Russian Far East Voyages
Russia is a huge country, covering nine time zones. In Chukotka – the north-eastern most region of Russia, they have a saying “God is a long way up there, but Moscow is even further away” that is true in so many respects. The Russian Far East is unique, the culture, the climate, the history, the wildlife; it is a world away from the Russia you might have explored.
At Heritage Expeditions we have had a long association with the Russian Far East. Since 1993 when we began chartering our ship from this region, we listened to our crew’s accounts of the magnificent wildlife and wilderness so eight years ago decided to see the region for ourselves. The stories were true! It is an incredibly amazing place and we are eager to share it with like-minded adventurers. Travellers who are looking for a genuine experience, a journey not a tour, a destination which hasn’t been organised and commercialised, a wilderness where we must travel on natures terms and not on timetables. We pioneered Expedition Cruising to the Subantarctic and Antarctica. It is also the perfect style of travel for the Russian Far East, where there are virtually no roads and very little infrastructure. We have developed strong relationships, with individuals and organisations that make our expeditions possible. We have made a conscious effort to ensure that they benefit the local communities. We use local services and employ local people where possible.
On this website you will find very unique expeditions, all exploring a different part of the Russian Far East from the Kuril Islands and Sea of Okhotsk in the south, to Wrangel Island in the north. It is impossible to single out one expedition – as being better than the other. If you are not sure which is the most suitable expedition for you, please check our website for this past season’s trip logs for an idea of what we accomplished.
If you like travelling with a purpose, we encourage you to consider joining our ‘Sea Otter Survey’ in the Kuril Islands, this is a genuine research expedition in which you will be assisting Russian biologists. For sheer numbers and diversity of bird and mammal species our ‘Birding the Russian Far East’ is unequalled. For those true pioneer travellers, we recommend our ‘Sea of Okhotsk’ expedition, the few westerners who have been lucky enough to venture into this remote region west of the Kamchatka Peninsula have reported spectacular wildlife, not only birds but cetaceans. Our expedition ‘In the Wake of Bering – In search of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper’ continues our unique and very successful association with BirdLife International and I recommend it to anybody who is remotely interested in waders, wetlands and wildlife conservation. Our ‘Across the Top of the World’ expedition is getting rave reviews with reports of over 180 Polar Bears sighted on just one expedition and similar numbers on the others.
