The Blackpool of Ukraine (Crimea)

Member Name: LIZR315

Product:	Crimea
Date:	26/10/08 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap adventure beach holiday

Disadvantages: Need to have some Russian language

We (my husband and I) spent a week in the Crimea last summer and we had a great time.

We arrived on a flight from Moscow and were brusqely ushered into the immigration hall. As Ukraine seems to be making a point about independence form Russia there was one desk for all non Ukrainian people and 10 fully staffed desks for Ukrainian nationals. As the Crimea is a very popular destination and is still Russian leaning it took at good hour to jostle through the queue.

We were met by a driver who drove us form Simferopol to Yalta. There is a trolley bus but it would take ages. The car journey took about an hour I think and was very hair raising as our driver would only overtake on blind bends!

Yalta is situated on the Black Sea and we had booked a private apartment on the coast.

The beaches are good but get busy very early. We paid extra and got a bungalow (like a hut) on one of the mini piers so you are above the mass of Russian people. Here people will bring you beer which is less than a pound for a litre bottle.

You can walk along the coast and take in the scenery. There are pletny of places to get food and drink but 99.9% of people and menu only speak Russian so you will need to speak and read a bit to get by. Don't worry there is a Mcdonalds for emergencies!

The main attractions in the area are:
1. Livadia Palace - palace of Russian tsars and veune of Yalta Agreement by Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill. Check for opening times
2. Swallows nest - a small castle like building on cliff top, easily accessed by boat.
3. Chekov museum - house

Further afield
1. Nuclear sumarine base
2. Sevastopol - home of Black Sea fleet
3. Sight of the charge of the light brigade
4. Cable car to top of moutnain for stunning views and insight into Tartar life.

We really enjoyed our week there. We loved watching Russian on holiday (drinking , dressing up and taking lots of photos). It will go from strength to strength with more and more Russian money unless they start to go abroad to Greece etc

Get a local english speaking guide - we did for our day out to Sevastopol and got a lot out of it.

We flew home via Riga.

Summary: Go on and try it