This tour acquaints you with Russia and Ukraine and their capitals - Moscow and Kiev. The capitals are situated within almost 1000 km from one another but they have very much in common - their history, traditions and ways of life. Yalta, founded by Byzantines, is situated between 40 and 50 grades of latitude, exactly in the middle between the North Pole and the Equator, on the open stretch of coastline well sheltered by the mountains from the northern winds. Owing to the mild and healthy climate, and the beautiful nature this city was always a favorite spa of the Russian statesmen and much sought after by many celebrated persons of Russia. Chekhov and Gorky lived there, Pushkin and Tchaikovsky stayed there, Shaliapin and Rakhmaninov gave recitals there, and Mark Twain visited the town.

Day 1

Arrival in Moscow, transfer to hotel, check-in, dinner.

Day 2

Breakfast, sightseeing tour of the city, visit to the Kremlin with one cathedral; dinner.

Day 3

Breakfast, trip to Sergiev Possad, afternoon tour of the Moscow metro, dinner.

Day 4

Breakfast, trip to Kolomenskoye, transfer to the railway station; departure by train to Simferopol at 17:00 (it takes 17 hours to get to Simferopol)), dinner and overnight in the train.

Day 5

Arrival in Simferopol early morning,, extra breakfast in Simferopol, bus transfer to Yalta, check-in at hotel; time at leisure, dinner.

Day 6

Breakfast, visit to the former residence of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II The Livadia Palace and a picturesque park around it were designed in 1911 in the Italian renaissance style. In 1945 one of the most important political and military conferences of the modern times, the Yalta Conference, was held in the Livadia Palace, and representatives of the great allied powers met there: Stalin for the USSR, Roosevelt for the USA, and Churchill for Great Britain. Lunch at the restaurant "Tsar's Cuisine" (a replica of the one in the Frederick's Palace). A walk along the Tsar's pathway up to Oreanda.

Day 7

Breakfast, visit to the Massandra Palace, known as a hunter's lodge of the Russian Emperor Alexander III. This lovely French style palace was a holiday destination for the Soviet top officials in different periods including J. Stalin, N. Khrushchev, L. Brezhnev, and others. Its splendid interiors now opened to the public house a remarkable collection of paintings and objects of fine arts telling us a lot about the stay of the Romanov dynasty in the Crimea. Visit to the palaces of Yusupov and of Grand Prince Peter Romanov. Dinner.

Day 8

Breakfast, time at leisure, bus transfer to the railway station in Simferopol, departure to Kiev by train, (it takes 17 hours to get to Kiev), dinner and overnight in the train.

Day 9

Arrival in Kiev at 10:00, extra breakfast, transfer to hotel, check-in, sightseeing tour of Kiev, dinner.

Day 10

Breakfast, sightseeing tour including a visit to the Archeological museum, dinner.

Day 11

Breakfast, a whole day trip to Belgorod-Dnistrovsky The city is situated on the right bank of the Dnestr estuary, 20 km away from the Black Sea, and 80 km away from Odessa. It is one of the most ancient cities of the world, same as Rome, Athens and Peking. Dinner.

Day 12

Breakfast, transfer to the airport.