Ukrainian Youth Hostels Association / Crimea. Yalta. International hostel 'Kirov'

From Simferopol train (central bus) station and international airport: take minibus (called marshrutka) to Yalta central bus station.

From Yalta central bus station: take any minibus (marshrutka) to “Spartak” station

Taxi from central bus station to the Hostel will cost you about USD 3-4 (EUR 2-3)

When you approach a big gate with a signboard “Kirova Holiday center” you should go inside through the wicket and follow signs “HOSTEL”. Enter six-storied building and turn left. Left part of the first floor is the Hostel.

Yalta (Ялта) shows signs of settlements as far back as the Neolithic age. Bronze age tools have been found in the vicinity, and in the first millennium B.C.E., it was populated by indigenous Tataurian tribes. According to ancient legend, its name comes from "yalos" (coast), the cry of Greek sailors in a storm at sea who sighted the shoreline through the mist. In the first century B.C.E. the Greeks established a colony there named Yalita. Over the centuries Yalta passed through many hands, coming under Russian control in 1783 with the annexation of Crimea. In 1823 Prince Mikhail Vorontsov decided to build up Yalta as the major settlement of the Crimean south shore. The prince's choice was ideal. Yalta is situated on a gently curving bay that shields it from the north winds. Its swimming season lasts from June to October; summers are hardly ever uncomfortable; and roses bloom through December. The fragrance of magnolia and roses wafts among the palm trees and the slopes leading up to the mountains are ideal for vineyards and orchards.

The area's opulent summer estates and gardens were built by various noblemen from the mid-19th through the early 20th century. It was a favorite vacation spot of Tsar Nicholas II as well as a popular resort for high government officials and bureaucrats during the Soviet era. Artists and writers, attracted by the peaceful beauty, found their inspiration in Yalta. Here Anton Chekhov wrote The Cherry Orchard and Three Sisters; Mark Twain called it "a beautiful spot" that reminded him of the Sierras; Maxim Gorky, Leo Tolstoy, and Sergei Rachmaninov visited Yalta; and noted Ukrainian poet Lesya Ukrayinka sought a cure for her tuberculosis.

Yalta's current population is 88,000. It has research institutes for the study of grape growing and wine production and for the therapeutic properties of the climate. Wine-making, fruit-canning, and tobacco-processing are the chief industries.

As the nucleus of the coastal resorts, Yalta is well-linked to neighboring towns by bus, trolleybus, numerous taxis, and ferry. The main street of the tourist section, the Central Embankment of Lenin (Центральна Набережна Леніна, Tsentralna Naberezhna Lenina), is a seaside pedestrian promenade with shops, restaurants, hotels, and the post office. Shops are typically small and sell a little bit of everything. Street vendors sell ice cream, post cards, flowers, and a variety of local arts and crafts such as oil and watercolor landscapes and seascapes and wooden jewelry fashioned from native trees. The major vehicular thoroughfare through town is Kirov Street. The side streets are winding and increasingly steep as they lead up to the mountains.
City Attractions. A cable car skylift behind the Solchi Cafe near the center provides a 10-minute ride over the rooftops to a mountain lookout on Hill Darsan. Litkens Street, near the motor boat harbor begins with a state wine-tasting establishment; nearby is the Chekhov Theater and the Yalta Philharmonic. The Chekhov Museum, at 112 Kirova (Кірова) Street, is the two-story white house which Chekhov built and in which he spent his Final years before he died in 1904. Chekhov's devoted sister kept the house just as it was when he was alive and turned it into a museum. On display are the house, garden, editions of his works, and personal possessions.

In 1835, when Yalta was just a small fishing village near Polikurovsky Hill on St. John's Cape, a church named after St. John the Baptist was constructed. The church's bell tower still stands today and serves as an architectural landmark of the city and a navigational guide for ships. The major functioning church is Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Built in 1902 by architects N. Krasnov and L. Shapovalov, the church has never been closed. The Armenian Church on Zahorodna (Загородна) Street, built from 1909 to 1917, is noted for its medieval-style architecture.