With some awesome road trip options available in the surrounding area, having your own car makes sense. Without one, it’d be much more difficult to explore all that Yoshkar-Ola, 20 miles away, has to offer. Museum of the History of the Gulag, Sapaev Mari State Opera and Ballet Theatre and Mari El National Shketan Drama Theater alone make the drive out worthwhile. Cheboksary is another terrific option. It’s 25 miles away and home to an array of intriguing things to see and do. Monument of Mother, Chuvash National Museum and Museum of V.I. Chapaev are just the start.