in the end we flew su and their good old Ил-96, it was fun. the absence of overhead luggage storage in the centre section gives you an unusual feeling of room.

'Twas all quite good with the one exception of one of the salads being mouldy for one of the meals. Makes you wonder how long those are kept for before being served.

al

Sorry to revive a two year old thread but I've been contemplating a trip to the island for awhile...

My understanding was that Sakhalin was some type of a border zone and a special visa or permit was required (unless you're remaining within the city limits of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk). I've found conflicting information in different travel guides, Wikivoyage now claims that a permit is not needed (unless you're visiting the Kuril Islands which are disputed with Japan) but expect a passport check on domestic arrivals and have the purpose of your visit, address on the island and onward travel information written out in Russian ahead of time. Another (printed) guide says you need a permit ahead of time and unless you've been invited by a business or on a guided tour your chance of getting one is next to nil.

Are there any non-Russian FT'ers who have been to Sakhalin recently and can maybe shed some light on this?

It was two years ago now, but I certainly had no problems as an independent tourist. I was told beforehand that Sakhalinsk is no longer a restricted city and did not require a permit. I didn't have one and was fine.

You can travel in an our of Yuzhno as you please. I visited the two closest cities and some of the wilderness and then made my way by land to Okha (Oxa). I needed my passport to buy the train ticket but that's been the case with all long-distance Russian trains I've been on. No problems buying my domestic flight, nor getting in/out of the country in the first place.

I take the situation in reverse of any official guidelines...as it's Far East Russia officials tend to be more relaxed and lenient.

Any specific info, feel free to send me a PM.

Thanks for the heads up! Did a little search on Google and a few trip reports (such as http://www.gaijinriders.com/wiki/Sak..._-_August_2012)... what I found confirmed exactly what you said, just make sure your Russian visa and propiska are in order and ideally be prepared with a few Russian phrases to satisfy the immigration officers at UUS.

As much as I'd love to visit the Kuril islands as well, that sounds like something you need a specialist travel agency for - as a foreigner the permits seem very difficult to get otherwise.

As an aside, initially I was looking at flying Eastbound: JFK-DUS-MUC (AB) -OVB-UUS (S7). Apparently S7 also flies to Beijing, so routing JFK-ORD-PEK (AA)-UUS (S7) is also possible. Distance is almost identical, and personally I'm not how sure I feel about connecting in Novosibirsk...

Connecting in Novosibirsk would be fine - it's a modern airport with decent food and lodging available onsite. I took the S7 flight MUC-OVB a few months ago and it was pretty convenient.

Are they now doing so? Transaero is certainly the most cost effective, but I have seen mixed reviews. We are looking at travel from Miami or JFK.