“They will beat you for socks”: unsightly features of bus tours to the Black Sea are named

Tickets were snapped up almost until the end of the summer, – domestic travel agencies proudly declare that they have launched bus tours from the regions of the Russian Federation to the Black Sea. They were conceived as a budget alternative to railway and air tickets to native resorts, which are not available during the holiday season. We asked the opinion of those who have already experienced a similar voyage.

According to the tour operators who have brought the bus tourist trails across the country to the coast to life, their customers like “speed and price”. Allegedly, from anywhere in our vast country, you can get to the Black Sea by bus 1.5–2 times faster than by train. And not because there are simply no train tickets, but because the bus travels faster. And it arrives not at the railway station, but directly to the place of rest.

We check: a wide selection of “long-range” buses has indeed appeared on the domestic tourist market, even from remote Siberian cities. For example, from Perm straight to Sochi on May 16 it was possible to purchase a ticket for 9899 rubles. On the way, the bus promises to be no more than 44 hours. The train on the same route will cost 4954 rubles, and it takes 2 days 18 hours and 21 minutes to travel. Almost a day longer, but almost half the price.

– And we offer not just a bus ticket, but a comprehensive tour based on such a transfer, – they share in a travel agency that has launched its own product for sale. – For example, 10 days in Vityazevo (a village in the Krasnodar Territory, Anapa region – author) with a round trip by bus costs from 16 thousand rubles per person. When placed in guesthouses near the sea.

– And 10 days is “clean”, without a road?

– No, dear. Firstly, under the current circumstances, people do not mind spending 2 days on the road, just to relax at the seaside and take their children to it. Secondly, you can start relaxing already on the bus, because on the way you can look not at the phone, but out the window. And thirdly, sometimes on the way we stop at the sights of the cities on the route, if they are on our way. Since your vacation starts and ends on the bus, think of this trip as a tour of your home country.

There are quite a few such “bus excursions” offered today, some of the routes seem to be on the shoulder only for experienced truckers: for example, Irkutsk – Evpatoria (144 hours on the road, 15977 rubles per person, for comparison, the train to Simferopol takes 99 hours, the price is 17346 rubles) . According to travel agents, there is a ready-made tourist product on the basis of “proven” destinations, for which people have booked places almost since winter. Popular, for example, are bus tours with accommodation in modest guest houses from Ivanovo to Lazarevskoye (18 thousand rubles per person, 36 hours on the way) and from Yekaterinburg to Gelendzhik (20.6 thousand rubles, 2 days 6 hours on the way) . At the same time, the “net” price of a bus trip without an accompanying tour from Yekaterinburg to Gelendzhik is 7-8 thousand rubles, from Ivanovo to Lazarevskoye – 4-5. As for very long-distance trails that take away half of the vacation, as, for example, from Irkutsk to the Crimea, in these cases, tours are formed on request.

– From Irkutsk, in my opinion, closer to Vietnam, China and Japan! – I am surprised at the Irkutsk woman planning a bus trip to the Black Sea. – What kind of vacation do you have if you are ready to go one way for 6 days ?!

– We joke that “three days on deer – and the tundra appeared,” the cheerful traveler smiles. – And I have already been to the countries you mentioned, and there, by the way, bus tours are very developed throughout the country. True, there are “slipbuses” – buses in which the seats turn into recumbent places at night. Definitely no worse than on a train, but we all travel on trains. And yes, I do not feel sorry for 6 days on the road. I’m 50 plus, I’ve seen almost the whole world, but I’ve never been to Crimea in my life. And I want to fix it – to see Yalta, Bakhchisaray, the Swallow’s Nest and everything that I have heard and read so much about in literature. And if you put off a few more years, then after 60, maybe I won’t be able to make such a throw.

You can also get to the Black Sea coast with the help of an organized bus tour from both capitals, from Kazan, Bryansk, Pskov and a number of Siberian cities. Destinations – Anapa, Vityazevo, Lazarevskoye, Lermontovo, Loo and Crimea. Prices for a 10-day tour, which is at best a week by the sea, and the rest at the bus window, start at 20 thousand rubles per person.

But there are always tickets! – fans of buses in the face of a 65-year-old mother and her 46-year-old daughter from Ivanovo do not lose optimism. – With small children, of course, it is better not to. It’s hard for kids and other passengers. But “too old” for buses does not happen. If you’re in good shape, of course.

– My mother and I in the early 90s went to Istanbul by bus through Bulgaria – we shuttled, – my daughter recalls. – And nothing, it was even fun, they sang songs on the way, played games. As the people say, if you want to live, you won’t get so upset!

Some vacationers-“truckers” have taken care of their “fun” already now by releasing an online memo for “boat mates” – nevertheless, any crew will have to “sail” to the Black Sea shoulder to shoulder for at least a day. The memo states what you can’t do on the bus so as not to spoil the neighbor’s vacation that has already begun. From it, we also learned why they can be beaten by the whole bus: for loud conversations on the phone and without it, for charging energy-intensive gadgets from a bus outlet (deprive others of stress), for abusing alcohol, garlic, onions, tobacco and even perfume on the track ( neighbors can suffocate), for loud music, for stale socks, for a dense meal and libations before leaving – not everyone needs a “pit stop” as often as passengers who were seen off with a beer, but the whole bus has to wait for them. Until you wait for everyone from the toilet, the vacation will flash by.