Yalta

Yalta highlights - Massandra Palace - Winery Tour

This leisure six-hour bus tour get you acquainted you with Massandra, a district of Yalta. On the tour you will visit Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Massandra Castle of Russian tsar Alexander III and Massandra winery where you take part in a wine tasting ceremony. The tour is ended with a short walking excursion along seafront of Yalta.

Your first stop on the tour is Palace of Alexander III in Massandra. Massandra Palace is the most romantic of all Crimean palaces. It resembles a castle-chalet with rich interior in English and French renaissance styles. After visiting the palace you will take a walk in a lovely park with a pond and original sculptures surrounding the palace.

Designed in the style of Louis XIII for Prince Vorontsov, the palace was purchased for Alexander III of Russia in the end of XIX century.  The tsar intended to turn it into his hunting castle as it was set near the moor but his sudden death frustrated his plans. Building was finished in 1902 in the times of Nicolas II reign. During the Soviet period the place was known as “Stalin’s Dacha”. It served as a summer residence for Soviet leader and top officials and was closed for general public. Now Massandra Palace and park is a museum complex.

Your next stop on the tour is Massandra winery. With your distinguished sommelier to guide you, you'll taste eight types of traditional Crimean wines. You will learn peculiarities of wine production in the Crimea and hear the history of Massandra winery.  Massandra is a historical centre of the wine producing in the Crimea existing since mid XIX century. Prince Lev Golitzin, a founder of winemaking in the Crimea, built collection of old and rare wines in Massandra. The collection was augmented in the Soviet times when Stalin ordered all wines found in the Tsar's cellars to be moved to Massandra. Massandra winery specializes in production of fortified wines. You can taste wines similar to Port, and dessert wines made of Muscat, Pinot Gris, and Tokay. 
Massandra wine is a wonderful present you can bring from the Crimea. Prices of fine wines are comparatively low but the quality is excellent. All adult visitors and the most sophisticated wine connoisseurs will enjoy this informative and delicious excursion.

On this tour your will also visit Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Traditional Russian style building of the cathedral was erected in the beginning of XX century. Alexander Nevsky was a saint patron of Russian tsars. The cathedral is still one of the most beautiful attractions of Yalta.

The tour will end with a short walking excursion along the seafront. Your guide will tell you about Yalta, its history, and the most significant events which took place here. On your wish you can end your tour on the seafront of Yalta for a meal in a pavement café. The tour is really exiting! Wine-tasting ceremony creates wonderful romantic and holiday mood. 

Yalta Zoo & Fairy-Tale Park

Take this exiting 4-hour guided tour to visit the park “Fairy-Tale” and a privately owned Yalta Zoo. The park and the Zoo are set at the foot of a picturesque mountain in only 15 minutes drive from Yalta. Children and adults alike enjoy this unique experience to visit the park with hand-made sculptures of Russian and western Fairy-tales characters and meeting friendly animals of the zoo. 

Museum of original sculpture in the open air, the park Fairy-Tale or “Polyana Sazok” is located in a few miles from Yalta at the foot of Mountain Stavri-Kaya. Hand-made exposition represents tradition Russian and western folk heroes and heroines who live once upon a time in fairy-tales that are happily, and never ending. The museum exists for almost 50 years and is very popular with tourists and residents of the Crimea. Tsarevitch Ivan, the Grey Wolf, Princess Vasilisa, the Firebird, Snow White and the seven dwarfs, Baba-Yaga and her cabin on chicken legs will welcome you in a place where your dreams may come true. Everyone who is young in his heart will enjoy spending time in this enchanting fairy-tale park.  

Yalta Zoo is set in a picturesque nook of Crimean Mountains at the foot of Mountain Stavri-Kaya in a few steps from the popular open-air park Fairy-Tale. Home to 600 animals collected from all over the world, the Zoo is constantly enlarging its collection opening new sections and exhibiting new spices of animals. The Zoo is comparatively small on world’s standards but it is well kept and offers friendly environment. You can interact with the animals by feeding them and taking photos.

The zoo boasts with a rich collection of large members of the cat family including the lions, Siberian and Sumatra tigers, White Bengal tiger, leopard, jaguar, serval cat, cheetah, cougar, and lynx.

You can observe the behavior of the apes and monkeys, bears, camels, lamas, kangaroo, giraffes, zebras, porcupines, ostriches, griffon vulture, black vulture, carrots, collection of birds, reptiles and many others animals. Aquarium in the territory of the Zoo offers collection of exotic and Black sea fish, sharks and other sea inhabitants. 

Welcoming in any time of the year 7 days a week, Fairy-Tale park and Yalta Zoo is great photo experience and a real fun for children and adults. 

Yalta Highlights - Alupka Palace & Park

Alupka palace of Prince Vorontsov, Alupka park with a wonderful view of Ai-Petri mountain, observation desk at the castle Swallow’s Nest, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and Yalta seafront are must-sees of Yalta. All these attractions are covered on our six-hour guided tour.

You will start this comprehensive and very spectacular tour in the centre of Yalta. On your road to Alupka your friendly guide will tell you the history of the main sights you will be passing by. You will see the most popular tourist landmark of the South Crimea, romantic castle Swallow's Nest.

Alupka tour includes visiting the Palace of Prince Volontsov and the park. Alupka palace is one of the most spectacular attractions of South Crimea. Built on the project of Edward Blore, an eminent Victorian British architect, the palace strikes by its original design. The architect never visited the Crimea so his work is even more appreciated since it perfectly harmonizes with surrounding landscape, the Crimean Mountains, and mountain Ai-Petry.

Northern face of the palace was built in so-called Tudor style of knight’s castle and Tudor cottage. Southern face was completed in the shape of Moresque palace with Arabic inscription of the entrance hall and flat roofs topped off with minaret-style towers. Main staircase of the palace is decorated by marble lions and is leading seawards. Side balconies are overlooking the Lion Terrace and the sea.

Museum collection consists of more than 11 thousand exhibits. The exhibition includes only 8 main rooms out of 150 in the palace but it takes about one hour to see them. The most valuable exhibits are the paintings of Russian and European artists of XVI - XIX century, a collection of rare British and Russian engravings, antique furniture, unique porcelain, clocks, chandeliers, decorative vases and other items.

The palace is surrounded by luxurious landscape park with more than 200 species of relic and exotic plants. The park design requires a separate reference. It was laid out in English style with mirror ponds, waterfall, stone chaos, and sunny park glades overlooking the palace or Ai-Petri Mountain.

On this tour your will visit Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Traditional Russian style building of the cathedral was erected in the beginning of XX century. Alexander Nevsky was a saint patron of Russian tsars. The cathedral is still one of the most beautiful attractions of Yalta.

The tour will end with a short walking excursion along the seafront of Yalta. Your guide will tell you about Yalta, its history, and the most significant events that took place here. On your wish you can end your tour on the seafront of Yalta for a meal in a pavement café.

With plenty of photo opportunities, the tour is very spectacular. It is also informative but not strenuous. You’ll spend a lot of time in the open air

Yalta Highlights - Crimean Mountain Forest Reserve

Join natural highlights adventure to admire the most hidden nooks of the Crimean Mountains on this 6-hour spectacular tour.  You will start your tour in Yalta and your bus head eastwards to Alushta. The tour includes visiting Alushta Monastery of Ss. Kosma and Damian, Trout farm, Cuchelsky pass, Observation Desk overlooking Southern Coast from the coast of Alushta and Ay-Dag Mountain to Yalta, Red Stone cordon, Uch-Kosh Gorge.

Alushta Monastery of Ss. Kosma and Damian is located in 18 km from Alushta on the territory of the Crimean Mountain Forest Reserve near the spring Savluh-Su. Founded in the mid XIX century, Kosma and Damian monastery had been visited by the members or Imperial family. The water of this spring is believed to have healing properties due to silver ions saturated it. On the territory of the monastery you can visit a small chapel and admire rare Orthodox icons that also can cure believers.

Crimean Mountain Forest Reserve is a spacious territory of woodlands located on the Main Ridge of Crimean Mountains between Yalta and Alushta. This place can be visited only if you join one of the organized tourist group. Each attempt to visit Crimean Reserve without permission is strictly forbidden and faces legal prosecution.      

The reserve is the largest in the Crimea occupying the territory of more than 4 000 hectares. Woodland part of the reserve is set in the highest Crimean plateau. The highest mountains surround central part of the reserve. Mountain Babugan (1438 m), Mountain Bolshaya Chuchel (1387) are set in the west, Chatyrdag plateau is in the north.  The highest mountain of the Crimea, Mountain Roman-Kosh (1545), is set in the south.

Crimean Mountain National Reserve is one of the first protected Crimean lands. In the times of Russian Empire it was hunting ground of Romanov’s family.  After the WW II it became a favorite hunting ground of Soviet leaders, Khruschev and Brezhnev. Today Crimean Reserve protects life of hundreds specimen of rare Crimean flora and fauna.

Trout farm is located in the upper riches of Alma, on the territory of the Crimean Reserve. It was established in 1960 by order of the Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev. Now it counts for more than 3000 trout specimen each year. You will visit trout ponds and learn peculiarities of trout breeding.

This tour will unveil you a new Crimea. You will witness its stunning natural beauty with dramatic mountains and canyons, old-aged forests and crystal clean water. Escape crowds of resort toursts to enjoy tranquility of the Crimean Mountains. Tour to Crimean reserve is a unique experience that you will never forget!

The price of the tour: the tour to Crimean Mountain Forest reserve are on request. Tour availability depends on weather conditions and is available only if booked in advance. The price of the tour depends on the number of visitors and of the place of your departure. Itinerary and the order of visited attractions can not be changed during the tour.

Conditions: the tour is available only in from April to November. In the cold seasons the road to the mountains is impassable for passenger cars and buses. 

Yalta Highlights - Livadia Palace & Park

On this exciting five-hour bus tour, you'll get acquainted with the history of Yalta, witness some outstanding sights of the city including Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, White Palace of Livadia, the Park of Livadia, and observation desk of original Castle Swallow’s Nest.

Escorted by your experienced guide you will start the tour in the centre of Yalta to head Livadia, one of the city districts. Once Livadia was a summer residence of Romanov dynasty and the last Russian tsar Nicolas II.

In Livadia you will visit White Palace of Nicolas II and walk through its spacious rooms to admire superb interior preserved from the tsar’s times. In 1945 it became a venue of Yalta Conference between Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill.  Livadia palace was turned into museum in 1974. The tour details the history of the palace erected in 1911 for tsar’s family. Surrounded by a well-appointed park laid out in the tsar’s times, Livadia Palace is the most imposing of all palaces in the South Crimea with a fantastic view of Yalta.

On this tour your will visit Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Traditional Russian style building of the cathedral was erected in the beginning of XX century. Light rosy colors make its appearance very festive and stylish. It is one of the most beautiful Orthodox temples of Yalta with rich Byzantium interior. The cathedral got its name after Alexander Nevsky, a saint patron of Russian tsars.

The tour includes visiting observation desk of a world-known symbol of Yalta and the Crimea, the Castle Swallow’s Nest.  Set on Aurora’s rocky cliff it overlooks Ai-Todor Cape, Yalta and the sea. Swallow’s Nest is the best place for taking photos and the most visited attraction of Yalta.

The tour will end with a short walking excursion along the seafront. Your guide will tell you about Yalta, its history, and the most significant events that took place here. On your wish you can end your tour on the seafront of Yalta for a meal in a pavement café. The tour has many photo opportunities and is very relaxing.

Yalta Highlights - Nikita Botanic Garden

Escape to the beauty and greenery of Nikita Botanic Garden on this open-air five-hour tour. The tour highlights Nikita Botanic Garden, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and ends with a short walking excursion along along seafront of Yalta. Welcome to the most exotic park of the South Crimea to admire the plants and learn some interesting details about their life. Great photo experience, the tour to Botanic Garden is always relaxing and picturesque.

You tour will start in the center of Yalta. Heading eastwards you will be in Nikita in only about 30 minutes of drive.  Nikita Botanic Garden has a collection of 28 000 species, varieties and hybrids of plants. The pride of the Nikita Botanical Garden is its park with about 2000 species of trees and shrubs. The park has more than 600 flowers types and some 200 species of hothouse plants. In different time of the year you can visit different flower exhibitions. There are tulips, orchids, roses, and chrysanthemum plant shows taking place in the garden from April to November. Blossoming period may vary from a few days to several weeks depending on the weather.

Fan-shaped Chinese palms, Bamboo grove, Italian pines, Lebanon cedars, California oak tree, myrtles, feijoa, orchid trees, palmetto, Aleppo pine, Numidian fir tree, Arizona cypress, red cedar, olives, Lebanese cedar, magnolia are only a few of all the exhibits you can see in the park.
The garden is divided into several smaller parks: Lower, Upper, Seaside Park and the park of Cape Martyan. During the excursion you will visit fenced Lover and Upper parks. The other parks you can visit optionally.

On this tour your will visit Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Traditional Russian style building of the cathedral was erected in the beginning of XX century. Alexander Nevsky was a saint patron of Russian tsars. The cathedral is still one of the most beautiful attractions of Yalta.

The tour will end with a short walking excursion along the seafront of Yalta. Your guide will tell you about Yalta, its history, and the most significant events that took place here. On your wish you can end your tour on the seafront of Yalta for a meal in a pavement café.

The tour to Nikita garden is enjoyed by tourists of any age. Dressing advice is comfortable shoes in any time of the year. You’ll spend most of the time in the open air.

Prices on request. Please inquire , advice how many people, dates, ship/cruise line

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