Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is the main hub for all means of transportation. Local and regional buses, charter minibuses, and trains all depart from the Station in the city center,
By plane
SAT Airlines Sakhalinskie Aviatrassy (http://satairlines.ru), the island's native carrier, operates flights between its main hub in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and the oil hubs Okha and Nogliki on the northern part of the island.
By bus
While train is the mode of transport for longer trips, short trips are mainly done by bus. On the southern part of the island road conditions are fairly good, and many destinations can be easily reached from the bus terminal in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, offering departures for the ports of Korsakov and Kholmsk every 30-60 minutes throughout most of the day, Nevelsk six times daily, Makarov once daily, and several other smaller cities at varying intervals. If you speak Russian, call 4242 722553 for details. Further north, buses bound for Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky and Okha connect to the daily train in Tymovsk and Nogilki respectively, but remember to check if official permits are needed if you leave the main transport corridor along the main railway line and road.
An alternative the the public buses are the many private marshruthkas minibuses, which also do intercity trips. They cost around double of the buses, have no schedules and tend to be more crammed - but on the plus side they are usually faster, more frequent and more comfortable than the often worn out public buses. A simple "marshrutka City name?" should suffice in getting locals pointing you in the right direction.
By train
Sakhalin has an extensive railway network, much of it built by the Japanese. Services are scattered and infrequent, but a daily train #001 & #002 connecting Nogilky and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is still the main mode of transport between the south and north part of the island. While there is a railway line between Kholmsk and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, it's in a sorry state, and carries no traffic. Railway enthusiasts wanting to continue their journey by railway after disembarking the ferry need to catch a once or twice daily connection to Tomari #1611 80 km to the north, then take another once daily train #123 from there to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk or Korsakov â but unless you are a truly dedicated railway buff, this huge detour is probably not worth the effort. This situation could improve in the future though, as a 1 billion ruble refurbishment plan of Sakhalin's railway lines is in the works.
You can check the current railway schedule at the Russian Railways website (http://eng.rzd.ru).
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - JUZHNO SAKHAL/ЮÌжно-Ð¡Ð°Ñ Ð°Ð»Ð¸ÌнÑк/2068400, 0 hours, 0 km
Tymosk - TYMOVSK/ТÑмовÑкий/2068493, 491 km, 10½ hrs., trains: 001/002, 601/602
Nogliki - NOGLIKI/Ðоглики/2088498, 613 km, 13 hrs., trains: 001/002
Korsakov - KORSAKOV/ÐоÑÑаÌков/2068450), 39 km, ¾ hrs., trains: 123/124,