Flight to Simferopol.

is the smart solution if you want quickly to reach
the Crimean Peninsula. But there are a few more options.
Choose which one is the best for you.

Getting to Crimea by plane.

Flight to Simferopol is really the quickest way to reach Crimea. Simferopol is the Crimea's largest city, its capital and the major airport, which serves both domestic and international flights.

There are several airlines connecting Simferopol (airport code SIP) to the other cities in Ukraine, as well as, to many cities of the former Soviet Union, Tel-Aviv, Istanbul, Hanover, Koln, and Frankfurt-on-Maine.

Complete information about the seasonal schedule of the flights to Simferopol and the schedule of an arrival and a departure" for today" you will find at the airport Simferopol website.

There are a few traditional options in planning your flight to Simferopol. You can fly to Simferopol:

Via Kiev. Kiev has two airports:"Borispol" and "Kiev"(Zhulyany). Both of them have quite a few flights scheduled each day to Simferopol and a couple flights on weekends. All international flights to Kiev arrive at the airport "Borispol". If you are lucky, you can book your domestic flight to Simferopol from airport "Borispol". Otherwise you will need to have additional 3-4 hours for transfer to the airport "Kiev"(Zhulyany).

Information about transferring between the two Kiev's airports you can read at the Airports and Fights to Ukraine page.

It might be not a bad idea to spend a few days in Kiev at the beginning of your journey to Ukraine. Kiev is a fascinating city and has a lot to offer to its visitors.

Find more options for planning your flight to Simferopol, air-fairs for international and domestic flights at "KiyAvia." site. One - way fare for direct flight from Kiev to Simferopol is currently about $100 (2012).

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Via Frankfurt. There are two airlines which offer weekly flights from Frankfurt during the summer season: "Lufthansa" flight (LT1862) arrives in Simferopol at 02:30 a.m. "Ukraine International Airline" flight (PS408) arrives in Simferopol at 3:15p.m.
Via Istanbul. At the Simferopol airport site you will find information about practically daily flights from Istanbul during the summer season. This possibility is worth considering if you don't mind waiting for the connecting flight in Istanbul.

There are also a number of flights out of Belbek Airport in Sevastopol (airport code UKS), and the airport in Kerch (airport code KHC). But I am afraid these variants are more headache than really good choice. They don't have regular connection to other airports. Flight to Simferopol will definitely be your best choice to fly to the Crimean Peninsula.

One more thing to remember. If you are planning your flight to Simferopol during the summer season, book plane tickets at least three weeks in advance. At other times of year, one or two weeks are usually enough.

Getting to Crimea by train.

Despite of the recent increase of the Ukraine's train tickets cost, they still remain cheap by Western European standards. For example, a ticket in the 2nd class car from Kiev will cost you (2008): Lvov -$22, Simferopol - $22, Odessa - $19, Moscow - $116.

During the last few years huge resources have been poured into improving Ukraine's railways. This has made rail a good way to travel in Ukraine. Besides that, train travel will give you the opportunity to experience real life in this interesting country.

Information about types of trains in Ukraine, classes of accommodations, buying tickets, and much more you can read at the Ukraine-train page.

A good Crimea map (click picture to enlarge) from the web-site Crimea.webservice.Ru
will give you clear idea about railway net of the Crimean Peninsula.

Simferopol is the main gateway to the Crimea. About 90 km south the railway junction Jankoi is located. At Jankoi the main line splits off to head for Feodosia and Kerch. At Ostriakovo the main line splits off for Sevastopol and Simferopol again.

By train you can reach the Crimean capital the city of Simferopol and three of four Ukrainian Black Sea ports: Sevastopol, Feodosia, Kerch. Excellent timetables for trains throughout the former Soviet Union can be found at the website "Poezda.net". (new window opens).

Short distance suburban trains through all these stations are also available in Crimea. They are slow and most of the times are overcrowded. Try to avoid using them. When your train trip or flight to Simeferopol is over, other Crimean destinations must be reached by bus, mini bus (marshrutka), trolleybus, taxi or car.

Getting to Crimea by bus.

Flight to Simferopol from Kiev will take you 1.5 hours. If you prefer train travel, you will be in Simferopol in 16 hours after you leave Kiev. If for some reason you decided, that neither plane no train is your choice, another travel option is available.

There are a few private bus companies which serve nearly all of Ukraine's big cities. The best-known among them are "AutoLux "and "GUNSEL."

Both companies have overnight buses to Crimea cities during the summer time. Autolux’s buses go to Simferopol and Yalta. "GUNSEL" serves Yalta, Feodocia, Simferopol. For "Gunsel's" buses schedule ). check their website. The buses are comfortable, tickets are not expensive. A bus trip will take you the same amount of time as the train one.

Using bus for traveling to Crimea certainly makes sense if your final destination is Yalta or Feodosia. A bus will deliver you right to the place. You won’t need any transfer from Simferopol. The only thing you have to remember. Even a comfortable bus is not as comfortable as train.

Finaly you are in Crimea to enjoy warm whether and swimming... But where is that Black Sea?!! You still have to continue your journey before you can enjoy swimming. Don’t worry. It is not that far already. I will tell you how to go there from Simferopol.

For those, who would like to swim in the Black Sea… soon. Let’s go the Simferopol Airport Transfer page. It has information about transportation within Crimea which will bring us right to the Black Sea.

If you are planning a trip to Crimea and need help take advantage of knowledge, humor, and an insider's view of Eugene Snezhkin and his personal escorted tour service. Check my recommendation.