Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In the centre of Vylkovo you'll find the
Biosphere Reserve office
( 446 19; reserve
@it.odessa.ua; vul Povstanniya 132A; 9am-6pm)
, with an on-site museum and information-
al videos (in German and Russian). The staff speak some English and can set you up with
a local tour operator to take you into the reserve by boat.
Vylkovo's
canals
, built by the town's original Lipovan settlers, are the other main at-
traction. The villagers who live along the canals still use traditional, narrow fishing boats
known as
chaika
(seagull) to fish and get around. Locals say there are 3000 such boats in
Vylkovo, compared with only 600 cars. While touring the canals, drop by a local's house
and purchase a bottle of the local wine, known as
novak
.
Booking tours in advance is a good idea, particularly on weekends. There are two local
cord of catering to foreign tourists. Half-day tours cost 150uah to 200uah per person de-
pending on the number of people in the boat. English-speaking guides cost around
100uah per hour (much more per hour for a professional ornithologist who speaks Eng-
lish). A half day should be enough time to visit both the reserve and the canals. A one-
hour canal tour costs about 65uah.
Odesa travel agencies offer Vylkovo as a day trip, but they can charge anything up to
1200uah for transport, a boat trip and lunch. Joining a group can bring the cost down to
around 300uah, but it is far more rewarding to spend a night in Vylkovo and use the extra
time to absorb some local flavour. In Odesa, we recommend Salix (
Click here
)
travel
agency. In Vylkovo, you'll find people touting tours by the bus and river stations.
Sleeping & Eating
The following hotels all have catering facilities.
Venetsiya
HOTEL$
( 313 74;
http://vilkovo-venecia.at.ua
; vul Lenina 19A; r per person from 100uah; )
The
'Venice' represents exceptional value for money, with big, bright, comfy rooms and
fluffy rugs. Most rooms share pristine bathrooms and there's also a restaurant.
Pelikan Tour
GUESTHOUSE, COTTAGES$
( 067 483 5207; guesthouse d without bathroom per person 150uah, cottages 500uah)
Pelikan
Tour runs a homey, 14-bed guesthouse on the banks of the Danube, a short walk from the
city centre. You'll have to resist the urge to take up duck hunting when awakened by the
loudly frolicking, nocturnal waterfowl in the small marina. The company has also built
four comfortable timber cottages in a tranquil spot on the riverbank. They have large
glazed verandahs for bird spotting and to let the river views flood in.
