The Beach Week Champ!

After visiting the Ukraine's top Black Sea beaches and rating them one by one, Tonic is finally ready to declare a winner. The best Ukrainian beach is definitely Novy Svet with Koktebel as a close second.

Looking back on the individual ratings, I actually noticed something that didn't come to mind originally. The beaches tend to get better the further east one heads along the coastline. Yalta and Odessa, situated in the west, received the lowest ratings. Novy Svet and Koktebel, meanwhile, are the furthest east and not all that far from the Russian border. Who would have ever thought beaches would get better the closer you got to Russia? Nevertheless, having spent so much time on different Black Sea beaches, I was surprised that more American travelers haven't learned about the Crimea and these intriguing little resort towns.

Dangling like a pendant from the Ukraine's southern coast, the Crimea is a beautiful peninsula filled with waterfalls, caves, beautiful flora, majestic mountains and a Mediterranean-like climate. The area's previous inhabitants were the Tatars -- Ottoman Turks that Catherine the Great defeated over two centuries ago -- so the cuisine is rich with grilled meats, kebabs, baklava and other such tasty foods. Best of all, save for the plane flight over there, the accommodations and meals are generally much more affordable than those you'll find in other seaside resort towns, especially in Europe.

The Crimea is such a popular place that many peoples have occupied its lands since the Ancient Greeks first colonized its several millennia ago. Today, though part of the Ukraine, the region is essentially autonomous, and its 2.5 million population is also incredibly diverse.

Should you be inspired to visit the Black Sea's northern coastline, consider bypassing the better-known Yalta and Odessa beaches for something in eastern Crimea like Koktebel and Novy Svet. Hell, the two top beaches are only a short bus ride away, so maybe hit them both!