Все отлично Everything is great

We rested in Gaspra, Ai-Todor South in mid-June (2 adults + child 6 years old).
Turgenev was traveling in a reserved seat, I bought tickets at 8 o'clock in the morning at the Russian Railways ticket office. Everything is fine, the child is happy, the only inconvenience is that only one toilet worked in the morning, the queue was almost an hour long. Taxi drivers attacked in Simferopol. We were determined to go by regular trip, so we slapped on. We were intercepted by the owners of minibuses at the ticket office. We decided that it would turn out faster, paid 200 hryvnia for three (be sure to bargain !!!! ), it's good that they chose this method. All the way the child gasped "how beautiful and where is the sea", did not get sick. We went back by bus from Miskhor (110 hryvnias with luggage), much harder and longer. Gaspra herself was somehow not very impressed, everything is very confusing, blocked everywhere, it’s inconvenient to walk around the city on foot, for example, to walk to the same Mermaid, in some places you have to go straight along the highway. Somewhere clean, somewhere frank dumps. On Rusalka and at the Actor, somehow everything is more resort-like than at Marat, cypresses, greenery, paths, souvenirs, there are much more vacationers.
PENSION. In Ai-Todor I liked VERY-VERY-VERY! lived first in the st-north on the 4th floor, then in the standard-south on the 5th. I liked both rooms. of the pluses of the south - we saw dolphins every morning, the room itself is a bit larger, everything is newer, air conditioning, but in the north it is more convenient to have a closet for things and no carpet (a plus for us personally). well, cheaper. The view here and there is excellent, the plumbing is new. Any questions responded instantly, all very friendly - and the maids, and accounting and everything. They offer a 5% discount for next year. My son really liked it in the pool, sometimes I had to persuade the sea. The atmosphere is excellent, many got to know each other, and since the boarding house was small they knew their faces, the children all became friends. About the animation has already been written a hundred times, but I repeat - just smart!! ! Animators are always in sight, if there is no specific event, then they will play with one, then with another. There were also events for adults - volleyball, lotto, water polo, exercises by the sea, competitions, evening programs, etc.

FOOD We ate in Silver (large portions, tasty), in Marat (delicious meat dishes and borscht), Tea House (fries are worse than in Silver, I liked the meat ones), canteen (ordinary canteen food, cheaper than everywhere), Mother-in-law (did not like , and waited a very long time). Almost always the bill was 130-140 hryvnia (3 first, 2 second, sometimes salads). We always had breakfast in the room, mostly local yoghurts, sausages, biscuits. Fruits are expensive (cherries, strawberries, apricots were 35-40g), basically everything is Turkish, they lie that it is local. Bargain with fruit merchants too! we were lucky to buy local cherries for 15 hryvnias, we ate too much! ! Everyone bought wine/cognac in a company store, where a very pleasant woman told everything in detail and advised which one to choose. drank only Massandra. Thing!!!
BEACH - the pebbles are quite large, then you get used to it. Children are worn barefoot from the first day. smoking, drinking - controlled. pass entry. some went to the Marat VIP beach for money. I have been there several times with a small dog. There are a lot of people around 9-12, then somehow gradually subsides. In the evening, it's a fairy tale. We were lucky with the weather, the water is clear, there were a lot of jellyfish for a couple of days. They swam with a mask. They didn’t adjust specifically to the schedule, but almost always went back and forth with a cable car (on cards). The cable car workers are also very friendly, they help everyone get in and out. The child was like an additional attraction.
TRAVEL. the program was intense. In the evening we walked in the park of Ukraine, very beautiful. There are a lot of interesting things nearby, BUT as someone already wrote, cramming into a bus with a child is something (children under 6 years old are free). Sometimes they just caught a car and drove cheaply. From trips - to Yalta by boat from Miskhor, 50 gr / person, they didn’t take a child (there is a schedule, but they go as they want, they left 2 hours later! ), Embankment, cars, etc. , crocodile aquarium (I liked it, the ticket price includes 1 feeding); Zoo (I really liked it, especially pelicans and monkeys, we walked for a very long time, thanks to those who advised taking bananas-apples with them, they wanted to drive to Spartak later but were already tired); Water area (expected more, the dolphins were not impressed with the child, but the walrus really liked); Water park (I liked it very much, you need 33 by bus to the petrel, change to 36 there, we didn’t wait 33, caught the car to the Sevastopol highway, got on 36 there, drove for 25 minutes, look at the site before you go, there are different promotions, and there were no ads in the water park itself). Still kind people took us on a big tour of the Crimea, we spent one day in a rope park, on a donkey farm, on Mangup, near the Foros church. To say that I liked it is to say nothing. Natasha, Lyuba, thank you very much! they planned to go to Sevastopol, but did not get there for technical reasons - there is a reason to return! During the trip I met people vacationing in Marat, Dnieper, Rubicon, Ukraine, san. Miskhor, everywhere they responded well except for the village of Miskhor.
The main advice to everyone who is going to the Crimea for the first time is to be prepared - read the reviews, write off the rest and draw conclusions without supporting some presumptuous comrades with their money. RESULT - I liked it very much! Ai-Todor Yug, thank you!!!!!!! Many thanks to everyone who answered my questions before the rest.

Good luck to all trips!