The Frustrating Reality of Buying a Kurshskaya Kosa Ticket Online: A Tourist's Nightmare

I've gotta say, I've never felt compelled to write a review about a website before. Not an online store, not a booking platform, but the website itself. It's left such an impression on me.

A little intro, I guess.

Kurshskaya Kosa is a national park and one of the country's most famous attractions. Located in Kaliningrad Oblast – not Kursk Oblast, as some alternative geographers might think.

You can get there either as part of an excursion group or on your own (public or private transport, on foot). For visiting the park with a tourist purpose (ecotrails, museums), you'll need to buy a ticket. And, weirdly enough, you can only get that ticket on the official Kurshskaya Kosa website. I'm not a seasoned traveler, but this kind of service is a first for me. An electronic ticket as the only option? That's just strange, considering many citizens still don't have mobile internet. And, of course, there are days when the website is down. I happened to visit on one of those days myself.

The question of where to buy a ticket remained rhetorical. Honestly, there's not the most rosy alternative: you can still buy a ticket at the checkpoint on the way in (at the park entrance). BUT... for those taking the city bus, you'll need to get off at the checkpoint, buy a ticket, and... wait for the next bus (which can take an hour or more). Those staying at a hotel on the coast and deciding to take a hike later will probably have to head back (the whole coast is 50 km long, by the way). That's what I'm talking about when I say virtual purchases aren't an option.

So, considering all the limitations, I'm guessing the coast's website must be pretty popular. And what do we tourists see when we get there?

Right in the middle of the main page – three main buttons:

According to the site creators' assumptions, the first thing a user would want to do is write a letter (something new). Usually, feedback links are stuck in some obscure corner. The second option is, of course, payment. The third line – by my interpretation, it's the same as the second, but for excursion groups to get a pass.

How to correctly purchase a ticket for visiting the Curonian Spit on the website (including for those with free admission).

When you move on to the payment tab, you'll see a pretty decent and almost understandable image:

When it comes to getting here, you've got a few options to choose from.

I went with the bus, but you can also opt for a ride on a motorcycle or a car. If you pick the latter, you'll get a pop-up to enter your vehicle's registration number.

Next up, you'll need to select the number of people you're planning to bring along. This is a nice touch, as you can actually book for everyone in one go, which makes things a lot easier. As you make your selection, the total amount due will automatically update at the bottom of the page.

Now, pay attention – the first cell only shows the number of people with a paid visit, while the third cell lists the freebies, excluding them. I've attached the list of free categories below, which is also available in the dropdown menu. So, if three people are traveling – one regular person and two pensioners – you'd put 1 in the first cell and 2 in the third. As you can see, the cost for the two pensioners hasn't been added to the total. The second cell lists kids under 18 – essentially the same freebies, just separated for some reason, but the principle remains the same.3. Date of visit. The ticket, according to the website, is valid for 24 hours. Not entirely clear how the entry time or purchase time is tracked, from which point these 24 hours begin, and for whom this strange period applies. Maybe for those living in a coastal hotel and can still hang out the next day. How they'd prove the start of the usage period is a mystery (on When you book a physical ticket, you can only add the date.

I left my email address, where my ticket would be sent. I thought about including my phone number, but since the reminder only goes to email, I decided against it.

After clicking the 'pay' button, I got a super detailed guide on what to do and what not to do, and where to go in case of an issue.

I'm curious – do people actually read the whole thing, or do they just scroll through it like they do with user agreements on every website?

I clicked 'agree' and...nothing happened.

After some fiddling around and being redirected from one page to another, I finally made it to the payment page.

I was surprised to find that without a phone number, the site lets you proceed to payment, read the instructions, and then kicks you back to the form. It's like, either it's a glitch or they want you to do something else. The question is, if a phone number is a crucial piece of info, why no notification and why do they let you proceed only to be kicked back two steps later? What's up with these endless loops?

After payment, I got a QR code in my email – that's what I'll need to show at the check.

Okay, moving on...

Is that all there is to the website? It looks like it at first glance. But if you look closely, there's a tiny 'menu' button in the corner that's hidden in plain sight. It's a blue button with white text, and it's got all the info you need.

So, I opened it up. The menu items aren't exactly intuitive:

I guess you could say I'm a philosopher at heart.

I've got to warn you about the protected areas in the park. If you take a stroll through them, you'll be looking at a nice fat fine. Now, these areas aren't exactly cordoned off, so it's easy to accidentally wander into one. To avoid any confusion, it's a good idea to check out the map of the protected zones. Where can you find it? Well, it's on the official Kurshskaya Kosa website, of course. But let me ask you, how do you even find the menu section where this sacred map is hiding? The section names look like Soviet-era slogans, so you'll need to think a bit. It's not like you can just stumble upon it. You'll have to engage your brain and ask yourself, what do I want to do? Explore, learn, or travel? Logically, the map could be anywhere, even in the 'about us' section or, more logically still, in 'learn more'.

Okay, so we finally make it to the 'travel' section (which, I suppose, is about us and for us poor tourists). And then:

1. The 'How to Get Here' section is woefully inadequate, only covering trains, city buses, and taxis.

I've noticed they're trying to keep the tourist traffic down on the Curonian Spit (to preserve this unique piece of nature), but it's pretty obvious they're not doing a great job. I mean, people are still going to find out about this and use it, and why not just say 'no taxis' instead? That would be a more grown-up approach. It's like they're trying to cover up the fact that cars are actually a thing. And yeah, there are some responsible people out there who might actually listen to a polite request like that. 2. The 'Interactive Map' section – I have to say, they were pretty pleased with themselves when they came up with that name.

The map window is way too small to read any labels on the map, so you'll have to zoom in a ton, and even then, the window only shows a tiny area around one tree. If you try to look at a bigger area, forget about it – there's no way to see any labels. Meanwhile, there's a link to Yandex Maps, and that's where the real fun begins. With that, you can pretty much explore to your heart's content. Given the current state of things, I'd say the link is all you need. That's all there is to the 'Zoning' tab.The 'Attractions' tab looks even worse. It's just a tiny map with minuscule labels that are all crammed together.

Don't get too excited – it's not all it's cracked up to be.The 'Infrastructure' tab is basically the younger sibling of the 'Attractions' tab. The image is just a tiny map with text that's completely unreadable.

I'm pretty sure the font size is about 1-2 points, which is basically mouse-sized.So, what else is going to catch a tourist's eye?

3."Cost of services and benefits". Sounds like a great idea to check out the price list before visiting any paid attractions. So, I click on the link and...it's just a list of orders and official documents with links to PDF files.

I've seen hands-only portraits before, but only on hospital websites where you can find thousands of paid procedures. This one's got 18 services and 43 products. I can only imagine how much work it took to create this massive chart for users. It's a huge undertaking, no doubt. 4. The "Recommendations and Tips" section is impressive, with some great ideas for traveling. According to the creators, the best time to visit the national park is September-October. I'm not sure about that – if the weather's good in September, I think the chances of good weather in October, especially towards the end of the month, are pretty slim. I personally visited the coast in August and have no regrets. I don't know how I'd enjoy splashing around in the Baltic Sea in October.

5. Another section that caught my attention as a tourist is the "Environmental Trails and Tourist Routes". Choosing the right trails is a major concern, especially for beginners. This section really surprised me with its usefulness. It's packed with information on the most popular routes and locations (I didn't bother with the lesser-known ones, but they're still open for visitation). I was particularly interested in two spots on the peninsula, but I had a tough time deciding between them. And what did I find? Each location has a different level of functionality and information, but the overall quality is pretty disappointing. Some routes come with tiny, non-clickable photos that are barely visible:

I couldn't even make out the details. The images with text really stood out (I still can't decipher what the tiny font is saying): The article on Lake Lebedy, for instance, only has a single photo – a tiny avatar.

Ah, this is one of the best eco-trails I've come across (I wrote about it here), but readers looking for travel tips won't find out about it here. In other articles, the promises about the views from the top are way too exaggerated.

Either there's not enough information, or way too much. Where's the balance?

6. The 'Where to Stay' section is just as chaotic. Some links lead to tiny, familiar photos, while others are scattered randomly across the page, like they were just thrown in there.

The information about hotels is fragmented, to say the least. And the content? It's a disaster. By the way, when I searched for specific information, the link took me to the 'Videos' section (!), which only had single still shots from some event reports: And not a single word. Why? For whom?7. The 'Souvenirs' section is basically just a few sparse lines: you're supposed to look for souvenirs at the Visit Centre on the pier. Prices and a list (not even a photo) can be found in another section – you'll just have to guess which one (hint: check above).

8. I was really underwhelmed by the Events Calendar. And honestly, it's for good reason. This section raises more questions than it answers.

It's a jumbled list of 'global days' mixed in with things like 'Rules for Meeting Seals' and a list of 'Kurshskaya Kosa Water Bodies'.

So, what's the point of this mishmash? How do these events relate to the park, especially when there's already a section for Events? Are they somehow observing these days or closing the park for some sort of secret ritual? Or maybe they're just gathering altruists interested in a specific holiday? I particularly loved the timeline of events: But then, in October, they somehow managed to squeeze in events from September. Just to keep things interesting, I guess.

Verdict: If this site was created by five-graders on a school project instead of a team of professionals, I'd give them kudos for trying. As it stands, there's just no way to sugarcoat it – this site is a total waste of time. I'm giving it 1 out of 5 stars, and I'm still trying to decide what I'm even giving credit for.

I'm not even going to bother with a more scathing review, because honestly, this site doesn't evoke any emotions – just a sense of utter uselessness.