# Forum About Russia Travel and Tourism  Information about Crimea and Yalta?

## Zero

Hi everybody.
Does anybody have any advice about Yalta? I'm interested in good restaurants. It don't have to be the most expensive one. I just want good food and a cosy, romantic place. I would also like advice about nice, cosy cafes. 
I understand that this may not be the best place to get this kind of information. If anybody can recommend a good web-board with information about Crimea I would appreciate it very much. 
Zero

----------


## DDT

You could begin by asking the expats in Moscow. at expat.ru/forum

----------


## Бармалей

Stalin rather liked Yalta. He got lots of special presents there...And if it's good enough for the Glorious Leader, then it's good enough for you Tovarishch!

----------


## Hangernaid

This is a very old thread, but, it is late and I am packing.  In 36 hours I will be in Yalta.  I will take many, many photos, and will try to come up with a list of restaurants and stores.  Because my friends are locals, I think I will be able to see the Yalta that locals see and not the Tourist Traps. 
One unusual suggestion from one friend from Kiev, the full moon is 5 August.  The suggestion was to go swimming at night with a full moon over the Black Sea.  Perhaps, but Americans are not as bold as Russians. 
I have just started becoming somewhat active in the local Russian Orthodox Church in Oklahoma City, I did not know we have that many Russians living in Oklahoma.   
The story of my visit to the Crimea will be posted in 3 weeks.

----------


## Lampada

> ...One unusual suggestion from one friend from Kiev, the full moon is 5 August.  The suggestion was to go swimming at night with a full moon over the Black Sea.  ...

  
Ялтинский маяк и полная луна среди облаков

----------


## Hangernaid

I leave Yalta in about 12 hours.  As soon as I get home I will post some photos.  I did not get to visit as many places as I wished, I went to Yalta with a lady and all she was interested in was the beach.  I was more interested in history and the Crimea than she was, and this is not my country!   
I also took some great moon photos, but I was wondering where you took that photo from?  I've got photos of the lighthouse, but you would have had to taken that photo from a boat (or had a very long lens). 
The beach was always crowded, and it is rocks, not sand.  I'm not complaining, the scenery was spectacular.  Except that someone should tell overweight old men that perhaps swimming trucks would be preferable to Speedos.  The water, I think. has a higher salinity than the Atlantic or Pacific.  The water was clear, and with the high salt content, easy to just relax and float.  One evening we were surrounded by a school of jellyfish.  I thought all jellyfish would sting you, but not these. 
We ate once at the Thai restaurant on the beach.  Very expensive, although the Tom Kha was very good.  Other than that, as a Thai restaurant, it would not make it in the US.   
Instead of staying at a hotel, we booked a 2 bedroom apartment about a 2 minute walk from the beach, and about a 5 minute walk from the city center.  I've never seen a market like this one, we went to buy meat to BBQ, and the partial carcasses of a cow and a couple pigs were on the cutting table.  No USDA here, but the meat we brought home was quite good. 
There is a McDonalds down on the water front.  Out of respect to myself, I did not eat there. 
The dolphin show, although not quite Sea World standards, was quite good. 
More when I have time to process everything.  I am dreading tomorrow.  The trip here was my first time on a train.  Second Class, 4 beds to a berth, 14 hours, no Air Conditioning, the toilet something to be avoided at all cost, NEVER, and I mean NEVER will I take a slow train again.  I get on the train at Simferopol tomorrow at 5PM, and....  Next trip to the Crimea, (if I return to Ukraine), I'll fly into Simferopol.  The Crimea is well worth the visit.  Friday morning I fly to Moscow, and from there home. 
One thing about being a non Russian speaker.  All of the studying, tapes, CD's, books, and everything, it just was not enough.  There were moments that I understood what was being said, and moments and I could respond with want I wanted to say.  But most of the time, I was in a language lag.  Partial comprehension lagging the speaker by 5 to 8 seconds.

----------


## Lampada

Dear Hangernaid! Thanks for your report. Very interesting.
I googled the photo:http://www.rosfoto.ru/shop/photo/29568/
  It came from http://www.rosfoto.ru/
More about Yalta: http://www.rosfoto.ru/shop/search/?word=%FF%EB%F2%E0 http://www.rosfoto.ru/shop/search/?word ... 1%EA%E8%E9

----------


## rockzmom

> Dear Hangernaid! Thanks for your report. Very interesting.

 Hangernaid, I second Lampada!! I look forward to seeing your photos and learning more about your trip.  
About your err.... "bathroom" experience. I have learned the same lessons from taking the bus back and forth from Washington, D.C. to New York City and last year, the girls and I took the train from D.C. to West Palm Beach, Florida. 
Next time before you travel, visit a Wal-Mart or Target and in the Travel Section, they have should have small packs of toilet seat covers and toilet paper made by Charmin.  Here are links on Amazon to give an example of what they look like; but, if you can, don't buy them there as they are a little expensive once you add in the shipping as well.  covers and paper  
For the smell (both inside the bathroom and on the bus/train sometimes) and to wash your hands, we found these great organic towlettes that sanitize, moisturize, are 100% biodegradable and come in great scents (Peppermint Surge, Lavender Calm, and Grapefruit Splash) made by Giovanni Cosmetics (link to the towlettes on  Amazon). 
Safe travels home!
Rockzmom.

----------


## Hangernaid

This is a good cross section of my experience at Yalta.  The beaches were rock and sometimes got hard on the feet.  My friends though I'd be amazed by corn on the cob, but it is exactly the same as at home.  Just when I would think everything was different, something would amaze me.  Like the Stanley tool sign near the house, in English.  Or Old Spice, Mars Bars, Colgate tooth paste, same labels as in the US but with Russian writing on the package. 
Here are a few photos: 
At our apartment, breakfast on the veranda.  YES, we did have beer with breakfast, and no, the kids did not.  (It was vacation)    
The Full moon over the Black Sea   
The Beach near our apartment  (only 3 blocks, a 2 minute walk at most)   
The beach downtown   
Yalta at night   
Natasha and I in town   
Looking out over the harbor as a Viking River Cruise comes in.  The cruise ships arrive in the morning and depart late in the day.

----------


## Hangernaid

Train photos, 
The train was an experience.  I am glad to have done it once.  
No A/C, 31 July, and it seemed that no air go into the car.  But we are going on vacation, so nothing can bother us now.  
The bedrolls are above the door, the sheets are in a plastic package.  In Second Class there are 4 bunks in each berth.  
Natahsa made up the beds  
Standing outside while someone was changing  
On the way back there was a lady on the train selling dried salted fish.  I do not care for them, but Natasha loves them and teases me.  
The room to be avoided unless you are wearing a gas mask

----------


## rockzmom

Hangernaid, thank you for posting these photos and sharing your trip with all of us! It is interesting to see first hand the different places of the world and not from the cold informal pages of Wiki.  
The photos from the beach made me smile. I do not know about in your area of Oklahoma, but here men no longer wear the "Speedo" type bathing suits. They all wear the long surfer board shorts style now. Even the teenage girls wear boy shorts or surf shorts and a bikini top. As for the rocks, don't you know people pay top dollar to have a hot stone massage these days, and you sir had one for free! 
If you don't mind too much, I have some questions...   ::  Besides the dried fish, what other local foods/fruits did you try or see that we may not have back here in the States?   ::  Was this your kids first trip to the Ukraine or outside the U.S.? What did they think of it?   ::  You mentioned that you have been learning some Russian, what about your kids? (if you don't mind sharing that information.)

----------


## Hangernaid

About food, I am not sure where the differences are.  BBQ in that region is mostly kabobs, I wish I could introduce real Texas BBQ to my friends in Ukraine, say brisket and a couple racks of baby back ribs.  This trip I cannot think of anything that stood out, most of the time we went to the markets and stores and bought food.  The market, now THAT was an experience.  It is like a flea market, but with fruits, vegetables, and meats.  Eggs sell not in the dozen, but in any quantity.  I bought 20 eggs, that the lady put them in a bag.  No carton, so I had to be careful on the way home.  Especially since Natasha loaded my up with about a dozen bags. 
The stores charge for bags, so if I was going out, I'd put a couple plastic bags in my pocket. 
My companions are Ukrainian, I have been dating a Ukrainian woman, they have never been outside Ukraine.  This trip I took a 1000 piece set of Lego, and Egor and I spent hours building stuff.  
I did have an unpleasant experience in Moscow on the way back.  I posted on this forum about the need for a Visa if I was just changing planes in Moscow, and I followed up on that by calling United.  IF you are not going to be on the ground more than 24 hours and IF you are not leaving the airport, you do not need a Visa.  Someone forgot to tell the woman that stamps your ticket, and I was held up for about 20 minutes while supervisors were called, and finally they stamped my ticket and let me through the gate to catch my flight. 
For a while I thought I was going to be detained or arrested for entering Russia without a Visa.  It is enough to give me second thoughts about going to Russia, and I planned on a 2 week trip to St. Petersburg next summer.  And I am planning a trip to Sevastopol for New Years, and I am not going to book a flight that has Aeroflot in the plans and no connections in Moscow.

----------

