Crimea is the second resort area in the south of Russia; it is still not well developed by vacationers. And the road to the peninsula is connected with difficulties. Therefore, you need to think carefully before you go there to rest.
What for?
The first thing that comes to mind when asking: "How to get from Crimea to Sochi?" - counter-question: "Why?" Was it necessary to climb into the inaccessible Crimea, and then look for a way to Sochi? This is much more expensive than immediately flying to the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus.
The air in Crimea and on land, and more healing, the water is cleaner (at least to the west and east of Big Yalta). There are much more interesting places in Crimea; it is generally called a peninsula of treasures. Romantic Crimean nature is not inferior in richness and diversity to the foothills of the Caucasus, but it excites the soul much more.
Two reasons can motivate a person who came here on vacation to suddenly look for a way from the Crimea to Sochi. How to get there will be explained at any bus station of the local resort.
The first reason is nostalgia for European service and “civilization”. And the second is Ukrainian provocations in order to create the impression of instability on the peninsula and scare vacationers.
Options are not the most popular.
If, for example, a man flew to Simferopol with his children and saw Russian tankmen or rallying locals on the streets of the Crimean capital, he would inevitably want to urgently leave Crimea for Sochi. How? There are four options to get to.
- You can fly a direct flight from Simferopol to Sochi by plane. Departures take place on Wednesdays until October 26; departure time 16:40; Arrival - 17:35. Ticket price from 5,273 rubles. The flight is operated by Ural Airlines.
- How to get there by train on the route Simferopol - Sochi, the map can explain. Having described the triangle on the peninsula: Simferopol - Dzhankoy - Kerch, the train approaches the ferry crossing, which passengers and their luggage overcome. Then follows landing in another train - to Krasnodar.
From there you can already get to Sochi. In total, three trains go to Krasnodar from Simferopol in September 2016. The earliest leaves at 4:30, and the latest at 17:10. The whole trip with stops and transfers lasts 18 - 18.5 hours and will cost 2,200 rubles.
By bus to Sochi
A bus is another way to get from Crimea to Sochi. How to get there, it is useful to know in advance in order to prepare for known inconveniences. Firstly, a direct bus flight Simferopol - Sochi is not operated. Two passing buses go through the Crimean capital via Sevastopol - Sochi (at 17:00 from Simferopol) and Yalta - Sochi (at 13:00 and 14:55). The bus also does not run on the route Feodosia - Sochi. Vacationers from the eastern coast of Crimea either board the same passing flights or travel to Sochi with a change in Krasnodar.
Direct flights from Crimea to Sochi are unpopular, since they are much more expensive (Yalta - Sochi, for example, costs about 3 thousand rubles). A trip along the route Simferopol - Krasnodar - Sochi will cost 1,700 rubles. And there are much more flights from Simferopol to Krasnodar. The trip takes about 20 hours. But the main inconvenience of traveling by train and bus is the Kerch crossing.
Port of Crimea - Port of Caucasus
A strip of water 4 km wide separates the Crimean coast from the Caucasian. This barrier is currently being overcome by 7 ferries carrying passengers and vehicles. Ferries depart every hour and run around the clock. Passengers from regular buses and trains are transported first. If the bus approaches the ferry at night, you have to half-load your luggage and wait in line for loading in the so-called "sedimentation tank".
The crossing itself lasts 30-40 minutes, about the same time loading takes: first cars, then people. On the other side, a new bus awaits them, continuing to move along the route. Particularly depressing is the expectation of crossing at kilometer-long lines in a sultry summer or in stormy weather in late autumn and winter. Here you can get stuck for a day, or even more.
Although optimists Kerch crossing may like it. While waiting in line, they walk along the sea coast, refresh themselves in a cafe in the waiting room, take a shower before continuing on.
Boat trip Theodosius - Anapa is canceled
A pleasant alternative to the ferry was a walk on the catamaran Theodosius - Anapa. A small ship with a capacity of up to 300 people departed from the port of Feodosia at 8:00 and 16:30, while at the same time a vessel left Anapa to meet him. The trip lasted 3 hours and cost 1,650 rubles. Last year, the Sochi-1 and Sochi-2 catamarans traveled to Yalta and Feodosia, but did not pay for themselves. This type of communication between the two resort areas was canceled, despite the requests of local residents and unfortunately vacationers.
From Crimea to Anapa you can now come only through the ferry, and then by bus to Sochi. Flights from Anapa: 9:30, 17:20 and 20:30, travel time 10 hours.
Why not?
An automobile option for traveling from Crimea to Sochi can take place in two cases.
- Adventurers will risk traveling to Crimea, and then to Sochi in their own transport. They can leave their personal car in the parking lot of the port of Kavkaz in order not to languish in long lines for crossing cars. Parking costs 200 rubles per day, while for the crossing of the car you will have to pay 1000-2500 rubles, plus 180 rubles for each passenger. Without a car, the journey continues on a single ticket.
Having a rest on the peninsula and without hassle having overcome the Kerch crossing in the opposite direction, you can transfer to your car and go to another resort, winding kilometers on Sochi serpentines.
- Anyone who does not have a car on the peninsula can use someone else's. Through the Bla Bla Car travel search service, you can find a convenient option for yourself and leave for Sochi in the cheapest way. Such a trip from Crimea to Sochi costs 850-1000 rubles.
What is a single ticket?
The document confirming the owner’s right to use the ferry at the crossing and the bus in the right direction on the territory of Crimea is called a “single ticket”. It was conceived as an appendix to a railway ticket for long-distance trains, so that vacationers who arrived did not stand in queues of ticket offices at the crossing and bus stations. All flights of a single ticket are docked: a bus from the railway station delivers vacationers to the Kerch crossing, where they take the ferry out of turn and cross to the opposite bank. Here they are waiting for buses to all resort towns of the Crimean peninsula.
Motorists purchase a single ticket with intercepting parking. It must be booked in advance, indicating your name and make of the car, otherwise all parking spaces will be occupied, you will have to lose precious vacation days, transport the car back and forth.
Two capitals
Having considered all the possible routes leading from Crimea to Sochi, we can draw the following conclusion: there is not a single convenient, pleasant, inexpensive, which would not overshadow the rest with unnecessary excitement and vanity.
- A flight from Crimea to Sochi is the most convenient and fastest option, but also the most expensive.
- Bus and rail flights are associated with the unpredictability of the Kerch crossing, the endless drag and drop of luggage, sleepless nights and transfers.
- The car option is a lot of trouble at the crossing and is not economical.
- Moving from Crimea to Sochi by passing cars is quite risky.
Sochi, Yalta - the capital of the two resort regions are not connected, unfortunately by convenient transport routes. This does not allow vacationers to independently make pleasant excursions there and back. When choosing a resting place, one must also decide at home what the soul and body are asking for. If they cannot do without European service, entertainment and all the achievements of civilization, then we must immediately go to Sochi or to other resorts of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus.
If the healing air and beaches of Crimea, its attractive nature and history overshadow the inconvenience, it’s worth the risk and choose Crimea.