Alushta 2013 - tips for non-lazy tourists!
Alushta is a controversial resort. A multi-kilometer embankment, a huge number of beaches, a picturesque necklace of mountains, lush greenery in the south - all the conditions for relaxation! Not as stuffy and pompous as in Yalta, not as dirty and neglected as in Sudak. And at the same time: incredible crowding of transport, disgusting sidewalks, a semi-rural landscape in the very center of the city and the unrestrained wild imagination of the owners of private mini-hotels, as well as guest houses and sheds.
I wrote these notes for those who do not like to wallow on the beaches for days. I often rest in Crimea, and these tips are from personal experience. Believe me - you yourself can become a travel agency for yourself, independently plan your time, finances and excursions. And don't be afraid to experiment!
It is convenient for tourists to get to Alushta without personal cars. Buses and minibuses depart from Simferopol every 10 minutes. Plus a unique trolleybus track. A trolleybus ride in the mountains is already an adventure! But! In summer it is hot, the trip is tiring and takes at least 1.5 hours - with all the obligatory stops along the route.
It is not difficult to find housing in Alushta at the height of the season. I prefer to book in advance, carefully going through the Internet - I don’t want to run around the city with suitcases. There are practically no hotels on the first line (and this, oddly enough, is a plus - it’s very noisy on the embankment). Every year the competition among local "hoteliers" becomes tougher, and we benefit from this. Most of the housing - with all amenities and air conditioning. More and more private hotels with swimming pools, view balconies, a good level of service. Prices - from 100 hryvnia to 200 dollars per room.
For those who have never been to Alushta, I can advise you to use the Panorama service on the Yandex map. Take a virtual walk and take a look. In some places, even signs of private hotels with telephones get into the frame! If you are not sure about the host - check the location of the hotel or apartment on the map, because "view of the vineyard" can mean 200 meters up from the sea!
There is a unique neighborhood in Alushta with high-rise buildings. Oh, how close to the sea. But in the windows there are fantastic landscapes: mountains, the sea, the amazing beauty of the morning Demerdzhi and Chatyr-Dag. And the night Alushta looks like an overturned sky...
The best beaches of Alushta are not located on the central embankment, but in the Professor's (Working) corner. Look at the satellite map of Alushta - in Alushta itself, in the area of u200bu200bthe pier and a very cool hotel, a very unsightly river flows into the sea. It flows out with all its contents... Morning and night bathing in Alushta is not welcomed by the authorities. All the beaches of Alushta open at 8.00 and are rigidly locked at 19.00 - except for the municipal one, but it is very dirty.
In the Professor's Corner, the beaches are clean, small pebbles. Lots of sunshades and lots of sun loungers. And most importantly - the water is incredibly clear! The hotels in Ugol are new, expensive, and mostly located near Mount Kastel. It will be difficult to get to the city from there without a car. Small electric cars save a little - 10-20 hryvnia per person (depending on the distance of the route). Therefore, the easiest option is housing in Alushta (close to transport, embankment, dolphinarium, markets) and the beaches of Ugolok. Travel 1.25 kop. trolleybus or 2.75 bus. Why such tariffs - I do not know, but twenty-five-kopeck coins in Alushta are at a premium.
Unfortunately, the center of the Professor's Corner - the area of u200bu200bthe "Dining Room-at Home" and the pier, was turned by local businessmen into a mixture of an oriental bazaar and a barbecue. Pedestrians are constantly at risk of being hit by a car. Motorists show miracles of curly driving - the roadway is very narrow there. It is difficult to close the entrance - you won’t get to the hotels near Mount Kastel in any other way.
The professor's corner is also a water park. I recommend to visit everyone who is not afraid of water - you will not regret it. Great slides and pool with simulated storm. A great option for an evening walk - in Alushta from the cafe "Chaika" go down on foot to the embankment of the Corner, walk about two kilometers along the brand new clean embankment with flower beds and open cafes and return back by electric car.
The embankment of Alushta is much wider than the Yalta and much less pretentious. In the evening - a standard resort promenade. Very often there are concerts, festivals and all kinds of shows. Lush Crimean pines, many shops, many cafes and eateries. In the area of Lenin Street there is a large market of Crimean souvenirs. The beginning of the embankment is just one huge and very noisy oriental dining room. Kebabs, pasties, beer, nuts, pita bread, sweets, wine on tap - all for the most daring and unpretentious tourists. Nearby - a sea pier and a children's amusement park.
Very popular in Alushta "Dining at home. " Do not think for advertising - they feed quickly and tasty. This year we had a great dinner in the new branch of the Canteen. At the end of the embankment, you need to go through the park and go to the former Peking restaurant. Now this is a dining room. Landscape design of the restaurant, gazebos and a pond with goldfish are now combined with very affordable prices. In the evenings, barbecue is fried and a synthesizer is played. Touched by the inscription - "You can come with your own alcohol. " With your ice cream, by the way, too... The owners of the "Dining Room" - put a tray with ice cream, you won't lose!
From entertainment - an excellent park "Crimea in miniature" on Gorky Street. Mini-copies of the sights of the Crimea look great with evening illumination. Excellent copies of the Sudak fortress, Massandra Palace, Bakhchisarai Palace. But the price is too high - 80 hryvnia for an adult - a bit too much.
Alushta is famous for its Aquarium. This year, the city was replenished with two dolphinariums at once - one on Gorky Street, the other in the Spartak area. Originally located two nightclubs - a competitor on Gorky - just opposite each other.
Offers of excursion offices are depressingly standard. There are a dozen options for boat trips, half of which are on old Soviet motor ships, along routes laid back in the last century. Hour trip - from 70 hryvnia. Upper deck - from 20 UAH additionally. Bus tours will allow you to see the whole of Crimea, from palaces to caves, if you have an unlimited budget. Although crowding in a huge queue in the heat at the Alupka Palace or stomping up the mountain in forty-degree heat is a dubious pleasure.
For those who haven’t seen it and who don’t have a car, I can recommend taking a trip to Sudak-Novy Svet, the Crimean Reserve, the Taigan Lion Park and the Marble Cave together with the excursion bureau. If it is not very hot - visit some "cave city" or an extinct volcano Karadag. Great memories and lots of photos! It's hard to get there on your own.
It is very easy to get to many Crimean sights from Alushta. The most beautiful church in Malorechensky and the unique black beaches there are just a minibus. Spacious, without breakwaters, pebble beach in Rybachy - by minibus. Rarely by boat.
To Yalta - forty minutes (and on the way - Utes, "Santa Barbara", Partenit, Gurzuf, Nikita, Massandra). From personal experience - in the evening at about 19 o'clock, take a trolley bus for 7 hryvnias (and if it's very hot, take a large transit bus with air conditioning and panoramic windows for 11 hryvnias) and go on your own excursion "Evening Yalta". From the bus station to the sea - a lot of transport for 3 hryvnia. The optimal route is to get to the Spartak cinema, walk along Pushkinskaya to the embankment past artists and souvenirs, then the traditional promenade, and in the McDonald's area go up to the municipal transport. The total cost of the round trip tour is from 20 hryvnia per person, not counting coffee and ice cream. And if a boat starts moving in July, you can combine it with a boat trip!
One day can be allocated for different excursions. Any transport in the direction of Yalta, then by local buses - and you are there. The magnificent Aivazovskoye park is much more beautiful than the vaunted Nikitsky Botanical Garden. Here and thoughtful landscape design, and viewpoints, and the beach. Take water and a snack with you - and you can relax there all day long! A walk along Gurzuf is informative and not very stressful, although you will have to run up the hills.
Excursion to the Massandra Palace - from the road, following the sign, walk up for about 15 minutes. Half a day is enough. Nearby is the Massandra winery with its enoteca and tasting rooms. A little further - a mandatory program for all beginners - Nikitsky Botanical Garden. From the Rotunda on the highway to the garden, it's a long walk, it's better to drive up with something. The sea has good beaches.
Have you been to Livadia, Dyulber, Gaspra, Miskhor, Swallow's Nest or the Vorontsov Palace? Travel agents will take you - hryvnia for 200-300. Everything is very simple - you reach the Yalta bus station and immediately change to a local bus to Alupka. Seven hryvnia, 20-40 minutes - and you are there. Get off at the right stop, you won't get lost any further. Buy entrance tickets to any of the palaces on the spot. At the same time, you do not need to rush with a crowd of tourists to the cries of a guide. At the same time, you can look for places to stay for the new season! You can go back from Alupka or Lastochka to Yalta by boat.
The Internet, maps or guidebooks will be an excellent help - there are telephones there, and before the trip it is better to make sure that the Livadtisky Palace or Aivazovskoye Park are not closed to the public.
Good luck in Crimea!
