Last month we told you about the rest in the Crimea.
The Crimea is interesting for natural and cultural tourism on a motorcycle. Last month and a half we spent on the peninsula and once again made sure that there are good paved roads, plenty of dirt roads of different quality, but, most importantly , there are mountains and caves, monasteries and palaces, cave cities and historical museums. For the sake of all that it`s worth going to the Crimea in spring and autumn. At this time there are much less, the prices are much lower and the temperature allows you to travel on a motorcycle in the outfit with comfort.
But let us not talk about the Crimea, we returned to Moscow and in the next four months our plans mainly focus on the Central region of our country. We need to wisely use the short summer to have time for everything at a maximum.
That's why we invite you to our next journeys:
- 1) A tripl to Karelia at the beginning of June for 12 days. You will be able to see the White Nights, Ladoga, Onega and the White Sea, Kizhi and Solovki, marble canyons and waterfalls, bath and fishing, Karelian cuisine and beautiful northern nature.
- Horizons Unlimited Travelers Meeting with Grant and Susan. This is an international meeting of mototravellers, which will be held at Valdai on June 23-25. We will have a rest on the shore of the lake with tents, we will explore the neighborhood on dirt and asphalt roads in the afternoon, will talk at the campfire, share experiences and make plans for the upcoming season in the evening. Applications for participation have already arrived from mototravellers from Germany, Spain, Sweden, England, Belgium and , of course, Russia. View full event description and register here
- The impressions of the meeting in Valdai are still fresh and we're ready to travel again. This time we invite you to a week-long motorcycle tour on the Golden Ring with a visit to BLUES BIKE festival in Suzdal, which is organized by Maxim Privezentsev.
And of course we remind you about our motorcycle tour on the TRANS-Siberian railroad to Vladivostok and a separate reverse tour from Vladivostok to Moscow. This year we are going with the adult mototravellers from USA, Canada, Australia and other countries. We will live in good hotels, we will have tours of the cities, bath, basins, national parks, local cuisine and barbecues. The tour in one direction, lasts 29 days, coming back on the plane, the bikes - on the train. You can see the description this tour on the website Moscow-Vladivostok and Vladivostok-Moscow
And finally: our Park will be equipped with new motorcycles of 2017 since June, for a total we can offer 10 BMW GS motorcycles. The choice of the 700, 800, 1200 and 1200 ADV, almost all of them are water ones. If you have a city bike, sport bike or chopper, but you don't want to go on a long journey on it, we offer you to take one of our bikes to rent. Prices from 5 thousand rubles per day for the 700 and 7 thousand rubles for 1200. More information on motorcycles rental you can get by phone +7 (495) 664 58 46 and on our web site here
And now to the essense of our mailing list. This month we want to tell you how to get to the Crimea to detour Federal highways and what to see in Sochi and Krasnaya Polyana.
Let's start with roads. M-4 "Don" is a popular route, good asphalt, two lanes, but going on it is the most boring thing that you can think of. The road is straight, flat and no views around. Going from Moscow or St. Petersburg to Sochi/the Crimea on secondary road, you also will not find spectacular mountains, but the roads will be much more interesting with twists and turns, small villages on the way. You can`t completely avoid the Federal highway, some parts of you will still go on it, but it is still much more interesting than just going "as the crow flies".
We suggest going the first part, Moscow – Voronezh, the following roads
https://yandex.ru/maps/-/C6uQU64t
We leave Moscow on M-6 road and go to Tula, where we stop in the L. N. Tolstoy Museum-reserve "Yasnaya Polyana". After an hour tour of the estate, we go a little further and go to Yefremov, a small and beautiful city, worth passing through. Thence we travel to Yelets along the old M-4 road. The old way, despite the fact that it is almost parallel to the Federal highway, is not inferior to the Federal highway in the asphalt quality, it meanders and passes through many villages and towns. In Yelets we suggest visiting the Voznesensky Cathedral, it is the third largest cathedral in Russia. Next, go to Zadonsk, where we can stay in Zadonsk Male Monastery. Built in the 17th century, it is very well preserved. Here you can eat homemade cakes in the cafe on the territory of the monastery. A small lifehack - there is a small hotel for pilgrims on the territory of the monastery where you can stay the night. But almost at the exit from Yelets to the Federal highway there will be a roadside cafes on the left and in the very last one you can enjoy a very good meal. After Zadonsk, there`s a little bit left to Voronezh and you can go this distance without stops.
The second part is Voronezh – Rostov-on-Don . https://yandex.ru/maps/-/C6uQUD8P
From Voronezh go through a bypass road in the direction of the city of Rossosh. After Voronezh we advise you to immediately get to Liski to nature reserve Divnogorie. Only plan to do it either early in the morning or late in the evening, domestic tourism is developing in Russia and there are more and more people there every year. And then we go straight to Kantemirovka and almost reach Lugansk, where we go to the Federal highway, we still have to go on its part. By the way, after turning to M-4, there is a good restaurant on the highway, where you can have a snack. After about two hours of driving on M-4 we again take to the minor roads, this time the benchmark is Gukovo. And we go further to Rostov-on-Don. Rostov is beautiful, there are lots of restaurants and cafes, embankment, crayfish beer)))
The third part, Rostov-on-Don – Krasnodar – Sochi/Gelendzhik. https://yandex.ru/maps/-/C6uQY41v
After Rostov, we make the first stop in Azov. There`s little left from the Azov fortress and we wouldn`t advise visiting it, but the historical Museum located in the central square is a must to visit. It has a rich paleontological collection, there are a few museums in the world that can boast such exhibits as here - skeletons of ancient animals, a vast archaeological collection, representing the culture of the many peoples who inhabited the Don region at various times. It`s unusual and fascinating, we definitely advise you to watch it. A tour of the Museum lasts two hours, if time allows, you should go there. Next, we go to Timashevsk. The road is good, there is traffic, but it`s moderate. By the way, the main drawback of the Krasnodar territory is the local drivers, who rush like Schumacher or Rossi. Be attentive and extremely careful, always look in the mirror and don't be surprised if you are raced very tightly or there`s a ghost deriver just twenty meters ahead. In Timashevsk in the heart of the city there is the Museum of the Stepanov`s family. Another must-visit place, all the more it is on the way. Take a tour, it's worth it and the price is cheap, just 70 rubles per person.
After Timashevsk you can see fork in the road: you can continue driving straight to Krasnodar and go to the Black Sea through Goryachy Klyuch and get to Sochi in the evening. Or turn to the left to the Crimea. In this issue, let`s choose the option of Sochi.
So, after Timashevsk we advise you to go around Krasnodar on the bypass road and make the next stop in Goryachy Klyuch. Here you can stroll through the park, drink the healing waters, relax a bit and have a meal. Then, from the Goryachy Klyuch we go down to Dzhubga here we ride to Sochi. There is nothing interesting along the way on this part of the road. Most of the dolmens and waterfalls are located at a considerable distance from roads and going there delliberately makes no sense. So, just enjoy the beautiful serpentines. You can taste delicious meals in Lazarevskoye in a cafe called Kasha, located in the street parallel to the main one. If you go to Krasnodar or Gelendzhik, we suggest that, in order to avoid traffic, you should leave at 5 a.m. and really enjoy from riding the motorcycle in the turns of the Sochi highway. Asphalt, by the way, has been changed into normal, not slippery one, so the riding is pleasant, if trucks and buses appear not too often. And for this, as we have said just above, it is better to go early.
From Timashevsk, there is an alternative road to Sochi via Ust-Labinsk and Krasnodar/Maikop. https://yandex.ru/maps/-/C6uQaJ36
It`s a good alternative, only note that on the pass from Maikop to Gelendzhik about 10 km of the road is not paved, there`s rolled grader road. Generally, it`s fine, but if you are with the passengers or the day before it was raining, that it is better to choose the road through Dzhubga.
If you are interested in travelling with us more info about our tours you can see here.
Sign in to join!
