Mineralnye Vody and Makhachkala are some of the best resort cities in the Caucasus. Here you can not only take a walk, enjoy the sights and buy a bunch of souvenirs, but also significantly improve your health in local health resorts.
Tips of an experienced tourist
If you decide to go on vacation to the city of Mineralnye Vody, then it is best to do this between May and August. At this time of year, the temperature in this area ranges from +20 to +28 degrees and is considered the most comfortable for relaxation. Before a trip to Makhachkala in high season, you should take care of your stay in advance and book a hotel or buy a ticket to one of the local health resorts. The following hotels are considered the most popular hotels and hotel complexes of Makhachkala and Mineralnye Vody:
- "Art Hall" - from 1000 to 3000 rubles. per room.
- "Turn" - about 800-1000 rubles. per room.
- "Gostiny Dvor" - 1000-1200 rubles. per room.
- "Olympus" - from 3000 rubles per room.
Each hotel has both economy rooms and deluxe rooms. Tourists who have booked a hotel do not need to worry about their meals, as each hotel complex has its own restaurant or cafe. Also, a large number of inexpensive catering establishments are concentrated throughout the city, where the average check per person is about 300-500 rubles. The most popular and successful, both among local residents and visitors, are small street establishments specializing in the preparation of barbecue, chakhokhbili, khinkali and other Caucasian dishes.
Sights of the cities of Makhachkala and Mineralnye Vody
It doesn’t matter if you bought a tour to the Caucasus from a tour operator or decided to go there on your own, you still have to visit these amazing places and see everything with your own eyes:
- Mount Snake.
- Emanuele park.
- Park "Valley of the Roses".
- Ring Mountain.
- Grotto of Permafrost.
- Iron Mountain.
- Mud and hydropathic facilities.
In addition to the attractions that you can visit on your own, in the cities of Mineralnye Vody and Makhachkala there is a large number of bus excursions that are accompanied by experienced guides. Bus excursions are conducted in several directions:
- Tersky stud farm.
- Museum of Local Lore.
- Fitness center.
- St. Nicholas Church.
- Cathedral of the Protection of the Holy Virgin.
- Place of the duel M. Lermonotov.
A ticket for each of these excursions costs between 1000-1500 rubles, which is quite acceptable according to many travelers. In addition, you can order an individual tour with a local guide, which will cost much more.
In addition to hiking and excursions, in Makhachkala and Mineralnye Vody there is something else to do, for example:
- Buy a drinker and go for a tasting of mineral water.
- Go to conquer Dombay or Arkhyz.
- Try on yourself all the delights of mud and hydrotherapy.
- Taste the local cuisine.
- Take a photo against the backdrop of local attractions.
After the cultural hunger is satisfied, you should go shopping for souvenirs, there are a great many of them. However, amid the abundance of goods, it is important not to make a mistake and purchase not Chinese consumer goods, but local products.
Souvenirs to buy
It is customary to bring souvenirs from each trip, and not only to give gifts to one of your loved ones, but to leave yourself a pleasant memory of your vacation. What are traditionally brought from Makhachkala and Mineralnye Vody? Souvenirs that are very popular among tourists:
- A drinking bowl for tasting mineral water.
- Bottled mineral water ("Essentuki", "Narzan", "Lysogorskaya").
- Masks for face and body based on healing mud.
- Fragrant herbal tea and Caucasian sweets.
- Pottery, Caucasian daggers, leather belts and handmade tank tops.
However, it is not worth buying in proc, as mineral water, tea and sweets have a short shelf life. But everything else will delight you and your loved ones for many more years.
Travel Guide
You can get to the city of Makhachkala or Mineralnye Vody by plane. However, this is far from the only way. In addition to the plane, these resort towns can be reached, for example, by train or car. It will take about 15-18 hours to overcome the distance by car from Makhachkala to Mineralnye Vody, since the length of the road is about 1476 km. This method is considered very costly, so experienced tourists prefer another way of transportation - rail. Mineralnye Vody has its own station of the same name, where trains from all over Russia go.
If you decide to go to Makhachkala from Mineralnye Vody by train, then experienced travelers are advised to choose a reserved seat car. So you save a lot of money and get in comfort. The road will take 7 hours 30 minutes.
It is a mistake to believe that it is not respectable to rest in Makhachkala or Mineralnye Vody. You can relax beautifully not only abroad, but also in Russia, and the enthusiastic reviews of tourists are proof of this.