Travel Destinations: Crimea, Ukraine

This post will start a series of articles about Crimea, Ukraine from our local expert Alex. If you are curious about a new travel destination, there is nothing more valuable than insight from someone who lives there!

According to National Geographic, Ukraine is among the top 20 travel destinations in 2013. What makes it so attractive? Many things; and Crimea is certainly one of them.

As you read on, the information will be getting less “boring” and “encyclopedic” and more and more of a personal-experience-type. Yet, general information, I guess, would be a good place to start.

General information: The Crimean peninsula is located in the south of Ukraine. It is washed by the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The part of Crimea closer to the mainland is covered with plains, while the southern coast of Crimea is primarily hilly (the Crimean Mountains). More facts and figures (the “boring stuff”) are available anywhere on the web (Wikipedia, Wikivoyage).

I personally love the southern coast of Crimea for a number of reasons:

Beautiful landscapes

Nature photographers and everyone appreciating the wonders of the nature love this part. Rocky mountains, not too steep, yet very scenic, cover the entire southern coast, from Sevastopol to Yalta. By the way, driving from Sevastopol to Yalta is an experience on its own: serpentine road with beautiful mountain ranges on one side and a dropdown to sparkling sea down below make the trip unforgettable.

Mild sub-tropic climate

I am not much fond of cold weathers. So sub-tropics are good for me. Crimea does get winters with snow, yet they are rather short and the snow doesn’t stay for long. I should say, skiing and snowboarding are available up in the mountains, and there are several places to do that. Yet, the towns and cities are primarily down below, where the winter doesn’t go to the extremes. As a result of a mild climate, in Crimea you’ll find anything from tall and pretty cypress trees (sort of a “business card” of southern Crimea) to occasional palm trees growing side by side. Longer springs, summers and falls, shorter winters.

The SEA

Of course, the Black Sea is the main pro of the peninsula. It’s warm and clean, with numerous pebble beaches along the shore. Several big yacht clubs, many diving clubs – all they attract the people from all over.

Historical heritage

In Crimea you’ll definitely find the attraction to catch your eye. Ancient cities (e.g. Chufut-Kale), cave monasteries (e.g. Inkerman), ruins of fortresses and strongholds (e.g. Sudak), beautiful palaces surrounded by yet more beautiful parks (e.g. Livadia Palace), secret military sites now open to the public (e.g. underground submarine base in Balaklava) and many-many more. Each of them is worth an individual post with pictures, so I’ll be telling more about some of these attractions in my coming up articles.

Speaking

Due to Crimea hosting the Russian fleet, Russian language prevails on the peninsula. Ukrainian is also good. Not many people can speak English fluently, especially away from bigger cities. Yet, there are professional English-speaking agencies, such as Trip2Crimea.com that provide language and travel assistance to English-speaking travelers in Crimea at an affordable price. Please learn more by visiting the website.

Getting there

There are several options to get to Crimea…

Airlines – international airport is located in Simferopol. From there you will have to continue your travel either by rented car or public transport. There are plenty of regular bus routes. E.g. there is the longest in Europe trolley-bus route from Simferopol to Yalta. Taxi is also an option.

Trains – there are plenty of trains from any major city of Ukraine, and from some major cities in Russia. You are most likely to arrive at Simferopol, travelling directly to Sevastopol is also an option from certain destinations.

Car – decent (by far not perfect) highways will also do the job if you prefer to travel by you own or rented vehicle from any city of Ukraine or nearby countries. For example, my best time Kyiv-Sevastopol is around 10 hours driving, yet it takes much longer for those travelling by car for the first time.

Lodging

Depending on your budget, there are many lodging option. 3 and 5-star hotels, private “boutique” hotels, apartments-for-rent, camping grounds are all available. Trip2Crimea.com will be happy to provide advice on the best-fit option for you. High season prices may greatly differ from low season prices.

What to do

Chilling at the beach | Sightseeing | Photographing | Hiking | Biking | Extreme sports (paragliding, etc) | Diving | Eating out | Night life | much more!

Please come back to learn more about Crimea, Ukraine, as the articles will be getting more and more detailed, and telling about the specific attractions

Read in the coming up articles:

++ Sevastopol (including ancient Greek Khersones)
++ Balaklava Bay
++ Waterfalls in Crimea
++ Inkerman Cave Monastery

And many more…

Article and images are provided by Alex Solonenko, Trip2Crimea.com

We’ll be looking forward to your next post and thanks again!

Country Vacations and Resorts