Among the indisputable advantages of a “velvet” vacation are: quite comfortable weather, pleasant transparent sea, the opportunity to spend the whole day outdoors without the risk of getting a heat stroke or sunburn, soaking up new gastronomic experiences, visiting little-known locations… Crimean Travel Portal has collected 8 best ideas for you.
Swim in the sea which is still warm
Unlike other regions of Russia, the real autumn in Crimea comes, as a rule, towards the end of October – the beginning of November.
In September, the air temperature reaches +30°C, sea water – about +24°C. In the first half of October it is +20…+25°C outdoors, and +20 to +22°C at sea (depending on the coast). Therefore, you can still safely swim and take healthy sunbaths.
However, some desperate guies dare to dive even much later – in November, when the sea ceases to be "hospitable", and the air temperature does not rise above +15°C. The rest prefer to walk slowly along the promenade, exposing their face to the sea breeze, and just breathe, breathe, breathe…
Get healthy and get cashback
Everyone knows that autumn is the perfect time for recovery. After all, you need to prepare the body for a long winter, increase immunity in order to pick up sores as rarely as possible. Therefore, if you want to take care of yourself, we advise you to take a health resort program. And at a lower price compared to summer.
In the program: climatotherapy, landscape therapy, sea therapy, herbal and aromatherapy, balneotherapy, mud therapy and much more. In addition, almost every major hotel in Crimea has a SPA center where vacationers can visit the bath complex, swim in the pool, get beauty treatments, etc.
By the way, we remind you that just now the next, autumn period of tourist cashback is on the way. Until September 10, you can book a stay at any hotel or health resort in Crimea, participating in the Rostourism program, and get back up to 20% of the cost of your tour. You can go on a trip from October 1, and you need to return no later than December 25. Details of the action and the list of the partners are on the website.
Enjoy the colors of nature and take memorable photos
In autumn, the nature of Crimea is transformed, changing the green outfit for a whole variegated color — crimson, yellow, orange. The riot of colors is especially noticeable on the South Coast of the peninsula, in a mountainous forest area, so take a camera or just a phone with a good camera, jump into the car and go to the brightest photo session of your life!
By the way, vineyards are considered one of the top autumn photo locations. They are spread out in Greater Yalta, in Solnechnaya Dolina, Balaklava and Bakhchisaray District. They are clearly visible from the road, you will not pass by.
And you can (and should!) take incredible pictures during the traditional chrysanthemum ball in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, which starts in October. By the way, there is also a botanical garden in Simferopol. Here, next to the old Vorontsov mansion (often called the "house with lions"), a huge old plane tree grows. In autumn it covers everything around with a golden carpet – to the delight of amateur photographers.
Go terrenkur and walk the nature reserve paths
The velvet season is ideal for terrenkur – hiking along mountain paths. Terrenkur, by the way, is one of the main methods of treatment in climatotherapy.
The most famous eco-trails are on the South Coast: Botkinskaya, Taraktashskaya, Tsarskaya (Solnechnaya), Koreizskaya, Shaitan-Merdven and Biyuk-Isar trails. Active tourists also choose the most popular tourist location in Noviy Svet – the Golitsyn trail, which, by the way, was further improved this year. And, of course, the Great Sevastopol Trail, which goes from Balaklava to Lyubimovka, is in the top.
An excellent option is to visit the famous Crimean naturereserves: Yalta mountain forest, Opuksky, Kazantipsky, Swan Islands, Karadagsky, as well as the Crimean National Park. All of them are federal. We once wrote more about the reserves and the rules for visiting them here.
And in autumn, when there is no sweltering heat, it's time to climb one of the mountain peaks of the peninsula – Ai-Petri, Demerdzhi, Chatyr-Dag, Ayu-Dag, Kara-Dag, Roman-Kosh, to have a walk in the cave towns – Chufut-Kaleh, Mangup-Kaleh, Eski-Kermen, to have an unforgettable picnic, for example, on the unique Cape Tarkhankut, on the picturesque Cape Fiolent or the mysterious Cape Meganom.
Taste the entire enogastronomic palette of Crimea
It is believed that autumn is the best time for enogastronomic tourism. And we have a list of top delicacies for you.
For wine connoisseurs:
- The famous and oldest wineries of the peninsula will help you to know the taste of Crimea, offering guests not only tastings, but also fascinating excursions around the production facilities: these are Massandra, Noviy Svet, Koktebel, Solnechnaya Dolina (Sunny Valley), Zolotaya Balka (Golden Gully).
- If you want something more unusual, visit the ultramodern gravity winery Alma Valley, or the wine tourism center WINEPARK, where guests are served by a robot sommelier, or the wine park of the Valley of St. Savva, among the "baits" of which are musical evenings in the old 1882 cellar and jeep tours of the vineyards.
- And for the most discerning public – the Syndicate – a new wine club in Yalta. It is on the territory of Mordvinovsky Park, in the Uch-Cham mansion of Princess Maria Baryatinskaya. It offers five themed tasting rooms where you can learn, for example, about 'garage' and gravity winemaking, about the production of sparkling wines and even plunge into the atmosphere of the beginning of the XIX century. We have told you more here.
For lovers of delicacies:
- As it is impossible to imagine Crimea without wine, so it is impossible to imagine it without seafood. We advise you to taste the traditional Crimean fish – flounder, barabula (sultanka), horse mackerel, sargan, lufar, silver carp, Kerch herring and hamsa, Azov gobies. And if you are a gourmet – oysters, mussels and rapanas. Learn more here.
- Well, they say it's hard to surprise many people with oysters today. But what about snails? Not so long ago, two snail farms appeared in Crimea, offering tours with tastings and master classes on cooking this extravagant delicacy. One farm is located in the vicinity of Alushta (the village of Verkhnyaya Kutuzovka) and bears the cute name "Mama Dyoma", the second is right on the Sudak – Grushevka road, in the village of Perevalovka.
- And, as you know, the peninsula is famous for its Crimean Tatar, Karaite, Ukrainian, Armenian, Georgian, Jewish, Greek cuisine.
- We also recommend including in the collection of our gastronomy impressions: the only plant in the South of Russia for the production of grape seed oil V1VO and cheese factories.
- And, of course, do not forget to replenish the reserve of vitamins with: watermelons, melons, grapes, apples, pears, figs, ziziphus (Chinese date), dogwood, persimmon – all these gifts of nature delight us in the velvet season.
Try yourself as a climber and not only
If you have long dreamed of tickling your nerves, for example, mountaineering or rock climbing, then now it is the best time. Just imagine: you are diligently climbing a rock, sweat floods your face, the sun glares mercilessly… Yes, it is precisely like this… but only in summer. In autumn it's quite a different matter. You will certainly have to sweat, but in any case, your adrenaline adventure will turn out to be much more comfortable.
The top climbing and climbing locations are on the South Coast (these are Simeiz, Foros, Laspi, Ai-Petri), on the southeast coast (Sudak, Novy Svet), in the Bakhchisaray region. An easier option for beginners is via ferrata (a rock route equipped with a stationary steel cable). The most popular and longest via ferrata is laid on the slopes of the Delikli-Burun and Ilyas-Kaya mountains. We have told where to experience mountain adrenaline and which companies to apply for the related services here.
However, in autumn it is worth doing other extreme sports – surfing, diving, rope jumping, kayaking, going deep into a cave, paragliding or parachuting…
Find out what museums offer something new or unusual
Visiting iconic palaces and museums is a must for any tourist. Especially if, in addition to traditional excursions, you are offered something new, unusual.
For example, the Livadia Palace has recently opened two unique attractions to the public – the royal solarium on the roof and the royal tower.
Tauric Chersonesos fully agrees with the fact that September is the fourth month of summer: in the first month of autumn, open-air performances on ancient themes will continue to be shown there and night excursions around the territory of the ancient polis will be held.
The Balaklava underground museum complex, opened after reconstruction last year, invites you to three new quests. So, visitors can turn into members of the cybersecurity squad, find themselves in a real bunker during a nuclear attack and uncover the secret of an underground town. In addition, guests can enjoy a new excursion route that runs directly under the S-49 submarine. More details — here.
In addition, at the end of July, the long-awaited opening of the Taurida cave took place. The age of it, according to scientists, is approximately 5 million years. So far, only 500 meters of the excursion route are available to visitors. It will take an average of 45-50 minutes to go. You can buy tickets and find out other details on the Tavrida website.
And in August, after three years of repair, the Alushta Museum of Local History and Local Lore began to work again, which was replenished with new artifacts and expositions. What we saw there – read here.
Visit little-known estates
First of all, we advise you to visit the miracle castle on Salgir — the Kessler-Fersman estate in the Simferopol District, in the village of Fersmanovo. Guests can not only stroll through the picturesque area, but also see a large exposition dedicated to the former owners of the castle.
Tour guide Dina Mulyanova told the Crimean Travel Portal about other little-known estates of Crimea, which in autumn begin to attract the attention of connoisseurs of architectural, cultural and historical sights:
- Near Simferopol, in the village of Kashtanovoyeh, there is the former estate of Sably, which belonged to the governor of Taurida, Andrei Borozdin. The manor house, the fountain, the old park and even the family crypt with the remains of the temple have been preserved.
- Near Sevastopol, not far from the village of Verkhnesadovoye, you can see the so-called "Count's ruins". This is a once majestic estate that belonged to Christopher Kokoraki, the Greek, who settled in Crimea at the end of the 18th century. The main advantage of this place is a pool with clear water (water comes here from a spring which is a little higher in the mountains), and around there are picturesque forest thickets.
- The steppe of Crimea also has its own architectural riches. For example, in the Krasnogvardeisky District, in the village of Klepinino, the former late 19th century estate of the richest German Lustikh family, has been preserved. A beautiful well-groomed alley leads to the house. A carved wooden terrace, a double-leaf front door, an ancient fountain… They even plan to open a Steppe Museum in the building. According to Dina Mulyanova, it is definitely worth visiting when the trees shed their leaves.
And, of course, event tourism continues in the autumn in Crimea! The Crimean Travel Portal will traditionally tell its readers about the brightest and most significant festivals: follow our news and posters on travelcrimea.com. Have a great vacation!