Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

 

While frequently visited by workers in the oil industry, Sakhalin has a very undeveloped tourism sector. If you don't speak Russian and don't have an abundance of time, enlisting the help of a travel agency to see the sights you want to see is probably necessary for all but the most adventurous travelers.

Bi-tomo

A local travel agency specializing in Japan, and selling tickets for the Korsakov -Wakkanai crossing note that Sakhalin-Fantastic, who used to sell tickets, no longer seems to be in business.

Omega Plus

The most frequent operator of tours to the Kuril Islands, and probably your best bet for ferry tickets there as well.

By bus

The parking lot outside the train station doubles as a bus terminal, where both scheduled and leave-when-full minibuses regularly depart for other parts of the island. The minibus is often the best choice, as the public buses are often slow, uncomfortable, and worn out.

Information on public buses: +7 4242 722553, the inofficial timetable in Russian.

Kholmsk: Buses 516 and 518 depart on top of the hour, every hour between 8AM-9PM, the latter continuing onwards to Nevelsk for access to Moneron. The minibus alternative takes around an hour and costs RUB400.

Korsakov: Bus 115 shuttles between Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Korsakov every 30 minutes between 7AM-10PM and takes around 90 minutes, and costs around RUB100. Double the price and you can catch a minibus that takes half the time.

From the ports of Kholmsk and Korsakov, it is possible to catch ferries to Vanino on the mainland, or Wakkanai in Japan respectively. Check Bi-timo, listed below, to purchase tickets.

By plane

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport Khomutovo (http://www.airportus.ru) IATA: UUS, ICAO: UHSS fields flights from major Russian cities as well as several Asian cities. Sakhalin's own carrier, SAT Airlines (http://www.satairlines.ru), has its main hub here and operates several domestic routes, as well as flights to South Korea, Japan and China.

Information: +7 4242 788390, 788055 and the live flight information on the airport's website in Russian. The airport is subject to long closures under bad weather conditions.

Russia: Aeroflot and Transaero operate flights to and from Moscow 9 hours, while SAT and S7 Siberian have useful connections to the major far eastern cities of Khabarovsk ~1 hour , Vladivostok 2 hours , and Novosibirsk as well.

South Korea: Asiana and SAT operate flights to Seoul-Incheon several times a week.

Japan: SAT has frequent flights to Sapporo as well as less frequent ones to Hakodate. Vladivostok Air has charter flights from Tokyo, though they are not shown on the timetable on its website.

China: SAT services Beijing and Harbin airports.

Despite its moderate size, the airport has a luggage room and a lounge both 24/7, as well as a cafe and a food store closed during the night.

By train

For towns close to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, it's often an easier and more convenient choice to jump on a bus, while the train is the main mode of transportation to destinations on the northern part of the island. It's a good idea to confirm these times as train schedules change fairly frequently.

Korsakov: Various trains depart daily at 5:30AM, 1:45PM and 7:44PM except on public holidays.

Okha: Daily train 1 departs at 6:50AM, and runs across most of the length of the island to Nogilki in the north, from where there is a connecting bus to Okha.

Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky: Catch the train 1 above, and change to a connecting bus in Tymovsk.

The railway station is in the city center at Lenina Sq. The station is open 5:30AM—11PM; there is a luggage room 7:30AM—8:40PM. Information: +7 4242 712134.

By car

Sakhalin has few roads, so you are unlikely to miss Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk which is at their very crossing. The nearest destinations are Korsakov 40 km/25 mi and Kholmsk 80 km/50 mi.