During the winter holidays, people come to Sochi not for beach activities - you can’t swim in the sea, but even at this time it is usually sunny and warm here. The average temperature stays at +9 °C, rarely falling below -1 °C. From time to time snow falls and melts quickly. And fluffy fir trees, adjacent to slender green palm trees, create an extraordinary atmosphere of a winter fairy tale by the sea.
The most popular type of winter recreation in Sochi is skiing at the resorts of Krasnaya Polyana. What else, besides rapid descents along snow-covered slopes, can you do on vacation in the evergreen city? Where to go, what to see and how to have fun with children?
First of all, this is an excellent opportunity to explore the Olympic venues, natural attractions, and go on various excursions without fuss and haste. In addition, you can have fun on the rides in Sochi Park, go to the dolphinarium or oceanarium, visit the arboretum, or simply breathe in the sea air while walking along the shore.
Theme park "Sochi Park"
If you find yourself in Sochi in winter, it would be unforgivable not to visit an amusement park with a dolphinarium, themed attractions and playgrounds with your children.
Sochi Park is located in Adler in the Imereti Lowland near the Olympic Park. From November 13 to December 27, the park operates in walking mode. And although not all attractions are open to the public, this is a great opportunity to stroll through themed fairy tale areas and ride on discounted rides. In addition, at this time the Dolphinarium, Sovarium, entertainment, playgrounds, the “Merry Planets” pavilion, family attractions, and interactive games are open.
From December 28 to January 8, Sochi Park is open in full mode. From now on, new rules for purchasing tickets come into effect. The main criterion is the height of the visitor while wearing shoes, and not age, as it was before. Children up to 100 cm tall can enter without a ticket. A child ticket is purchased with a height of 100 to 140 cm. All others (from 140 cm) can use an adult ticket. On January 8, even adults can visit the park for the price of a child's ticket.
During the New Year holidays, the park is transformed:
- there is the estate of Father Frost and the Snow Maiden, where you can write a letter with plans and dreams for the next year and make a wish;
- the skating rink opens;
- decorated Christmas trees and festive decorations everywhere;
- Guests will enjoy entertainment programs, breathtaking rides, treats and snowy photo zones.
There are noisy fun events, holidays and festivals that are held regularly: a festive parade to the catchy rhythms of drums, in which everyone can participate, a drum show, and an orchestra of Santa Clauses.
On January days, Father Frost and Snow Maiden greet everyone in the park at their estate. They are joined by heroes of Russian fairy tales, charming bear cubs Potap and Mila, magicians and giant dolls on stilts.
With the kids you can attend an interactive mini-show in the cheerful company of the kittens Korzhik, Kompot and Caramel, celebrate the New Year with the symbols of the Park - the bear cubs Mila and Potap, dance around the fairy-tale tree, the lights on which are lit by the main New Year's characters. And in the festively decorated hut of Baba Yaga you can see how the fairy-tale heroes – Koschey the Immortal, Leshy, Black Cat, Kikimora and Brownie Kuzya – celebrate the New Year in an original way.
From January 9 to February 29, 2021, Sochi Park is partially open (for walks). The exact schedule, information about the park’s operation and ticket prices can be found on the official website: https://www.sochipark.ru/.
You can have a snack and recuperate after an active holiday in the family cafe “Fed Mishka”, “Magic Garden”, in the “Roller” restaurant, in one of the mobile vans scattered throughout the park with burgers, hot dogs, pancakes, donuts, in the cafe- ice cream in the eco-village.
You can stay with your children here, on the territory of the park, at the fabulous Bogatyr Hotel in cozy family rooms. This place is excellent for living and recreation due to its convenient location (close to the Olympic venues and other city entertainment) and a good level of service.
Walking distance from the airport to Adler
Well, I got a little distracted. We left the airport, checked our luggage into a storage room (carrying a suitcase and two pairs of skates around the city did not inspire us), paid 300 rubles for one piece of luggage (and we had two), got a number and went for a walk .
Directly in front of the entrance to the airport there is a structure in the form of five Olympic rings the height of a five-story building.
One day in Sochi
Opposite the airport on a hill is the beautiful St. Nicholas Church with golden domes, which was built in 2007 and illuminated in 2010.
St. Nicholas Church
So, we looked around, where to go - left or right? We didn’t know, so we turned to the airport employee with the question: “Which direction should we go to get to the sea?”
Having found out the direction and flatly refused to take the bus - such air, such views! What kind of buses can they do? We walked towards Adler and Sochi to the Black Sea coast!
We are heading towards Adler...
We filmed a stunning sunrise along the way!
This improved our mood even more, and we moved on.
Palm trees grow along the highway - gorgeous!
And here are the harbingers that the Olympics were held here
And we move on, get enough air, enjoy the sun’s rays, the cool breeze, and now we see the first signs that we are already close to the city: more people, bus and route stops, shops and other things began to appear along the way.
Walking with dinosaurs at DinoClub
On the territory of Sochi Park there is a park of robotic dinosaurs “Dinoclub”. Finding yourself at the exhibition of “revived” dinosaurs - herbivorous and predatory inhabitants of the wild jungle, it is as if you are transported to the distant times of the origin of life on Earth - to the Mesozoic era.
Curious young researchers of earthly civilization will learn a lot of interesting things from the history of its development, and will see an exhibition of huge dinosaurs that can move and even growl. But despite their gigantic growth (the largest exhibit is 16 meters long), they are not at all scary and are quite friendly.
The impression of a story about the characteristics and habits of mysterious ancient lizards, accompanied by the sounds of wild nature, a projection of a large starry sky and flora, is enhanced by a visit after the excursion to a 3D cinema watching a film about the prehistoric underwater world.
At the end, you can walk through the exhibition yourself again, take a better look at the unique exhibits and take a photo as a souvenir.
Ticket prices
- Adult – 350 rubles.
- Children (from 3 to 14 years old) – 500 rubles (for large families – 350 rubles).
- Free entry for children under 3 years old, disabled children, WWII veterans, disabled people of group 1.
The price includes a tour, visiting the exhibition, watching a 3D film, and taking photographs with the exhibits (using your own camera).
Children under 7 years old can visit the exhibition accompanied by an adult, and over 7 years old - also as part of an unaccompanied excursion group.
In winter, the park is open from 10:00 to 19:00, in summer – from 10:00 to 22:00. Tours run every 30 minutes. Park address: Sochi, st. International, 12. Official website of the park: https://sochi.dino.club/.
Walking around Adler
So we just went for a walk around the resort town.
Here is a diagram of the Adler resort
There are many different shops in the town with souvenirs and clothes with the symbols of Sochi. At every step you are offered to take a photo with either a parrot or a monkey. Who hasn't sat on Slava's shoulder? We didn’t take any photos; we made the excuse that they already existed. Then they suggested that we bring a crocodile, since parrots and monkeys would no longer surprise us. We laughed and moved on. We bought a couple of magnets from Sochi as souvenirs for 50 rubles.
After walking around the town, we couldn’t decide where else to go. Still, we have one day in Sochi, and I want to see as much as possible. However, fatigue and the night flight were already taking their toll.
We decided to walk to the Adlerovsky station and then decide where we would still have time to go. Initially, we had the idea to go further from Adler to the Sochi resort, but then for some reason we changed our minds. And it took much longer to return from there. Even at the airport, they scared us that it was better not to take buses and minibuses, because there are big traffic jams in the city, and you can easily miss the plane. So we, apparently, decided not to take risks.
Olympic Village and Olympic Park
Without visiting these symbols of the renewed Sochi, it is simply impossible to imagine a tour of the winter city. The Olympic Park with the famous Fisht stadium, where the spectacular opening and closing of the Olympics took place, the Iceberg winter sports palace, where the best figure skaters of the world performed, the Shaiba ice arena and the Bolshoi ice palace, with the Olympic cauldron, the center speed skating "Adler Arena" and other sports facilities are located in the Adler region.
You can see the main sports facilities and the light and music show of singing and dancing fountains absolutely free.
In addition to the Olympic venues in the Imereti Lowland, in the park between the Fisht stadium and the Ferris wheel, there is the Sochi Museum Center, which consists of three museums: the interactive exhibition “Nikola Tesla Electrical Museum”, the Leonardo da Vinci Mechanical Museum and the USSR Museum.
Apery
The monkey nursery is located in the village of Veseloe, Adler region. You can get to it by car along the federal highway A-147 or by city bus No. 134. The stop is called “Monkey Nursery”.
The nursery occupies an area of over 100 hectares, on which cages and enclosures with monkeys are located. More than 5,000 primates live in the nursery. Of these, most are macaques, monkeys and baboons of various species. The nursery is the base of the Research Institute of Primatology, which is engaged in experimental research. You can visit it yourself, just pay the ticket price. For companies, it is better to book excursions that will tell you a lot of interesting things about the life and habits of monkeys.
Dolphinariums
There are several of them in Greater Sochi: the Adler Dolphinarium (Aquatoria) in the Adler “Resort Town” microdistrict, the Big Sochi Dolphinarium in the Riviera Park, the Dolphinarium in Sochi Park, the “Starfish” and the Lazarevsky Dolphinarium in the area of the same name. Water performances of sea lions, dolphins, white whales, seals and walruses are always interesting and cause a storm of emotions. And if you make a reservation in advance, you can even swim with the dolphins in the pool.
The cost of tickets to the Adler Dolphinarium is 700 rubles. Children under 5 years old – free. Official website of the Dolphinarium in Adler: https://adlerdelfin.ru.
At the Riviera Dolphinarium, children under 5 years old can watch the show for free. Adult and child tickets (from 5 years old) – 800-1000 rubles. For an additional fee you can visit the Penguinarium and the Rio Zoo. Official website of the Riviera Dolphinarium: https://delfin-riviera.ru.
The Dolphinarium in the Sochi Park amusement park is part of it. You do not need to buy a separate ticket to visit it. The performance lasts 40 minutes, the frequency and schedule of performances depends on the season.
Coastal cafe
After a walk along the sea beach, it was time for breakfast. The prices here, after the eastern Bukhara-Tashkent fairy tale, are quite steep, I tell you. But what can you do here - this is a resort place, the famous Sochi.
We went to the first cafe we came across not far from the seashore. We looked at the menu, it seemed like reasonable prices, and only after they brought the bill, we realized that all prices were indicated for 100 grams, and portions were 250 grams each. We ordered 2 French meats, a pot of tea, a cup of coffee and 2 pieces bread - all this cost us 718 rubles. It’s very different from the prices in Uzbekistan, where we could eat for 150 rubles to the fullest. Well, we’re in Russia, home again, someday we’ll still have to start getting used to the prices.
While still in the cafe, we went online to see what we could see here. Sorry for the tautology, but that's how it is. We only had one day in Sochi, and we needed to know where to go next. After studying a bunch of sites, we decided to visit the Sochi Oceanarium.
Oceanarium Sochi Discovery World
Sochi Discovery World is a huge oceanarium with a capacity of 5 million liters of water with 30 aquariums with marine and freshwater fish living in them. Among the inhabitants of the underwater world there are many rare and unusual species: cow fish, ball fish, hedgehog fish, unicorn fish, surgeon fish, seahorses, catfish, stingrays and sharks. Walking through a pedestrian tunnel made of thick glass, you can observe the habits of sharks, see reefs and rocks, and sunken ships.
An adult ticket costs 800 rubles, a child ticket (from 4 to 11 years old) – 500 rubles. Official website of Sochi Discovery World: https://www.sochiaquarium.ru.
Arboretum
In sunny weather, you can spend time outdoors in the green park of the Russian subtropics in the Khostinsky district of Sochi. It’s worth visiting even just to take a ride on the 897-meter cable car between two stations and admire the picturesque views of the southern city from above. In four minutes, the cabins rise to a height of 172 meters above sea level. From the observation deck where the trailer arrives, there are magnificent views of Mount Bolshoy Akhun, the Caucasus Range, the Black Sea and the port of Sochi.
Having admired the panorama of the city and its surroundings at the top station, you can slowly descend the mountainous slopes, carefully examining the sculptural and landscape compositions.
The upper and lower areas of the park are a green corner with rare plants from all over the world, inhabited by equally rare birds and animals.
The Park of Southern Cultures is a separate area of the Arboretum (included in the Sochi National Park in 2012) with ponds of the “French” park and artificial reservoirs, eucalyptus groves, alleys of fir, Himalayan cedar, tulip tree, with a 300-year-old oak and centuries-old plane trees, next to the Olympic Park. It covers an area of 11 hectares.
In the Arboretum, you can not only admire the green exotics and strange plants blooming all year round, but also purchase some of these rare species for yourself in the greenhouse’s exhibition hall.
In winter, the park is open from 8:00 to 17:00 daily. An adult ticket costs 250 rubles. Child ticket (7-14 years old) – 120 rubles. A ticket for the cable car can be purchased separately: adults – 350 rubles, children (from 7 to 14 years old) – 250 rubles. Travel for children under 7 years old is free. Official website of the Arboretum: https://dendrarium.ru.
Trout farm
A large fishery is located on the Mzymta River, you can fish here from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Excursions from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., from 8 a.m. There is a company store where you can purchase fish products. Fresh, delicious trout meat can be purchased here at any time. In 111 reservoirs, fish fry of different ages are raised and breeding work is carried out.
Address: Sochi, Adler district, village. Kazachiy Brod st. Forelevaya d. 45a
Skypark AJ Hackett Sochi
This is a year-round extreme park with attractions and entertainment for everyone who lacks thrills in everyday life. It is located in the Sochi National Park in the direction of the Krasnaya Polyana mountain resort.
The attraction that most often attracts extreme sports enthusiasts here is the SkyBridge suspension bridge. It is the longest in the world (439 meters), located above the Akhshtyr Gorge at an altitude of 207 meters. Many people who like to tickle their nerves dream of crossing this pedestrian bridge in order to admire the views of the Caucasus Mountains, white cliffs in green boxwood forests, and the Black Sea coast from above.
The price includes passage across the SkyBridge an unlimited number of times, visiting all observation platforms, watching the breathtaking attractions of which there are many in the park, including the highest swings, rope jumping, rope park, Via Ferrata rock route, helicopter rides , high-rise attraction MegaTroll. These entertainments are paid separately.
The adventure park at altitude is open without breaks or weekends. Opening hours may vary depending on the season, as well as ticket prices. From the Adler railway station, everyone who wants to test themselves is transported to the park by a free bus, which departs once an hour.
Skypark official website: .
Adler market
The market in Adler is located in the center of the village on Democratic Street, next to Lenin Street. Finding it is not difficult at all - you just need to get off at the “Market” stop. The popularity of the Adler market among tourists is explained by the special oriental atmosphere and mouth-watering aromas of southern fruits.
Feijoas, dates, figs, persimmons, tangerines, multi-colored churchkhela - you won’t see anything on the shelves of this wonderful market.
Sellers, with Caucasian cordiality, will vie with each other to offer melons “sweet as a beauty’s kiss” and tangerines “sweet as honey.” At the grocery market you can purchase the following goods:
- Meat.
- Dairy products.
- Fish, seafood.
- Fruits vegetables.
- Confectionery.
- Caucasian homemade wines.
- Homemade delicacies.
- Baking.
There is a large selection of fresh fish in a separate pavilion. There are local and imported delicacies here. Dairy rows are also nearby.
Next to the food aisles there are counters with clothes and shoes. The assortment is the same as at any other market, except that there are a lot of beach goods. If you are going to a water park and forgot to take a swimsuit or towel with you, then you can buy all this at the market. Buyers will be pleased with a large selection of souvenirs - wicker baskets, wooden boxes, figurines and spoons. Trade is brisk here only during the season; in winter the market becomes sparsely populated.
Gorky Gorod Mall
Sochi, even in winter, can give you a real piece of summer with a sandy beach in the mountains and different types of pools, 7 slides, saunas. You will find all this in the Mountain Beach water park on the top floor of the Gorky Gorod Mall, under a transparent dome through which you can see the snow-capped mountain peaks. There are other entertainments here, including the StarCinema cinema, bowling alley, shops, cafes, and the Funcity family entertainment center.
Check opening hours and other information on the official website: https://krasnayapolyanaresort.ru/aquapark.
What to bring from your trip?
The pride and main “souvenir” of the Krasnodar region is homemade wine and chacha. Here they are offered everywhere: in the store, at the market, on excursions. But be careful and always ask to try the drink before purchasing. Unscrupulous sellers are not uncommon in Adler.
Thinking about what memorable gifts to bring to your loved ones? We suggest you pay attention to:
- oriental sweets - Turkish delight, baklava, churchkhela, homemade pastila;
For churchkhela, go to the market.
- wool products - mittens, socks, scarves, stoles;
- mountain honey;
- exotic jam made from feijoa, figs, rose petals or pine cones;
- spices, bay leaf, eucalyptus;
- Krasnodar tea;
- sulguni cheese;
- nuts - walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans;
- dried figs;
- juniper products.
New Year's souvenirs made from juniper cuts will decorate any home!
Delicious gifts are sold at markets: feel free to bargain and taste. And you will find inedible souvenirs in shops and special kiosks. A large selection of souvenirs in kiosks, shops, entertainment centers - in the aquarium, Olympic village, Sochi Park, etc.
Socio-cultural
Another great place where you can have a good winter holiday with children in Sochi is “Galaktika”. This social and cultural center is located at the Gazprom resort at an altitude of 540 meters. The Galaktika OCC has an indoor water park with slides, air geysers, many pools, waterfalls, and an area for children.
In addition, the “Galaktika” has a “Parade of Planets” bowling alley, an ice skating rink, a “Zvezdny” cinema, an ice arena, a “Cosmodrome” (a scientific and educational center), a children’s club, a domed planetarium and the “Umnikum” exhibition.
Official website of the OKC "Galaktika": https://polyanaski.ru/galaxy/about.
Temple of the Holy Image of Christ the Savior
The temple was consecrated in 2014. Construction began in 2005. The Olympic Temple is called the center of Orthodox culture in Sochi. There is a Sunday school and missionary work is carried out here. This is a very beautiful temple in a modern style that any Christian will like.
Address: Sochi, Adler district, st. Spasskaya, 1
Excursion to the Valley of Legends and Waterfalls
Cultural-ethnographic complex “My Russia”
Thematic pavilions (11 in total), which present exhibitions from different regions of the country, are located about half a kilometer from the Rosa Khutor mountain resort. This is a kind of museum and an exciting excursion into Russian history, where you can, moving from pavilion to pavilion, taste the national dishes of the peoples of Russia, purchase traditional souvenirs, admire the Buddhist temple, the towers of the Kazan Kremlin, and the architecture of other Russian cities and regions.
The center is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00. Adult ticket – 350 rubles. Child – 250 rubles. Official website of the Ethnographic Center: https://myruss.su.
Biosphere Nature Reserve of the Caucasus
The reserve is located near Krasnaya Polyana and is open to guests all year round. This is a place for those who like to study the habits of wild animals (more than two dozen of the reserve’s inhabitants are listed in the Red Book) in their usual habitat and enjoy quiet walks in nature in the fresh air. You can get closer to the animals in the Aviary complex.
The reserve has another unique natural monument that deserves attention - the yew-boxwood grove - a pre-glacial forest that includes relict plant species: trees and shrubs, colorful orchids, flowers, tropical mushrooms.
For entertainment, the reserve has a rope park, the Devil's Gate canyon, a cafe, and snowmobile routes.
