Holidays in Gaspra - how to get there, what to see, where to stay

General information, holidays in Gaspra, pros and cons of the resort

Gaspra is one of the resort villages of Bolshaya Yalta on the southern coast of Crimea, located 10 kilometers from the city center (Gaspra on the map of Crimea). It is the largest of all settlements Yalta, its population is more than 12 thousand people. For comparison, about 75 thousand people live in Yalta itself. We can even say that Gaspra is almost a small city in terms of the development of its infrastructure. However, this beach resort has its own characteristics that will not appeal to every vacationer.

The fact is that despite the development of urban infrastructure and good long beaches, this resort cannot boast of a cozy atmosphere and comfortable accommodation for vacationers. In Soviet times, the resort developed as a popular place for sanatorium recreation of the working class and various departments, for which large departmental sanatoriums and dispensaries with their own territory were opened here. The "Soviet" arrangement was replaced by "wild" capitalism, and a chaotic redistribution of territories and illegal development began. Together with the complex geography of this place, because the village is located on a steep coastal slope, today the resort has turned into a maze of narrow streets, closed areas, fences and dead ends. There is only one street for access to the main beach, which leads downhill with a height difference of about 65 meters (this is about 20 floors), and other beaches are closed or blocked by sanatoriums. Ie, on the one hand, there are all the conditions for a good beach holiday, but on the other, to get to the beach – this is still a "quest".

A lot of complaints from holidaymakers are caused by the dull state of the streets, the promenade and the beaches. A lot of it is in poor or terrible condition, requires repair and reconstruction, and clearly does not pull for the title of "resort of the year". Many streets in the center do not even have basic night lighting and sidewalks along the highways. However, in fairness, let's say that now the work on the arrangement is being carried out, but for the period of repair on vacation it only becomes less comfortable.

Nevertheless, despite the problems of the resort, tens of thousands of vacationers come here every year, and most of them leave happy and tanned. And the secret of a successful holiday, as always, is very simple – you just need to choose a suitable place for yourself, for which you need to take into account, among other things, the disadvantages of the resort that you are ready to put up with. In our opinion, it is worth choosing Gaspra as a place to relax if you plan to stay here in one of the sanatoriums or hotels like a boarding house on the first line or with your own beach, and at the same time, apart from accommodation in a comfortable room and access to the beach, you don't need anything. If you are traveling on your own and prefer to save during your vacation, or you need more activities and entertainment.

Beaches in Gaspra

Gaspra has a good, one might even say beautiful coastal strip, which offers views of the steep coastal slopes, covered with greenery. But these slopes are at the same time one of the problems of the beaches of Gaspra. To get from the center of the village to the public city beach, you will have to descend at least 65 meters in height, and if you stopped further beyond the Alupka highway, then even more. And everything would be fine, but you still have to climb back up…

You can alleviate your lot if you use the cable car of the Marat Hotel. It starts in the conditional center of the village from the stop "Marat" and the supermarket PUD, and leads to the main public beach. But such a pleasure will cost you very expensive - from 200 down, and 300 rubles up. It doesn't seem to be very expensive for one time, but if you use the cable car every day, and even with your family ... another option is the elevator of the Dnipro sanatorium. It costs only 100 rubles, but is located away from the center and leads to the sanatorium beach "Dnepr".

And now about the beaches themselves. They are pebbly, the pebbles are small and medium, sometimes even turns into coarse sand. The coast is well cleaned, there are no stones and concrete blocks, as, for example, in the neighboring Mishor or even further in Alupka. The water in Gaspra is famous for its purity and transparency, you can even see fish underwater and jellyfish. By the way, jellyfish in the Black Sea are completely safe.

The main public recreation area on the shore in Gaspra is a coastal strip with a length of almost a kilometer (public Gaspra beach on the map). Here, one after another, there are beaches named "Marat", "Yasnaya Polyana", municipal, "Rodina", "Rubicon", "Dnepr". But there are actually no borders and sections between them, and the names simply differ in belonging to sanatoriums. But at the same time they are all public and free.

Along these beaches stretches the promenade, on which rare cafes, the sale of drinks, ice cream and all kinds of fast food are chaotically located. The prices here are high even by Yalta standards, but there is nowhere to go, because it is very far to the nearest store, or rather, high.

Among the amenities there are free changing cabins, shade canopies and deck chairs for rent from 250 rubles / day, toilets from 30 rubles. For some reason, there is no water entertainment on the beaches of Gaspra. At least, we have not seen them here during our trips. In general, everything here is minimal, but on the other hand, everything you need for a simple beach holiday is here.

In addition, there are closed sanatorium beaches in Gaspra. One of them is the famous beach under the Swallow's Nest Palace (Pearl beach on the map). It belongs to the sanatorium "Pearl", the administration of which illegally considers it its private property and does not allow anyone there through its territory. Now, by the way, this sanatorium is under repair. The situation is similar with the beach of the sanatorium "Parus": repairs are underway, no one is allowed to go ashore either (Parus beach on the map).

And another closed beach is located to the right of "Marat" - this is the beach of the sanatorium "Pine Grove" (Pine Grove beach on the map). This is a wonderful well-groomed beach, but to relax on it, you need to be a guest of this sanatorium, and you can book rooms in it at Ostrovok.ru.

Infrastructure in Gaspra

The Gaspra tourist center and the concentration of the urban and tourist infrastructure of the village were formed along the Alupkinskoe highway in the area of the Marat Sanatorium stop. It is in this place that the main pedestrian descent to the public beach and the cable car down to the shore are located, most of the shops are located, including the largest supermarket chain "Pud" in the village, and there is a brisk trade from tents and stalls with tourist goods and seasonal fruits. Here you can also find the sale of excursions, there are cafes and several canteens, there are ATMs.

There are several cafes on the embankment along the main public beach, fast food is sold and tour distributors work. But Gaspra Embankment can not be called a full-fledged walking area for evening promenades.

Hotels and accommodation in Gaspra, where to stay

In Gaspra you can find all types of accommodation: there is private accommodation for rent, inexpensive guest houses, several 2-4 star hotels and sanatoriums with their own territory and access to the beach on the first line. But given the peculiarities of geography and the arrangement of the resort, in our opinion, it is best to stay here in sanatoriums and hotels on the first line directly with access to the beach. Such options are quite expensive, but you will have to fork out for them if you don't want to go down to the beach every time and climb back up on foot to a height of about 20 floors or spend money on the ascent and descent by cable car. If such walks are not difficult for you, then you can choose any other option for recreation, as long as it is not too far from the main entrance to the beach at the stop "Sanatorium Marat".

Search and book hotels, apartments or apartments in Gaspra safely on these sites or through the search form from Ostrovok.ru:

• 🛌 Search for hotels in Gaspra on Ostrovok.ru
• 🛌 Search for affordable housing in Gaspra on Sutochno.ru (we recommend it, the bonus system works)
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Gaspra on Yandex.travel

If you are interested in accommodation with treatment or by type of boarding house, then such options can be found on these sites:

• 🛌 Search for sanatoriums in Gaspra on the website of the tour operator "Dolphin"
• 🛌 Search sanatoriums in Gaspra on Putevka.com

Weather and tourist seasons in Gaspra, when is the best time to go

• The tourist season in Gaspra opens in May, the first tourists to the resort begin to arrive already for the long weekend of the May holidays. However, it should be borne in mind that this is far from the beginning of the beach season. Only the most hardened can swim comfortably at this time, because the water temperature is not higher than 16C. But you can already sunbathe and walk around the sights.
• The real bathing season begins only in mid-June, and in rare years it may come a little earlier. Only in June, the water has already warmed up well near the shore, and the air temperature reaches +20C and above. At the same time, the ideal season for taking both sea and air baths is considered to be the period from July to August, and this is the peak season and the highest prices for holidays.
• The so-called "velvet season" takes place in September. This is the best time in terms of weather conditions and saving your wallet. The water has warmed up well all summer, and the air temperature is no longer so exhausting with heat. But the most important plus is that there are fewer vacationers on the beaches. During this period, housing and leisure prices are falling. This period lasts until mid-October, but it depends on the specific year.

Current weather in Gaspra and forecast

How to get to Gaspra

Gaspra Resort is located about 15 kilometers from the center of Yalta and 115 kilometers from Simferopol Airport (Gaspra on the map of Crimea). Because the settlement is part of Big Yalta, then almost all the ways here lead through Yalta, or rather through the large bus station of the city. Therefore, in addition to this instruction, we also advise you to read the detailed article how and how to get to Yalta on your own.

Gaspra does not have its own bus station or bus station, the nearest one is located a couple of kilometers away in the center of the neighboring resort Mishor (Koriez) on Alupkinskoe highway, 10 (Mishora bus station on the map). There you can buy tickets departing from almost any city in Crimea. But only very rare flights from/to Simferopol and the airport arrive and depart from here, and they do not go all year round, but only during the high tourist season. That is why in most cases you will have to transfer via Yalta. There is no building or waiting room at the bus station, it is only a small pavilion of the car station. It is open from 08:00 to 17:00 with a lunch break from 12:00 to 12:45, the phone number for inquiries is 8 (3654) 24-23-61.

If, despite all the difficulties, you still decided to get to Gaspra on your own, then from the cities and regions of the Russian Federation it can be done through the main transport hub of the Crimea – Simferopol, where there is a large airport and a junction railway station. Flights of planes and trains from most major cities and regions of the Russian Federation are operated to Simferopol all year round, and additional charter and regular flights are launched during the summer tourist season. For a trip in high season, it is better to purchase tickets in advance.

Learn more about all the ways, how and by what you can get to Gaspra, read here.

Attractions and entertainment in Gaspra

One of the most important and famous tourist symbols of the Crimea – the Swallow's Nest Palace is located in Gaspra, and this is a must-visit place on vacation. Also in the village there is the Charax Palace, the Church of St. Nina, the Romantic Alexandria Palace or Countess Panina, and the tourist walking "Sunny Path" begins here. This is where all the few sights of Gaspra end, but this does not mean that apart from the above, you will not be able to see anything else during your vacation in this village. So, on foot you can go to the neighboring village of Koreiz (Miskhor), where there are also several interesting places and one of the most popular attractions and entertainment of Yalta is the lower station of the cable car to Mount Ai-Petri. By bus, taxi or car, you can easily visit other interesting places within the Big Yalta during the day. Looks at this account of our separate guidebooks:

• Sights in Yalta - what to see
• Sights of Koreiz/Mishora - what to see

If you prefer to get acquainted with the sights not on your own, but in organized groups, then you can easily buy ready-made excursions in Gaspra. Of course, the choice and variety here is not as great as at major resorts, but you can visit all the most interesting places in Crimea from here. So, excursions to Bakhchisarai, Sevastopol, Balaklava, sightseeing tours of Yalta and Ai-Petri Mountain are offered. You can buy excursions on the streets and the embankment from distributors, or pick them up on these sites online:

• 📷 Search for excursions in Gaspra on Sputnik8.com
• 📷 Search for excursions in Gaspra (from Yalta) on Tripster.ru

Details about each of the attractions directly in Gaspra and how to visit them yourself here.