Vacation in Simeiz - honest review

In a relatively turbulent time, many Svetlogorsk residents, and all Belarusians, are wondering where they can relax on the sea inexpensively and safely in 2022.

It would seem that today, in difficult times, both in economic and military-political terms, well, for sure, the most accessible horizons for summer holidays are possible only within your dacha or in your grandmother's village.

Of course, Turkey, Egypt, the UAE, Indonesia and further away, there are options now. Travel companies are looking for some options in order to amuse not the poorest tourist, taking into account today's prices and increased inflation, plus various surcharges for overflights of unsafe waters of the airspace.

However, there are still cheaper options. And in its picturesqueness and healthfulness, well, certainly not inferior to the above listed resorts!

And, of course, this is the forgotten Crimea.

We will reveal for many a little secret - how to get to the Crimea today for a Belarusian and which resort to give preference to regarding price-quality.

Many today are abstracting from the Crimea, linking it with the military events taking place in Ukraine, believing that it is not safe to go there, and it is very expensive.

In July 2022, we decided to assess the situation ourselves for the compliance of an inexpensive vacation on the peninsula and reveal some issues of safety, picturesqueness, food and housing prices, and leave a review on all this.

How to get to Crimea from Belarus

The goal is to get from Svetlogorsk (Gomel region) to Crimea ...

Trains do not run, and going through Moscow, Smolensk or Krasnodar, with transfers is not the same.

Of course, you can also drive your own car, but «to saw » more than 2,000 km in one direction, somehow …. plus the car, traffic jams, hassle are also not the same.

And then we accidentally find out that a regular bus runs almost daily in the summer Minsk-Yalta. It would seem that more than a day on the road, on the bus …?.

But we decided. I really wanted the sea and mountain air for the children, especially since we haven't been there for so long. And they didn't regret it.

We were pleasantly surprised - buses today have a different level of comfort and the price is quite acceptable, so that the whole family can go anywhere in the Crimea inexpensively and not be tied to any dates - we come and go (at least for a week, at least for a month, as it is convenient for yourself), as regulated by many travel companies. I chose an online round-trip date, paid for it, and it remains only to arrive on time at the landing site.

The bus is on the road for about 30 hours without any obstacles (customs) along the way with periodic sanitary stops (every 4 hours) and snacks.

We thought it would be difficult to move the road, but surprisingly everything is very good. 

The cost of the road (Zhlobin –Yalta) in one direction for an adult from Zhlobin cost 199 BYN, for a child under 12 years old – 139 BYN. Unfortunately, the bus does not go through Svetlogorsk. The whole family got to Zhlobin by taxi - 45 BYN.

As a result, the total cost of the round trip cost 1,568 BYN.

The road is safe, the Crimean Bridge was passed without problems, there were no hints that there were any disturbances here.

The picturesqueness of the Crimea. We are going to the YBK – vacation in Simeiz

Well, if, as they say, "the light is not close" to the Crimea, we decide to stay here for 21 nights and where it is still warm (sea, climate, views).

Choose Simeiz.

Simeiz is a seaside climatic resort of the Southern coast of Crimea, located on the southern slope of the Crimean Mountains, located 20 km from Yalta.

I've never been to Simeiz. Back in Ukraine, they visited the Crimea, Feodosia, Sudak, Alushta, Koktebel, but they did not stay so long on the YBK.

Well, it's something with something. Such landscapes, sea, mountain terrain. We plunged into such a natural harbor that we wanted to stop time even when we first arrived in this fairy tale - Simeiz.

A very beautiful place !

3 weeks of rest on such a beach!

The water is clean, and I didn't want to leave the sea. Juniper is all around and you are constantly breathing these medicinal phytoncides, catching the mountain-sea breeze that creeps along the entire coast.

Simeiz is a fabulous place for its picturesqueness and healing, drowning in subtropical palm trees, cypresses and junipers.

There is, however, one such small negative – this is a lot of abandoned sanatoriums and pioneer camps in the village that still functioned during the Soviet era, and today they are just overgrown with moss and causing a little sadness … A certain nostalgia, about that distant time, at the sight of all this.

Food and housing prices in Simeiz

First impressions of Simeiz - it will be expensive ! And some sources have reported that this is by no means the cheapest resort in Crimea.

As they say - beautiful, but expensive.

But to our surprise, something didn't seem so to us. Either that there were not many people, compared to last year, or against the background of the war in Ukraine and the transition of Kherson under Russian control.

The prices of products in Simeiz for some positions were even lower than Belarusian ones. This concerned primarily vegetables and fruits. Which is especially important for vacationers. Milk and meat products (sausages) were higher than ours, but it didn't bother us much, because Simeiz, after all, is a resort town.

The most popular and relatively inexpensive grocery store in Simeiz called "Ulyanovsk".

Full photo report of prices in July 2022 in this store for the most popular types of products.

Not bad, by choice and prices, there is also a shop on the ring, where the main transport hub of the village is located - the main stop of public transport. Minibuses run to Yalta - numbers 142, 107, 115.

By the way, bus No. 115 is the longest on the way, but the reviews are certainly impressive. It goes through the Vorontsov Palace (Alupka), the cable car to Ai-Petri, the Livadia Palace and other attractions of the Crimea.

In general, the price range of the product line was at a very attractive level not only for Belarusian vacationers, but also for Russians.

Vegetables and fruits were mostly bought at the local grocery store (a store like a regional store in Belarus).

In the Simeiz market, the price tag was not much more expensive. If desired, you could take a minibus to Yalta (19 kilometers from the village) to the city market, where the choice of products was larger.

It's not cheap to eat in local cafes and canteens, so they didn't often go there.

They preferred vegetables and fruits more, which they never denied themselves, and they cooked something themselves quickly, without much strain.

On the seashore, the price tag is higher – multiply boldly by 1.4 from the store price in the village itself.

The expenses for food and food for the entire stay in Crimea amounted to 66,000 RUB or in Belarusian rubles (at the rate of 3.8 BYN per 100 RUB) this is 2,508 BYR.

The accommodation was rented via the Internet, having previously booked it (a month before the trip). The apartment was not considered, they wanted more, something like a private household with a gazebo and its own courtyard.

Found a great option regarding price-quality. The location was very important, given the mountainous terrain of Simeiz and the difficulty of constant ascents for children.

In fact, on the spot, the price tags were slightly lower than our reservation, as people went to the Crimea a little this year due to problems with planes, trains and certain unrest against the background of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.

The cost of housing for 21 nights cost us 54 100 RUB or converted into Belarusian rubles 2 056 BYR.

Apartments for such a price, taking into account the location, were quite satisfied. Everything is neat and clean. To the sea (the beach at the Diva rock – the main attraction of Simeiz) 7 minutes slowly, the entire infrastructure (shops, market, cafes, transport, the central alley of the village) is nearby. The location couldn't be better for a family holiday.

In addition to daily lying on the beach, we often visited Yalta itself, were on some excursions (Ai-Petri, Cape Fiolent, Balaklava -G. Sevastopol) and in other places of Greater and Lesser Yalta.

That's how these 21 days and nights of unforgettable rest in the most picturesque place of the Crimea flew by.

And now we can say one thing - after all, there are good places where you can relax on the sea inexpensively and for Belarusians who have missed the beautiful, native and relatively near Crimea so much.

The total cost of the holiday for 21 days (2 adults + 2 children) cost us 6 132 BYN (161 368 RUB or 2 358 USD).

• round trip - 1,568 BYN (41,263 RUB or 603 USD)
• accommodation - 2,056 BYN (54,100 RUB or 791 USD)
• + food + rest - 2,508 BYN (66,000 RUB or 965 USD)

For reference: Russian rubles for holidays were purchased at the rate of 3.8 BYR for 100 RUB.

Is it expensive or not in comparison, for example, with the same Turkey, evaluate for yourself.

Where you can relax on the sea cheap: vacation in Simeiz - from Svetlogorsk to Crimea – Something like that!