Yalta and Sevastopol - Do you dock in town?

[milagarcia]

Hello,

 

I am cruising to Yalta and Sevastopol and would like to know if the ship docks right in town, so you can walk off the ship into the city center, or if transportation is required to get into the towns.

 

Thanks so very much for any help.

 

Mila

[Adventures ahead]

Hello,

 

I am cruising to Yalta and Sevastopol and would like to know if the ship docks right in town, so you can walk off the ship into the city center, or if transportation is required to get into the towns.

 

Thanks so very much for any help.

 

Mila

 

Last August, on the small Pacific Princess, we docked right in town in Yalta. At 6am, tourists staying at hotels were already staked out on the beach and enjoying the water!

[roaming_kiwi58]

Last August, on a Black Sea cruise with Azamara, we docked right in town in both Yalta & Sevastopol. No transport necessary.

[John Bull]

Ditto the previous posters.

But we were all on small ships, up to about 30,000 tonnes, 700 passengers.

 

JB :)

[milagarcia]

Thank you all so very much. One follow up question. Are there taxi's available at the ports? I would like to visit only the Swallows Nest in Yalta, can I taxi or walk there and back?

 

Thank you again.

[John Bull]

Thank you all so very much. One follow up question. Are there taxi's available at the ports? I would like to visit only the Swallows Nest in Yalta, can I taxi or walk there and back?

 

Thank you again.

 

About 6 miles to Swallow's Nest. You wouldn't want to walk.:p

But plenty of vans & taxis at the port.

 

Best & most economical to share a van tour with others - if you don't go ashore mob-handed you can hook-up with fellow-cruisers on the quayside. Most folk will want to go to Livadia Palace (the Stalin/Roosevelt/Churchill Yalta Conference) about 3 miles from the port, then continue in the same direction to Swallow's Nest. Agree a price (excl admission) before you board, pay when you get back - it's the norm.

 

Similar tours are offered by ships. But apart from being more expensive and with the usual cattle-herding, because they're in large buses they can't get to Swallow's Nest - they only go to an overlook some distance away & with no access.

Ships' tours do of course have guides - if you go by van, make sure your driver has a reasonable command of English and that he'll go into Livadia Palace with you, otherwise it'll make little sense to you.

 

That van tour is likely to take only around 3 hours, leaves you half the day to wander Yalta.

Yalta hasn't much to offer, but the centre is compact & close to the ship. Interesting wandering around the large market - not a tourist market or fruit & veg market, more like a mini town centre with shacks & stalls instead of shops, selling everything from household stuff to supplies for DIY.

Or there's the beach, right by the town centre & close to your ship.

 

If you only want to visit Swallow's Nest you can negotiate a taxi, about 20 minutes each way. Best to have the driver wait there for you. Not much to see & the place may not be open but a pleasant place for a beer or a coffee with a view, 30 to 60 minutes there would be plenty.

 

I just know you're going to ask the cost of the tour. ;)

Can't remember.:o

We paid in local currency, inexpensive, IIRC equivalent of around $15 plus inexpensive admissions & refreshments.

 

A good day, but nowhere near as interesting as Sevastopol, the jewel in a Black Sea cruise & where you'll have to choose between many places of interest. Do make sure the 360deg Panorama is one of them.

The Panorama & the submarine base at Balaklava are closed to the general public on mondays. Ships' tours run on mondays, local van tours hired at the port can also get into the Panorama on Mondays, & we even met some independents in there. But for Balaklava submarine base, on a Monday it has to be a ship's tour.

The Valley of Death (Charge of the Light Brigade), between Sevastopol & Balaklava is just an indistinct valley, pointless without a very good guide to point out where & how the battle unfolded. There's only a small memorial and the earthworks of a nearby gun position, though some WW2 artefacts at Sapun Hill which overlooks the valley..

 

JB :)

Edited January 20, 2014 by John Bull

[milagarcia]

About 6 miles to Swallow's Nest. You wouldn't want to walk.:p

But plenty of vans & taxis at the port.

 

Best & most economical to share a van tour with others - if you don't go ashore mob-handed you can hook-up with fellow-cruisers on the quayside. Most folk will want to go to Livadia Palace (the Stalin/Roosevelt/Churchill Yalta Conference) about 3 miles from the port, then continue in the same direction to Swallow's Nest. Agree a price (excl admission) before you board, pay when you get back - it's the norm.

 

Similar tours are offered by ships. But apart from being more expensive and with the usual cattle-herding, because they're in large buses they can't get to Swallow's Nest - they only go to an overlook some distance away & with no access.

Ships' tours do of course have guides - if you go by van, make sure your driver has a reasonable command of English and that he'll go into Livadia Palace with you, otherwise it'll make little sense to you.

 

That van tour is likely to take only around 3 hours, leaves you half the day to wander Yalta.

Yalta hasn't much to offer, but the centre is compact & close to the ship. Interesting wandering around the large market - not a tourist market or fruit & veg market, more like a mini town centre with shacks & stalls instead of shops, selling everything from household stuff to supplies for DIY.

Or there's the beach, right by the town centre & close to your ship.

 

If you only want to visit Swallow's Nest you can negotiate a taxi, about 20 minutes each way. Best to have the driver wait there for you. Not much to see & the place may not be open but a pleasant place for a beer or a coffee with a view, 30 to 60 minutes there would be plenty.

 

I just know you're going to ask the cost of the tour. ;)

Can't remember.:o

We paid in local currency, inexpensive, IIRC equivalent of around $15 plus inexpensive admissions & refreshments.

 

A good day, but nowhere near as interesting as Sevastopol, the jewel in a Black Sea cruise & where you'll have to choose between many places of interest. Do make sure the 360deg Panorama is one of them.

The Panorama & the submarine base at Balaklava are closed to the general public on mondays. Ships' tours run on mondays, local van tours hired at the port can also get into the Panorama on Mondays, & we even met some independents in there. But for Balaklava submarine base, on a Monday it has to be a ship's tour.

The Valley of Death (Charge of the Light Brigade), between Sevastopol & Balaklava is just an indistinct valley, pointless without a very good guide to point out where & how the battle unfolded. There's only a small memorial and the earthworks of a nearby gun position, though some WW2 artefacts at Sapun Hill which overlooks the valley..

 

JB :)

 

JB Thank you sooooooooo much! what a great reply. I have stopped going to "palaces" so Yalta didn't really have much in the way of the tour. The only thing that looked interesting for just a view stop was the Swallows nest. But if its not a must see, I would rather just stay in town and visit the market you mentioned. that's much more my thing. Any other info on that would be great.

 

As for Sevastopol. I was thinking about only the Panarama and the submarine base. Should I take a guide for these two stops or can I hire a taxi once I get off the ship (assuming its not Monday). How long would those two take including travel time? Is the cold war museum in the same location?

 

thank you so much for your insight and assistance.

Mila

[John Bull]

JB Thank you sooooooooo much! what a great reply. I have stopped going to "palaces" so Yalta didn't really have much in the way of the tour. The only thing that looked interesting for just a view stop was the Swallows nest. But if its not a must see, I would rather just stay in town and visit the market you mentioned. that's much more my thing. Any other info on that would be great.

 

As for Sevastopol. I was thinking about only the Panarama and the submarine base. Should I take a guide for these two stops or can I hire a taxi once I get off the ship (assuming its not Monday). How long would those two take including travel time? Is the cold war museum in the same location?

 

thank you so much for your insight and assistance.

Mila

 

Hi Mila.

 

You could take a taxi to Swallow's nest, take in the view from the overlook, drive down to it, have a lazy coffee, drive back. Would take about 60 to 90 minutes. Don't know the cost, you can ask drivers at the port gate & decide on the spot.

Walking the market & town would bore you after a couple of hours or less.

 

 

As you've probably figured, we were in Sevastopol on a Monday. Shared a van hired at the port gate for the morning, took ship's tour to Balaklava in the afternoon.

Even though it's not a Monday, you might consider doing the same.

 

The submarine base really needs a guide & I don't know if one is supplied for individuals who turn up. Tour also includes Sapun Hill, Lord Raglan's vantage point for the Charge of the Light Brigade, where the guide explains the background & points out where & how it happened. But if that doesn't interest you, you can slide away to look at the Russian WW2 monument, tanks & vehicles at the same place, which was the site of a fierce Russian/German battle. Tour ends with a little free time in Balaklava, tiny place, little of interest, but we enjoyed a beer on a terrace overlooking the submarine entrance.

Google puts the submarine base at Balaklava at 10 miles / 25 mins from the port.

 

I don't know if the "cold war museum" refers to the submarine base at Balaklava or some other museum in the Sevastopol area.

 

The Panorama you can easily do yourselves by taxi. Or on foot if you're berthed where we were, about 1.5 miles, 30 minute walk. If you want the taxi both ways, best to get the driver to return for you in about 90 minutes.

 

JB :)

[milagarcia]

Hi Mila.

 

You could take a taxi to Swallow's nest, take in the view from the overlook, drive down to it, have a lazy coffee, drive back. Would take about 60 to 90 minutes. Don't know the cost, you can ask drivers at the port gate & decide on the spot.

Walking the market & town would bore you after a couple of hours or less.

 

 

As you've probably figured, we were in Sevastopol on a Monday. Shared a van hired at the port gate for the morning, took ship's tour to Balaklava in the afternoon.

Even though it's not a Monday, you might consider doing the same.

 

The submarine base really needs a guide & I don't know if one is supplied for individuals who turn up. Tour also includes Sapun Hill, Lord Raglan's vantage point for the Charge of the Light Brigade, where the guide explains the background & points out where & how it happened. But if that doesn't interest you, you can slide away to look at the Russian WW2 monument, tanks & vehicles at the same place, which was the site of a fierce Russian/German battle. Tour ends with a little free time in Balaklava, tiny place, little of interest, but we enjoyed a beer on a terrace overlooking the submarine entrance.

Google puts the submarine base at Balaklava at 10 miles / 25 mins from the port.

 

I don't know if the "cold war museum" refers to the submarine base at Balaklava or some other museum in the Sevastopol area.

 

The Panorama you can easily do yourselves by taxi. Or on foot if you're berthed where we were, about 1.5 miles, 30 minute walk. If you want the taxi both ways, best to get the driver to return for you in about 90 minutes.

 

JB :)

 

thanks again JB. lots of help!!!

[sjaak]

Last October we've visited both places with the Celebrity Constellation and had to tender in both ports. Yalta was a very, very bumpy ride!

 

In Sevastopol definitly take a guided tour. We just walked around to do some sightseeing and although we walked for about 3 hours, we didn't see anything particularly interesting. Also, untill we reached port again, we found no place to eat, drink or use a restroom!

 

In Yalta I got of the ship early in the morning to take a walk on my own. I walked for about 15 kilometers and it is just a very nice town to walk around. In summer Yalta attracts lots of Russian tourists and it has a very nice boulevard with some high end stores. I never felt unsafe carrying my expensive camera with me (but I kept walking at a steady pace). I walked all the way up (I noticed the next day it was more up than I experienced at the moment :D ) to the Cathedral.

 

In the afternoon we had booked a guided tour through Celebrity to Yalta's palaces which was interesting. If you go on your own, without a guide, keep in mind that inside the palaces or the churches there will be some written information but only in Russian. I didn't see a word English, not even at the Livadia Palace.

 

My blog is in Dutch but has lots of pictures, so if you look for the entries for Sevastopol and Yalta you will get a good idea of what to expect.

[4774Papa]

On Celebrity Constellation, we tendered into both port. In fact, at Yalta tendering was halted due to stormy seas and high winds.