7 days / 6 nights from £1,795 ppThis tour takes you to the breathtaking landscapes and rich history of the
Crimea. The first stop is
Yalta and the spectacular sea views from your sea side Hotel Oreanda. Here you are surrounded by the Black Sea, lush vegetation and mountains. Each day features well planned tours of surrounding historic and scenic places.
After 4 nights in Yalta, fly back to Kiev for 2 days and 2 nights of guided sighseeing. Kiev features wide boulevards, green parks and historic monestaries and churches such as St. Sophia Cathedral and Monastery and Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Monastery.
Package includes:
- Direct flights from London to Kiev on British Airways and from Kiev to Simferopol on Ukraine International Airlines (we can also arrange flights from other UK airports upon request).
- Airport transfers
- 4 nights Hotel Oreanda
- 2 nights Hotel Radisson, Kiev
- Full board – first meal dinner 22 Sep, last meal breakfast 28 Sep
- Private coach and English-speaking guide for programme as described above
- Entrance to Chekhov House Museum, Vorontsov Palace, Panorama Museum, Chersonesus, Livadia Palace, Massandra Winery, Nikitsky Botanical Gardens, Khan’s Palace, St Sophia Cathedral, Lavra Monastery
- All taxes
Guaranteed departure any time for a minimum of 2 passengers.
Discounts available for groups of more than 2 passengers
Grand Ukraine (Crimea and Kiev) Detailed Itinerary
DAY 1 Depart London Heathrow and arrive in Kiev. Change planes and continue on the short flight to
Simferopol. Transfer to
Yalta, which lies between the gently curving shore of Yalta Bay and Crimean mountains. Check in and dinner at OREANDA hotel
Accommodation: Oreanda Hotel is a 4 star hotel, originally built in 1907. It is located in the heart of Yalta, with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountain landscape, lush vegetation and the Black Sea. The Oreanda Hotel is within easy walking distance of all the resort's other main attractions. The hotel has undergone extensive renovation and modernization and offers 114 bedrooms with 21 junior suites, 14 suites and 5 luxurious apartments, all equipped and serviced to the standards expected from a four star hotel. Each room includes beds with orthopedic mattresses, under floor heating in all bathrooms and air conditioning. All bed linen, blankets and pillows are made from the most up-to-date anti allergic materials. Each room within the Oreanda has zone lighting, cosmetic mirrors, dressing gowns and slippers, hair dryers, noise and dust protection systems and satellite television offering a variety of programs in seven different languages across 50 channels. Each room is equipped with an electronic lock, personal safe, fire control system and an emergency call system in case of an accident.
DAY 2 Breakfast at the hotel. Full day tour of Yalta starting with a pleasant walk along the main town square, still named after Lenin, and the promenade, which leads to a small history museum and
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Continue by coach to the
Chekhov house-museum, garden and exhibition hall with innumerable editions of his works. In the afternoon visit
Alupka, the most exotic palace-park complex on the whole coast. Designed and built between 1828 - 1846 by English architects for the English-educated
Count Vorontsov, the palace is a bizarre combination of Scottish castle on its landward side and Arabic fantasy facing the sea. Dinner at the hotel
DAY 3 Breakfast at the hotel. Travel approximately 90 minutes by private transfer to
Sebastopol, which used to be a closed city during Soviet times. Located on an inlet of the Black Sea, Sebastopol is today a naval base and seaport with over 4000 monuments and sites of historical interest. Lying near the entrance to the port of Sebastopol are the ruins of
Chersonesus, a Greek colony founded in 422 BC. Later it passed into Roman, Byzantine and Genoese control. It is considered to be the birthplace of the Russian Orthodox Church. Some 40% of the 32 hectare site has been excavated to reveal the old port area, the theater, the mint for copper and silver and the site of the main square in the inland part of the city, all of which we shall visit in the morning. Next to the shoreline can be seen the homes and streets of this once thriving community. Here, too, are the
Roman baths, the 6th century basilica, one of fifteen churches discovered on the site, well preserved mosaic floors and a particular feature of Chersonesus, its fish reservoirs. For many with a particular interest in the Crimean campaign the highlight of this tour is likely to be the time spent at the
Panorama Museum. An evocative 360-degree painting merges into a relief model vividly capturing the siege by the British, French and Turks and defense of Sebastopol during 1854-55. Among highlights We will also visit The Valley of Death, the site of the
Charge of the Light Brigade. On the way back to Yalta we will make a short stop at very photogenic
Balaklava Harbour, the location of the main British base. Dinner at the hotel
DAY 4 Breakfast at the hotel. Morning visit to
Livadia Palace built in 1911 as a summer residence for Nicholas II in Italian Renaissance style with pretty Florentine and Arabic courtyards. In February 1945 Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchil held their
Yalta Conference here. Crimea now produces some very good vintages and this afternoon you’ll have an introduction to the regional wines with, of course, an opportunity to sample and purchase some of the best from the
Massandra winery. Even if you’re no gardener,
Nikitskiy Botanical Gardens, tumbling down of hillside to the sea, are well worth a visit for their beauty and excellent views. The gardens, founded in 1812, holds 28,000 species and varieties, including 2,000 types of rose. Dinner at the hotel
DAY 5 Breakfast at the hotel and check out. Afternoon visit to the small town of
Bakhchisaray. From the 15th century until 1783, Bakhchisaray (garden palace) was the seat of the Crimean khans. You’ll see there the
Khans’ Palace built primarily by Russian and Ukrainian slaves in the 16h century under the direction of Persian, Ottoman and Italian master builders, the Ambassador’s Gate, The Fountain of Tears, harem and historical museum. Continue to
Simferopol. Early dinner at local restaurant. Transfer to airport for flight to Kiev. Arrival transfer followed by check in at RADISSON SAS or RIVIERA hotel
Accommodation: The
Radisson SAS is housed in a building from 1903 and has been completely renovated to offer first class service. The hotel is within walking distance of government offices, numerous parks, golden churches and shops which line the city's main street, Khreschatyk. All 255 rooms are spacious and furnished in Scandinavian, Maritime and Italian styles. Free Broadband including high-speed and wireless Internet access is available throughout the hotel. Bistro Côté Est restaurant offers modern International cuisine, while Mille Miglia Ristorante & Enoteca serves fine Italian cuisine and has own wine bar. The K-Largo Cigar Bar is located in the lobby and is the place to enjoy a cocktail or snack after a long day of sightseeing or business meetings. Pace, the hotel's fitness club, has a gym, Finnish sauna, steam bath, and solarium, and also offers various massage treatments.
DAY 6 Buffet breakfast at the hotel. This morning we’ll visit
Kiev’s Old Town with its magnificent
St. Andrew’s church located at the top of the charming Andriyivsky uzvis. It is an inspired 1746-61 Baroque interpretation of the traditional Ukrainian five-domed, cross-shaped church by Rastrelli. The slender curves of its blue, white, gold and green exterior stand out against the skyline, perched up above the Podil district at the crest of the historic Upper Town, at the supposed site where the Apostle Andrew erected a cross. Visit to
St. Sophia Cathedral and Monastery complex with its magnificent frescoes and murals. It is the city’s oldest standing church built in 1017-1031 in honour of
Prince Yaroslav’s victory over a rival tribe Pechenegs. In the afternoon continue to the golden-domed
Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Monastery. The Caves Monastery was Kievan Rus first and for a long time most famous monastery. Spread across wooded slopes above the
Dnipro, it is a unique array of gold-domed churches, underground labyrinths lined with mummified monks, and elegant monastic buildings. Farewell dinner at local restaurant with folklore
DAY 7 Breakfast at the hotel and check out. Departure transfer