It's no secret that the instructing staff OutdoorUkraine is constantly being updated - some instructors leave, others come. Some of the instructors mentioned below started a family long ago and switched to a more sedentary lifestyle. Some of the “new arrivals” have not yet had time to “grow” a regular audience and laudatory reviews.
Everything is changing. But the main principle of team formation remains unchanged - responsibility and attention to tourists are more important to us than sports results and profit margins.
We would like to express our gratitude for a very cool hike and the provision of an experienced guide (Alexander Arkhipov):))) After all, on a hike, everything depends only on him. He is a fan of his work!!! Thank you so much!!!!! Yulia Yurista
Sergey took a responsible approach to choosing parking spots, talked a lot about the places he visited, took care of the physical condition and spirit of the group, and!!!cooked very tasty!!! Dmitry Shapovalov
Special thanks to the instructor - Anton Kulakov. I ask you to nominate him for a reward in the form of a cash prize; he deserves it with his kindness, understanding, patience and care for all participants in the hike. Evgeny Kovalev, Kazan.
The instructor Sergey is a great guy, he cooked very tasty and a lot of food, gave useful advice and shared useful information, I have a very great desire to go on similar hikes more than once Victoria Morozova
Many thanks to instructor Sergei Basalaev: the parking lots were in quiet places away from tourist trails. Shestirnina Nina
Oleg Boyko is an instructor, like an instructor: he will tell/show everything, he always knows what to do. Well done, overall. Artem, Moscow
Special thanks to Sergei, our instructor, he carried out everything very delicately, taking into account the capabilities and abilities of the participants in the hike, the route was very successful. We will be happy to contact you again and recommend you to friends. Galina Nikulova, Lipetsk
I actually liked the work of our instructor (Alexey), who was able to satisfy both my need for physical activity and the desire of the rest of the group to spend more time around the fire. Dmitry Polyakov, Moscow
Oleg is an adequate and sane specialist. There was a lot of food:) Svetlana Kolesnik.
Alexey is a great guy - a good instructor. I liked that we didn’t seem to be in a particular hurry (in the morning getting ready, at lunch), but we always had time and fulfilled the hike’s quota before spending the night. There was plenty of food. Alexey Alexandrov, St. Petersburg
I really liked the instructor, Anton Kulakov, as a friend, comrade, person, instructor and storyteller. I liked how Anton, changing the pace of walking, paid attention to each member of the group. A very positive person. He shared his experience of his hikes, knowledge and at the same time listened with interest about our previous hikes. I never had to ask Anton for help...he was always the first to offer it. I would like to go on a hike with Anton some other time. Lenid Polyakov.
Everything was on the level. I had to cope with extreme heat, but with the help of the instructor, Alexey, it worked out naturally. There was enough food, I liked the emphasis on liquid, hot dishes (soups, wrestling). I look forward to new meetings. Dmitry, Moscow.
I liked everything very much, the instructor (Vasily) is excellent, you couldn’t ask for anything better. It wasn’t scary or difficult, the physical activity was acceptable. There was enough food, but it was possible to diversify the menu a little and lighten the weight, for example, with freeze-dried foods). Olga Kalinina, Moscow.
Thanks to Alexander for the trip to the Carpathians. The more time passes, the stronger the impressions of the hike will be. He is young, energetic, he has many plans, and I would like to wish him good luck and good relations with biology as a science. Sergey Merkulov, Moscow.
Finally, I have some time, I want to thank you for the good organization of the trip. I liked everything very much. The route is interesting, our instructor Volodya is also a great guy, it was even a pity to leave. The time on the hike flew by very quickly... - says that it was interesting. Svetlana Travkina, Kharkov region.
I would like to express my gratitude to you for organizing the trip and especially to Sergei Tseyger for his attention, care for the group, and responsibility for each participant. This is my first time on a hike, but I think the instructor should be exactly like our Sergei! Thank you! Elena Stalennaya
Thank you very much for the instructors!!! Where do you find them?! Sergey and Anya are SUPER!!! It was thanks to this harmonious couple that our trip turned out the same. Not all people have the ability to unite and captivate a team in such a short period of time. But we were lucky and they succeeded. Tatyana Kharchenko
He is a wonderful leader. Soft, comfortable, friendly on the outside, but, I suspect, an iron chancellor on the inside:) Chernaya Galina, Kostomuksha, Karelia.
Yuri Ilyushchenko coped with his task as a guide. He led the group very confidently. I had no doubt that we would get lost or go the wrong way. The guide felt experience and knowledge. Therefore, we had such an important topic as confidence in the guide. He talked about Crimea, about the sights, especially (due to his hobby) about caves. I would characterize Yura as a democratic, knowledgeable and unconventional guide. He will not build a group for himself, but prefers that the group itself develop the rules of interaction and organize itself. In my opinion, Yura is an ideal guide for groups who have already been to Crimea and do not want standard routes. Olga Umilina.
Sasha kept asking how we were feeling (especially the girls) and helping us go where it was scary. He answered questions and talked about the sights. He talked about Crimea. Well brought up, cultured, he never forgot that he was a gentleman.) Larisa Sviridyuk
I really liked Anton, he talked about the sights and the nature of Crimea. During the hike, he helped everyone, kept himself on the same level as the tourists, i.e. did not put himself above others. Anton is very responsible, friendly, and responsive. An excellent guide. Tatiana Borisova.
Nikolai was an excellent guide! He told us stories about nature and a lot of interesting things. He knows all the routes very well and it’s clear that he loves hiking and passed this love on to the participants! Carmen Gale.
Oleg Samotolkov is a wonderful instructor, you could feel both the experience of a hiker and the experience of a person who leads groups, because... the group did not get tired, even on long marches, rested on time, and nevertheless moved quite quickly. Oleg is a good storyteller and knows a lot about the nature, sights and history of Crimea, it was interesting to listen. Andrey K. Moscow region Konkovo station.
Our guide (Alexander Arkhipov) always helped, answered and told us:) The style of working with the group is pleasant and not intrusive. Personally, I like this type of people. I would be happy to go hiking again:) Marina Borsuk
I really liked Anton as a guide. He embodied everything that I expected from him as an instructor. No complaints, only positive emotions. Konstantin, Kharkov
Evgeniy Samarov is a wonderful person and an excellent instructor. He talks interestingly, knows how to find an approach to any person, is attentive, has a great sense of humor. It was easy and comfortable with him. I'm very pleased. Yulia Shestopalova.
We have an international team - St. Petersburg, Minsk, Kyiv and Krasnodar, all interesting, wonderful people, now we maintain relationships and are still planning to go somewhere else. And our guide Sergei Ryazanov is the best guide in the world! You definitely won’t be lost with him!!!! The cuisine was amazing - very tasty, special thanks to Seryozha, he can safely open a restaurant! Tatyana Li, Krasnodar
Our 2 groups walked the route together, and there were many positive things about it. The combined group turned out to be quite friendly and dynamic, and there was no big difference in the ages and interests of the participants. Regarding the guides: Evgeniy Samarov is an experienced instructor, balanced, with a good sense of humor, just a very pleasant person. I’m ready to help, make you laugh, and support an intelligent conversation. He plays the mafia great;) Sergei Nazarov is a leader, a good organizer, authoritative and not authoritarian, he shows a lot of flexibility and respect towards other people. Easy to talk to, a wonderful storyteller. Ilona Zhegacheva.
We liked Oleg, he talked quite a lot and interestingly. He is experienced and constantly told us interesting stories about the places we went. Helped with advice on the route and at rest stops. He did not separate himself from the group, but took an active part in our life. Pavel Korotkov.
Instructor, Yura, is fine. Naturally, he told me everything, showed me everything, and helped me. And it was noticeable that he did all this with soul, since he himself is passionate about it and loves this business. The nutrition is surprisingly normal, but the appetite... I thought that it would be better in the fresh air:) But due to the stress (apparently the body has adapted), I was never hungry. Dmitry Barantsev, Nizhny Novgorod.
Many thanks to our guide Oleg, everything was very clear and coherent, he didn’t coo with anyone, he helped if necessary and treated everything with humor, which is important, next time, if I go, it will only be with him. There were also people in our group who were not persistent, who might write something not very good about the instructors, that he walked quickly, did not talk about every bird and pebble, but in the end, we were not going on a tour of the Louvre. Evgenia Panyusheva, Moscow
Sasha Arkhipov is a great guy, and he told stories around the fire, and along the way he told where and what, and to help if necessary. As a person who knows the area and as a friend, partner, just comrade - 5. Igor Kanyuka.
Anton is a good, promising guide. Sociable, able to interact with people. Having responded to our questions in a rich way, having learned and helped the group. Yuriy, Yasinya village (Karpathy).
Anton Kulakov is a cultured and educated person. His work style is characterized by responsiveness, flexibility, the ability to find compromises and pleasant communication. Everyone in our group was pleased with Anton’s work, including me. Alina Shapovalova, Kyiv.
Personally, I have only positive impressions of Yuri; he probably took my backpack three times and carried it along with his own, because in some areas I could barely move due to a natural fear of heights. I am very grateful to him for his help and support. Yura also almost completely freed us from worries about cooking, washing pots, etc. He probably took pity on us and gave us the opportunity to rest after the tiring marches. In general, he is a very kind and sympathetic person. Although his sense of humor is a little peculiar.:) But this, of course, does not spoil the overall impression. Konstantin, Minsk.
I liked Yuri, helped, answered questions, told a lot of interesting things, even showed some sights that were not planned on the route. Maria Agarkova
Seryoga is the best guide in the world and Uncle Zhenya too, and last time we were at Cape Aya (in April) Taras was very cool. Seryoga did everything, supported me very professionally, and a sea of positivity and optimism emanated from him, even in the most difficult places. He and I sat by the fire for hours and he talked about the stars, showed each star with a special laser, well, in short, words cannot describe it. Timur Smirnov
Thank you for having such a person as Anton Kulakov in your ranks. I don’t even know if we would have crawled this route without his physical and moral support." He answered all questions and told us about the sights. In addition, he also cooked. Let him forgive us, parasites, for this. Lena, Kyiv
The route was a joy, largely thanks to the guide. Sasha walked at a normal pace, did not rush - which was very pleasing. He helped absolutely everyone, he was on duty for everyone near particularly difficult turns of the path, in the morning after the rain he asked everyone about their well-being and warned that if there were any cold pills, fortunately no one needed them)), they arrived at the parking lot before dark - there was time to decompose and take a walk and collect firewood and manage to do everything, if there was a difficult road ahead or descents he always warned - although on the 2nd day I already realized that if he says it will be difficult ahead - it means it’s normal, maybe just a little more difficult, if normal means generally easy))), he told about the sights - and to every magpie - who did not hear last time and is asking about the same thing for the hundredth time. I really liked the guide - I would gladly go on another hike with him:) Natasha.
I can rate Alexander Arkhipov 5+. Answered all our questions; talked a lot about his adventures in the mountains, about the mountains themselves and their attractions, and about other famous hikers. During our trip, the weather conditions were not ideal, in case of fog or rain, he described in detail the possible route options and the difficulties expected on them, suggested the optimal route and was interested in the group’s opinion. The group unanimously decided that if at least one person does not want or cannot go along a difficult (dangerous in case of bad weather conditions) route, everyone does not go. While passing difficult places (slippery ground, steep climb over rocks, etc.) - he belayed the participants of the hike, gave a hand and helped them climb. In my opinion, Sasha’s style of work was democratic, but at the same time everyone understood perfectly well that he is our “president” and we must obey him, to put it figuratively - an older brother, that’s the impression that is being created. At the very beginning, the trailing one was chosen and so we went for 3 days - Sasha first, Igor last. Sasha was not on his own, he was an integral part of the group, like everyone else. Marina Gasanova.
The guide (Taras) was attentive to all members of the group, was interested in the well-being while walking, whether there was still strength to walk, told many legends and stories about the objects that came across us on the way and completely satisfied the curiosity of the group members, answering their endless questions. I liked absolutely everything about the hike! especially the morning milk porridge performed by Taras is simply delightful)) The route passed through very picturesque places and paths, in addition, Taras has excellent knowledge of the terrain. Natalya, Dnepropetrovsk
I can also say only good things about the work of the guide (Sergey Tseyger) - he accommodated everyone, and this means a lot for the “spoiled” residents of Odessa, he helped, answered questions and I think, thanks to his work, everyone eventually came to the conclusion that it was worth continuing tourist travel. Marina Braga, Odessa.
My friends and I really liked Anton as a guide - he is loyal, erudite, and worked wonderfully with the entire team. We are very pleased and want to go somewhere else with him closer to the fall. Thank you as the organizers for a wonderful vacation, I hope we will be in your area more than once. Valentina Yakimova, St. Petersburg.
The guys (Seryozha and Anya) are simply amazing guides - very attentive - and that was the most important thing! We changed the route flexibly, remained to guard our things in order to reach the ghosts without backpacks. They talked and listened. They need to stock up on more games - it helps a lot on difficult climbs and descents. I would definitely go with them. Alexander Paramonov, Moscow
The hike was very interesting, the team was good, it was the first hiking experience and immediately a huge amount of impressions, emotions... It seems to me that this is the merit of Yuri, he brought some additional interest, zest or something, allowed the group to make decisions. The style can probably be described as “democratic”, the group made quite a lot of decisions as a whole team, I don’t know how this is usually done since I have no experience)) Artem Drevetsky
For the instructor, Viktor Semenovich, a special thank you to you. This is a person who is simply gifted when it comes to working with people. We didn't have any problems with him. Probably, even we could have upset him with something, but everything he did for us, the way he communicated with us - it seems that there could not have been a better option. A very warm and kind relationship began, we correspond with him. Tourist club SZAGS, St. Petersburg.
Anton is great. We had a great time along the route, the best stops were ours. He fed me very well. His style can be called collegial, family. It was very comfortable with Anton! Elena Zapuskalova.
Afterword
Have you noticed that in their reviews, in addition to the personal qualities of the instructor, tourists often mention his culinary abilities? This is no coincidence. Food is one of the simple joys of life, the value of which is better understood during a difficult hike. A person who is able to wake up an hour and a half earlier than the group and start preparing breakfast, and then, in the evening after an 8-hour day of work, organize the preparation of dinner, becomes more than just a leader.
By the way, some of our instructors use their own grocery layouts instead of the standard hiking menu.