Where to rest in the Crimea and which hotel to choose?

Our lands are characterized by a rather harsh climate - even we ourselves fully agree with this. Although our fellow citizens are accustomed to such conditions, all the same, at least on vacation I want real warmth, sunshine and gentle sea waves. The limit of dreams for the majority are distant tropical resorts abroad, at least the same Turkey. However, closer you can find conditions that resemble Turkish. The Crimean peninsula is considered one of the most popular summer holiday options in relative proximity.

The tourist potential of Crimea is impressive: there is almost everything that is needed for an unforgettable vacation. The southern coast has a subtropical climate, close to the Mediterranean, because in the summer months, tourists here are apparently invisible. Nearby are mountains, open for hiking for several days, and for small excursions.

The rich ancient history of the peninsula remembers the Greeks and Genoese, the Venetians and the Turks, because you can inspect and architectural monuments, well, a significant part of the Tatar population allows today to feel the flavor of local customs and cuisine.

It should be noted that the main part of the tourists, at least from afar, travels to the Crimea precisely for the sake of the sea. The local mountains are quite low (maximum - one and a half kilometers above sea level), because with the ski resorts did not work here, and lovers of serious mountain hikes choose more ridges and more dangerous.

Local attractions, though picturesque, but still not as attractive as Paris, Rome, or at least St. Petersburg and Moscow. Therefore, the rest here should be considered from the beach point of view, not forgetting the pleasant bonuses in the form of accessible mountain walks and interesting excursions to the ancient ruins.

Making an overview of the best hotels and pensions of the Crimea, we abandon the traditional principles of rating, briefly reviewing all the major tourist centers and highlighting in each of them good places to stay with children.

At the same time, you should not think that everything is limited to the described cities, because almost the entire Southern Coast of Crimea is ready to receive guests, including those with kids.

At the same time, Crimea, being not the most expensive place for recreation, is not the cheapest, but the level of service often raises questions. The tourism infrastructure here is largely outdated, because those who have been in the same Turkey often write that at approximately equal cost of hotels and services, the service on the Mediterranean coast turns out to be much better. According to their reviews, it is worth going here only to save on paperwork and flight - in all other cases it is advised to go abroad immediately.

Yalta is an indisputable pearl of the whole Crimea - a charmingly beautiful city on the Black Sea coast with a population of almost 80 thousand people, although it may increase several times in the holiday season. In addition to the city itself, they also distinguish the so-called Big Yalta, which includes numerous resort villages, enjoying no less success. This, for example, Alupka, Gurzuf, Livadia, Massandra, Simeiz and Foros.

The advantages of recreation here are primarily in the abundance of amenities and attractions. It is here that the main resort area is located, because for tourists there are all conditions, in particular, hotels operating on an “all inclusive” system: with meals included in the price of the voucher, children's animation, their own playgrounds and other bonuses. It is easy to get here, because it is one of the largest cities in the peninsula - you can even get from Simferopol even by trolley bus.

In addition to the sea, it is worth going here for architecture, because the city was a noble resort before the revolution, and is justly considered one of the most beautiful in Eastern Europe: there are numerous palaces, including the famous Swallow's Nest and Livadia. Nearby is the mountain Ai-Petri, where you can climb the cable car to view the city.

There are enough good hotels here, but we will single out just a couple.

• Yalta Intourist 4 *. This is one of the best family-friendly hotels on the scale of the whole Crimea. It is located in a quiet area, far from the mainstream of the rest, but right at the foot of Mount Ai-Petri. It has everything that children can wish for: a swimming pool with heated sea water and slides, a playground and a club, a small zoo, and a private beach. As of May 2018, a double room here can be booked at a price of 8 thousand rubles. For children, an extra bed is installed with a surcharge of 1-2 thousand rubles (depending on age).

• Eco Hotel "Levant" It offers recreation in an ecological direction: there is nothing here that could harm nature. The hotel is located near the famous Embankment with all its attractions, however there are bonuses for children on site: animation, babysitting services, a special children's menu and guided tours of the entire children's infrastructure of the city.

This resort is much more modest than Yalta: there are fewer people here (30 thousand in the city itself and 55 thousand - along with the surrounding area), and there are not so many sights (although medieval fortresses, Mount Chatyr-Dag and the Valley of Ghosts should be highlighted). However, those who appreciate beach rest not for infrastructure, love Alushta: here the climate is healthier, since there are two passes in the mountains here that provide good ventilation and reduce stuffiness. It is even easier to get here than to Yalta - the same trolley bus will do.

Park Hotel Porto Mare cares so much about the comfort of children that it equipped a special sand part for its kids on its own small pebble beach. There is all the same animation and children's clubs for children of different ages, parents can use the services of an hourly nanny. In cool weather, you can use the indoor pool or visit your own zoo.

This resort is not great at all: its population is about 16 thousand people. Although this is the southern coast of Crimea, the climate here is no longer considered subtropical due to insufficient protection from the northern winds by the mountains, which are already relatively low here. For this reason, the climate here is more continental: winter is characterized by increased severity, and in July — August, the heat may seem unbearable.

It is in Sudak that the swimming season is the longest in the Crimea (138 days, from the beginning of June to mid-October), which attracts many tourists here in the velvet season.

An additional magnet is the rich history of the city, which at one time was a Genoese port.

Soldaya Grand Hotel opened in 2014 and resembles a medieval castle in architecture. Facilities for children in general resemble a standard family hotel, but on the pebble beach there is an additional sandy area with several attractions.

This city with the nearby Koktebel is the northernmost resort on the southern coast of Crimea. It is not surprising that the climate of the 67,000-strong resort is somewhat closer to the climate of a non-resort Simferopol than to a subtropical one, but the proximity of the sea does not allow it to be called steppe. The peculiarity of the tourist industry of the city is the abundance of balneological opportunities for recovery: here are presented both curative mud and mineral springs. Contrary to a very ancient history, Theodosius is relatively poor in outstanding architectural monuments.

It is worth noting the specific geographical location of the city: in contrast to all other resorts of the Crimea, it is more convenient to go here not from Simferopol, but from Kerch, because those arriving from the Krasnodar Territory should choose such a route.

“Scarlet Sails” 4 * is unusual in that the hotel has its own beach, but it is located ... 7 kilometers from the hotel. You do not need to be afraid - the institution provides its own transport, by which vacationers are delivered back and forth for free.

They usually go to Sevastopol not so much for the sea (the proximity of the huge seaport affects it), as for the sake of having a rest in a large (more than 380 thousand inhabitants) city with all the amenities.

The history of the city is not so long, but it is interesting: the heroic defense took place here both in the Crimean War of the middle of the XIX century and in the years of the Second World War a hundred years later. In Soviet times, Sevastopol was a closed city for decades, and it was impossible to get there without special permission.

Today, all the delights of this city, including real warships and a submarine base in a huge cave, anyone can see firsthand. Those who are more interested in history, it will be interesting to visit the ruins of ancient Chersonese, located near the side.

Aquamarine Resort & SPA is a true five star hotel. For those who are not at risk of swimming in the sea so close to the port, there are not only pools, but also their own open-air water park. Children will love the animation and specially designated areas in the gaming and sports centers, adults will have a gorgeous view from the windows of the historical part of the city. Prices, of course, appropriate - from 11 thousand rubles and above.

For those who are looking for cheap recreation conditions in a relatively large city, Evpatoria is well suited: just over 100 thousand people live here, because the entire infrastructure is present. This city does not refer to the southern coast of Crimea.

Adults can come here for a spa treatment (local mud and mineral water are very famous), but kids will like the fact that here is perhaps the only place in the Crimea where the seabed near the coast consists of sand, not pebbles. For this reason, city guests usually rest in sanatoriumswhich owns a significant part of all the beaches.

The ancient history of the city is not well disclosed for tourists - only a few sightseeing tours along the monuments of religious architecture are offered. Predictably, this is one of the centers of "wild" tourism.

Sanatorium and recreation complex "Empire" 3 * is one of the best family institutions of the resort, not sharpened by such requests. All that is here is sandy beaches, children's kitchen and babysitting services, as well as a playground and a heated swimming pool.

See where the best place to relax in Crimea this summer is in the next video.