I've lived in St. Petersburg, so I'm familiar with the specifics of tourist cities. But the Black Sea coast is a whole different story – it's like a nightmare. This year, life threw me a curveball and I ended up in Sochi for a few days, and let me tell you, I got to experience all the city has to offer. I was there for 4 full days, plus half a day on arrival, and I have to say, I didn't want to leave. Well, except for one thing – I wanted to go back to the Krasnaya Polyana mountains and hike around some more. But Sochi itself? No way. Especially in the summer.

Transport

You can get to Sochi by train or plane. Since it takes two days to get there from St. Pete by train, I chose to fly. The route now goes through the Caspian Sea, and the flight takes 4 hours and 20 minutes – it's like flying to Irkutsk. There are plenty of direct flights from St. Petersburg, and I usually fly with Aeroflot, so I chose them for this trip too.

On approachFrom the airport to central Sochi, you can take the Latsa bus. But be warned – they don't run very often, and they're packed to the brim at the start. And then people keep getting on along the way. I didn't enjoy it. You can also take a taxi or bus. A taxi to the central area costs around 1200-1500 rubles.

Where I stayed

I stayed on a hill near the TV tower, at Gorodskoy 5. Before I arrived, I thought it was a great location – it's in the central part of the city, but not a touristy street, so it's a bit cheaper. I thought I'd be able to walk up the hill and take a taxi back down. But in reality, we ended up taking a taxi twice. The first time was during rush hour, and we waited for 30 minutes for a taxi to arrive – it was literally from the next street over. And I'm not exaggerating when I say we could have walked home in 20 minutes. But the longer we waited, the less sense it made to walk.

The second time we took a taxi was to the airport, and that was because we were leaving at dawn, and the Latsa buses weren't running yet.

Now that I've experienced it, I'd recommend choosing a more central location for active tourism – Navaginskaya Street and Kurortny Prospekt up to the Winter Theater. And it's even better to stay near the train station, within a 10-minute walk. The trains run without traffic jams, and you'll likely be taking the train to get somewhere else a lot.

I rented an apartment for a few nights. In Sochi, finding a place to stay isn't a problem – there's a ton of options to suit any taste and budget. I paid around 23,000 rubles for five nights. The apartment had huge windows with a great view, standard decor, but plenty of space and everything I needed for a comfortable stay.

Food

It wasn't hard to find a place to eat, but breakfast was a challenge. In Sochi, it's tough to find a burger joint that's open by 7 am or even 7:30. We usually bought something ready-made in the evening and reheated it for breakfast. That's where VkusVill came in handy – they had a ton of pre-made food, including frozen pancakes. We often grabbed dinner there too.

Энос

Кафе МайPrices at the restaurants were pretty normal, considering it's a big city. I'd say it's similar to what you'd pay in other major cities – around 2-3,000 rubles for a meal at a cafe or restaurant. But there are plenty of options, including some really popular canteens. The food is great, and the restaurants have modern decor – it's clear that the food industry is well-developed here.

ФеттуччинеI've already written reviews for the places we ate at, so I'll link to those at the bottom. What surprised me about Sochi was that some restaurants, like Энос, try to scam you by saying they can't accept card payments and asking you to pay via Sberbank transfer instead. They won't even give you a receipt. On the other hand, I really liked Fettuccine, an Italian restaurant near the Winter Theatre – the food was great, the service was good, and the prices were reasonable. And Cafe Mai near the lower station of the cable car was a great spot for breakfast before heading to the park.

Оранжерея в Сириусе

What I managed to see

I had an express program, so I tried to hit all the main attractions. Given Sochi's unique character and the fact that September is still a popular tourist season, I made sure to get to each place as soon as it opened. That meant getting up early, but it wasn't a problem since I was going to bed relatively early too.

First day after lunch and check-in, we took a stroll down Navagin Street, along the Sochi River, and through Primorsky Park. I highly recommend doing the same to get familiar with the central part of town – there are all sorts of museums, sculptures, and monuments. In the summer, it's gonna be packed with people.

On the second day, we hit up the dendrological park and the cable car there. We spent around six hours walking around. Honestly, I don't think it's worth the time and money. The benches are mostly concentrated in one spot, and not all of them are in the shade. The signs only have a map of the territory and the names of the plants. There aren't any info boards with general information about the region or interesting facts about the plants in general, or even just the sequoias, oaks, and palms. They could've come up with a guided tour with QR codes or created a network of routes. I mean, it's 2025, and this is the main attraction in town – and this is what we get. It's just a park for walking, but without food, water, or benches, and it's on a hill.

On the third day, we headed to Estosadok. It's also known as Red Poles. There are a few different cable car systems there. I chose Red Poles, but there's also Gazprom and Rosa Khutor. The ticket office opens at 9, and I'd recommend getting there by then – we got there a bit late and ended up grabbing some food, so we didn't make it through the turnstile until 11. We didn't get to do much – we rode the cable car to the Black Pyramid and took a quick walk along a short trail with a relic forest. There weren't any long lines – it was the end of the kids' season, and we only waited around five minutes for the next lift.

I'd recommend setting aside two days to explore at a leisurely pace. If you're a mountain lover, you could easily spend a week here – hiking the trails, riding the cable cars, and hitting up the Gazprom routes. To do it all, it's best to stay in the mountains themselves, rather than in central Sochi.

Day Four - Sirius. The Olympic and Ornithological parks. I have to say, the Olympic park was a letdown. It's massive, I get that, but it's all asphalted over, and on a sunny day, it's blinding. Even with a good breeze, it's still scorching hot because of the huge reflector on the ground. I get that they needed space for all the athletes, but couldn't they have set up a temporary garden somewhere? In St. Petersburg, they do pop-up gardens, so it's definitely doable.

Near the stadiums in SiriusThe Ornithological park was crowded and noisy - at least, that's what it was like behind the fence. On the other hand, there were some greener areas with fewer people, but hardly any paths to speak of.

I have to say, I really enjoyed Sirius overall. After Sochi, it felt like a different world. There's plenty of space, it's free and open, and there are actual sidewalks. The only downside was that the distances were huge, so we ended up taking taxis. To make matters worse, the internet was barely working, and it was tough to hail a ride.

Day Five - the Tisso-Samshita Grove. We made it to Khust on the Lastochka, and then took a taxi from there. We got there just as it was opening, which was a good call. There's currently a big renovation project on the main circle, so we couldn't do the full loop. But I'm glad we did it. It was nice and green, cool, and full of birds. There were also plenty of info boards, which was really cool - we learned some interesting stuff about the local flora and fauna. They've got some nice trails set up, and my girlfriend, who's into botany, was able to chat with the park staff about it. They even gave her some tips on what to look out for on the route.

The small loop trail

A City for Cars

Sirius is just another Russian city that's clearly designed for cars, not people. Instead of creating a comfortable environment for pedestrians, they've clearly prioritized personal transportation. We stayed in a place with one-way traffic and no sidewalk, and cars were zooming by at high speed, even around corners. It was uncomfortable to walk alongside. We ended up using the underground tunnels a lot.

I've noticed that drivers here are pretty laid-back. They'll stop wherever they feel like it, cross solid lines, and park wherever it's convenient. Even on unregulated crosswalks, they'll often only stop when you've already put your foot on the zebra crossing and are about to start walking – otherwise, they'll just zoom on by. It's a bit of a shock coming from St. Petersburg, where cars are definitely not the dominant force on the roads.

Heat and Humidity

The climate here isn't for everyone. September's supposed to be a comfortable month, but we found it to be pretty sweltering. I was sweating just a few minutes into our walk, and we still had the whole day ahead of us. You dry off instantly.

The shade's pretty scarce. With all the concrete and asphalt, everything just gets even hotter. We were lucky in Sirius – it was overcast for most of the day, so we were able to walk around comfortably, and there was even a nice breeze.

The Hilly Terrain

I guess you can't really change this, but it's definitely a drawback for people who are used to living in flat cities and aren't used to constantly climbing hills. For us, it's not a problem, but for many people, it's a definite minus.

Impressions of the City

It's super noisy. It feels like there are millions of people living here, even though the official population is only around 500,000. But if you head out to other areas of Sochi, away from the center, it can be a lot more pleasant. We checked out Hosta on the way back from the tisso-samshit forest, and we also liked Sirius and Estosadok. But the question is, what brings you here in the first place? If you're like us and want to see as much as possible, you might want to stick to living near the train station in Sochi. If you're looking for a beach vacation, you might want to consider Lazarevskoye.

City BeachWe weren't impressed with the beach in Sochi – the beaches are pretty narrow, the water's murky, and there are often big waves. We never felt like taking a dip. According to reviews, you need to head past Tuapse towards Gelendzhik to find wider beaches that aren't right under the train tracks. But we're not really into that kind of vacation.

City BeachI've gotta say, the aggressive taxi services are a real pain. They're everywhere, especially around the train station. You step off the train and suddenly you're surrounded. The prices are actually pretty good if you take a private taxi, but you're on your own if something goes wrong - good luck trying to get compensation through the courts. That's why I stick with official taxis.

Monument to the Heroes of the Diamond HandOverall, I feel for the locals. The city's just too loud and congested with cars. The housing prices are through the roof because of tourism, and it's tough for residents to find a decent place to live.

I just don't get the tourists, though - it's hot, humid, and expensive, and the beaches are dirty and crowded. What's the fun in that? I'm sure there are better places on the Black Sea coast for beach lovers. If I go back, it'll be to the mountains.

Some separate reviews of Sochi:

Enos (Greek cuisine)

Cafe Mai

Fettuccine

Dendrarium

Dendrarium cable car

The Red Valley cable car network