KobleVo-blues
One little Chinese mouse put the whole planet into lethargy. Let’s not go into conspiracy theories and be realistic: we don’t know how to relax in 2020 yet. Considering the experience of the Spanish flu in 1918, when many countries spent a year in quarantine, it is worth taking a closer look at domestic resorts and natural beauties. I am sure: any of the Turpravda residents will describe the nearest vacation spots with relish and tell non-natives where it is good and where it is better not to meddle. Share your experience?
I'll start with the unassuming Ukrainian resort of Koblevo. The locals contemptuously refer to the recreation area as a "viperbox", although in recent years the owners of recreation centers (and prosecutors who have built dachas under local pines) have ennobled the area. What to expect from a holiday in Koblevo, how to choose a hotel and what to do?
I will make a reservation right away: the realities of the coronavirus period will appear closer to June. While the owners of the hotels quietly tint the walls and cherish the hope that the tourists will come. I describe Koblevo as it was last year. Nature has definitely not become worse - dolphins are already frolicking.
Sea. Unlike Odessa and Ochakov, it is easy to get to the edge of the sea in Koblevo: the coast is flat, without breakwaters, sheer cliffs and stones. The length of the coastal open sandy strip is 7 km. In the evenings, the edge of the surf turns into a promenade. The entry into the sea is gentle, the first 10 meters are ideal for small fry. Then there is a slight decrease, after which a narrow sandy spit under water stretches along the coast into the sea. I swam across the depths, got to the soft sand under my feet and splashed "until I want" in the sun.
It is difficult to call the Koblevo coast a sea: the water is almost fresh because of the wide Dnieper-Bug estuary, although in recent years it has become much cleaner and saltier. In the morning the sea is clear, in the evening waves appear, and you bathe in a sandy solution. In the midst of the heat, sometimes there is such a vile phenomenon as “nizovka”: it is +40 outside, and the water is perfectly clean and absolutely icy. It is impossible to predict the sea temperature, most often the lowland appears at the end of June - in July.
In walking distance of the Tiligul estuary, known for its "double sun" effect and stable winds, due to which kitesurfers graze here in summer.
Beach. Access to the sea is public and free. Every 50-70 meters there are tents of "rescuers" who ride on bananas, "buns", parachutes and rent catamarans. Here you can also arrange a boat trip along the coast, to the legendary island of Buyan, also known as the island of Lieutenant Schmidt, now called Berezan.
There is sand on the beach, which many recreation centers clean and sift. The main struggle is for the shade - it is impossible to stay on the sand for a long time in the heat. Most of the beach is filled with awnings, umbrellas and sun loungers, but there are vast areas where there is only sand and lonely carcasses on towels.
Food. You definitely won't leave hungry. Supermarkets and private shops operate in the summer, there are several markets and a lot of vegetable stalls. Be sure to stock up on drinking water at night, coolers are rare in hotels. Hundreds of unpretentious cafes and liquor-gendelyks work. For a "decent public" there are several restaurant-level establishments.
Local specialties are shrimps, mussels, rapana and jellyfish. The first three positions are caught by local poachers on an industrial scale, they are boiled, fried, marinated and sold to tourists. They tried to cook jellyfish, but the delicacy was not appreciated. Smoked "oil" fish, fatty sea bass and glosses, mummies of gobies and rams are famous. In summer, the stalls are littered with cherries, sweet cherries, apricots and watermelons.
The splendor of the sea is washed down with local wine (and I don’t understand how people don’t get poisoned). By the way, the Koblevsky winery is able to produce not only wine materials, but also very good table wine. The local vineyards are warmed by the brackish sun, I recommend trying the Select collection. For refined oenophiles - Beykush craft wines, but these are limited editions.
For gourmets, there is an oyster farm nearby in the purest water of the Tiligul Estuary. If the tax authorities do not strangle entrepreneurs, I advise you to go and enjoy the fresh catch with cool champagne, which was included in the tasting price.
Entertainment. Three performances a day are given by the local dolphinarium.
There are two water parks - a large one at the entrance to the Koblevo recreation area and a compact one at the Orbita base. An amusement park and entertainment venues with animators are open for children.
A feature of the Koblevo resort is the division into "Moldovan" and "Ukrainian" zones. Under the Union, Moldova was allocated a territory here so that the republic, which does not have its own access to the sea, could “heal” the workers. The old “Moldovan” bases with amenities at the end of the corridor are horror without end, although they are packed to capacity in the summer.
The western "Moldavian" part is the local Ibiza: several very loud nightclubs, a market, food zones, laid out with boards and wide mattresses "Mama Beach", hookahs in the morning.
The eastern "Ukrainian" part is longer and quieter. The unofficial watershed is the tower of the Atlantic Hotel next to the T-junction and the market.
Transport. Alas, the entrance to the territory is open to any transport, during the season there are chronic traffic jams that create clumsy buses with Belarusians. A bus runs every half an hour along the recreation area to the village. After 19.00, cycle rickshaws plastered with LEDs go hunting, drowning out competitors with speakers.
If you are going to Koblevo without a car, keep in mind the nuance: the village of Koblevo and its bus station are located 3 km from the recreation area on the M14 highway. Stomping with suitcases on hot asphalt along an estuary smelling of rotten reeds is not very pleasant. Even in Nikolaev or Odessa, check with the driver whether the minibus goes to the recreation centers. If not, we reached the village, and then wait for a local bus, catch a ride or get from Koblevo to Koblevo by taxi.
Accommodation. There is nothing to do with tents here, it is better to go towards Morskoye or Lugovoe. Creepy wooden houses with no amenities have been preserved at the old bases, but most of the resort is trying to catch up with the Turkish 2-3 stars and improve living conditions and service.
If you have never been to Koblevo, please note:
Check Google map and reviews before booking. Hotels and recreation centers stretch along the coastal strip and spread up to one and a half kilometers deep. The “water park area” is at least 800 meters to the beach along a dusty road. Many bases boast luxurious greenery.
In the forest, some of the cottages are rented out. Pine trees, clean air, barbecue at the gazebo, but expensive, and you have to stomp to the sea for half an hour. At many recreation centers, there is a problem with water - something hydrogen sulfide flows from the tap in the shower. Some of the owners have drilled wells with clean water or installed after-treatment and are very proud of it.
Hotels with swimming pools are in vogue, even at old recreation centers after reconstruction, aquazones appear.
If you need a pool and conditions, then you can choose from: "Birch", "Dolphin", "Scarlet Sails", "For Rest" (former "Avtomobilist"), "Odessa", "Nikolaev". Slightly worse conditions in the hotels "Victoria", "Atlantic", "Vinnitsa", "Dniester", "Chaika 3", "Charisma". Separate houses with conditions and a swimming pool at the bases "Sunrise" and "Valetta". Several comfortable hotels have not acquired swimming pools: Paradise, Energostroitel, Black Sea, California, Admiral.
Koblevsky VIP is "Elysium" and "Vita Park" in a pine forest, the bulk of "Crystal", "Meliorator" and "De La Vita" on the shore, quiet "Orbita" and "White House". Some hotels are trying to switch food to a "buffet", offer breakfast, attract animators to work with children.
In Koblevo, you can relax, swim, walk along the sea, ride scooters or boats. I hope that the greed of the Koblev hoteliers will not alienate the public from the resort in the year of general quarantine.
