Azov Sea
The Sea of Azov is best suited for a family holiday with children. Coastal resorts (if you do not go to Taganrog) are small villages that will appeal to those who prefer a relaxing pastime. Of course, those who wish will also find entertainment, but basically tourist life here takes place at a measured pace. And from a financial point of view, a vacation in the Azov region turns out to be more budgetary than on other seas of Russia.
Rest in Taganrog
Photo: gariman71/Shutterstock.com
There are both quiet beaches where you can relax peacefully, and those designed for active leisure with water rides, discos and foam parties. All city beaches are free. The shore and bottom are sandy.
Attractions
Alferaki Palace
This is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. It is made in the neo-Baroque style: rich stucco, ceiling paintings by the best masters of Italy, examples of classical painting on the walls, spacious halls, handmade furniture. Chekhov supervised the filling of the exhibition at the local museum. Tchaikovsky gave his concerts here.
Stone staircase
A favorite place for the promenade among tourists and locals. It offers a magnificent panorama of the embankment and the bay. From above, the steps look equal in width, but if you look at the staircase from the bottom up, it seems as if it is narrowing – this is an optical illusion.
Sundial
There are old and new. The first dial was engraved almost 200 years ago on a marble slab, the pedestal is made of shell rock. The modern scale allows you to determine time much more accurately than before.
Where to stay in Taganrog
Congress Hotel “Taganrog”: per night for two from 1504 rubles.
Crystal Park Hotel & Spa: per night for two from 4500 rubles.
Rest in Yeisk
The beaches are ideal for families with children. They are mostly sandy and shallow. There is no deep sea in Yeysk: 2.5 meters maximum at a fairly large distance from the shore. Thanks to this, the water warms up early and maintains a comfortable temperature for swimming for a long time. It is somewhat cloudy due to silt mud.
Attractions
Gostiny Dvor
This is a smaller copy of the St. Petersburg Gostiny Dvor, located in the center of the built-up city. Here, local shops and shopping locations for traders arriving from afar, as well as a large market and various cafes, are united under one roof.
Khanskoye Lake
The mud found at the bottom of the lake is considered medicinal; its composition is similar to that found at the bottom of the Dead Lake in Israel. According to legends, the Great Khan once bathed in it, becoming stronger and healthier, and his wives found youth and beauty in the waters of the lake.
Long Braid
The longest on the Yeisk Peninsula. This is a unique natural monument with a unique landscape, beautiful shell beaches, clear sea, and diverse nature. Here you can ride a banana boat, water ski, or boat. Or enjoy solitude with wild nature.
Ethnographic Center “Kuban Farm”
In the Museum of the Cossacks you will get acquainted with their history, life and weapons, and see performances showing the spirit of this ethnic group. Children are invited to attend master classes, while parents are invited to attend one of the cafes where they are treated to traditional Cossack dishes. And, of course, here you can go horseback riding.
Where to stay in Yeisk
Hotel “Tornado”: per night for two from 2520 rubles.
Guest house Villa Vitaliya: per night for two from 3800 rubles.
Rest in the village of Golubitskaya
Photo: vvoe/Shutterstock.com
The beaches of the Sea of Azov here are sandy, with shell rock. Well equipped, but quite crowded, since Golubitskaya is considered one of the most popular resorts on the Azov Sea. The descent into the water is smooth, it takes a long walk to get to the depths, so the beaches are suitable for children.
Attractions
Butterfly Farm
In a small hall, butterflies of various shapes and colors, almost all types and breeds, flutter. There is a special cube installed here in which the pupae mature. The atmosphere is complemented by the singing of decorative birds. It’s more interesting to visit the farm with a tour.
Akhtanizovsky Estuary
It is divided by a dam into Big and Small. Small is shallow, salty and closed. The big one is quite wide, and its length is about 18 kilometers. Despite the lack of entertainment complexes, relaxing on it is not boring: here you can go surfing and fishing.
Where to stay in the village of Golubitskaya
Guest house “Dolphin”: per night for two from 1358 rubles.
Hotel Orange Sun: per night for two from 5000 rubles.
Rest in the village of Kuchugury
The beaches are very picturesque: sand dunes fence the coastline, sometimes forming quite high cliffs. The beach itself is also sandy with small shell rock. The entrance to the water is gentle, the sea is shallow and clean. The current is strong, it is not recommended to swim too far.
Volcano Gobber
In its mouth there is healing mud. After a swim in the unusual bath, you can go to a quiet beach to wash off the “medicine”. It is believed that this mud helps boost immunity. The volcano is located only 3 km from the city, but getting there is more comfortable by transport.
Rest in the village of Peresyp
Photo: N-sky/Shutterstock.com
The beaches are sand and shell, with a gentle entrance to the sea. Mostly well-equipped, there are rentals of umbrellas and sunbeds, as well as attractions.
Attractions
Lotus Valley
You will get to the lotuses themselves by boat along the river – a pleasant refreshment in the summer heat. On the boat you will go into the thickets of huge pink flowers to enjoy their beauty and aroma. The most impressive excursions take place in July-August, during the period of mass flowering.
Where to stay in the village of Peresyp
Hotel Belveder: per night for two from 5000 rubles.
Rest in the village of Primorsko-Akhtarsk
The beaches are long and wide, but vacationers sometimes complain about sharp shells in the sand. Entry into the water is smooth, the sea is very shallow. There is silt and stones at the bottom, so it is recommended to go in with special rubber slippers.
Attractions
Beisugsky estuary
Due to the low salinity of the water, there is a wide variety of fish: anchovy, gobies, ram, pike perch. Fishermen will love it. You can also see many rare birds, such as the Dalmatian Pelican and Bustard. Silence, unique nature and excellent beaches make this place attractive for tourists who prefer a relaxing holiday.
Fortifications in the village of Stepnaya
It is believed that the ancient structures were built by local settlers in the 4th century BC. and served as a base for fishing. If you’re lucky, you’ll meet archaeologists who will tell you a lot of interesting things about the excavations.
Where to stay in Primorsko-Akhtarsk
Hotel “Tropicana”: per night for two from 2900 rubles.
How to get to the Sea of Azov from Moscow*
By plane
The airports closest to the resorts are in Rostov-on-Don and Anapa. Flights are operated by Smartavia, S7, Azimut, Utair, Aeroflot, Rusline, Ural Airlines. Travel time from Moscow is about 2 hours.
Air ticket “Moscow – Rostov-on-Don”. Tickets from 2150 rubles one way.
Air ticket “Moscow – Anapa”. Tickets from 2000 rubles one way.
By train
The railway stations closest to the resorts are in Rostov-on-Don, Anapa and Taganrog. You can leave Moscow on branded trains in reserved seat, compartment and SV carriages. Travel time from Moscow
Moscow — Rostov-on-Don. Train tickets from 1,700 rubles one way. Travel time 15 hours.
Moscow — Anapa. Railway tickets from 2300 rubles one way. Travel time 21 hours
How to get to the Sea of Azov from Vladivostok
The fastest way to do this is by plane. Flights to Anapa and Rostov-on-Don are operated by Ural Airlines, Aeroflot, S7 with one or two transfers in Yekaterinburg and Moscow. The minimum travel time is 8 — 24 hours.
Vladivostok – Anapa. Flights from 16,900 rubles one way.
Vladivostok – Rostov-on-Don. Airplane tickets from 17,500 rubles one way.
How to get to the Sea of Azov from Novosibirsk
Flights are operated by Ural Airlines, Aeroflot, S7. Anapa and Rostov-on-Don can be reached with one or two transfers in Moscow, St. Petersburg or Irkutsk. The average travel time is 7 – 22 hours.
Novosibirsk – Anapa. Flights from 5500 rubles one way.
Novosibirsk – Rostov-on-Don. Airplane tickets from 4000 rubles one way.
It takes quite a long time to get there by train. There are no luxury cars on the routes, but you can choose from reserved seats and compartments.
Novosibirsk – Rostov-on-Don. Train tickets from 5,000 rubles one way. Travel time 69 hours. Runs on even dates.
Novosibirsk – Anapa. Train tickets from 5,300 rubles one way. Travel time is 77 hours. Departs once a week – on Tuesdays.
How to get to the Sea of Azov from Arkhangelsk
Flights are operated by Aeroflot with one or two transfers in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Travel time ranges from 6 to 24 hours.
Arkhangelsk – Rostov-on-Don. Flights from 7026 rubles one way. Arkhangelsk – Anapa. Airplane tickets from 5900 rubles one way.
Restrictions at the resort introduced due to coronavirus.
Quarantine in the region for tourists has been lifted: the hotel complex of the Krasnodar Territory is open to vacationers from all over the country (hotels, boarding houses, sanatoriums, private sector). For safety reasons, all entrants will have their body temperature measured. For those traveling by car and bus, checks will be carried out at the borders, for others – at airports and railway stations. Tourists with elevated temperatures will have to take a test for COVID-19 and go for observation to wait for the results.
*ticket prices are valid at the time of publication of the article
