Kamyanets-Podilsky naked truth
To be honest, the city is really very beautiful in view of its unique natural location. Speaking of beauty, I mean only the Old City, i. e. what is located behind the Novoplanovsky bridge. We stayed at the Gala Hotel on Lesia Ukrainka, 84. The hotel pleasantly surprised me with its level, I expected worse. Decent rooms, a variety of breakfasts for tourists to choose from, which are included in the room price. On the territory of a normal restaurant, bowling club, courts. Large selection of services from dry cleaning to the Internet, adequate staff. So, directly about the city itself. The city itself did not like at all, an ordinary provincial town, rather dirty and boring. There is practically nothing to do in the city, except to go to some store to buy a beer). Minibuses drive around the city, there is simply no actual route scheme. The frequency of minibuses is about half an hour. If you need to go somewhere around the city, it's better to use a taxi. The average cost of a trip around the city is 10-15 UAH. It is noteworthy that there are no tariffs as such, if you call the radio taxi, you are only asked where to take the car, the fare is determined by the driver after delivery to the place, after a second's hesitation, apparently receives information from space. I recommend starting a tour of the city from Novoplanovsky Bridge, if by taxi, then ask for a ride to Urosotsbank st. Koriatovichey, 1. Having crossed the bridge, you get to the old city, and here already on an individual route. If your hotel does not sell guidebooks, the nearest point where you can buy them is Polsky Market Square in a souvenir tent. We buy guidebooks without fail, we don’t get greedy, otherwise you won’t know what kind of tower you’ve been staring at for half an hour). After sightseeing according to the guidebook, I advise you to take a walk along the canyon of the Smotrych River, which goes around the old city. The whole leisurely walk will take about 3.5 hours. I did it in two days. On the first day I went to the left from the Novoplanovsky bridge and to the Old Fortress, on the second day - to the right and again to the fortress. This will give you the opportunity to see all the towers of the defensive chain of the old city. The views are very beautiful, there is something to photograph and something to admire. And now a little about the sad. All nature is catastrophically polluted by local residents. For me, Kamenets is now associated with beautiful historical places, heaps of garbage and stench. Wherever you can put a heap - resourceful locals have done it. Castles and towers are no exception, if you have the opportunity to go inside, you will definitely find a very unpleasant smell there. Why do I say locals and not tourists? Yes, because tourists do not throw away garbage in bags and do not clog the natural recesses of the canyon with it. I went by very non-tourist routes. To kill such a beautiful canyon is barbarism. So, despite all the "mines" and "pitfalls" there is still something to see if you are a true lover and connoisseur of the ancient history of your country.
Naturally, you will want to not only wander around Kamyants but also visit Khotyn with its famous fortress. Here I want to warn you - do not be fooled by the offers of taxi drivers to take you to hoty by car, wait there for an hour and a half and back. It will cost you 120-140 UAH. Firstly, an hour and a half is not enough for Khotyn, you need to spend a good half a day there, and secondly, no one has canceled buses. 10 UAH - taxi to the bus station, 8 UAH. - fare to Khotyn, 10 UAH - taxi in Khotyn to the fortress. In total, with complete freedom of action and the absence of a time limit, the train will cost 56 UAH. Tickets for the entrance to the fortress must be bought immediately after entering the territory, when the fortress itself is not visible yet. You can also hire a guide here - regardless of the number of people in the group, the cost of the tour is 50 UAH. You can even order a personal guide, the cost is the same. Here is a brief summary of my impressions of the trip, if anything - ask, be sure to answer.
