Yalta - Crimea, Ukraine

Yalta is the best knows tourist resort in Crimea, Ukraine. Yalta has earned its fame through a combination of its historical significance, abundance of historical monuments of interest, beautiful natural surroundings, and the prestige factor. 

Yalta is the most expensive resort in Crimea and the Ukraine, and hence attracts 'expensive' Russian and Ukrainian tourists

Yalta in Crimea, Ukraine is separated geographically from the rest of Crime and Ukraine by a high ring of mountains, which shelter it from the cold northern winds. In December of last year, I travelled to Yalta from Simferopol on a day trip. Simferopol is one and half hours drive inland from Yalta. It was blustery, cold and snowing in Simferopol, but in Yalta, the sun was shining, the only snow was in the mountains forming a backdrop to the town, and my thick winter coat came off for a glorious few hours strolling round the seafront. 

Yalta in Crimea, Ukraine is a great place to stroll round, and not just along the embankment, as most people do, but also up away from the wate around the 'suburbs' of Yalta. There are windy attractive roads, many old buildings of a variety of interesting styles style, interesting trees and plants, and spectacular views over the sea as you rise up into the hills. 

Yalta in Crimea, Ukraine has a very attractive seafront, which contains a large number of restaurants and cafes where you can sit and watch the locals and tourists of Yalta pass by. It is also full of the obligatory Ukrainian seaside tat; dress up as a king or queen and have your photo taken, test your strength on the power hammer machine, or have your photo taken with 2 black people dressed up as tribal warriors (its true - black people are such a rarity in Yalta, Crimea and Ukraine as a whole that locals pay to have their photo taken with them!) 

The beaches of Yalta in Crimea, Ukraine are not its strong point. Half of the embankment in Yalta is devoted to its port, and the other half does have a beach, but it is narrow and gets very crowded in summer. For most visitors from the West who travel to Yalta and Crimea as a whole this is not an issue however, as few of them come to Crimea for a beach holiday.

Yalta is worth staying on for at least a few days. As well as enjoying the atmosphere and sites and sounds of the town itself, there are many trips that can be made within the vicinity of the town. Located in the centre of Crimea's famed southern coast, Yalta gives easy access to day trips such sites as the Livadia palace where the leaders of USSR, USA and Great Britain carved up Europe after WW2, and Ai-Petri mountain, where one of the longest cable-car rides in Europe (3.5 km) takes you up to a dazzling peak 1234 meters above sea level. Also Yalta is a good place from which to undertake outdoor adventure activities such as hiking and climbing.

If you come to Ukraine and especially Crimea, then make sure you at the very least take a day trip to Yalta. It has been the choice of better off Russians and Ukrainians for generations. Yalta is an exotic and engaging destination, not quite like anywhere else in the world, and it deserves your attention at least once in your life.

You can get a wide range of accommodation in Yalta options. Want to check out the capital of Crimea? Go to accommodation in Sevastopol.

Check out the Yalta cable car and Russian imperial palaces tour!