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

General information

Sevastopol (Sevastopol) is a major port city in the south-west of Crimea, the largest seaport of the peninsula (Sevastopol on the map of Crimea). It has the title of "Hero City", thanks to which it is one of the most popular sightseeing tourist destinations in Crimea. There is also a beach holiday in Sevastopol, but it is inferior in quality to traditional beach resorts, such as, for example, Yevpatoria, Yalta, Feodosia, etc.

In addition to the city itself, Sevastopol also includes other popular resorts, which, although they are independent vacation destinations, are connected to the center by a good urban or suburban bus service.:

• The village of Kacha is the farthest resort in the north with sandy and pebble beaches
• Orlovka Beach is a resort area formed around a long sandy beach
• Lubimovka settlement is a quiet peaceful village with a very long mixed sandy and pebble beach
• Uchkuyevka district is the beach closest to the center and a cozy resort area
• Balaclava is a very famous and picturesque village due to its attractions, but not very suitable for a beach holiday

With all the importance and popularity of Sevastopol, from a tourist point of view, it has not only advantages, but also objective disadvantages, which should be known before the trip:

Sightseeing holidays in Sevastopol

You can visit Sevastopol for sightseeing holidays with excursions that are offered at each resort of the Crimea; you can visit the city on your own for one day from the nearest beach resorts, for example from Yalta, Yevpatoria, Alushta; or you can come and settle in the center for a few days to visit museums and attractions. It's not worth going here for a long time for a sightseeing holiday, usually 2-3 days is enough to see all the most important things. About how and what to see in Sevastopol on your own, read here.

Beach holidays

Although Sevastopol is rarely perceived by tourists as a full-fledged beach resort, in fact there are opportunities for beach holidays here. Of course, there can be no talk of a normal beach holiday if you stay in the city center. But you can settle near one of the distant beaches, and if you want to see the sights or just walk around the center, you can get there by taxi or public transport.

The variety of beaches here is great. There are pebbly, sandy, rocky and concrete; wild and equipped. Almost any beach (with rare exceptions) can be reached by city buses or trolleybuses. In order not to make a mistake with the choice of beach, we advise you to familiarize yourself with our review of the beaches of Sevastopol, as well as read about the area to choose for a holiday in Sevastopol is here.

Infrastructure

Sevastopol is a big city, and therefore very heterogeneous in terms of urban and tourist infrastructure, i.e. it differs greatly from district to district. Which is good, all areas and distant beaches are interconnected by public transport, so you can easily and inexpensively move around. Although, of course, it would be better to have everything in one place, but in this case you need to choose other places to relax, for example, go to Yalta, Yevpatoria, Feodosia, etc.

Shopping in Sevastopol is well developed, but there are its own peculiarities. So, in the tourist area in the center there are only two familiar chain supermarkets PUD and Yabloko. Instead of supermarkets, there are small grocery stores with inflated prices (compared to chain stores) and there is a clothing market that serves as the main trading platform instead of the large shopping centers that are absent in the area. If you want to do serious and pleasant shopping in a modern shopping center, you will have to go far from the center to Sea Mall, Monsoon, Moskovsky, Lavanda Mall, New. Moreover, even in the remote resort villages of Lyubimovka, Uchkuyevka, Orlovka and Balaklava there are no usual supermarkets, and for the most part there are only small shops with groceries and essential goods.

If you need to buy excursions, you will find offers from distributors on the streets, as it happens in any other resort in Crimea. But excursions are not sold everywhere. So, it will be difficult to find distributors in the area at Cape Fiolent or if you stop in the Gagarinsky district, and in Orlovka and Lyubimovka the variety and frequency of excursions are not very large.

In order to eat for vacationers, difficulties in most cases will not arise, however, in some areas there are very few options for cafes and canteens, and prices are high. So, Orlovka and Uchkuyevka are not for the better in terms of the number of establishments, and there is a problem with catering on Fiolent in general. And in our opinion, the city center and Balaclava are famous for high food prices. Therefore, when choosing accommodation, we advise you to pay attention to the availability of a common or individual kitchen.

As for the use of cash and bank cards, you can optionally use both, there are no problems with accepting bank cards. In the markets, excursions and other tourist services are usually accepted in cash, but it is also possible to pay by transfer. There are no problems withdrawing cash from the card, there are a lot of ATMs in Sevastopol. Including in 2023, there were ATMs of the Savings Bank, where you can withdraw cash without commission.

Hotels and accommodation in Sevastopol, where to stay

Weather and tourist seasons in Sevastopol

The holiday season in Sevastopol and its beaches begins in May and lasts until September inclusive. At the same time, sightseeing holidays here take place all year round.

• 🌞 You need to go from June to August, and preferably after the second half of June. This is the hottest time of the year and comfortable for swimming and beach holidays.

• ⛅ You can go in May, September and October. Spring and autumn are also suitable for recreation in Sevastopol, but this time is not as hot as summer. Moreover, in May and early June, the weather often presents unpleasant surprises from rains, overcast skies and temporary cooling, so here's how lucky with the weather. It is much more comfortable to relax during the velvet season in September and early October, when the main flow of tourists decreases, accommodation prices drop significantly, and the weather is more predictable.

• 🌨 You should not go from November to April for a beach holiday. During these months it is too cold and uncomfortable for beach holidays and swimming, but it is quite possible to go here to explore the sights.

Current weather in Sevastopol and forecast

How to get to Sevastopol

Sevastopol is located in the western part of Crimea, 80 kilometers from Simferopol and 95 kilometers from the main airport of the peninsula (on the map). The resort is connected with the capital of the peninsula and the airport by frequent bus service. Also, a branch line of the railway leads to Sevastopol through Simferopol, and now you can get here by long-distance trains from the cities of the Russian Federation and by electric trains from the cities of Crimea. To begin with, here is a brief summary of all the ways to get to Sevastopol on your own:

• ✈ By plane to Simferopol airport , and from there by taxi from 1500 rubles or by direct bus from 330 rubles. From the bus station in Sevastopol, the hotel can be reached by city buses from 26 rubles or by taxi from 200 rubles.
• 🚆 By train to the railway station in Sevastopol (only from Moscow and St. Petersburg), and then from the railway station to the hotel can be reached by city buses from 26 rubles or by taxi from 200 rubles.
• 🚆 By train to Simferopol railway station (from other cities of the Russian Federation), and from there by taxi from 1200 rubles, or go on foot to the Kurortnaya/AC-2 bus station, from where buses cost from 300 rubles often depart to Sevastopol.
• 🚌 By bus from Simferopol, airport, Yevpatoria, Yalta and almost all major cities of Crimea.
• 🚗 By car across the Crimean Bridge and then along the Tavrida highway through Simferopol (this is the shortest and most optimal route), or along the southern coast of Crimea through Koktebel, Sudak, Alushta, Yalta (this is a scenic route, but much longer and, it may require an additional overnight stay on the way).
• 🛌 Buy a ready-made package tour with a transfer directly to the hotel without any worries.

Before planning an independent trip to Sevastopol, we advise you to check the prices for ready-made tours from Russian tour operators at no extra charge. If you buy such a tour in advance or "catch" hot prices, then you can relax with a tour with a flight and transfer in a good hotel at the price of a regular flight. You can find and book holidays in Sevastopol at prices directly from tour operators on these Russian tour search and booking sites:

• ✈ Tours to Sevastopol on Onlinetours.ru
• ✈ Tours to Sevastopol on Travelata.ru (🎁 here are the promo codes for a discount when buying)
• ✈ Tours to Sevastopol on Level.Travel

In detail about each of the ways, how to get to Sevastopol here.

Transport in Sevastopol, what to use for tourists

Sevastopol is a huge city. Its area with all suburbs is 1079 square kilometers, which is only two and a little times inferior to the area of Moscow. Of course, Sevastopol is not as densely built up as Moscow, because most of its territory is wastelands and areas with low population density. However, tourists and vacationers will definitely need transport to move around the city.

Fortunately, transport here is very well developed and is represented by city buses, fixed-route taxis, trolleybuses, ferries, car taxis, and in rare cases you can even use commuter trains.

If you come to Sevastopol to explore the sights and stay in a hotel in the center, then you can visit a lot on foot. After all, the city center is quite compact, the sights and museums are densely located, besides strolling along the renovated sidewalks and embankments is a pleasure.

Because of the sanctions in Sevastopol, the applications of the aggregators Yandex.Go, Uber and all the others do not work. You can try installing the applications of local taxi companies UpTaxi, Shark, Maxim, Pickup, but there are constant problems with them: they either don't work well, or they are blocked in official app stores for working in Crimea, and you will have to download them from taxi company websites and install them in a smartphone with permission "From unknown sources." So for now, the more reliable way is to call a taxi by phone or get into a car on the street. When ordering an official taxi, a kilometer of travel will cost 20-30 rubles, or from 100 rubles for the shortest trip. Here are the phone numbers:

• Taxi Maxim - tel. +7 (978) 707-77-77
• Sevtaxi - tel. +7 (978) 555-5555
• Ap taxi - tel. +7(978) 7000-401
• Metro Taxi - tel. +7(8692) 55-7777
• Pickup Taxi - tel. +7(8692) 777-000
• First taxi - tel. +7 (978) 333-33-33
• Flagman Taxi - tel. +7(978) 832-64-65
• SOYUZ-TAXI - tel. +7(978) 700-05-45

The whole of Sevastopol and its suburbs, including remote beaches, are served by urban and suburban bus and trolleybus routes. The transport fleet has been significantly updated: city buses and trolleybuses are modern, with air conditioning and even WiFi on board. Old fixed-route taxis work on some of the routes. The fare is 30 rubles, the same amount when paying by credit card, and 20 rubles when using a city transport card. You can't pay with a bank card on all routes, so always carry some change with you.

Ferries and boats in Sevastopol are as much an integral part of the public transport system as buses and trolleybuses, and you will almost certainly have to use them. The fact is that Sevastopol is divided into northern and southern parts by the Sevastopol Bay, deep into the land. And in order to get from the south (from the center) to the north side by land, you will have to travel a lot and for a long time, and therefore you can move much faster by regular ferries or boats. Using ferries is as easy as using buses. Come to the pier, buy a ticket and board the next flight. The cost of a ferry ticket is 30 rubles, for a boat – 24 rubles. Departure takes place every 10-20 minutes from 05:00 to 23:45.

Learn more about Transport in Sevastopol with prices is here.

Sights and entertainment of Sevastopol

Sevastopol is, without a doubt, one of the most saturated historical sights of the cities of the Crimean Peninsula. There are a huge number of memorable places and monuments testifying to the heroic deeds and tragic events of the Crimean and Great Patriotic Wars; there is the largest and most famous archaeological museum-reserve in the Crimea – the ancient Greek city of Chersonesos; there are several very interesting museums housed in fortifications, and many more things that we will tell you in detail. Unfortunately, there are not so many tourist attractions and entertainment for children here. You can visit the local water park and one of the two dolphinariums, go to the aquarium or take a ride on an excursion boat along the Sevastopol bays or along the beautiful shores of Cape Fiolent, and that's probably all.

You can visit the sights and entertainment of Sevastopol on your own, for which you can use public transport, taxi, or even just get around the most interesting places of the center on foot. If you don't know yet how to use Sevastopol city transport, read here.

If you prefer an organized vacation without worries, you can buy ready-made excursions. By the way, excursions to Sevastopol are offered not only in the city itself, but also in other resorts of the Crimea, because this is one of the most popular sightseeing destinations of the peninsula. The opposite is also true, i.e. you will be able to go with an excursion from Sevastopol to almost any point in the Crimea.

You can also pick up reviews and buy a tour online on these trusted sites:

• 📷 Search for excursions in Sevastopol on Sputnik8.com
• 📷 Search for excursions in Sevastopol on Tripster.ru

Learn more about all the sights of Sevastopol and how to visit them here.