trees start blooming in February. As the growing season progresses, trucks haul a convoy of bee hives northward with many stops. 

Of course, the future of bees is not assured just by boosting birth rates over death rates for species selected to survive under the care of human keepers.

“There are lots of other pollinators in the orchards, and out of concern not just for crops, but also just for sustainability, we care about those too,” said Kushman, pointing out that 86% of farms certified “bee friendly” by the nonprofit Pollinator Partnership are almond farms in California. The Almond Board matches growers to beekeepers, promotes use of bee-friendly cover crops and organizes programs such as BeeWhere, which notifies pesticide applicators of nearby hives to avoid. 

Replicating the partial success of bee population recovery in other environmental issues may require a convergence of environmental and economic interests similar to the almond growers and the bees. Buying carbon offsets when taking a trip by plane creates that convergence by funding ventures that would not otherwise be viable. 

However, whether buying carbon offsets or simply reducing methane as a greenhouse gas by preventing food discards from going into a landfill, people must be motivated.

Almond growers were motivated by bee population decline. The economic threat to their industry was obvious, the cost to stop the decline was relatively low and the community of almond growers was well organized.

In contrast, climate change is a more distant threat and consequences of inaction are less clear. In addition, though it may cost less than $10 to offset the high atmosphere carbon impact of a short flight, the global cost to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement could be $13.5 trillion, according to the International Energy Agency. 

Perhaps the bees can remind us of our obligations to the planet and our opportunity to make a difference. 

David Goldstein, an environmental resource analyst with the Ventura County Public Works Agency, can be reached at 805-658-4312 or [email protected].

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Sakhalin: Your Essential Guide to Russia’s Enigmatic Eastern Island

• January 14, 2024

A Journey Through Giant Burdocks, Wild Bears, and the Echoes of Ancient Japanese Temples

From the most dreaded place of exile in the Russian Empire to a Japanese industrial base and one of the most attractive and inaccessible places for domestic tourism in Russia.

Table of Contents

An island that was Russian, then Japanese, and then Russian again

From the 17th to the mid-19th century, it was believed that Sakhalin was a peninsula. This misconception firmly established itself on the maps of the time, as navigators failed to circumnavigate the island. The proximity of Sakhalin’s southern tip to the mainland created a false impression of being impassable for ships. An additional complexity arose from the fact that the route taken by ships from the Russian Empire involved passing through a narrow strait, which Nevelskoy managed to navigate only in 1849.

For a long time, people did not believe Nevelskoy, but he insisted that he had discovered a route through the strait, for which he became something of a hero in Primorye. Monuments and plaques dedicated to him can be found in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Vladivostok, and Khabarovsk. The H4H creative association created a graphic novel based on this story, which won a cultural initiatives contest and became part of the interior of the Khabarovsk Airport. By the way, the Sakhalin region is the only Russian entity entirely located on islands.

The remote and isolated location of the island during the Russian Empire was used as a natural barrier, and it became the site of penal colonies for hard labor prisoners. Its geographical position led to Sakhalin’s hard labor being regarded as particularly cruel.

During the period of the island’s development, Russian ships followed the Amur River and reached the island from the north, where the oldest port, Alexandrovsk, was founded. The Japanese attempted to develop the island from the south, entering through the Kuril Islands (part of the Sakhalin region) and Aniva Bay. For a long time, the Kurils were inhabited by the Ainu, representatives of a small indigenous people. The very word “Kurils” comes from the Ainu: “kuru” means “man.”

In the 17th century, Japan conducted its first expeditions towards the islands and began their development. Russia reached them later. The first mentions of the islands in Russian language date back to the late 17th century. For a long time, Russian, Dutch, Japanese, and Anglo-French navigators studied the islands, landed on them, and disputed their territorial ownership. However, only Russia and Japan managed to establish a foothold. To end the territorial disputes, the governments of the two countries signed an agreement under which the Kuril Islands went to Japan, and Sakhalin to Russia, which continued to develop the island mainly from the north. After the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, which ended in Russia’s defeat, the southern part of Sakhalin became part of Japan as the Karafuto Prefecture.

Until the second half of the 20th century, the island was owned by Japan and was quite successful in developing its resources. A huge number of mines were opened, several cities and lighthouses were built. In particular, the current regional center, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, was the former Japanese city of Toyohara. The famous Aniva lighthouse, now considered a symbol of Sakhalin, was built by Japanese engineers. After Japan’s defeat in World War II, the island passed to the Soviet Union. Contrary to history, the main life of the island moved from the north to the south. Alexandrovsk, which was convenient to reach by water, lost to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with its infrastructure built by the Japanese, connections to neighboring cities, and airport. Interestingly, before leaving, the Japanese buried and hid the mining sites, and locals say that not all the old mines have been found yet, and they are sometimes stumbled upon during walks.

Because the island belonged to three different countries in just over a hundred years, it did not have time to develop any significant urban infrastructure. The cities lack outstanding architectural monuments and unique museums. However, some unusual Japanese architecture has remained. Meanwhile, Sakhalin compactly houses incredible natural attractions. Here, one can climb through forests and bamboo thickets to breathtakingly beautiful mountains as if outlined in graphite, and through a mountain pass reach the sea, into which clear mountain rivers flow with fish splashing in them.

The Ainu and Nivkh: Inhabitants of Sakhalin

For a long time, the island was mainly inhabited by the Ainu and Nivkh peoples. These ethnic groups are very different, making their coexistence as unusual as the neighboring of birch and bamboo on the slopes of Sakhalin’s mountains. Both are isolate peoples . However, the Ainu belong to the Australoid race, while the Nivkh are Mongoloids (the main population of Asian territories). It’s fascinating how representatives of different races have coexisted for ages on a small piece of land at the edge of the world.

There is no single version regarding the origin of the Ainu, leading to a multitude of theories — both scientific and conspiratorial. One theory suggests that the Ainu are the ancestors of the indigenous population of Australia, remaining in the north after continental migration. Some researchers write that the Ainu are the forebears of the Japanese. This theory is supported by the fact that before Japanese expansion, the Ainu mainly inhabited the Japanese island of Hokkaido. However, the Ainu suffered greatly from Japanese imperialism, and their culture and language were almost completely destroyed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Now, there are just over two thousand Ainu living on Sakhalin.

The Nivkh are among the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the north. They suffered less from Japanese rule. However, during the Soviet era, they experienced a difficult phase of literacy development, destruction of tribal communities, and relocation to cities. About 2,200 Nivkh live in the Sakhalin region and another approximately two thousand in Khabarovsk.

During the Karafuto period, Japan brought captured Koreans to Sakhalin for hard labor. By the mid-20th century, the Korean population of the island was about 45,000 people. For comparison, the current population of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is 180,000. This large number of people, deprived of their homeland, was forced to adapt to life first under Japanese and then Soviet rule. In the USSR, Koreans were issued passports, and there were national kindergartens and schools. However, Sakhalin Koreans did not feel part of the larger community of Soviet Koreans (Koryo-saram) and struggled to integrate. Moreover, they were considered members of an ‘unreliable nation’ because they had lived in the Japanese Empire.

In the late 1990s, three countries – Russia, South Korea, and Japan – began a repatriation campaign for the first generation of Sakhalin Koreans (born before August 15, 1945) to their historical homeland. Now, about 3,500 repatriates from Russia live in South Korea. Under the program, the Korean government provides medical insurance and a monthly allowance to the repatriates. The Japanese government, in turn, buys housing (apartments up to 40 m²) and covers transportation costs. Additionally, every two years, Sakhalin Koreans who have moved to their homeland have the right to visit Sakhalin for free, funded by the Japanese government. Most Sakhalin Koreans settled in the city of Ansan , where 500 apartments were specially built for them.

Korean influence is weakly traced on Sakhalin: many Sakhalin Koreans no longer know the language and do not associate themselves with Korea. However, there are several authentic restaurants (for example, “Koba” ) on the island where you can try traditional dishes.

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk — the capital and base for exploring the island

The city is predominantly characterized by typical Soviet architecture, with almost no remaining Japanese buildings. This is because during the Soviet period, the city was radically rebuilt after being liberated from ‘imperialist Japanese rule.’ Many buildings were demolished, and from the few that remained, some were turned into museums. Perhaps the main thing that has been preserved from the Japanese period is the layout. The city was founded from scratch near the Russian village of Vladimirovka, and Chicago was chosen as the model for its layout. Toyohara was divided into four parts by two main streets, O-dori (now Lenin) and Maoka-dori (Sakhalinskaya).

Japan established itself thoroughly on the island. In Toyohara, trade routes converged, new bays were developed, and roads were built. The city’s population grew steadily. Initially due to the military garrison, and later due to a paper mill, a sugar and distillery plant. Now, the buildings of the former Japanese factories are abandoned. Many of them can only be accessed with rare tours, while others are completely closed. However, their presence is still recalled by street names, such as Paper Street.

Another building in the Neo-Japanese style is the Karafuto Governorate Museum built in the 1930s (29 Communist Avenue). It now houses the Sakhalin Regional Museum . And in the former bank of colonial development, there is the Art Museum (137 Lenin Street).

Several other iconic buildings constructed by the Japanese have been preserved: the central hospital of Toyohara (41 Chekhov Street), the conference hall of the Karafuto Governorate (30 Dzerzhinsky Street), and the Toyohara City Hall (41 Communist Avenue). The Sakhalin Railway Museum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is distinct from many similar museums in Russia due to its exhibits. This is because the island long maintained the Japanese standard of railway gauge, which differs from the Russian standard. Accordingly, the rolling stock was entirely different.

If in Vladivostok everything is named after the Far Eastern explorer and writer Vladimir Arsenyev, then in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, mentions of Chekhov are everywhere. At the end of the 19th century, Sakhalin was both the most dreaded place for exile to hard labor and one of the most tempting corners of Russia, which was not so easy to access. Chekhov received an editorial assignment and embarked on a ship along with prisoners, military personnel, and sailors to the most remote point of the empire. In his notes, which Chekhov compiled under the title ‘The Island of Sakhalin,’ the writer talked about many things: the geography and climate of the island, the life of the convicts, and ordinary residents. This book caused a great resonance at the time, and even now it was very interesting to read it while traveling to Sakhalin: some things have changed drastically, while others have remained the same. Now in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, there is even a museum dedicated to this one book, which turned out to be so significant for the island.

GoSakhalin is the website of the Sakhalin Tourist and Information Center. And in their official Telegram channel , you can find announcements of affordable excursions shortly before they start.

In any case, for travelers, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk remains primarily a hub and a place of rest. Here they return for the night and dinner, and it seems that real adventures begin outside the doorstep.

Surrounding Area

10–20 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

The main reason people visit Sakhalin is for its unique nature. Mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, and the sea, all on a small piece of land. In one day, you can travel from the Sea of Okhotsk to the Sea of Japan, cross several climate zones, see bamboo groves, birches, and spruces in one place, spot a running fox and a swimming orca. The island’s landscapes can boldly compete in Instagram appeal with Iceland or Norway.

Within Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk alone, there are about 30 kilometers of marked ecotrails, with brief descriptions and routes available on the official tourism portal. I also found an ecotrail in Nevelsk, which is not mentioned on the official website.

The ecotrails in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk start from the ‘Mountain Air’ ski center on the sopka (a term for mountains in the Far East) Bolshevik. There are five in total: ‘Children’s’ (2.7 kilometers), ‘Eight’ (8 kilometers), ‘Northern Ring’ (9 kilometers), ‘Russian’ (3.2 kilometers), and ‘Yelanka’ (5 kilometers). You can take a cable car to the start of the trails and then slowly descend through the forest and park to the city. However, the lift does not operate in rainy and windy weather.

Hiking the ‘Eight’ trail took me no more than three hours, including stops to catch my breath and take photos. Every kilometer and a half along the route, there are benches. From the top of the mountain, there is a view of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and it seems you can see a piece of the Sea of Okhotsk.

Chekhov Peak

The route to Chekhov Peak is a high-mountain trekking path that requires a certain level of physical fitness. Chekhov Peak has an elevation of 1045 meters, with an absolute altitude gain of 752 meters. The trail is narrow and slippery in places, hardly suitable for children or people with limited mobility.

Chekhov Peak is part of the Susunai Range, which supports Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk from the southeast. You can exit from Gagarin city park to the foothills in about half an hour. The ascent to the peak itself cannot be missed: a marked trail and informational signs lead to it. On particularly steep ascents, ropes are hung for safety, but it is possible to walk up the slope without them.

In late spring, the forest trail has many streams, as well as May primroses and butterflies. The foothills are scattered with rare, incredibly large, and wonderfully fragrant marsh callas. Halfway to the peak, bamboo thickets are encountered, through which birches break through. This is also a kind of magic because, as a biologist friend explained to me, birch and bamboo are not supposed to coexist in the natural environment, but somehow they manage to do so. Occasionally, spruces are encountered — not tall, but very fluffy. Closer to the top, the vegetation becomes sparser, and the impressive views of the sea, mountains, and lakes open up from the height.

• The entire hike takes five to six hours.
• Even in summer, there is snow on the summit. In the afternoon, it starts to melt, making it more difficult to walk.
• Don’t forget to bring food and water.
• Wear boots with covered ankles, a jacket, and a head covering.
• Inform your family and friends, and someone living in Sakhalin, before setting out on the route. If you’re traveling alone, you could notify, for example, the hotel receptionist or roommates in a hostel.
• Snakes and bears are found around the trail. Watch your feet and try to make as much noise as possible. For example, play music on your phone and sing along occasionally.
• The ascent to Chekhov Peak can be the start of a journey to the village of Lesnoye on the shore of the Sea of Okhotsk. The distance to the village is 27 kilometers. With good preparation and an early start from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, this distance can be covered in one day.

Mud Volcano in Klyuchi

A mud volcano is an eruption on the earth’s surface of clay masses, mineralized waters, and gases. The mechanism of formation of these volcanoes is not fully understood. According to the existing theory, such volcanoes are formed near oil fields.

The mud volcano in Klyuchi consists of a mud field about 200 meters in diameter. There, you can see about 20 points of activity, resembling miniature volcano craters. This mud volcano became active in 1959, 1979, 2001, and 2011 (the last time due to a strong earthquake in Japan). During these eruptions, mud columns reached several tens of meters in height. Bus 189 goes to Klyuchi from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The distance from the village to the top of the volcano is nine kilometers and takes about two and a half hours to walk.

Ecopark in the Vestochka area: Frog Rock, Aikhor Waterfall, ‘Sunny Glade’ Recreation Park

Not far from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, there is a fairly large ecopark, known primarily for the Frog Rock outcrop. An outcrop is a remnant of harder rock around which softer rock has eroded over time. Outcrops are often known for their unusual shapes and are natural monuments. Frog Rock is part of a series of rocks standing one behind the other. This was once the seabed of an ancient sea, and fossilized shells can be found in its vicinity. From the top of the rock, amazing views of the Aniva Bay, Tunaycha and Changeable Lakes open up. This place was sacred to the Ainu, the indigenous inhabitants of the island.

The trail to the ‘Sunny Glade’ ecopark begins behind the ‘Electron’ culture house. Despite its name, it is not a city park, but a full-fledged forest with laid-out paths. There are houses, glades with tables for rest where you can cook barbecues, and wooden walkways leading to various attractions. These are all paid services.

The path to Frog Rock outcrop goes along the Komissarovka River. In areas of spring flooding, callas bloom and bamboo grows. The outcrop is located on a hill, with a total elevation gain of about 300 meters. The road is quite challenging, usually taking from an hour to an hour and a half. The higher you climb, the more you can see: the sea, the mountain gorge, the road to Vestochka. In the same park is the Aikhor Waterfall, which is also a short climb away, but along a less well-maintained trail. You can plan a whole day to visit Vestochka and even spend the night, without returning to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Vestochka is three high-rise buildings on one side of the road and a cottage settlement on the other. It is part of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, though located 15 kilometers from the main part of the city. A taxi there costs about 1000 rubles and takes 40 minutes. About a kilometer after turning off the main road, the asphalt ends and a terribly dusty dirt road begins. If you’re lucky, you can catch a bus that runs three times a day.

What else to see on the island

40 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

The oldest city in the south of Sakhalin, founded by Nevelskoy’s expedition. Here you can find a huge number of monuments dedicated to sailors, naval battles, and ships. The most significant monument in the city in recent decades has become the stele dedicated to ‘Koreans interned by the Japanese in Sakhalin, who never returned to their homeland,’ located on Mount Sorrow, created through the efforts of three countries’ governments (Russia, Japan, and Korea).

In Korsakov, some Japanese heritage has been preserved: the former building of the Hokkaido Takushoku Bank, a colonial development bank (Sovetskaya Street, 3), trade warehouses in the port, a document storage facility ‘Bunsyoko’ (Krasnoflotskaya Street, 1), a couple of rusty fire hydrants, and remnants of Shinto temples in the form of pillars with hieroglyphs. One of the local nighttime entertainments is watching the lights of the gas processing plant.

How to get there. Three electric trains a day, the journey takes just over an hour, and the ticket costs 75 rubles (0.75 euros).

Bird and Giant Capes

90 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Two capes, recognized as natural monuments in 1990, along whose coasts are many wind and wave-carved grottoes, caves, arches, and columns of various sizes and whimsical shapes, among which colonies of sea birds reside.

The place is not very close, but it’s very picturesque at any time of the year. In the area of one of the rocks, there is a pool where, during the salmon spawning period, you can observe a fascinating spectacle — a huge gathering of pink salmon.

Many tourists stay on the coast overnight to witness the sunset and sunrise. Near Cape Giant, there is a toilet, parking, and a rest area with benches.

How to get there. The journey from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk goes through the village of Okhotskoe, where you can buy fresh crabs, and takes about three hours one way. The road is fully passable only by high vehicles like Mitsubishi Pajero, Suzuki Jimny, as the last ten kilometers of the route have deep puddles, potholes, small cliffs, and rivers.

Nevelsk and Steller Sea Lions

Nevelsk is nestled between mountains and sea. The rocky mountains and the coast, which consists of small stone needles and shells, in every way explain why Chekhov so often mentioned in ‘The Island of Sakhalin’ how harsh the land of Sakhalin is.

Steller sea lions are the largest of the eared seals. One of their habitats is the breakwater in Nevelsk. As soon as you arrive in the town, the smell from the Steller sea lions’ haul-out site hits you. ‘They eat there, live, give birth to their young – that’s why it smells,’ the locals explain. Another feature is the noise. Steller sea lions are very loud!

You can view the sea lions from the central square, where binoculars are installed. However, tourists usually hire a boat and approach the haul-out site to get a closer look at the seals. You can see how the Steller sea lions bark, lie in the sun, jump into the sea and, most interestingly, try to jump back. The views from the square through binoculars are not as detailed and impressive. A place on the boat will cost 1000–1500 rubles (9.97 – (14.95 euros). You can also buy a tour from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk for 3500 rubles (34.88 euros). The most animals are present in spring and early summer. In autumn, there may be a couple of dozen individuals left.

From the embankment, you can observe the huge kelp laminaria floating in the sea. Some travelers catch them themselves and eat them. Although dishes made from seaweed are found in cafes and also sold in stores. Signs are installed on the shore indicating where to run in case of a tsunami. The last major earthquake with waves was recorded in 2007. Many houses were destroyed and two people died. The most famous Sakhalin tsunami was the 1952 tragedy , when the aftermath of the earthquake almost completely destroyed Severo-Kurilsk.

How to get there. From the bus station (Karl Marx Street, 51b) in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, buses go to Nevelsk, the ticket costs 300 rubles (2.99 euros), and the journey takes about an hour. Tickets can be purchased at the bus station ticket office or from the driver (cash or transfer). It’s not possible to board the bus somewhere in the city, as the bus does not make stops. It’s better to buy a return ticket immediately upon arrival in Nevelsk at the Nevelsk bus station ticket office (Lenina Street, 1). The bus is popular with locals, and there may simply be no seats left.

Remnants of structures from the Karafuto period include the Maoka-Jinja temple with a Japanese-style garden and an abandoned railway built by the Japanese. It used to connect Kholmsk with Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Tourists usually come to see two photogenic bridges – Devil’s and Witch’s – and a tunnel in the mountain that makes a full circle inside it. The trail passes along the old rails, and there are many vipers, so one needs to watch their step.

How to get there. The bus to Kholmsk takes two hours, the ticket costs 450 rubles (4.48 euros), with 14 trips a day.

Slepikovsky Cape and Lighthouse

120 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

At Slepikovsky Cape, there is the only relic grove of Korean cedar on Sakhalin. Also located here is the functioning Slepikovsky Lighthouse, which is a 27-meter tall round tower, connected by corridors to utility and residential buildings.

The cape and lighthouse are named after the commander of the Russian partisan detachment Bronislav Grotto-Slepikovsky, who operated in Southern Sakhalin during the 1904–1905 war. The route to the lighthouse goes through the villages of Yablochnoe and Sadovniki, where some of the best beaches on Sakhalin are located — with the cleanest water and white sand.

How to get there. The cape is located 29 kilometers north of Kholmsk. From Kholmsk to the turn towards the lighthouse, there is asphalt with dirt sections. From the turn to the lighthouse, there is first a dirt road, then beach sand, which is recommended to be driven on with deflated tires. Visiting time is from spring to autumn, as the road to the cape is not cleared in winter.

110 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

In 1891, when the island had a penal colony, this was the Russian village of Siraroko, named after a nearby Ainu settlement. In 1905, the south of Sakhalin was given to the Japanese, and the village was renamed Higashi Shiraura. Here there were a railway station, a brick factory, and a coal mine. 40 years later, the settlement was renamed Vzmorye.

During the Japanese times, there was the Shinto shrine Higashi Shiraura Inari-Jinja. Only the torii gates remain — P-shaped gates without doors that are placed on the path to a Shinto shrine. These are the only torii on Sakhalin. On the torii, there is an inscription ‘In honor of the 2600th anniversary of the foundation of Great Japan’ — this mythological date was widely celebrated in 1940.

On the way to the torii, you can see the famous giant burdocks and bear’s garlic. Vzmorye is also known as a place where poached crabs are sold along the highway.

How to get there. Two electric trains and one train that start from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk stop in Vzmorye. Unfortunately, all three are in the evening. You can also get there on passing buses that go to the north of the island.

Tikhaya Bay

140 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

On one side, the bay is framed by Mount Smely, and on the other side, the majestic Zhdanko Ridge begins. To the left in the bay itself is an island-kekur, which can be reached during low tide, as well as the epic cliffs of Tikhaya Cape. By the way, behind this cape, there are waterfalls that become icefalls in winter. At the base of the bay is the mouth of the Tikhaya River, where during the season you can see the spawning of pink salmon and chum salmon. Bears are aware of this, so they are often encountered here.

How to get there. Buses going to Poronaysk stop in the village of Tikhoye, near which the bay is located. There are four trips a day.

Aniva Lighthouse

The lighthouse has a complex history: there were attempts to maintain it under Soviet rule, but Aniva was so remote from inhabited areas that it was not profitable. Eventually, the lighthouse was switched to autonomous mode, bringing in a radioactive isotope to sustain its operation, and then it was completely closed. To this day, you can find signs on the walls reading ‘Caution, radioactive’. But now this warning is outdated, as the radioactive isotope was removed when the lighthouse was decommissioned. The lighthouse is very beautiful, offering views of the island and sea, and inside you can explore the remnants of rooms and working areas.

On the return trip, tourists are also taken to Mramornaya Bay, where you can also climb a mountain and view the jagged coast of Sakhalin from above. Orcas and whales are often encountered in these areas, most frequently in summer. I would also recommend taking a combined tour in summer to Aniva Lighthouse, the Blue Lakes, and Busse Lagoon, where you can see the amazingly blue waters and try sea urchins.

A kilometer from Novikov is Cape Tri Kamnya (46.320342 143.373006), which can even be reached by car. Four kilometers from the cape is the small Strelka waterfall , which requires a walk. If you stay in the village overnight, you can take a hike to the Blue (turquoise) Lakes (46.359603, 143.471909). On the way, there’s an abandoned Japanese power station. You can extend your route by another 15 kilometers and reach the opposite shore of the peninsula – to Cape Evstafiya. The road from Novikov to Cape Evstafyeva through the Blue Lakes can be driven in a jeep, if there hasn’t been prolonged rain before. But it’s better to ask in advance those who have recently been there, and get the phone number of a local tractor driver in Novikov, so that if something happens, he can pull you out.

How to get there. Getting there independently is almost impossible. The lighthouse is located on a rocky outcrop in the sea, and the nearest land is a high cliff. However, some people do reach Novikovo (the nearest village) by bus or car, and then walk 44 kilometers on foot to Aniva (the name of both the lighthouse and the bay). It takes about one and a half hours to drive from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Novikovo. And then another two hours of rough dirt road to the boat dock. A tour from the company ‘Friends-Hikers’ costs 6000 rubles (59.80 euros) in May (in summer – 7000 rubles (69.77 euros)).

Klokovsky Waterfall

190 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Klokovsky Waterfall is one of the highest waterfalls on Sakhalin Island. Its height is variously reported to be 48–49 meters, with a width of up to nine meters. The waterfall is accessible year-round, but is most full in late spring and early summer.

Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky

The ‘Tri Brata’ (Three Brothers) rocks are definitely a symbol of Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, and perhaps of the entire island. They are located in the Alexandrovsk Gulf almost opposite Cape Zhonkiyor. From the cape, there is a stunning view of the vast Tatar Strait and the Three Brothers. At low tide, it’s possible to calmly explore all the attractions of the gulf, collect seaweed and shells, see hermit crabs scuttling along the seabed with their shells on their backs, or watch the leaves of laminaria sway. At the strongest low tide, you can even walk to the Three Brothers through the water.

In the 19th century, convicts carved a 90-meter tunnel through Cape Zhonkiyor to service the lighthouse. To reach the tunnel by land, you need to come at low tide. Otherwise, you’ll have to climb the rocks. The tunnel is lined with logs, but there is almost always water at the bottom and a strong wind howls through it. If you pass through the tunnel, you will see the ‘Tri Sestry’ (Three Sisters) rocks and an old lighthouse from the end of the 19th century. All these places are described by Chekhov in ‘The Island of Sakhalin’: ‘Most often we went to the lighthouse, which stands high above the valley, on Cape Zhonkiyor. During the day, the lighthouse, if looked at from below, is a modest white house with a mast and lantern, but at night it shines brightly in the darkness, and then it seems that the penal colony looks at the world with its red eye. The road to the house climbs steeply, winding around the mountain, past old larches and firs. The higher you climb, the freer you breathe; the sea spreads before your eyes, thoughts gradually come, having nothing to do with the prison, the penal colony, or the exile settlement, and only then do you realize how dull and difficult life is down below.’

How to get there. From Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, there is one bus trip per day – at 12:10. The ticket costs 2200 rubles (21.93 euros), and the journey takes nine hours.

600 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

The main transit point on the way to the oil refineries. The village might be of interest to those curious to see a harsh northern town living off production: low-rise buildings made of siding and unexpectedly bright murals on the walls of five-story buildings. There is a local history museum in the village (Sovetskaya Street, 3) – it is praised for its excellent exhibition of the Nivkh culture and a monument to Nevelskoy. Also, one of the longest rivers of Sakhalin, the Tym (which translates from Nivkh as ‘spawning river’), flows through the town.

How to get there. A night train goes to Nogliki every day, taking almost 12 hours. The cheapest ticket in a seated carriage costs 1100 rubles (10.96 euros), a compartment – 4100 (40.86 euros). There is even a luxury (SV) carriage for 12600 rubles (125.58 euros).

Where to Stay

Hostels in the Far East are divided into work and tourist types. The former will also accommodate tourists, but the atmosphere there is like a dormitory where their own rules are already established, and you may feel like an uninvited guest. To avoid such a hostel, it’s important to carefully read the reviews, not book the cheapest hostels, not stay on the outskirts or near airports and train stations.

In the Islander hostel , mainly travelers stay, it’s very cozy, with convenient kitchen and showers with toilets. A double room costs 3000 rubles per day, and dorms – from 900 rubles (8.97 euros) per night. If you book directly through the website and for a long term, you can get a good discount.

The ‘Moneron’ hotel is located near the railway and bus stations. It’s a classic budget hotel with small clean rooms. The ‘comfort’ class rooms have a bath, and the hotel provides a complete set with slippers, towels, and a hairdryer. Prices start from 2800 rubles (27.91 euros) per night for a single economy room, while ‘comfort’ costs 4900 rubles (48.84 euros). Breakfast is included in the price.

The ‘Belka’ hotel building is made using Finnish technology in a wooden style from milled timber. The cost of large rooms with wooden walls and huge beds starts from 5800 rubles (57.81 euros). Breakfast is also included in the price. The hotel complex includes a sauna, spa, tavern, and gym.

Near Bussé Bay is the island’s only dome-shaped glamping site. A night for two costs 8000-10,000 rubles (79.73 – 99.67 euros). An extra bed is 2000 (19.93 euros). Each dome has a shower, toilet, and electricity. On cooler days, you can light the stove and sit by the fire with a cup of hot cocoa.

In other towns, apart from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the choice of hotels is quite modest and usually limited to one or two hotels, which cannot always be booked online. They have to be found on the map and booked by phone.

Transport on the Island

Car. If you’re only traveling between cities, there won’t be any problems – the roads between them are mostly paved, and the dirt roads are of more or less good quality. It gets more complicated with natural attractions. Almost all of them are accessed by dirt roads, which not every car can navigate.

In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, ‘Yandex.Taxi’ and ‘Maxim’ operate (also in Korsakov and Kholmsk). A trip within the city limits will cost a maximum of 300 rubles (2.99 euros).

Railway. From Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, about 30 electric trains depart daily. Most of them go to nearby areas like Dalnyaya, Khristoforovka, and Novoaleksandrovka stations – 8–23 minutes travel time.

To other cities, there’s only one electric train per day. It takes an hour to Korsakov and the ticket costs 80 rubles (0.80 euro). To Tomari, it’s four hours and 300 rubles (2.99 euros). To Poronaysk, it’s five hours of travel and 500 rubles (4.98 euros) for a ticket. Long-distance electric trains depart in the evening, as these routes are used by residents of the province who return from work in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to their homes.

There is also one train on the island – Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Nogliki, 12 hours of travel and 1100 rubles (10.96 euros) for a ticket in a sitting carriage.

Buses. It seems you can reach even the most remote settlements by bus. Often there’s only one trip per day, but at least it exists. To Kholmsk, Nevelsk, and Korsakov, the journey takes about an hour and a half, with tickets costing around 300 rubles (2.99 euros); to Poronaysk and Uglegorsk, it’s four to five hours and 1200 rubles (11.96 euros) for a ticket. You can check the current schedule on avtovokzaly.ru . But it’s always better to double-check by phone: +7 (4242) 72-25-53. The address of the bus station is Karl Marx Street, 51b.

Airplane. Sakhalin has a quite extensive network of airports, and you can fly from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Okha, Zonalnoye, Shakhtyorsk, Poronaysk, Smirnykh, Yuzhno-Kurilsk, and Iturup. Flights are operated by the Far Eastern airlines ‘Aurora’ and ‘Taiga’ . These routes are served by small propeller planes Bombardier and Mi-8 helicopters. Such a flight is an interesting experience in itself. Moreover, some flights are quite inexpensive. For example, to Zonalnoye, Shakhtyorsk, and Poronaysk, tickets cost 2000–3000 rubles (19.93 – 29.90 euros) one way. To Okha and the Kurils – from 6000 rubles (59.80 euros).

Ferry. From Korsakov, ferries run to different settlements in the Kurils every three to four days. The ferry to Kurilsk takes about 22 hours, to Yuzhno-Kurilsk – 22–30 hours, and to Malokurilskoye – about 40 hours. Interestingly, a ticket to any of these settlements costs from 2800 rubles (27.91 euros), available on the website of the ferry company.

How to get there

By plain. To travel to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk from Europe, passengers typically fly through major transit hubs. Common routes involve flying from a European city to one of the major Russian airports offering direct flights to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, such as Moscow’s Sheremetyevo or Domodedovo airports. In 2023 it is only possible to fly to Moscow from major transit hubs such as Istanbul or Erevan. From there, travelers can catch one of the direct flights to the island. Some routes might also include stops or transfers in other large cities in Russia or Asia, depending on the airline and the flight itinerary, for instance, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita, Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Sovetskaya Gavan, and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. There is even one international flight from Harbin, China.

In good weather, on approach to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, you can see the Tatar Strait, the Western Ridge, and the city itself. The airport is located within the city limits, and from there, you can easily reach any point by public transport (buses 63 and 3) or taxi.

Ferry. Vanino (Khabarovsk Krai) to Kholmsk (Sakhalin) . Passenger tickets for the ferry are sold at the Vanino railway station or at the ticket office in Kholmsk (Lenin Square, 5). They can also be reserved by phone: +7 (42137) 74088 (Vanino), +7 (42433) 50880 (Kholmsk). The ferries run daily, with a journey time of 18–20 hours. A seat costs 650 rubles (6.48 euros), while the cheapest cabin spot is 1400 rubles (13.95 euros). There is a dining room on board.

I was on the island in early May, and this has its pros and cons. On one hand, it’s already not very cold in Sakhalin at this time, and you can walk around in a light jacket or sweatshirt, and sometimes even just in a T-shirt. At the end of spring, you can catch the largest number of Steller sea lions in Nevelsk (closer to summer they migrate towards Avacha Bay). Also at this time, you can see the forest awakening: streams penetrate it from all sides, in their floodplains swamp callas bloom, meadows fill with primroses, and the hills are covered with bright green bamboo shoots. On the other hand, there is still snow in the mountains, in which you can get stuck while climbing, and the sea, which is not very warm in these areas, is completely unsuitable for swimming.

In summer, Sakhalin is not very hot, the coast blooms with wild roses, the sea warms up a bit, and there is less chance of bad weather when visiting remote attractions. Also, it’s precisely at this time you can see orcas (June – July) and whales (July – August), as well as the salmon spawning.

In winter, snowboarders and skiers come to Sakhalin. The mountains on the island are not high, so they are suitable even for beginners.

Related posts:

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• Kamchatka: “Island” of Volcanoes, Bears, and Red Caviar
• Yekaterinburg: A Comprehensive Guide to the Ever-Young and Protest-Ridden City
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Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – the view from above

No comments · Posted by Sergei Rzhevsky in Cities , Travel

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is a city with a population of about 200 thousand people located in the southeastern part of Sakhalin Island in the Far East of Russia , the capital of Sakhalin Oblast .

It is the sixth largest city in the Russian Far East, in which Russian and Japanese cultures are closely intertwined. Here you can often see old Japanese buildings and monuments. The distance from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Moscow , if flying by plane, is 6,640 km and 9,280 km (by car). Photos by: Slava Stepanov .

Victory Square – one of the main squares of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Cathedral of the Nativity.

About one third of the total population of Sakhalin Island lives in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Lenin Square.

Sakhalin Regional Museum of Local Lore housed in a Japanese building constructed in the Imperial Crown Style in 1937. This is the only such building on Sakhalin and throughout Russia.

The climate in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is quite mild, there are no severe frosts in winter, and heat in summer. The coldest month is January with an average temperature of about minus 12 degrees Celsius. The warmest month is August (plus 17 degrees Celsius). Clear and dry weather sets in early September – the best time to visit Sakhalin.

House of Government of Sakhalin Oblast.

“Chekhov Center” – the only drama theater in Sakhalin Oblast.

Sakhalin residents often call the rest of Russia “the mainland.” You can get out of the island by plane, ferry, or other water transport.

Park named after Yuri Gagarin.

Roman Catholic Church “Parish of St. James”. In addition to divine services, organ and violin concerts are held here.

Museum of Railway Technology.

Church of the Resurrection.

Stadium “Cosmos” in Gagarin Park.

Stele “Cities of the Sakhalin Region”.

Tags:  Sakhalin oblast · Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk city

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