GROUP TOUR 8 Days / 7 Nights

Crimea has been known from the Antiquity. The ancient Greeks called it Taurida. The mild benign climate of Crimea reminded them their native Greece and encouraged them to establish numerous colonies along Crimean Southern coast. The Greek historian Herodotus mentions that Heracles plowed that land using a huge ox ("Taurus"), hence the name of the land. Since that many various peoples strove to keep control over fruitful land of the peninsula, among them Scythians, Romans, Byzantines, Goths, Huns, Bulgars, Khazars, Kipchaks, Venetians and Genovese, Mongols, and Ottoman Turks. From Crimea the Tatars, vassals of Ottomans launched their annual slave capturing raids to Ukraine and Russia, with about 20 thousands of Ukrainians and Russians a year sold on the slave markets. Most recently the expanding Russian Empire under Catherine The Great wrestled Crimea from the Ottoman Empire and made it a jewel in the Russian crown. The Crimean War (1853-1856), fought between the Russian Empire on one side and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Duchy of Nassau on the other, devastated much of the economic and social infrastructure of Crimea. The Crimean War is notorious for the logistical and tactical errors on both sides. Nonetheless, it is considered to be the first "modern" war as it "introduced technical changes which affected the future course of warfare," including the first tactical use of railways and the telegraph. It is also famous for the work of Florence Nightingale, who pioneered modern nursing practices while caring for wounded British soldiers. The Siege of Sevastopol, the Russian main naval base on the Black Sea, became the focus point of the war and was described in many contemporary media reports and literary works. By the end of the rule of Romanov dynasty Crimea became the primal resort for the Russian nobility and intelligentsia. During the Russian Civil War, Crimea was a stronghold of the anti-Bolshevik White Army. It was in Crimea that the White Russians made their last stand against the Red Army in 1920. During World War II, Crimea once again was a scene of some of the bloodiest battles. The leaders of the Third Reich were anxious to conquer and colonize the fertile and beautiful peninsula as part of their policy of resettling the Germans in Eastern Europe at the expense of the Slavs. The Germans suffered heavy casualties in the summer of 1941 as they tried to advance through the narrow Isthmus of Perekop linking Crimea to the Soviet mainland. Once the German army broke through, they occupied most of Crimea, with the exception of the city of Sevastopol, which fell only after prolonged bloody siege and was later awarded the honorary title of Hero City after the war. In post-war years, Crimea thrived as a prime tourist destination, built with new attractions and sanatoriums for tourists. Tourists came from all around the Soviet Union and neighbouring countries, particularly from the German Democratic Republic. On February 19, 1954, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree on the transfer of the Crimean region of the Russian Federation to the Ukraine. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Crimea became part of the newly independent Ukrainian state.

The program of the tour:

Day.1		Arrival (by flight/train) in Simferopol, the capital of the Crimea. Transfer to the city-resort of Yalta (about 80 km away from). Check-in. Welcome cocktail and dinner at the hotel.
Day 2		Breakfast. Tour of the Great Livadia Palace. Built for the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II in 1911, this Italian-styled summer residence is also known as the seat of the Yalta conference called by the Allies in February 1945. A walking tour of the nearby settlement of Koreis, one of many that dot the Southern Coast of the Crimea. Return by bus to the hotel. Lunch. A guided walk along the seashore by a specially made promenade path. Time at leisure. Dinner.
Day 3		Breakfast. Trip to Chatir-Dag Plateau for visiting the marble caves created by underground waters. Picnic on the site. Return to the hotel. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 4		Breakfast. A whole day trip to Esky-Kermen and Bakhchisarai. including a spectacular drive by the mountain road leading to the Mount Ai-Petri and the settlement of Kosh-Kosh. A walking tour of the cave town of Eski-Kermen. Built virtually inside the mountain, the miraculous town dates back to the 6th century BC. Proceed to Bakhchisarai, the former capital of the Crimean Khanate of the Golden Horde of the Tartars. Visiting the Khan's Palace and the Assumption Cave Monastery in the Valley of St.Maria. Lunch in a local restaurant. Return to Yalta. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 5		Breakfast. Trip to the Mount Demerdzhi via the pass of Angara. The view of the Valley of Ghosts from the slopes of the mountain is breathtaking! Lunch (or a picnic) in the town of Alushta. Founded by the Byzantines as the fortress under the name of Aluston (6th century), it was a safe refuge for the Génoèse merchants, who turned the fortress into a flourishing market town (13-15 centuries). Return to the hotel. Dinner.
Day 6		Breakfast. Whole day trip to the hero city of Sevastopol, which is also the main naval base of the Russia's Black Sea Fleet. Founded in 1783, the city is renowned for heroism of its defenders during two wars: the Crimean War of 1854-55 (between Russia and coalition forces of the Great Britain and France) and World War II. In connection with its 1942-1943 defense Sevastopol was decorated with the Golden Star medal and entitled the hero city. Sightseeing tour of the city's highlights (upon arrival), including war memorials on the Mamaev Barrow and the Mount Sapun. Lunch. Visiting the ruined structures (towers, temples, a theatre, workshops, etc) of the ancient city of Chersonèse. Founded in the 5th century BC, it is known as the Russian Troya. Return to the hotel. Dinner.
Day 7		Breakfast. Trip to the Fairy Tales Land A walk through a scenic pine forest to Stavri-Kaja rock, and (across the Devil's Bridge) to the Uchan-Su waterfall. Lunch at the Mountain Spring restaurant. Return to the hotel. Afternoon at leisure. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 8		Breakfast. Transfer to the airport. Departure.

 
Recommended period for travel: from mid-July to mid-October

The price of the tour is quoted by request