Sochi

Sochi is known as Russia’s unofficial “Summer Capital” or the “Black Sea Pearl.” With its beautiful rugged coastline, countless shingle beaches, warm sunny days, and vibrant nightlife, this is the country’s largest and busiest summer sea resort, drawing more than 4 million tourists yearly. From May through September, Sochi’s population more than doubles due to visitors, including celebrities and members of the country’s political elite.

Surprisingly, just 3% of these tourists are foreign, and even the city’s border position doesn’t assist to improve the situation. Bono, maybe the most renowned non-politician foreign visitor to Sochi, was asked to spend time in President Medvedev’s house in 2010. However, in general, the city remains a largely local destination, with a lack of sufficient international infrastructure and the same language barrier as other Russian provincial cities.

Another paradox of Sochi is that the city, which has long been connected in national consciousness with the south, palm trees, and hot weather, was awarded the 2014 Winter Olympic bid. This paradox will probably never be fully understood by Russians: every area in the nation has a true winter, except Sochi? The explanations include a lack of hard frost and the city’s extremely promising Alpine resort of Krasnaya Polyana. A less logical reason is Sochi’s fortunate fate. The most famous Russian proverb of Sochi is “If I could read the cards, I’d live in Sochi” (“нал рику – ил в oи”). This proverb, which originated in the Preference card game, depicts the relationship of Sochi and its residents with luck, namely an inadvertent and unanticipated windfall.

Perhaps such Olympic fortune will assist the city to transcend national boundaries and become a genuinely global destination. Sochi has a lot to offer everyone who enjoys nature, sports, history, and sunbathing on the beach. This Black Sea Pearl has yet to be found.

Sochi is part of that tiny small area of Russia that enjoys a subtropical climate. In contrast to Mediterranean climates, Sochi has very high humidity levels, similar to those seen in Abkhazia or several US states (e.g. Mississippi,Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia). Despite heavy precipitation, Sochi has 300 sunny days each year, which is unheard of in Russia except in adjacent Krasnodar Krai coastal towns. Except for November, December, and January, this makes almost all of the year a good time to visit Sochi.

The majority of precipitation occurs during the winter, sometimes as snow, however there is no consistent snow cover in the city’s coastal area. Because Sochians seldom wear winter tires, severe snowfalls are unpredictable for vehicles. The temperature of Greater Sochi’s mountainous region is substantially cooler, allowing for a complete ski season in winter (usually, February and March). As a result, Krasnaya Polyana is rapidly emerging as a winter resort, hosting all outdoor events at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Spring is a brief season that is distinguished by the blooming of gardens (usually starts in March, even if temperatures are lower than in February). This is a pleasant season with less rain but nonetheless a frigid sea.

Summer in Sochi is connected with the swimming season, which typically lasts from the middle of May until the end of October. This is the genuine high season, with the tourist season peaking in July and August. The city sees fewer tourists in September and October, owing in part to the commencement of the school year. These two months, when the Black Sea is still warm, the air is not too hot, and the streets are not overrun with people, seem to be the most enjoyable times to visit Sochi. This is known as smoothy season.

The off-season autumn, which arrives in Sochi at the end of October, is warm but overcast and rainy. By the end of November, the daily average temperature had fallen below 10 degrees Celsius.

Greater Sochi stretches about 145 kilometers along the Black Sea coast (90 mi). Sochi is located in Southwest Asia, on the Asian side of the Greater Caucasus. Sochi is around 1,603 kilometers (996 miles) from Moscow.

Sochi has boundaries with Tuapsinsky District in the northwest, Apsheronsky District and Maykopsky District of the Republic of Adygea in the north, Mostovsky District in the northwest, and Abkhazia in the southeast. The Black Sea borders it to the southwest.

The great majority of Sochi’s population resides in a short strip along the shore, which is divided into autonomous microdistricts (formerly settlements). From northwest to southeast, the largest of these microdistricts are Lazarevskoye, Loo, Dagomys, downtown Sochi (Tsentralny City District), Khosta, Matsesta, and Adler. The whole city is built on the Western Caucasus mountains that fall to the Black Sea and are pierced by rivers. The Mzymta, Russia’s longest Black Sea tributary, and the Shakhe are the two most important rivers in Sochi. Other rivers in the area include the Ashe, Psezuapse, Sochi, Khosta, and Matsesta. The Psou River forms the boundary between Georgia and Abkhazia.

The city’s northern outskirts are part of the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site that encompasses extensive swaths of Krasnodar Krai and Adygea. Sochi National Park encompasses almost the whole Greater Sochi region, with the exception of the seashore and the territory that is part of the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve.

Before using a non-Russian sim card, check the roaming costs, notably those for mobile Internet. Some mobile connection standards, such as those used in Japan and the United States, are not supported in Russia.

If you’re going to be in Russia for a week or longer, it’s definitely worth getting a local sim card, but keep in mind that you’ll need a passport for that. The most convenient approach to replenish a local mobile account is to utilize an ATM. Most ATMs offer multilingual interfaces that enable for a variety of payments, including those for mobile services provided by local providers.

There are currently no expat-oriented or globally focused media outlets among the hundreds of Sochi newspapers, journals, and radio stations. Everything is only available in Russian. Hotels often offer satellite television with a basic selection of foreign channels (BBC, CNN, Russia Today, etc.).