5 islands in Russia where you can relax (PHOTOS)

1. Kizhi

You can get to this small island in the north of Lake Onega from Petrozavodsk. From May to October by motor ship or speedboats and, from November to April, by special hovercraft. In a little over an hour and you are in the heart of the Russian North!

People go there to see the famous Kizhi Pogost, a UNESCO-protected monument. The oldest wooden church on the island, the Transfiguration of the Lord, built in the early 16th century, stands majestically there. It was built by a local craftsman using only an axe, without a single nail!

Kizhi is also an open-air museum. In the 1960s, wooden buildings began to be brought there, first from neighboring islands and then from all over Karelia. So, a walk around the island will give you the opportunity to get acquainted with the history of the entire Russian North. You can take a walk to the neighboring villages of Yamka and Vasilyevo or save your energy and go by horse-drawn carriage.

By the way, you can also look at Kizhi from a bird's eye view – for this you need to climb to the observation deck of the bell tower next to the Transfiguration Church.

After admiring the architectural masterpieces, it’s worth going for a walk along Lake Onega. Or try some Karelian cuisine: for instance, ‘kalitki’ (open rye dough pies) or ‘lohikeitto’ (a red fish soup with cream). And be sure to take a jar of jam made from the local cloudberries with you as a souvenir! If you don't want to leave Kizhi just yet, you can spend the night in the Anikin House in Yamka or the Gogol House, located opposite the Kizhi Pogost.

2. Sakhalin

Traveling there is like going to the other side of the world: there are 6,649 km (4,131 mi.) between the largest island of the country and Moscow! Active recreation lovers go there: you can swim in two seas at once (!), the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan, soak in the Daginsky hot springs, ride SUPs, view the local scenery from the water or go surfing! Sakhalin is a real paradise for fishermen, too: They head to the rivers and lakes for a rich catch or go out to sea – to the Tatar Strait, whose waters are rich in blue bass and pink salmon.  

Fans of gastronomic trips know that you should go to Sakhalin for the freshest seafood and unusual local cuisine. Be sure to try the ‘khemultan’ soup made with seafood with daikon radish and vegetables, the freshest ‘five-minute’ red caviar and red fish – salmon, coho salmon, sockeye salmon, grilled whelk, snacks of young ferns and wild garlic! Yum!

It’s best to stay in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the island's capital. From there, it’s convenient to take one-day excursions to the various sights. Like the abandoned Aniva lighthouse and the salt lake Busse or Cape Velikan with its bizarre rocks, the sea lion rookery in Nevelsk and the picturesque Tikhaya Bay.

3. Kotlin

You will not even notice how you have found yourself on this island! Imagine driving along the St. Petersburg ring road and suddenly old forts open up to your eyes in the middle of the sea surface! This means you are already there, on Kotlin, where the most remote district of St. Petersburg, the city of Kronstadt, is located.

Everything there is subordinated to the sea and not by accident: It was built to protect St. Petersburg from the Baltic Sea, the Baltic Fleet was born there and the first Russian icebreaker was launched in Kronstadt. A must-see in the city is the magnificent Naval Nikolsky Cathedral with its amazing acoustics. From there, you can go on a walking tour of Kronstadt – to the Petrovsky dock and pier, the Wooden Lighthouse or take a sea tour to see the city's forts.

The new Museum of Naval Glory tells the story of the Russian Navy. Be sure to look at its largest exhibit: the ‘Leninsky Komsomol’, the first Soviet K-3 nuclear submarine K-3. The museum building was designed in such a way that a 107-meter ship could be placed inside. The museum's observation deck offers a view of Fort Kronshlot, the first naval fortification of the Russian fleet in the Baltic.

Those who decide to stay in Kronstadt can stay not only in "land" hotels, but also on the water, for example, in a floating hotel on a landing stage moored at Fort Konstantin! Yes, really!

4. Olkhon

This is the largest and most mystical island of Lake Baikal. The Shamanka rock is located there – it is believed that shamans have long performed rituals there and Burkhan, the main Buryat deity, once lived in a throughway cave on the cape. Almost every point on the island is a delightful postcard view, be it the Kobylya Golova cape or the ‘Mechta’ (‘Dream’) cave, the Uzury gorge with the mysterious figure of the ‘Guardian of Baikal’ or the Rock of Love.

Almost all routes around the island start from the village of Khuzhir, the largest on the island. By the way, this is also where most of the guest houses are located. From there, you can get to Maly Khuzhir and get acquainted with the life of a Buryat village. You should definitely try the Buryat ‘buuzy’ (‘dumplings’) and ‘sagudai’ – a dish made with raw omul (a whitefish species of the salmon family) and onions.

5. Sviyazhsk

Welcome to the past! This island seems to be a portal to the 16th century. It was then that Tsar Ivan the Terrible, returning from the Kazan campaign, drew attention to the territory at the confluence of the Sviyaga, Shchuka and Volga rivers. He decided not to let such strategic wealth go to waste and ordered a fortress to be built there. Or rather, it was floated there by water from Uglich in disassembled form. In 1957, with the advent of the Kuibyshev Reservoir, Sviyazhsk was cut off from the mainland and turned into an island.

A UNESCO monument is also located there – the Assumption Monastery of the Virgin Mary, which has existed for 470 years. One of its shrines is the frescoes of the 16th century, which, for the first time, captured the history of the creation of the world and the emergence of mankind. By the way, you’ll also find a rather rare image of St. Christopher – with a dog's head!

And, in the John the Baptist Monastery, the Trinity Church has been preserved, in which, according to legend, Ivan the Terrible prayed before the capture of Kazan.

You can walk around Sviyazhsk and, at the same time, admire the picturesque views, look into the ‘Lenivy Torzhok’ (‘Lazy Market’), where you can immerse yourself in the atmosphere of a medieval city and buy some souvenirs. Usually, one day is enough to get to know it, but you can stay longer. There are several hotels on the island.

*You can learn even more about the possibilities of vacationing on the islands of Russia at the ‘Travel’ Russian tourism forum, which will be held at the VDNKh exhibition center in Moscow from June 10 to 15, 2025.