Wonderful holiday in Abkhazia.
Hello, I would like to leave a review about our wonderful vacation in Abkhazia!
For a long time we thought about where to relax this summer, considered Turkey, Greece, etc. , but in the end, the choice unexpectedly fell on Abkhazia on my mother's initiative. We booked a tour and this period of waiting for a rest began, when you are in a constant fuss of collecting, reading reviews, looking at photos and worrying. As it always happens, doubts began to creep into my head based on negative reviews from tourists. Everyone writes, they say, it’s terrible in Abkhazia, everywhere there is devastation, theft, deceit. But I have a completely opposite opinion about this country. Let's start from the very beginning. Our flight was on July 11 at 4 am from Vnukovo. We flew by plane to Adler, where we boarded a transfer and set off on our way to Abkhazia. The night, to be honest, was not the easiest. We left the house at 20:00.
First, three hours to Moscow by minibus, then four hours of waiting at the airport, the flight is just over an hour. And all this at night! : )
They arrived in Adler tormented to the point of impossibility, they really wanted to sleep and only the feeling of the upcoming vacation inspired hope. We were met by representatives of the travel agency, seated in minibuses and we drove to the border. Some tourists have already begun to grumble when it was necessary to move a little away from the main entrance of the airport and wait ten minutes for the bus. You see, serve right under your nose. This is how people spoil their holidays. Be more optimistic and take small inconveniences easier, nothing ever happens without blots. I personally spent this time very pleasantly, enjoying the morning southern sun, while some around continued to spoil their own mood with complaints and discontent.
We drove for about half an hour, I was completely delighted with the landscapes: another city, mountains, blue sky. We had to stand at the border for about two and a half hours, and it was hard. The beginning is already really sleepy, and sleeping on the seat is far from comfortable, in addition it is hot, the sun is scorching through the glass. A bottle of water is a real must-have! The Russian customs holds an incredibly long time: first you stand in line on the bus, then you get off with all your belongings, you go to a stuffy room, you stand there in a line of people, you go through passport control, where they examine you for a super long time and ask questions, and then also in on the bus, you wait for all your companions who decided to stay in the toilet. The Abkhazian customs, on the contrary, flew by in about ten minutes. A moment, and we are already driving along the main road of Apsny, leading through all the cities of the country!
Thank God Gagra, and we rested there, this is the first settlement in a row, and we had to go not so long. The driver unloaded us with another couple at the bus stop, wished us a good rest, and drove on.
The first impression of the city was quite pleasant, narrow streets, heat, tall eucalyptus trees, constant movement and this is the feeling of a resort town. And although buildings under construction or abandoned buildings are sometimes visible, this is all blocked by incredible nature. It's just something magical! A lot of greenery, mountains with creeping clouds rise on one side, on the other side the brilliant sea is blue.
We walked a couple of steps from the stop and ended up in our hotel, where we were immediately met by the hostess.
I must say right away that the impressions of the hotel and the room were not the most pleasant, there were a lot of jambs. But even THAT did not spoil our holiday. We personally are not particularly fastidious people and are used to everything, and even found some advantages in this. We immediately knew what we signed up for when we went to the CIS resort and were not surprised. If you have any unpleasant problems with housing, be optimistic! Look for the good in the bad. If you can figure it out and fix it, great! But if you still have problems, try to stay away from quarrels, because they spoil the mood. But from your rest there will be good and funny memories.
Normal tourists immediately go to the sea upon arrival, but of course we ran in search of food : D We were hungry like wolves! So, if you are worried that you will not find where to eat and remain hungry, then put these worries aside.
On the streets of Gagra, at every step, there are all kinds of canteens, cafes, grocery stores, shops with fruits and other things, such as spices, churchkhella and much more. Prices, of course, are more expensive than in Russia, but very bearable. We, I will not hide it, were chic, because we frankly do not know how to save on vacation. Since we only had breakfasts and dinners in the hotel (by the way, they were very wonderful! ), we dined in the canteens. Having bypassed several different canteens in a couple of days, we found favorites for ourselves both in terms of price and taste, and in the future we went there. I can recommend you a few places:
1. Dining room number 5 "Eden". st. Abazgaa. An excellent dining room, they cook deliciously, I especially liked stuffed zucchini, pilaf and cheesecakes. In the evening it turns into a cafe, where you can sit under the barbecue, which is cooked here on the grill. Prices are not the cheapest, but acceptable. The two of us ate too much, but still didn’t finish it for 350-400 rubles.
Dining room "Eden"
2. Dining room of the USSR. st. Apsha Leona. Despite the symbolic name, a very cool dining room. I was pleased that more or less national dishes are prepared here. I tried achma and cheese casserole, now I dream about both of them in my dreams : D. Very nice woman behind the distribution! Again, the prices are very reasonable.
3. A small barbecue tent, right in front of the turn to the street. Apsha Leona. Definitely do not miss it, because in the evening there is a decent crowd of people who want to eat barbecue. Very tasty kebab, took 3-4 times. Good choice: pork, chicken, lamb, potatoes, mushrooms, vegetables. And it doesn’t lie on the window, but the trout is hidden. : ) They did not dare to try, but people took it very boldly. Everything is takeaway, they do not spare onions, and they put free pita bread. Shashlik skewer for two and sauce - 300 rub
These are purely our favorites, and there are still a HUGE number of places to eat in Gagra and you can find good ones for yourself. In addition to lunch, almost every day we indulged in fruits and sweets from the store, bought water. They took 30 thousand with them, 13 were brought home. That is, the total expense amounted to 17 thousand rubles. In addition to all of the above, this includes three excursions, honey, souvenirs and sweets to go. And almost daily payment for sunbeds, slippers and a hat : )
Now I'll tell you about the beach and the sea. This is something awesome! The sea, of course, is not fresh milk, but after lying in the sun, it’s the most refreshing thing! There were days when the water was just the purest, you could see your feet, and there were days when jellyfish swam and a little garbage (don't worry, just a little). At least, such a situation as in the same Anapa in the form of stinky algae was not observed. The beach is pebbly and without slippers you can’t walk on it at all, so be sure to take it with you.
They also swam in the sea with special shoes. For most of our vacation, the beach was quite free, you can always find a sunbed with an umbrella, relax calmly, swim, etc. However, the last two days have been trash, some incredible influx of tourists. There were no more sun loungers, umbrellas too, there were just too many people. So, I had to pack up and run at 8 in the morning to take places, because it’s okay without a sunbed, but I can’t do without an umbrella. : ) By the way, two sunbeds for the whole day with an umbrella cost 300 r, but we managed to bargain for 250 a couple of times. We went to the sea twice a day: in the morning from 9 to 12, and in the evening from 16 to 18-19, left there were towels with pebbles on the sunbeds and everything was fine, no one borrowed anything. I understand that this, of course, is a chic mode, but, as I said, we don’t know how to save on vacation at all X)
Quite a free beach at the beginning of the holiday.
On the beach you can also fly on a parachute, ride a banana-tablet-scooter, buy something to eat.
Not the most pleasant thing is the so-called shitty rivers, massively merging into the sea right across the beach. This, of course, is generally terrible, but they didn’t cause any inconvenience while relaxing on the beach, you just need to move away and that’s it.
Again, if you're on vacation and encounter some kind of trouble, carefully ignore it (unless, of course, you can't fix it). This is the surest way to spend your vacation well and without nerves. We faced a lot of mistakes, but we still gave Abkhazia a chance to show itself for what it is. We replaced the bad with good, and this country did a great job of compensating for all the negativity with its nature, kind people, the sea, the sun, evening walks along the narrow streets and many others : )
Now a little (much) about excursions.
Just by walking along any street, you will already have a huge number of price lists with a list of all kinds of excursions in your hands. We didn't bother with prices and bought tours from the woman who sold them closest to our hotel. Our choice fell on Alpine Meadows and Stalin's Dacha. Of course, I would also like to go to New Athos and many more places, but, unfortunately, we did not have enough strength or time (an excellent reason to return : )).
1. Stalin's dacha. Mom, and I was very interested to see how the leader of the USSR lived. The first time we got ready to go and were already standing at the bus stop waiting for the bus, I suddenly became very ill and had to cancel our trip. It turned out to be sunstroke. So we had to buy a hat and since then I have not appeared on the street without it. And I advise you: always a headdress! At least during the day. The heat is incredible, in addition to the humidity, the rays are reflected by the vast expanse of the sea.
Without protection, overheating is guaranteed. I oklimalas two days later and we made a second attempt. This time it worked : )
The tour is very interesting and informative, there are many interesting facts from the life of Stalin. But the most important thing is the view of the sea from there. We looked, listened, took a bunch of beautiful photos and went back satisfied. This excursion will be a great start for longer ones: short, interesting and beautiful.
Sea view from Stalin's Dacha
2. Alpine meadows. Jeeping.
It was just something XD.
We left at 9:30, if I'm not mistaken. The driver we got was excellent, talkative, he told us a lot of things and gave us more time at each stop. Three other people were traveling with us, so it was quite comfortable. On a Jeep, of course, cool. The saving breeze blows and you can see everything better.
The first stop was Blue Lake. Very beautiful! Blue-blue. We took pictures with peacocks, soaked our feet in ice water, took pictures with everything that is possible in the area and drove on.
The next stop is the Gegsky waterfall. The way to get there is, of course, very exhausting. Long serpentine uphill, hellish potholes, heat. But I will say it was definitely worth it. Once in a lifetime this must be seen. The waterfall is just incredible. Huge, majestic, loud, brilliant. And many more such adjectives. You are unlikely to leave dry from there, but this is just a saving moisture after the heat. Photos, again, a huge amount, my instagram just popped : ).
Further according to the plan was Yupshirsky Canyon, it is also interesting to see, take pictures, make a wish near a large stone.
After that, we stopped at the observation deck, and then kept our way to Lake Ritsa itself. Arriving there, the first thing we ate. The driver took us to a cafe, not the one near the lake itself, but a little higher. It's quieter, cheaper, and tastier. There was an opportunity to try the national dish hominy there, but we decided to stop at the usual kebab with lemonade. We didn’t stay too long, because the lake does not wait!
The driver, again, gave more time than expected - 30 minutes (we were 40). During this time, we managed to take pictures, get our feet wet and ride a catamoran. This is just recommendation number one! It's one thing to look at the lake from the side, and another thing to look at the lake from the lake itself : ).
The magnificent blue water, the sun, the mountain peaks with snow were very impressive!
Next on the program were Alpine meadows. This, I admit, was our mistake. It was possible to stop at the lake, or go to the Milky Falls and Stalin's dacha on the Ritsa, but we are stubborn : ) we go strictly according to the program. It takes a long time to get there, an hour, maybe more. The views around, of course, are amazing, but still the road turned out to be rather difficult. Alpine meadows, of course, are very beautiful, but they do not live up to expectations a bit and there is not much to do there. But nothing, once in a lifetime it was worth seeing, so we were not particularly upset. It was very cool!
Alpine meadows
On the way back, we also stopped at the Men's Tears waterfall and a bee farm, where we bought super delicious honey.
Since we were the only one from the whole group who expressed a desire to go for a tasting, we decided not to stay there for a long time. We quickly chose honey and drove back to Gagra.
In general, we really liked this excursion and we certainly will never forget it. I say right away, it is very exhausting and heavy, we then departed for a day and a half.
3. Cruise on the waters of Gagra.
Every day on the beach, many boats and catamarans come to the shore with an offer to go on an excursion to the open sea. At the end of the holiday, we still decided to go, and never regretted it! It's just incredible. You swim out into the open sea and see: on the one hand, Gagra, as if in the palm of your hand, on the other, the endless blue of the sea. A pleasant girl-guide told us about the history of the city, interesting facts and much more. Stopped for swimming in the open sea. Vests are provided. At first I did not want to, but then I decided and it was just unforgettable!
The sea is everywhere, from all sides, and from below, and on the sides : D My delight knew no bounds.
Then we went to the White Rocks, the very ones where the Diamond Arm was filmed. The rocks themselves did not make much impression, but I really liked the contrast swimming in the sea! On the way back we saw the shortest river in the world and DOLPHINS! : ) It was very cool, they swam right next to the sides, jumped, fins scurried back and forth. The price of the tour is 700 rubles per person, children under 10 years old are free. It's worth the trip!
When it was time to leave, we suddenly became very sad, because it came to a full realization of how good it is! On the day of departure, we got together, vacated the room at 12, went to eat, and there the transfer had already arrived for us.
The way back to the border was transferred a hundred times better, customs went through somehow faster. By the way, the honey was taken out without any problems, no one examined us or asked anything! Some people generally carried everything - chacha, cheese, and spices, they also had no problems. So, don't worry about this. And if anything - so three hundred rubles in the passport, and bring whatever you want! - as our driver said.
That, in general, is all that I wanted to tell. A whole bunch of memories! We sit at home and miss you terribly. We plan, if possible, to go to Pitsunda next year : ).
Abkhazia has definitely left a mark on our hearts. All the little failures and troubles added that very bitterness, interestingness : ). Look for the good in everything and do not spoil your holiday with a bad mood. I assure you, you definitely need to go there at least once!
Evening walks around Gagra.
Apsha Leon Street
The sea accompanied us with waves and such an incredible color.
