Tourists reviews of vacations in Mari El

A good sightseeing tour. Now I know exactly which places I’d like to return to and next time for a few days. I would have liked a bit more history, perhaps some local stories or ethnographic insights. The "look to the right / look to the left / this house belongs to so-and-so / souvenirs over there" format didn’t feel very informative to me. On the other hand, I completely understand how difficult it is to present material in such a large group. I really enjoyed the Rock Café for lunch in Nizhny Novgorod, but in Kazan the meal was rather plain and uninspiring. In Yoshkar-Ola everything was fine, but if they had included something from the local cuisine, it would have been perfect. On a tour like this, the taste of regional food makes a big difference.

The tour is quite intense for just three days, so the information ends up being rather superficial. It feels more like an introduction or a starting point for future trips. By the last day (in Kazan), fatigue sets in, and it becomes harder to take everything in. It might be worth extending the tour by an extra day. I really enjoyed the work of our guide, Dmitry (in Yoshkar-Ola, Cheboksary, and partly in Kazan). It’s clear that he’s genuinely passionate about history and knows his subject very well.

It was even better than I expected. I’m really glad I went and will definitely recommend it to my friends.