About Crimea
Information about tourism to the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea
The Crimea takes up one of the leading places in tourism business of Ukraine (the second rating place) as for the foreign and national tourists and excursionists servicing, also a volume of the provided tourism services. Annually over 5 million people visit the Crimea in order to have a rest and get a medical treatment.
The Crimea has developed transportation network. It’s popular to arrive by railway, by cars and buses. Also there are two international airports, seaports of Yalta, Sevastopol, Yevpatoria, Feodosia and Kerch.
There are about 11,500 monuments of history, culture and architecture related to different historic epochs, civilizations, nations and religions. The most prominent, for instance, complex of cave towns and monasteries, Genoese fortresses, palaces and parks, are used for the purpose of tourism. Six national parks, 87 monuments of nature, 10 nature preserves make together the nature resources of the Crimean Autonomy.
The Crimea has about 150 world-wide known archaeological objects of different epochs; some of them are included to UNESCO catalogues and make it possible to make professional archeological excavations. The most popular objects are Chersonese, Kara-Tobe and Genoese fortresses.
Due to its location, ecology and history the Crimea had been known as a crossroad of different tribes, civilizations and cultures. Its air itself seems to be saturated with legends of Olympic gods of Greece, Amazons, Cimmerians, Taurians and Scythians who came here from Asia to remain for almost a thousand years. For more than 3 centuries the Crimea was a part of the Ottoman Empire.
The Crimean travel companies work out tours devoted to culture, traditions and nations’ way of life, settled in the Crimea, carry out historical festivals and holidays. Now most popular among foreign tourists are the tours devoted to the Emperor dynasty of Romanovs in the Crimea, the Crimean war of 1854-1855, Yalta conference of Allied Power in 1945, etc.
More than 100 nations and nationalities represent the Crimean population and this makes all necessary preconditions for cultural and ethnographic tourism development. The ethnographic museum is functioning in Simferopol. The Crimean Tatars, Germans, Greeks, Bulgarians, Armenians and other ethnic groups create their own centers and introduce the tourists to the history and traditions of people living in the Crimea.
The Crimea has about 1,500 caves, 4 of them are open to the visitors and invite tourists to watch their galleries, corridors and underground lakes.
Recently the Crimea became popular for hunting and fishing. Forest area occupies 274.3 hectares, 26% of them is a preserved zone. Tourists-hunters from Italy, Germany, France hunt for game bird, deer, hare and wild boar while the fishermen come here for trout, carp and sea fish.
To those who are not satisfied with just sightseeing the Crimea offers some dynamic activities. It could be hiking or rock climbing to the Crimean mountain peaks, horse-riding or jeep safari, diving, paragliding and extreme tours depending on your wish and taste.
For about two hundred years the Crimea is known as a science center. Nikitsky Botanical Garden shows collection of fruit and decorative plants, organizes tasting of exotic fruit. Institute for Grapes and Winery “Magarach” discovered the unique methods of wine therapy and prepared excursions about the history of wine making. Institute for Sea Biology in Sevastopol shows rich collection of exotic fish and sea animals. Tourists can visit dolphin shows in Sevastopol, Feodosia, Yalta, Evpatoria. And methods of dolphin therapy worked out for disabled children were recognized by specialists. Essential oils are very popular in the Crimea and are proposed for tourists as souvenirs.
The Crimean wine trade marks like “Massandra”, “Magarach”, “Novy Svet”, “Dionis”, “Koktebel” and others are world-wide known. All wineries make tasting, wine tours and excursions to their famous cellars.
The Crimea is famous as a health center. Besides this tourism segment is based on usage of mineral waters, curative mud, beaches, climatic and landscape resources, sea and mountain air etc.
In the Crimea there are over 600 health farms located at the Southern Coast of the Crimea, as well as at health resorts Yevpatoria and Saki. Each health resort district has its own specific depending on the curative factors of the locality.
The Southern Coast of the Crimea is specialized on the general rehabilitation and famous as a climatic resort. Yevpatoria is popular as a resort for children. Saki, Feodosia, Sudak are famous for their climatic and mud resources. Gynecological and bone-muscular system disorders are successfully treated in Saki, alimentary canal diseases are treated in Feodosia. Chernomorskiy, Leninskiy, Razdolnenskiy, Simferopolskiy districts propose vacation and health treatment in the seasonal accommodation facilities for a reasonable price.
Nowadays SPA programs are actively applied in the Crimean health centers. SPA philosophy is an express-vacation, maximum relaxation and rehabilitation with minimum time-consuming (the programs are suggested for 1 to 12 days). Modern SPA medicine succeeded in synthesizing the most effective health treatment methods that includes exotics of India, wisdom of China, originality of Thailand, unpredictability of Russia and combining them with modern technologies. SPA peculiarity lies in usage of exclusively natural products. SPA in the Crimea is aromatherapy – treatment by natural aromatic oils and their derivatives, usage of cosmetic remedies created on a unique natural base, wrapping up by natural mud, blue clay or algae.
These programs are used in the most Crimean sanatoria but there are also special SPA centers (“Palmira-Palace”, “The Seasons of the Year” (“Vremena Goda”), “Marat” etc.). In these centers you can get over stress, different body parts problems and lose weight.
Due to its seaside location the Crimea became popular for cruise tourists. Seaports of Yalta and Sevastopol are visited by ships of such famous cruise companies as “P&O”, “Silver Cruises”, “Princess Cruises”, “Holland America”, “Royal Olympic”, etc. Tourists enjoy special packages: history and culture trips, folk shows, wine tasting.
Yacht tourism development is also important for Crimea. The Crimean landscapes and beauties attract foreign yachtsmen. For many years the peninsula was visited by famous Mediterranean yacht rally “Kayra”. There are 9 yacht clubs in the Crimea now in Balaklava, Yevpatoria, Feodosia, Kerch. Recently construction of yacht Marina in Alushta was started.
The Crimea is also famous for its entertainment programs. Besides traditional classical music and theater festivals and cinema forums well known and attractive became fireworks festival in Yalta, historic fencing event “The Genoese Helmet” in Sudak, youth festival “Kazantip”, aeronautics festival in Feodosia and others.