There’s no better time than late summer to enjoy the best of the sea and the taiga. That, at least, is what all my friends say who have been to Vladivostok all the way on the other side of Russia. Late summer in Vladivostok is hot and ideal for swimming in the ocean. Half the fun is just getting that far east. When I asked Marc van Hussen, a business analyst for Kimberly Clark and a friend of my girlfriend’s, what made him and his brother go to Vladivostok, he said it was for the exoticism of it, the weird feeling of flying all those thousands of kilometers and still being in the same country. Weird indeed for the Dutchman that he is, after all, getting anywhere in his native Holland is matter of a couple of hours drive.
Vladivostok is a port city set on hills around a bay and on a handful of outlying islands. Navy men began building the city in 1861, attracted by the magnificent location and natural beauty of the area. This Pacific coast region has everything from Chinese ginseng root to grapes and orchids, and there are plenty of scenic places in the area such as the Ussuri and Amur rivers and the Sikhote-Alinskiye mountains.
Of course, getting to Vladivostok isn’t exactly speedy – nine hours by plane and another hour from the airport into the city. The city has plenty of hotels, from the expensive Vlad-Inn, to the cheaper deals such as Primorye. An ordinary single room at Primorye, for example, costs 4,250 rubles for five nights.

What to Do There

Vladivostok has more than a dozen exhibition halls and theaters if it’s culture you’re after. The city isn’t renowned for its art galleries or museums, however, so don’t expect the Louvre. There are better things to do in Vladivostok. One must-see is the Vladivostok fortress, an impressive and still not entirely explored edifice full of secrets. Parts of it are still used by the military and are hard to visit. During the Soviet era, the whole city was hard to visit as it was off-limits to foreigners because of the naval base there.
The Maritime Cemetery is where the famous traveler Arsenyev and the heroes of the Varyag battleship are buried. It is also the final home to European soldiers who died in the civil war that followed the 1917 revolution, and are now buried in the Czech Cemetery, which is part of the Maritime Cemetery.
You can also visit the Tokaryevsky Lighthouse that was built in the 1960s and graces the sea gateway to the city. It’s an ideal spot for a romantic rendezvous, and it also has great views of the city, especially at night when the ships in the harbor are all twinkling with lights.
On the outskirts of Vladivostok is Shamora Bay, a name you might recognize from one of Mumiy Troll’s songs. Mumiy Troll’s lead singer, Ilya Lagutenko, comes from Vladivostok, and the bay in question is a favorite beach spot because it has the warmest water in the city.
Vladivostok also has a number of islands with odd names such as Reinik, Rikkard, Popov and Russky. The islands are popular with Russian pop stars. Andrei Makarevich, for example, went diving on Popov Island, and Yury Shevchuk admired the flora and fauna of Russky Island. My Dutch friend regretted not having spent more time on the islands.
"The town has a very relaxed feel. I like the way it is spread over a number of hills and around bays. The scenery is quite magnificent. If we had stayed longer than three days, we would have liked to have done a boat trip to the neighboring islands, as they looked quite dramatic from the shore," he said.
One of the most popular spots in the city is the cable car running up and down a hill to a viewing platform during daylight hours. The viewing platform is known as a place where couples go for more than just a bit of romantic talk. Obviously the view is inspiring.

Restaurants and Clubs

Being so close to Japan, Vladivostok is full of sushi bars. Prices are similar to those in Moscow. The city has plenty of seafood restaurants in general. Most of the city’s clubs are for people with money to spend. Three clubs are especially popular with young people – BSB, Doberman and Nautilus. BSB is the most democratic club with a crowd of students who study in the area, and offers live concerts by local groups on the weekends. Doberman is more of a mid-range establishment with a cinema, foyer bar and disco-style dance floor. Nautilus is a respectable club that is home to Vladivostok’s most progressive bartenders. A mug of local beer costs 15 rubles, and Japanese beer costs 80 rubles.

Souvenirs

It’s hard to find something specific to the city. Shops and kiosks sell dried crab from 30-300 rubles. There’s also Ussuriisky Balsam, an alcohol made with medicinal plants from the region, and there’s dried squid to be had, too. True, you can get all that in Moscow, but the squid and crab tastes better in Vladivostok.