Below are some comments on things we particularly liked and a few things that might be improved on. We hope these might help you when designing another trip. If we were doing it again we would change very little.

We liked the tour around Taganrog in the minibus to give us an idea of the layout of the town. Peter’s statue was a good starting point.

The visits to the Chekhov houses were very interesting but it would have been better if you had come with us to the his father’s shop as well.

The "Albatross" restaurant was very good. The boat trip was enjoyable and relaxing. One hour might be short but for two hours it needs a bit more of an aim - perhaps sailing along the coast to the west of Taganrog.

Tanais was interesting but it was for us the tour that worked least well. You moved the trip from the 19th to the 18th which was a good idea but we did not realize it would cost more. Also, I had suggested a short visit and the tour of the museum was too long, especially as we were hungry! The timing of the day made it difficult to fit in lunch. In hind-sight it would have been better to take us later, after lunch.
The drive to the view above the "springs" gave us a very good feel for the countryside near the Don delta and we really liked that.

We liked Azov itself and could probably have spent a bit longer there. The restaurant was very good and cheap. The Alexandrovsky forest was also worth visiting. It is a question of luck as to what animals or birds will be seen. We much prefer the wild  animals to the friendly ones. The fish soup was a good idea.

The "Old House" was a good place to relax and we could have stayed longer especially if the swimming pool had been warm enough to swim in (it was only at 19C). The food was excellent.

The Cossack family was lovely and the boat trip across the Don was great. One night in the village is enough.

The visit to the field was interesting for us but it might not be necessary for other visitors. As you mentioned, a visit to Rostov or Starocherkasskaya might be preferable. We enjoyed Rostov. The Putchinskaya Hotel was excellent. In fact all the hotels were very good.

Again a big thank-you. We hope you find these comments useful. As for us, all went as we hoped and we are really pleased. We’ll send some photos soon.

Best wishes for the future.

Michele and Paul Whitehead