Arabatska Spit

Article content:

ShowHide

• Weather and climate
• Seaside holidays
• Arabatska Spit: prices for accommodation and rest
• Which area is better to go on vacation?
• Camping on Arabatska Spit
• Sights and beautiful places of Arabatska Spit
• Entertainment on Arabatska Spit
• Arabatska Spit on the map
• How to get to Arabatska Spit

There are many wellness children’s camps, hotels, guest houses and campgrounds offering different accommodations to fit every taste and budget. The weather is perfect for a relaxing family vacation, to go surfing, and to soak in hot springs.

Weather and climate

The climate on Arabatska Spit is mild. The summer is warm and dry with few rainy days. The beach season starts in May and ends in late September. The sea warms to 18-20 °C on the hottest days in July and 30-32 °C in August. The average temperature in the summer months is 25-27 °C. The rainiest month is June when more then 40-45 mm of rain falls. The average temperature in winter is +2-4 °C.

You can visit resorts in the Priazov region year-round. In the winter, you can soak in the hot springs to refresh your musculoskeletal system. In the summer you can rest on the beach. The climate conditions of the Azov Sea contribute to the recovery of the whole organism.

Seaside holidays

The sea is shallow and warm on Arabatska Spit. You can find deeper water 5-6 m from the coast. After stormy weather the coast is covered partially by algae and there is almost no jellyfish. The beaches are wide and sandy.

Guest houses, campgrounds and hotels are located along the coast in Henhirka and Henichesk. Strilkove village is located on the widest part of the spit.

There are hotels and guest houses directly on the fine sand beach and there is nothing obstruction the sea view. Some hotels are also located 10-20 mins away from the beach. Beach area near big campgrounds and hotels are equipped with the sun canopies, sun beds, and umbrellas available for rent, and playgrounds and pools.

Arabatska Spit: prices for accommodation and rest

If you are planning a vacation on Arabatska Spit, you should plan your accommodations in advance. The private residences, which located 10-20 min walk from the beach, are less expensive. The most comfortable options are hotels and guest houses directly on the fine sand coast. They have multiple room options:

• The “economy” option is a room with a minimum set of furniture (beds, table, or bedside table), a shared shower, kitchen, refrigerator, and conveniences in the yard. The cost starts from 100 UAH per person.
• Standard rooms may be equipped with a refrigerator and fan or air conditioner. The beds in the room are more comfortable and there may be a tea or coffee set. Sometimes there is a separate bathroom. The cost starts from 250 UAH per person per day.
• Junior suites have modern furniture, a refrigerator, TV, and air conditioner. In the yard there is often a pool and playground. These rooms cost from 300 to 350 UAH per day per person.
• Suites or apartments with a kitchen are equipped with a satellite TV, climate control system, good furniture, and household appliances. In the yard there is a swimming pool and playground. There are also tennis courts and billiards. The cost of this option starts from 3000 UAH per day.

Which area is better to go on vacation?

The choice between villages depends on your personal preferences. Vacation hotels and campgrounds are located everywhere from Henicheska Hirka to Strilkove. The cost of accommodation is almost the same in each village and depends on the season and level of comfort. When deciding where to visit, consider the infrastructure, quality of service, and the possibility to access healing mineral springs and muds.

Henicheska Hirka

Henicheska Hirka meets vacationers at the beginning of Arabatska Spit. It is known for thermal springs and baths, where hot water (+42 °C) comes from geysers flowing from a depth of 1600 meters. You can visit the dolphinarium and a recently opened water park.

The area is significantly distinguished by:

• convenient geographical location;
• developed infrastructure with optimal ratio between the cost of accommodation and the level of service;
• ability to undergo treatment of the musculoskeletal system with local mud in hydropathic;
• shallow sea with a gentle slope which is ideal for families with children.

Shchaslyvtseve

Because most of the spit’s recreation centres are located along the coastline, Shchaslyvtseve village is practically unnoticed. There is good infrastructure, shops, markets, cafes, and bars. You can rent accommodations for reasonable prices.

Shchaslyvtseve is distinguished by:

• deeper sea compared to the Henicheska Hirka;
• clean coastal area;
• proximity to the salt lake and thermal spring which allows to soak in them and use healing muds;
• motorcycle racing track where you can ride a quadrunner;
• an amusement park and petting zoo.

Strilkove

The Strilkove village has camps, guest houses, and vacation hotels. Strilkove is distinguished by:

• remote location away from noisy bars and discos making it ideal for privacy;
• deeper and cleaner sea compared to other resorts;
• many natural reservoirs with thermal water and healing muds.

You can visit an ostrich farm, Lake Syvash, the ruins of the Turkish fortress built in the 16th century.

A few items of note when traveling to Arabatska Spit are:

• lack of stores where you can pay with credit card;
• minimum number of ATMs where you can withdraw cash;
• poor transport links between local settlements;
• power outages in bad weather;
• many mosquitoes, so you should have mosquito repellents and other fumigators.

Camping on Arabatska Spit

You can put up a tent anywhere on the spit. Most of the camping sites are located on the seashore. You can stay here for free, but all conveniences are not available, so it’s much more comfortable to rest in organized camping sites.

The most popular ones are:

1. In Henichesk which stands next to Henicheska Hirka village at the very beginning of the spit. In addition to tents, there are accommodations in houses or cottages, wooden houses, and beachfront hotels. There is a good infrastructure, including everything you need for a comfortable stay. The cost depends on the type of accommodation. Parking for light vehicle costs 200 UAH, accommodation in own tent - 50 UAH per person per day, rental of a 4-person tent - 200 UAH per day.
2. You can car camp in Shchaslyvtseve village, a two-minute walk from the beach. You can also stay in a tent, in wooden houses, or trailers with a refrigerator and TV. The campsites have toilets, shower, kitchen, children's playground, and drinking water. The cost of accommodation: price for parking - 40 UAH per day; tent site - 40 UAH per day; additional resort fee - 5 UAH per person per day.
3. Near Strilkove village. There are toilet cabins, hot and cold shower, on the beach you can rent barbecue, sunbeds and sunshades, booths with fridge and air conditioners and also free Wi-Fi. The cost of accommodation for adults is 100 UAH per day per person, children under 7 years - 50 UAH. Children up to 3 years – free of charge.

Sights and beautiful places of Arabatska Spit

• The Azov-Syvash Nature Park is a national park that includes Byriuchyi Island and the western water area of the Syvash Bay;
• thermal springs with geysers are naturally created pools with high temperature mineral water formed as a result of geological exploration in the region;
• Pink Lake is one of the salt lakes in the Syvash Bay with a high concentration of algae colouring the water pink after dying-off;
• Salt Lake is located in the district of Shchaslyvtseve, is highly competitive with the Dead Sea in Israel in quality and salt concentration;
• Glycerin Lake has very mineralized fresh water with a soft, oily structure and is located near Strilkove village;
• Safari Park, located outside Shchaslyvtseve village, provides an opportunity to plunge into the world of wildlife and get acquainted with many predators living in aviaries;
• Ostrich Farm is located in Strilkove village where about 300 adult specimens live in huge aviaries.

Entertainment on Arabatska Spit

In addition to trips to hot springs and lakes, vacationers are also very interested in one-day tours to the Azov-Syvash Park, Askania-Nova, Byriuchyi Island. For extreme sport lovers, they offer quadrunner rides on Arabatski steppes and kite surfing at the school in Henichesk.

Aquarium

Aquarium is located at the quay of Henicheska Hirka is very popular. It holds 820 spectators. A water show of fur seals and Black Sea bottlenose dolphins are held in a pool with diameter of 24 meters and depth of 5 meters. Hour long performances take place daily at 11:00 a.m. and at 3:00 p.m.

Waterpark

A waterpark in Henicheska Hirka occupies an area of 1.6 hectares and can hold up to 1,500 visitors. There is one adult pool and two children’s pools divided into two zones with an area of 350 m², depth of 40 and 80 cm. The water park has a relaxation area with a 1.4 m deep pool and a sun terrace. Water rides include 10 unique slides. The most popular extreme slide has a descent height of about 15 m and a length of 180 m. The whole area is covered with special non-slip tiles.

Arabatska Spit on the map

A narrow strip of land in the South-East of the Kherson region from Henichesk goes deep into the Azov Sea and stretches along the coast of the Crimean Peninsula for more than 100 km up to Kerch. It is the longest sand spit in Europe. One part of the spit is washed away by the waters of the Azov Sea and the other is separated from the mainland by the Syvash Bay. The width of the spit in different places varies and ranges from 270 m in the narrowest places and up to 8 km in the widest.

How to get to Arabatska Spit

There are several ways to get to the spit. Only highways run through this area, but surface quality of these highways leaves much to be desired.

By car

Those traveling from Mykolaiv or Kherson should follow the E 58 highway and those from Kharkiv or Sumy should follow the M18 highway to Zaporizhzhia and then to Melitopol. Then, you should follow the road signs to Henichesk where you will turn to Arabatska Spit. The first village after passing Henichesk will be Henicheska Hirka, the next will be Shchaslyvtseve, and lastly Strilkove village.

By bus

Those without a car can take a train to Novooleksiivka or Henichesk station. Minibuses and buses run directly from the railway station from Novooleksiivka to Henichesk. There are daily scheduled buses from the district centre to the Strilkove village. On the way, the bus drives through and stops at Henicheska Hirka and Shchaslyvtseve. There are direct bus routes to these villages from Kherson, and regular buses run from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia to Henichesk.

By motorboat

Fans of sea travel can use a motorboat. There is no regular motorboat transportation route, but tourists can rent a private boat in Henichesk to deliver them to the desired location by sea.