Kholmsk

Kholmsk (Russian: Холмск, khohlmsk; Japanese: 真岡, mah-oh-kah) is a port town in Sakhalin Oblast facing the Tartar Strait, with a population of some 35,000 people. An utterly drab city, the only reason to visit here is the ferry connection to the mainland.

Get in
Sakhalin is a special designated border region, movement of foreigners is limited. See "Disembarkation procedures" at right.

By ferry
There is a daily overnight car ferry from Vanino on the mainland, nominally departing Vanino at noon, and arriving in Kholmsk the next morning; however, sailing schedules are often disrupted by bad weather. In Kholmsk, ticket sales are at the office of SANES. Ask people at bus or railway station for direction. In Vanino, tickets are bought inside the train station. Prices start from ₽600. Continuing from Vanino, there is a daily train connection to Komsomolsk-on-Amur that continues further south to Khabarovsk and Vladivostok for access to the Trans-Siberian mainline.

By bus
Mini- and regular buses depart for Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on the parking lot, right outside the ferry terminal. Minibuses are the most convenient and take 45 minutes to connect with Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (₽300), however normally you will have to wait for the minibus to fill up. There are also some scheduled public buses:


 * Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Bus 516 – 06:00, 07:00, 08:00, 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00, 18:00 (5, 7)
 * Nevelsk (Moneron) – Bus 525 – 09:40, 11:30, 12:40, 15:30, 18:10

Get around
Banks, buses and places to eat - are all only a few minutes walk from the ferry station, along the main street. As with most other minor cities in Russia, intra-city transportation is mainly provided by a fairly disorganized network of minibuses. If you need to get outside the city center, your best bet is to ask a local.

See and do
There is a small beach northwest of the ferry terminal. If you made it this far, the Soviet house blocks probably aren't that much of a novelty anymore.

Eat
There are a few uninspiring – but as authentic as they come – restaurants and cafes along Sovetskaya Street, the main drag.

Drink
There do not seem to be expats living in Kholmsk, and tourists in this area are few and far between. If you really need a drink, jump into a local pub, and enjoy the startled look on everyone's faces as you place your order.

Sleep




Go next
The unpopulated areas of Sakhalin have some stunning scenery. However, independent travel in these regions are only for the truly adventurous; an alternative is paying shameless amounts of rubles for one of the fairly frequent organized tours provided by travel agencies in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.


 * Moneron – Go diving or bird watching on the tranquil island of Moneron off Sakhalin's south-western coast. Access is by chartered boat, from the small village from Nevelsk some 50 km south of Kholmsk.