Summer vacation is very important, especially when children appear in the family. The child enjoys a marine climate, the southern sun helps to stock up with vitamin D for the whole year, the air is rich in oxygen, particles of sea salts and iodine ions. Adults also need to change the situation, go beyond the boundaries of gray workdays and get a lot of pleasant experiences. In order for the memories of your summer vacation to really be positive, you need to think in advance of the travel route, calculate the cost, plan excursions and entertainment.
More and more of our compatriots choose resorts in the Krasnodar Territory and Crimea for summer and winter holidays. This article gives practical advice to families who plan to relax in Sochi with their children. Where is the infrastructure better developed, what are the prices in local shops and cafes, where to go and what to see?
Which area to choose?
The city stretches for 105 km along the seashore, as the mountains prevent it from growing deeper. The entire coastline belongs to Greater Sochi. Contrary to popular belief, Adler, Hosta, Lazarevskoye, Krasnaya Polyana and other resorts belong to the city. And what we used to call Sochi is the Central District. There are four of them: Lazarevsky, Central, Khostinsky and Adler. Before choosing where to relax with children in Sochi, you need to familiarize yourself with different offers - not all areas of the city are equally good.
Lazarevsky district
This part of the resort town is farthest from the airport. In terms of accessibility, this is not a very convenient area, but the clean sea and affordable housing more than cover these inconveniences. The beach in Lazarevsky is pebble, the proximity of the mountains makes the air unique in composition, which is why families with children love to stay here. The area lives on tourism, its infrastructure is constantly growing and developing: new boarding houses, playgrounds, water parks and entertainment centers are growing.
Villages hosting holidaymakers: Shepsi, Chemitokvadzhe, Magri, Vishnevka, Makopse, Sovet-Kvadzhe, Golubaya Dacha, Ashe, Lazarevskoye, Zubova slit, Golovinka, Anchor slit, Lower Beranda, Vardane, Lower Khobza, Loo, Lower Uchder, Cultural Uchder, Dagomys, deep gap. Lazarevsky is an excellent district of Sochi, where it is better to relax with children. Everyone will find something for themselves and entertainment to their liking.
Khostinsky District
This area of Sochi is famous for its nature. There are a lot of balneological resorts and medical institutions in Khost - medical tourism is developed here. Relict forests, unique relief and clean air attract many. The area starts from the Kudepst River and ends with the Vereshchaginsky Valley. The temperature in Khost is always a couple of degrees higher than in the center of Sochi. These places seem to be specially created for spa treatment, even on sunny days there is a record number of 280 per year. When is the best time to relax with children in Sochi? In Khost you decide when to arrive, the season here lasts from February to November. It is not surprising that the Institute of balneology and physiotherapy is located in the Khostinsky district.
It offers sightseeing, sightseeing and entertainment. In addition to cinemas, museums, discos, bars and restaurants in the Khostinsky district, there is the Sochi National Park with Eagle Rocks, Mount Akhun, yew-boxwood groves and Vorontsov caves. The arboretum, divided into two zones, delights with ponds, magnolia alleys and other exotic plants.
Adler District
Here are the airport, Olympic facilities, Krasnaya Polyana, an amusement park, an aquarium and many water parks. The following microdistricts are part of the district: Nizhneimeretinskaya Bay, Krasnopolyanskiy settlement district, Cheryomushki, Central Adler, Golubye Dali and Kurortny Gorodok. Looking for where to relax with your children in winter? In Sochi, in the Adler district. You can ski in Krasnaya Polyana, but it’s better not to stay there. In Adler, the cost of housing is much lower, and you can get to the ski resort on the "Swallow" or transfer, which is available in almost all hotels.
Imereti microdistrict is very popular among tourists. Modern infrastructure is built using new technologies and high-quality materials. Everything interesting and necessary is within walking distance. Here you can relax with children in the summer in Sochi with the greatest comfort. Recently, a convenient pedestrian promenade has appeared here, where the child is not threatened by transport - you can run or ride a scooter in the evening. Moms with prams also appreciate the local promenade.
central District
The historical part of Greater Sochi. It is divided into several microdistricts, but not all of them have access to the sea. Choosing where in Sochi it is inexpensive to relax with children, you need to pay attention to the location of the housing. You can go to the beach from New Sochi, Mamaika, Svetlana, Tsentralny and Ian Fabrizius. But KSM, the Hospital town, Makarenko, Vishnevka, Donskaya, Areda, Zavokzalny, Sobolevka, Maly Ruchey are located at a distance from the coastline.
To get to the beach, you have to cross one or two microdistricts. It is better to choose a place in Sochi where you can relax with children in the summer without long walks in the sun. There is no sharp difference in relief, the terrain is very convenient, all objects are within walking distance. Attractions such as the Winter Theater, Seaport, train station, art museum, Riviera park, Sochi arboretum and the residence of Bocharov Stream are located here. This is a modern comfortable area of Sochi, where it is better to relax with children.
Accommodation in Sochi
The choice of housing depends on several factors:
- Budget. The class of affordable housing depends on how much tourists are willing to pay per day.
- Nutrition. If there are one or several small children in the family, it will be tiring for mother every time to look for a cafe or dining room to have lunch. Cooking yourself, having a baby in your arms, is also not very convenient. For such cases there are motels and pensions. For families with older children who love excursions, hiking and outdoor activities, hotels and guest houses without food are suitable. You can walk around the city or swim, and have lunch and dinner every time in different places without reference to time.
- Proximity to the sea. The farther, the cheaper, but in the pursuit of low housing costs, you need to calculate your strength. Families with kids are not recommended to settle far from the coast - the road to the beach and back is too tedious.
So, where better to relax with children in Sochi? We choose housing:
- Pension: hotel with full content. Many confuse a boarding house with a sanatorium. Indeed, these two institutions are very similar: there is a regime, meals from three to five times a day, a recreation area with a playground, often its own beach. The boarding house differs from the sanatorium in the absence of a profile and compulsory treatment, although a general practitioner in such an institution should be. You need to pay for the wellness program in a boarding house separately, and in the sanatorium the course of treatment is included in the price of the permit. Where to go to rest in Sochi with a child? If the child is small, definitely - in a boarding house. Parents will definitely be able to relax, and the child will be safe. The absence of domestic problems during the long-awaited vacation is a big plus. The cost of the permit starts from one and a half thousand rubles per day.
- The sanatorium differs from the boarding house in specialized treatment. Doctors of various specializations are always present on the staff - from a gastroenterologist to an ophthalmologist. The rest is the same boarding house.
- Hotel or hotel is perfect for families with children of preschool and school age. You can only appear in the room at night and walk around the city all day: sunbathe on the beach, explore local attractions, dine at local cafes and try hot barbecue on the open veranda of a cozy restaurant. No one will notify you about your absence from the procedures.
- Guest house or hostel are the same hotels, but lower class, which means cheaper. Suitable for those who want to relax with children inexpensively. In Sochi, where the coastline is more than one hundred kilometers, it is not difficult to find housing of this level.
- Rooms in the private sector. They were incredibly in demand during the youth of our parents. Perhaps, only rest by savages in tents was probably more popular, as in the film "Three Plus Two" with Andrei Mironov in the title role. As a rule, local residents build small panel houses for vacationers on their sites. Rarely - with amenities, usually a toilet on the street, and an outdoor shower with rainwater. Nowadays, this type of housing is gradually becoming a thing of the past. Prices in any hostel are similar or lower, and the level of service is higher. The choice is obvious.
- Camping. This type of vacation is popular not only among young romantics. Both pensioners and families with children of different ages love to live in a tent with a bonfire and a guitar. Campsite owners build gazebos with barbecue facilities and awnings on the coast, which are rented to everyone for daily rent. To pitch a tent in the camp, you need to pay for the place. Car parking is also available for a fee. Where it is better to relax with children in Sochi, you need to decide on your own, based on the tastes and habits of the family.
Nutrition
It is impossible to stay hungry in Sochi - a hospitable resort will feed everyone, from a sophisticated gourmet to a baby. If a sanatorium or a boarding house is chosen as the place of residence, then there is almost no need to eat outside it, in institutions of this type they feed very well. But if due to an excursion or a walk it was not possible to get to lunch, then a cafe or a barbecue room, which is a great many in Sochi, will help out.
In the Adler district, the leader in the number of ratings and reviews was the cozy Parus Cafe. The establishment is located on the promenade, from its terrace offers magnificent views of the sea. Author's cuisine, European, Caucasian and Mediterranean.
In the Central District, the Fettuccine trattoria has been pleasing tourists for several years. The Italian restaurant is great for a family dinner and gets the most flattering reviews. You can go here, having aroused your appetite while walking along the arboretum.
In the Khostinsky district, the love of vacationers has earned the Luck + Cafe. The institution serves the famous red mullet, seafood, fresh oysters and other delicacies.
Experienced tourists advise newcomers vacationing in the Lazarevsky district of Sochi to visit the cozy family cafe "Porridge". Here you can try European, Mediterranean, Abkhazian and Georgian cuisines. The cafe serves healthy food, which is why vegetarians like it.
In Sochi, a huge number of dining rooms, eateries, street barbecue and fast food vendors. In order to please relatives with a delicious dish prepared with their own hands, you can go to one of the local markets in the morning and buy fresh local products. Fruits, fish and seafood are especially good in Sochi.
Children's entertainment
Where is it better to relax with children? Sochi has a huge number of water parks, water slides, playgrounds and other interesting places. Children of middle and young age will like attractions in the Riviera park or Sochi Park in the Olympic village. Next to the Abkhaz border, the only Scientific-Research Institute of Medical Primatology in our country, which is popularly called the monkey nursery, has settled down. Here you can choose one of three excursions lasting about 40 minutes and costing 400 rubles. You will have to pay 200 rubles for a child.
In the park in Lazarevsky, the Ferris wheel is popular. With older children, you can go for impressions to the Agursky waterfalls, visit the dolphinarium or oceanarium, go to Krasnaya Polyana or see how tea is collected in Dagomys.
Water and air temperature
When is it better to go to Sochi to relax with children? This resort town is suitable for recreation at any time of the year, it all depends on the goals pursued. You can get acquainted with the culture, cuisine and sights of Sochi at any time. Swimming in the sea and sunbathing under the warm southern sun is better from May to mid-October; skiing is better in the winter months - in December, January and February. There is almost no snow in Sochi, but a strong gusty wind makes walking along the embankment uncomfortable. Winter in the Krasnodar Territory is +9 ... + 10 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature rarely drops below +10 degrees. At the end of winter, mimosa begins to bloom, and with the advent of March, the spring sun shines with might and main.
How to get there
You can get to Sochi:
- By plane, travel time is just over two hours.
- By bus or private car - the distance along the highway is 1622 kilometers. Travel time is about a day.
- By train - the average trip time will be 1 day 15 hours.
Reviews
Where to relax in Sochi with children? Experienced tourists who are not resting for the first time and who have visited different areas cannot clearly say where it is better. Someone is in love with Loo and rests only there, someone likes Khosta sanatorium, and someone cannot live without nightclubs in the Central District.
In every corner of the resort there are cozy places that you want to return to. One advice: you need to select an area based on the cost of housing, infrastructure and the age of children.