Very nice, cheap and delicious!
Unexpectedly, it was a week of rest. The budget was limited. Therefore, it was decided to go to Abkhazia. We bought a weekly tour to the Laguna Hotel in Gudauta, or rather a hotel on the outskirts of the village of Bambora. There are no complaints other than poor soundproofing in the hotel. It takes about 5 minutes to go to the beach, there are few people on the beach, clean and calm. We had 3 meals a day, but every morning in a cafe on the beach I drank a mug of freshly brewed coffee with real ice cream on cream, like in childhood : )
In principle, we did not take excursions from a tour operator or at hotels. I don't like all those standard "look left, look right" bus crowds. Therefore, through the social network, I found the guys who spent the whole day with us, showed the main places and a couple more not promoted. We drove around the capital Sukhum. It is a sad sight, on the main street there are bombed-out houses all around, already overgrown with trees, people live in half-destroyed houses.
Then we went to New Athos. We visited the New Athos Monastery, the hydroelectric power station and the abandoned railway station Psyrtsha. Then we went to Lake Ritsa. It was the most memorable. A very beautiful place, we drove around the observation deck with crowds of tourists and headed to Stalin's dacha. It’s quieter there, you can go into the house, but we decided to take a ride on Stalin’s own boat. The walk took about 20 minutes, they let me steer the boat, it cost 1500 rubles. per boat, there were 9 of us, it turned out 170 rubles. You can spend the whole day on the Ritsa. There are so many things to see and visit. There were waterfalls, Blue Lake, several old suspension bridges across a mountain river, a confluence of two rivers, a gorge. We didn't have time for everything. Then in the evening we went to Gagra. There we visited the abandoned boarding house "Georgia". Incredibly beautiful majestic building, which is now absorbed by nature.
There are still tiles on the walls of the bathrooms, there is even a bathtub, it is strange that no one has yet taken it away. Then we visited the Gagra colonnade, the Gagripsh restaurant and met the sunset on the beach. Even then there were a lot of people on the beach. Gagra is a real resort, with shops, cafes, entertainment on the beach and a bunch of people. A couple of days later we ourselves went to the New Athos caves. Quite interesting for those who like such places. We walked around New Athos, really liked it there. Unlike Gagra, it is a more comfortable and peaceful place.
The most amazing thing is nature. Cypress and eucalyptus alleys, mountain lakes and waterfalls, abandoned dilapidated buildings absorbed by nature, the cleanest sea and beaches. For this, I personally forgive Abkhazia the lack of the usual European service. In this country, life froze with the beginning of the Abkhazian-Georgian conflict and has not yet fully recovered.
It is sad to see how people do not use such a potential for the development of the country, but only live off Russian tourists and Russian subsidies. If you are fond of the times of the USSR, then you will like it here : ) There are no luxury hotels, restaurants, boutiques here. Here, in general, the complete opposite of luxury rest. It is very cozy and sincere here. If you respect local customs and traditions, then you have nothing to fear.
As for spending: freshly brewed coffee 20-50 rubles, khachapur 120-250 rubles, real ice cream 15-50 rubles, khinkali 150 rubles. /portion 5 pcs. , barbecue 200-500 rubles, figs 120 rubles. /kg, tkemali 70-100 rub. /0.5l, beach chair 100 rubles, umbrella 150 rubles, churchkhela 50 rubles/pcs. Travel to about. Ritsa 350 rubles, a tour of Stalin's dacha 100 rubles, New Athos caves 500 rubles, a taxi in Gudauta 150 rubles. The portion in the cafe is large, you can safely take 1 for two. In the Gudauta park, we had dinner for about 700 rubles. /person and only because they took lamb shish kebab. In a non-tourist place Gagra, dinner cost 500 rubles / person.
(khachapur, khinkali, vegetables, wine). In total, for a week of rest, I spent 9000 rubles. for entertainment, excursions, coffee, shopping in the market for sauces and fruits, sun loungers on the beach. I think it's rather modest. In the same Sochi, everything is much more expensive.
My verdict for a vacation in Abkhazia: very beautiful, tasty and inexpensive! Without any claims to high service, everything is simple for ordinary people.
