Cox & Kings Europe 2013 Brochure - Travel Club Elite

ukraine TOUR
DISCOVERY TOUR
TREaSURES
OF UKRaINE
POLAND
BELARUS
Kiev
UKRAINE
RUSSIA
Escorted Group Tour or Private Journey • 8 Days / 7 Nights from £1,155
MOLDOVA
ROMANIA
BLACK
SEA
Sevastopol
Simferopol
Yalta
RUSSIA
which was the capital of Crimean Khans for
more than 300 years and Uspensky Monastery,
a cave monastery carved out of a cliff. (B)
THE COX & KINGS DIFFERENCE
Explore the historic Black Sea ports of Yalta & Sevastopol
Visit key sites of the Crimean war
Discover the elegance of Kiev
Kiev
Day 6 – To Kiev: Morning transfer to the
airport and fly from Simferopol to Kiev for
a morning tour. The old town stands on the
wooded hills above the great Dnepr river and
the tour includes visits to the 11th-century St
Sophia Cathedral with its dazzling gold domes,
the Golden Gate, St Vladimir’s Cathedral, the
National Opera House and Marinsky Palace.
Afternoon at leisure. Transfer to Radisson Blu
Podol Plaza for 2 nights. (B)
Day 7 – Kiev: Morning visit to the 11thcentury
Unesco world heritage site of Kievo
Pecherskaya Lavra, an enormous ensemble of
white church halls with green and gold rooftops
that have come to represent the spiritual heart
of the country. Afternoon at leisure. (B)
This tour discovers the distinctive highlights
of Ukraine, one of Europe’s largest countries.
Begin in the Mediterranean climate of the
Crimean peninsula and explore the legacies
of fallen empires that once laid claim to this
area. Travel north and finish in the capital,
Kiev, with its wide leafy boulevards and
ornate Orthodox churches and cathedrals.
THE JOURNEY
Day 1 – To Yalta: Fly from London Gatwick to
Simferopol, via Kiev, with Ukraine International
Airlines. Transfer to the Bristol Hotel in Yalta for
5 nights. (N)
Day 2 – Yalta: Morning tour of Yalta, including
visits to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the
Chekhov House-Museum and the Massandra
Palace, built in 1902 as a hunting lodge for
the family of Alexander III. The house contains
a collection of fine arts and is surrounded
by landscaped parkland with excellent views
over the coast. In the afternoon, visit Livadia
Palace, once Tsar Nikolai II’s summer residence,
built in 1911. The white renaissance mansion,
overlooking the Black Sea, is where Stalin,
Churchill and Roosevelt discussed the fate of
the Axis powers and post-war Europe. (B)
Day 3 – Balaklava & Sevastopol: Today will
be spent visiting Balaklava and Sevastopol,
the Russian naval port that was closed to
tourists until 1996 and which today is a quiet,
charming town filled with grand Russian neoclassical
buildings. Visits include the Panorama
monument, which depicts the siege of the city
during the Crimean war, and Chersoneses,
the largest ancient Greek ruins in Crimea.
Continue to Balaklava to view the valley where
the Light Brigade charged and visit the former
cold war submarine base and museum. (B)
Day 4 – Yalta: Morning visit to the Alupka
Palace, built in the second half of the 19th
century for Count Vorontsov, the governor
general of Russian Crimea. Situated underneath
the Ai-Petri mountain chain and with intriguing
gardens, this ostentatious palace mixes English
gothic with Indian mogul styles and has a fine
interior. This will be followed by a visit to the
Swallow’s Nest, a neo-gothic castle perched on
a cliff face. Afternoon at leisure. (B)
Day 5 – Yalta: Morning visit to the Nikitsky
botanical gardens, founded by a Russian botanist
in 1812 and home to more than 28,000 plant
species, including 2,000 types of rose. This
afternoon, visit the Khan’s Palace in Bakhchisari,
Day 8 – To London: Morning transfer to
the airport and fly to London Gatwick with
Ukraine International Airlines. (B)
EXTENSION
Tour + Kiev
10 Days / 9 Nights from £1,570
This extension provides an opportunity to
extend your stay in Kiev to further explore
the culturally rich city.
Day 8 – Kiev: Stay an extra 2 nights at the
Radisson Blu Podol Plaza or similar. (B)
Day 9 – Kiev: Day at leisure or optional
excursions. (B)
Day 10 – To London: Early morning transfer to
the airport and fly to London. (B)
Meal basis: As per itinerary – B: Breakfast,
L: Lunch, D: Dinner, N: No meals.
NOTES
Discovery Tour: This tour involves walking
on uneven terrain. Please see page 9 for an
explanation of Discovery Tours.
Visas: No visa is required for UK passport
holders.