International Flights to Simferopol?

[Streetwise]

Anyone know if there are international flights into Simferopol from any other point in Europe? I may be heading down that way and would rather give the local domestic airlines from Kiev a miss (got away with it once, so my odds for another safe flight are already shortened!) I know Turkish Airlines used to operate from Istanbul, and I heard there might be one or two charter flights from Germany...
Grateful for any info.

[romachko]

... in response to International Flights to Simferopol?, posted by Streetwise on Jul 21, 2003

I went to Simferopol four times since August 2001. The first time I flew to Kiev from O'Hare (ORD), stayed there over night and took a domestic flight to Simferopol (SIP). In 2002 I went to Simferopol via Istanbul twice and on the way back took my fiance to Istanbul (IST)to stay there together 10 days each time. In May this year I Visited my fiance in Simferopol again via Istanbul.

US-Istanbul-Simferopol route is a best kept secret. First, this is much cheaper than Kiev route in terms of airfare and hotel bill. In May I paid $500 ORD-IST-round bidding on priceline.com. For the round flight IST-SIP I always use an Istanbul agent (Ms Gön�E: travelersshop@superonline.com) over E-mail. This way I can save $50~$100 compared to the purchase made in the U.S. Although you don't have to get off in IST, I highly recommend to spend a few days in IST because it's such a fascinating place. In fact IST is one of the most fantabulous citied in the world. (By the way I have been in 57 countries covering all continents except for south pole.) I got hotel reservation through Gön�E too. Last year I paid $23/day for a double room off the season but this year $33/day for a single room at the peak season rate. These rates include breakfast (excellent) in the dining room at the top of the hotel overlooking Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia, Topkapi on the European continent with the Asian continent on the background and sea in between. Gön�E can find the cheapest air fare (except for priceline.com) from ORD-IST-SIP if you ask. You can pay by a credit card. She speak English very well, very helpful and pleasant to talk to. But be prepared to meet her because she is a chain smoker. The plane from IST to SIP is usually packed with Ukrainians returning from shopping spree in IST. The visa for Turkey is available at IST airport at $100 for U.S. citizen and $10 for Ukrainian citizen!!!!

If you need more information, please ask me. If it is more general in nature, I'll post it here. If you need more specific or private info, you can E-mail me.

[Streetwise]

... in response to Re: International Flights to Simferopol?, posted by romachko on Jul 21, 2003

Romachko, Many thanks for your valuable info (and Richard & John K also.) I will definitely follow up the useful lead for IST-SIP tickets.

I was once in Simferopol but only briefly, en route to Yalta; I remember that my return flight to Kiev was cancelled and I had to get back by road (11 hours!)

Thanks for offer of further info, and if things go the way I have planned, I may well send you an email to tap into your local knowledge for hotels etc.

[Richard]

... in response to International Flights to Simferopol?, posted by Streetwise on Jul 21, 2003

[This message has been edited by Richard]

I have seen connections to Simferopol (SIP) from both Frankfurt(Lufthansa) and Vienna (Austrian/Tyrolean) using travelocity.  These may be seasonal flights and may not be daily.

I suspect that there may be connections through Asia (eg Kazakhstan) due to the large Tatar population in Crimea. I have not seen them pop up when searching for flights out of Miami.

here is a link to some information I found using google: http://www.geocities.com/ai320/kirim.htm

[John K]

... in response to International Flights to Simferopol?, posted by Streetwise on Jul 21, 2003

In Richard's earlier post, he mentions some Simferopol options...

http://www.planet-love.com/wwwboard/russian/messages/91142.html