With some terrific day trip options in the surrounding area, renting a car makes good sense. Without one, it’d be much harder to experience everything that Yoshkar-Ola, 16 miles away, has to offer. Soak up the sights starting with Museum of the History of the Gulag, Sapaev Mari State Opera and Ballet Theatre and Mari El National Shketan Drama Theater. The locals will also likely point you in the direction of Cheboksary, 60 miles away. If you only see one attraction here, make sure it’s Monument of Mother. (But we’re also huge fans of Chuvash National Museum and Museum of V.I. Chapaev.)