10 Tips for Your First Road Trip to Crimea

If you are planning to take a road trip to Crimea for the first time, then there are a few things you need to know.

Why should I choose a car for my trip?

Travelling to Crimea by car is your freedom of movement and a chance to see non-banal sights and places of the peninsula, which are usually not reached by a tourist bound by public transport.

Tips listed below will make your trip to Crimea enjoyable and full of memorable moments.

1. Mark each point of your journey before your trip.
2. Decide in advance where you will refuel the car.
3. Take the second driver on a journey.
4. On the way, choose a cafe near which many truckers stop.
5. Get ready for parking problems.
6. Save our money by choosing cheap accommodation far from the centre.
7. While paving the route take into account the quality of roads.
8. Don’t blindly trust GPS navigators; many road signs have been changed.
9. Refuel your car before the Crimean bridge.
10. Choose wild beaches where only a car can get.

Detailed information about each tip can be found below.

Use your car effectively. It makes no sense to go a long way in the car to the Crimea and spend the whole vacation in one resort.

There are a lot of natural and cultural attractions here. Making a route choose extraordinary places for travel.

The optimal travel route is the one in which you marked each route, stop, and even gas station. This is especially important if you are travelling with children and from afar, for example. There is the Internet where you can find out the smallest details about the road before starting. Do not be lazy and do it. Crimean rest by car will be easy if you think about these points in advance.

Petrol in Crimea is more expensive than in central Russia by almost 10%. Fill a full tank in the Krasnodar Territory before entering the bridge. However, in the Kuban, gasoline is also more expensive than in the middle lane - about 5%.

Moreover, gasoline at different gas stations differs in quality in Crimea. It’s worth refuelling only at trusted stations or where there are lots of clients.

There are several reasons for this tip:

Firstly, driving a car is quite difficult in Crimea. You can get tired quickly.

Roads in the mountainous Crimea (the entire coastline from Koktebel to Sevastopol) are countless turns, ascents and descents. Local people are familiar to these roads, they have a good reaction. If trips by car on serpentines are new for you, take your time. Drive at a speed convenient for you and keep to the right edge, passing cars behind you if there is such an opportunity.

Secondly, along the way, you will meet very picturesque places along the way. The driver is completely uncomfortable looking at them, and passengers get great pleasure from these landscapes. With the second driver, you would also be able to enjoy the nature of Crimea

Thirdly, driving style of southerners (Crimeans, Kubans) is very different from the style of Europeans. Be prepared for unpredictable behaviour, unwillingness to use turn signals, daring manoeuvres.

In Crimea, every tourist is likely to stumble on the poor quality of food, so take food in previously checked places or driving from one destination to another choose a cafe near which many truckers stop.

Throughout the route, you can find many cafes offering the most delicious Samsa. Not far from Feodosia there is a source of spring water. You should definitely stop and put it in your bottles.

If you park in the Crimea according to traffic rules, then you will never park. Parking rules and stops are violated by everyone: both local and vacationers. Violate you too, just do it elegantly and adequately, without creating emergency situations.

To save money, choose a hotel far from the coast and the city centre.

Use online services to find accommodation options in the private sector. But be prepared for language problems. Airbnb and Booking.com are also popular here

Camping is pleasant and economical. As a rule, the amount of luggage is enough to take camping equipment on a trip. The car will allow you to get to any vacation spots in the Crimea.

There are many campsites in the Crimea. But some of them do not work in the offseason. Therefore, you should call the selected campsite in advance and ask about business hours.

As of 2020, the quality of the coating is different. Ideal on the South Coast (Alushta, Yalta, Gurzuf, Alupka, etc.). Disgusting roads are in Sevastopol and its environs, in the Bakhchisarai district and along the road to Tarhankut. From the Crimean bridge over Simferopol to Sevastopol, the Tavrida highway is being built - the construction site interferes with traffic along the old road.

An ordinary four-wheel-drive car is perfect for the first auto trip to Crimea. Passable SUV is almost not needed here. Of course, you can’t drive to some places without all-wheel drive and high clearance, but there are few such points. You can get to them in another way: go hiking, rent a car or go on a jeep tour (here it is well developed). But the ordinary car will eat not so much gasoline, which is expensive in the Crimea.

Using mobile maps, many tourists in Crimea are faced with problems. For example, the GPS navigator indicates that you need to go straight, but in fact directly - oncoming one-way traffic. There are many new road signs on the roads that are not listed in the navigator.

Do not believe the prohibition signs. Is it written that the road is blocked? Do not listen - these are all fables! Feel free to drive through. We saw such signs on the roads to Ai-Petri, in Koktebel, Radiant (Demerdzhi Valley). Apparently, these signs are relevant only in winter due to possible collapses. Often there are old faded signs that no one removes.

Keep in mind that GPS navigators reduce the distance slightly since they do not take into account the terrain.

The Crimean bridge is 19 km long, plus there are no petrol stations on each side for 20-30 km. They began to build, but it takes time. Don't take the risk, because gas prices in Crimea are very high. It will be very problematic to get stuck in the middle of the Kerch Strait.

Urban beaches are crowded in high season. If you have the opportunity to get to the wild beach by car, you need to use this opportunity. In addition, there are incredibly beautiful landscapes. Even a steep descent to the beach itself can be beneficial to your health when you climb back after swimming.

Here are some wild beaches for you in Crimea:

• Cape Fiolent
• Golden Beach
• General's beaches
• Sand beam
• Chekhov's Bay
• Royal beach

Bonus Tip for Your First Crimean Road Trip

Need a car wash? Ask for a lower price, try to bargain. Bargaining is also relevant in the markets when purchasing excursions and entertainment.

Following these tips, you can make your trip to Crimea fun and pleasant Travelling by car without stress and discomfort is not a fairy tale. Try it and you won’t regret it.