Yalta DIY?

[Xoe]

I'll be in Yalta, on Pacific Princess, on Sunday November 11. I'm considering a 4-hour ship tour to see Livadia and Alupka Palaces, then walking on my own.

 

Would it be workable to do it all on my own, mainly walking? I was in Yalta once, in 1989, but my memories of details are not clear. I'll appreciate any help you have to offer!

[Travel Girl TX]

We did a 5 hour tour with a Cruise Critic group that included the Livadia and Alupka Palaces, Chekhov's House, and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The tour was outstanding! We returned to the port at the end and instead of returning to the ship we decided to walk around and explore.

 

There is a nice park near the pier. My favorite photo is this one of the Lenin statue looking over the McDonalds.

 

 

The front of the statue with the beautiful mountains in the background.

 

There were some shops and restaurants around, but we did not see too much else to explore within walking distance.

 

We loved our day in Yalta.

[Xoe]

It seems my plan to do a half-day tour, then go on my own may be workable.

 

I have nice memories, and a couple photos, of a wonderful water-view walking promenade in Yalta on which an artist was doing rather good charcoal portraits of passersby for a reasonable price. Despite it being January (1989), the weather was mild and sunny and there were many folks out walking. We had some interesting communications, including considerable sign language, with locals. My roommate for that trip, which was as a singer in a 100-voice chorus on concert tour, spoke some Russian -- very helpful! It was a pivotal time in the last days of the USSR . . . concerts in Leningrad, Yalta, Alushta, Kiev, and Moscow. I've wanted to go back, and now will be.

[Travel Girl TX]

You will have a great day in Yalta with that plan and making your comparisons between Yalta then and now. Yes, along the waterfront there was a nice promenade. Everyone we encountered in shops and touring around in Yalta spoke English.

[delraydoll]

If you have any info on the guide used in Yalta, please provide as we're thinking about doing Insignia's May 2014 Black Sea cruise. If we actually put a deposit down, I might try to arrange a tour for a small group. Please email me direct at cyr13408@gmail.com. Thanks.