Excursion to New Athos. What is the best way to get to New Athos and where to rent accommodation? How to get to New Athos from Gagra

Where is New Athos

New Athos is located on the shores of a vast bay approximately 80 kilometers east of the Russian border and 20 kilometers northwest of Sukhum.

To New Athos by plane from Russia

The easiest way to get to New Athos is by flight to Adler, followed by crossing the border (to the checkpoint from the airport about 20 minutes by bus or minibus) on foot and transferring to Abkhaz taxis, buses or minibuses traveling through the entire territory of the republic.

To New Athos by train from Russia

By train you can get from Moscow by direct flight No. 075C Moscow - Sukhum - in Adler several cars are uncoupled and travel further to Sukhum through New Athos. Customs and passport control is carried out directly in the cars at the Veseloye station (on the Russian side) and at the Tsandrypsh station (on the Abkhazian side), however, due to its duration (often up to an hour and a half at the border, to which it is worth adding two days in transit to and up to 5 hours after) this method of moving is not convenient for everyone.

To New Athos by bus, minibus or train from the border with Russia

By bus along the highway you can get to New Athos in about an hour and a half. There are direct buses and minibuses from Adler airport, you can also hire a taxi directly to New Athos, however, due to the fact that there are often huge queues at the car checkpoint, using them can sometimes be inconvenient.

The final stop of most minibuses traveling from Adler to the Psou border post is the Cossack Market, from where it is still about two kilometers to the border. After passing passport and customs control and passing through the bridge, transfer to a minibus or regular bus going to New Athos. Travel time is about three hours.

From the Russian station Adler to Sukhum via New Athos there is a comfortable train, the schedule of which changes every year. Taking into account the border stop in Vesely and numerous stops at intermediate stations, the entire journey to the capital of Abkhazia will take about four hours, to New Athos - half an hour less.

New Athos is a small but very famous Black Sea town in Abkhazia.
This is a real southern resort, well-groomed, green, full of excursion sites, ancient buildings, museums and temples, but at the same time rich in picturesque places of nature untouched by civilization.

The distance from the Russian-Abkhaz border to New Athos is 85 km. Every year New Athos is visited by millions of tourists from Russia and neighboring countries. There are also many who come on a one-day excursion, stopping to rest in one of the suburbs of the Sochi region. Even if you are in New Athos with such an excursion for one day, you will not be disappointed; you will have time to enjoy the beauty of the city, see the monastery, cave, waterfalls and eat the famous cheese “boat” in the cafe on Swan Lake. But of course, it’s best to come here on vacation for a few days.

Little New Athos has everything a sophisticated tourist needs - a clear sea, wide beaches with small pebbles, mountains densely covered with vegetation, several iconic temples of Christian Abkhazia, a unique karst cave, an exotic park, palm and cypress alleys, swan lake, waterfalls, gorges , boxwood and olive groves. Here is also one of Stalin's dachas, located on a vast area with hundreds of citrus trees.

New Athos and all its infrastructure are ideal for a quiet family holiday by the sea. There is a small market, grocery and hardware stores, cafes, canteens, cozy restaurants right on the shore, beauty salons and even a dental clinic. The town offers a large selection of housing for vacationers - from inexpensive private sector and turnkey apartments to luxury rooms and luxury apartments. Families with children, students, pensioners and pilgrims have long chosen this paradise. For days on end they are ready to walk along beaches and parks, inhale air saturated with sea ions and phytoncides of subtropical plants, and admire the fascinating nature and architecture of man-made shrines. But those tourists who have not yet been on vacation in New Athos are missing out on a lot.

If you are going to Abkhazia, and having read many rave reviews about New Athos, you are interested
this place, then don’t doubt it, believe these words - buy tickets urgently and come. You will not be disappointed - this is truly one of the most interesting corners of Abkhazia, if not the best!
There are several options to get to this truly heavenly place.

The first is an airplane. But you won’t be able to fly directly to Abkhazia; the nearest international airport is in Adler, a suburb of Sochi. Then, using a transfer, taxi or public transport, you will need to get to the border of Abkhazia with Russia, cross it, return to the car performing the transfer, or already on the territory of Abkhazia order a taxi to New Athos. You can also take a minibus - a passenger gazelle, plying inside Abkhazia. True, it departs only at the moment when the entire cabin is filled with passengers and ends work around 9-10 pm in the summer. This type of transport has another significant drawback - in such a gazelle there may not always be room for large luggage. In this case, it is best to pre-book a transfer. With its help you will be able to conveniently get to your hotel or guest house in New Athos at any time of the day or night.

Option two is the train. If you arrive by train again in Adler, then at the exit from the railway station you can also find public transport that goes towards the border. Some buses arrive very close to the border checkpoint, some stop 400 meters away. Just as in the first case, you cross the border and choose what to drive to New Athos. If you arrived light, young and full of strength, then the prospect of traveling 85 km in a minibus across Abkhazia will not frighten you. And if you are very tired, burdened with voluminous luggage and a couple of small children, then you should still take more seriously the choice of transport that will take you from the airport or Adler station to the long-awaited vacation spot in New Athos.

Remember - Adler's public transport does not cross the border! Therefore, we advise you in the first and second options, when you arrive in Adler, to use the services of transport companies. To do this, you can book a place in a group transfer group, which is very profitable, or order a comfortable individual car just for yourself and your family to New Athos. In this case, you and your luggage will be met by a driver right at the airport or train station and delivered directly to your address. You can also choose the type of transport that suits you - from simple passenger sedans, minivans or premium cars to 20-seat comfortable sprinters designed for a large family or company.

Option three is ideal for those who may find it difficult due to health reasons to stand at the border during peak season, waiting their turn to present documents. This is an opportunity to cross the border while in transport, namely, arrive in Abkhazia by direct train (at the moment there are three such trains going directly to Sukhum from Moscow, St. Petersburg and Voronezh) or come by regular bus. You can get off the train that travels through Abkhazia at the New Athos station, the stop is short - 3-5 minutes. In this case, passport and customs control of passengers is carried out directly in the carriages or inside the bus.
You can also take the train from Adler railway station, however, it will only take you to Gagra. But you can order a transfer to New Athos from Gagra station in advance, negotiate with a private taxi driver, or try to stop passing public transport and get there.

And finally, you can always come to New Athos by your own transport; the town is only 85 km away from the border with Russia. For some, this path will seem long and they will reach a maximum of Gagra, while others will travel 300 miles without stopping for the sake of this heavenly place. Getting to New Athos on your own is not difficult - to do this, you will first need to enter the city of Sochi, and then find the village of Veseloe (10-12 km from Adler) and the border checkpoint on the Psou River in the Adler region. A map, navigator or local motorists will help you find the road - most of them are very friendly.

Crossing the Russian border with Abkhazia is very easy if you are confident in the authenticity of your documents and are not wanted by the police. As we have already said, the lucky ones on a direct train to Abkhazia or a regular bus wait in their seats when border guards and customs officers approach them for inspection. And the one who drove up to the border on public transport and got off, or travels in his own car, or used a transfer service, crosses the border checkpoint on foot, again gets on his own or hired transport, and sets off towards New Athos.

For insufficiently experienced motorists, we explain that all resort towns of the Republic of Abkhazia are concentrated along the federal highway. Only Pitsunda, which is located on a vast cape, has a road branch from the highway to the right for 12 kilometers. And the cities of Gagra, Gudauta, New Athos and Sukhum are located on the same line, this is easy to see on the map of Abkhazia. So you won’t get lost in any case, just move southeast along the federal highway until the road sign with the inscription New Athos - it will appear after 85 kilometers.

All of the listed ways to get to New Athos are safe and relatively convenient. However, if you do not come here by your personal car or direct train, but with a lot of luggage and family arrive at the airport or arrive at the Adler railway station, we advise you to book your seats in advance on comfortable group transfer buses or individual transport to the place appointments just for you.
So, if you decide on an exciting trip to New Athos, we assure you that it will be unforgettable! At first sight, you will fall in love with this green corner, which nature has so generously endowed, and you will want to come back here again and again!

In the section on the question How to go to Abkhazia from Moscow by train to Adler or to New Athos? What about crossing the border (inspections and queues)? given by the author Marina the best answer is So what if the direct train to Sukhum takes a long time.
But crossing the border by train is incomparably more convenient. You will go through all control, both border and customs, without leaving the carriage and without unloading your things. You will sit and read.))
Source: personal experience

Answer from Iehf[guru]
The weather there now is bad, only +14, you can’t swim anymore - there’s no point in going this year. And so from the Adler railway station, get to Psou, cross the border and take a minibus to New Athos. (queues are no more than 30 minutes).

Answer from Maksim[guru]
There is a train from Moscow to Sukhum, seemingly every day, but maybe now every other day.
This is the easiest way.
After Adler, pass the border - passports.
Please note that if you pass along the railway road, crossing the border will be faster; crossing the highway can take 2 or 6 hours.
It is possible from Moscow to Adler, there is an electric train or a minibus

Answer from Marina V[guru]
there is a direct train Moscow-Sukhum (stops in N. Athos)... but it takes a long time... something like 38 hours.... I don’t know how they go through customs on the train, we went by car (to N. Athos were at the beginning of September)... we went there - well, maybe we spent 30 minutes at Russian customs... at Abkhazian - about 3 minutes.... back - at Abkhazian - about 5 minutes, at ours - 15 minutes... inspections , as a rule, no... they only look at the passport

Answer from Igor Terekhov[guru]
From Moscow to Adler by train. Next by minibus. Now I’m going to buy Moscow-Adler tickets myself.

Answer from Maria Pushkar[guru]
Considering the contingent near the border, it is much calmer by train to Sukhum. True, it’s more comfortable and safer.

Answer from Yooslan to planet Earth[guru]
Fly to Adler by plane, it will be much faster if travel time is important to you.
And at the border - depending on your luck, at this time the locals are snooping here and there, you can stand in line for three hours... And no one searches anyone there, just a passport check with entry into the database and that’s it, but the Abkhaz border guards are generally okay with everything drum. And the weather there now is disgusting, there is nothing to do there.
But in the summer....)))

New Athos is a picturesque resort town in Abkhazia with a calm atmosphere. It’s worth coming here to relax on the clean pebble beaches, admire the amazing nature and visit historical and religious monuments.

You can get to New Athos from Adler by passing trains, public transport, taxi or by car across the Russian-Abkhaz border. Distance between New Athos and Adler - 101 km.

Train Adler - New Athos

Trains traveling from Moscow or St. Petersburg to Sukhum pass through the Adler railway station. They go to the resort for 4 hours 30 minutes, and in Vesely on the Russian border the train costs 1 hour, at the Tsandrypsh station on the Abkhaz side - 30 minutes.

Passengers go through border control directly in the carriage.

Ticket price for the Adler - New Athos train in 2019: reserved seat from 800 rubles, compartment from 1,400 rubles, SV from 2,600 rubles.

If the board is empty, it means there are no flights today. Go to the website to see the entire schedule.

Train schedule Adler - New Athos 2019

Buy train ticket Adler - New Athos

You can purchase a ticket at the station ticket office, on the Russian Railways website (registration required) or on the website (registration not required). The sale opens 60 days in advance.

Bus Adler - New Athos

Travel option from the checkpoint is by bus. First you need to take one bus to the checkpoint, then cross the border, and then transfer to a bus or minibus to New Athos.

Bus No. 173 runs from Sochi airport to the Psou checkpoint stop, and bus No. 125P from the railway station. Minibus No. 100, buses No. 57, 117, 125 go to the “Cossack Market” stop, from where it is another 700 meters to the border. Ticket - 25 rubles.

Customs and passport control takes 20-60 minutes (queues are possible during the season). After passing it at the makeshift bus station, you can take one of the minibuses or a bus to New Athos. A sign under the glass tells you where this or that vehicle is going.

Minibuses depart when full, buses depart according to schedule. Travel time is 60-70 minutes. A ticket for a minibus costs 150 rubles, for a bus - 100 rubles.

At the border you need to present a Russian passport or international passport (a check mark is placed). If a child is traveling with one parent, permission from the other is not required. If with someone else, notarized consent is required.

Taxi Adler - New Athos

The most convenient way to get to the Abkhazian resort. Passengers “load” at any convenient point in Adler and travel to their accommodation in New Athos. The border crossing is carried out as follows: the driver passes through the car terminal (luggage in the trunk), passengers - through the pedestrian terminal. After the Russian checkpoint, take a taxi across the bridge, then check again at the Abkhaz checkpoint.

It is beneficial to order a transfer if you are traveling with friends or a large family. In this case, the cost is divided among all passengers, and the price no longer seems so high.

The available options are presented below:

Search for transfers to New Athos

Show transfers from New Athos

How to get from Adler to New Athos by car

Travel time is 1 hour 40 minutes, excluding the queue at the checkpoint. The distance from Adler to Pitsunda by car is 101 km. Driving from the border along the Sukhumi highway. New Athos will be right along the way.

From the Russian-Abkhaz border to the resort - 87 km.

At the border with Abkhazia, the driver goes through passport and customs control through a multilateral automobile checkpoint. Passengers go through a separate terminal.

Description of the route Adler - New Athos

Route length between Adler and New Athos: 100 km

Approximate travel time: 1h 58m

Car rental in Adler

See also the material “Car rental in Adler”. Search all options in Adler/Sochi:

Search for a rental car

Finding travel companions

Travel profitably - save on gasoline. Look for travel companions through the Blablacar.ru service.

Reading time: 11 min

Abkhazia is a country of amazing landscapes that need to be seen at any time of the year. Summer is the worst option for choosing a trip to Abkhazia! You will stand at customs for at least two hours, perhaps catch an intestinal infection and lie there for three days with a high temperature (the trouble is that the Abkhazians pollute their water basin - alas, we cannot do anything about it).

But in spring, autumn, winter, you can go on a trip throughout Abkhazia, exploring amazing places where modern people rarely set foot. I already, now we have a trip to the holy places of ancient Anakopia. In this article you will learn about how to get to New Athos, where it is better to stay and ways to save money.

A little about the great Abag Anakopia

New Athos is located 80 km from the Russian border towards Sukhum. The first mention of a settlement on the site of the modern city dates back to the third century. The population is only 1,500 people, mainly Abkhazians, Russians, Armenians, and Greeks live in the city. The climate is subtropical, winter temperatures rarely drop to minus, so there is a good harvest of persimmons, tangerines and oranges.

In winter, tangerines are sold 20 rubles each per kg. Thanks to the antiquity of the city, the area has many attractions from different eras. Initially, the city was built up by the Greeks; ancient amphorae, jewelry, dishes were found on the territory, and the Greek style is felt in the architecture.

Later, under Byzantine influence, local pagans Abazgians (now Abkhazians) converted to Christianity. The teachings of Christ were brought to the Black Sea coast by Simon the Canaanite and Andrew the First-Called (). For many years, Muslim Arabs tried to break the Abazgians' faith in Christ, and then under Leon II, the Abazgian kingdom proclaimed its majesty. To protect the kingdom, the Anakopia fortress was built on Iveron Mountain, so the Abazgs were able to repel Muslim raids.

By the way, Abazg artists were famous for their skill; it was they who participated in decorating the Assumption Cathedral in Kyiv with paintings. And Abazg girls were considered the most lovely! The Kiev prince married the beauty from "Obeza", and the Byzantine emperor married the Abazing princess.

And the modern city of New Athos is the property of the New Athos monks, who came from the Simonokananite church. They were engaged in trout fishing (for this they dug 7 ponds, which tourists love so much), built a huge dam (an artificial waterfall is one of the city’s attractions), as well as the Psyrtskha hydroelectric power station, which is still in operation today. But the main asset of the monks is the magnificent towering above the city.

Moscow - Krasnodar - Adler - New Athos - how to get there

We decided to come to New Athos during the New Year holidays, at 6 am on January 2 we took an electric train (swallow) through the Krasnodar region to the Black Sea coast. Now I will tell you in more detail about each method of traveling to New Athos. If you are from large cities in Russia, then it is better to get by plane to Adler, from where you will reach the Russian-Abkhazian border in 30 minutes by bus or taxi.

The cost of a flight from Moscow to Adler is from 1,750 rubles.

By train

Direct train No. 305 departs from Moscow's Kazansky Station at 7:50 p.m. every four days to Sukhum (passing through Ryazan, Voronezh, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Goryachiy Klyuch, Tuapse, Sochi, Adler, Tsandrypsh, Gagra, Gudauta and New Athos) .

As you can see, you can get there from many Russian cities this way, but there is one drawback - you need to buy tickets on the same day as soon as sales on Russian Railways open (45 days before departure). Usually, in two or three days, tickets are sold out like Sukhumi beer in forty-degree heat.

The cost of a reserved seat ticket from Moscow is 2600 rubles, a compartment ticket is 4500 rubles, a SV ticket is 9000 rubles. Travel time - 38 hours. Train of increased comfort - air conditioning, bio-toilets, linen provided at no extra charge. At the border (Veseloye and Tsandripsh stations), the conductor will announce what documents you will need to pass customs control (Russian passport, birth certificate and permission from the second parent to take the child out of the country). There is no need to go out and stand in lines at the checkpoint. But parking at both stations will be 40-60 minutes.

For travelers from nearby cities, for example, from Krasnodar, it is convenient to travel to Adler by train. This is how we get to Abkhazia for the third time. Lastochka departs at 6.03 from Krasnodar-1 and arrives in Adler at 10.54. Ticket price - 700 rub. From Adler station you can get to Psou (border) by taxi (UBER - 290 rubles, RuTaxi - 270 rubles) or by bus No. 173 for 25 rubles. On Psou you go through Russian, then Abkhazian customs.

If in the Russian one they check you thoroughly and you have to stand in line for at least 30 minutes, then in the Abkhazian one you will get through instantly. That's all, you are in Abkhazia. You go out to the bus station square, where buses and minibuses stand with signs on the windshield. Choose the most complete one, do not agree to the services of private traders and check the fare in advance. From Psou to New Athos, a ticket costs 150-200 rubles - no more!

There is also an option to travel from Adler to Gagra by train (and from there to New Athos by minibus), but for some reason it does not depart every day; you need to buy a ticket at least a month before the trip. The journey will take you about 4 hours plus customs control. This option does not save time and money, so I will not recommend it. But if suddenly you don’t want to cross the border yourself, then buy a train ticket.

On the way back we decided to save money and bought a ticket for a branded Belarusian train (Adler-Minsk), a reserved seat cost 600 rubles. The ride was only an hour longer than on the beloved swallow, but we could rest the whole way.

By bus

Regular buses to New Athos depart from any major Russian city, but the question is whether you will save time, money and maintain your health on such a trip. The road runs through terrible passes, and even the most resilient people get sick on the serpentine roads. Plus, the roads along the route to Sochi are constantly being repaired - and this means many hours of traffic jams. The only plus is that you will pass through the Psou border checkpoint faster.

The average cost of a trip from Moscow to New Athos is from 2500 rubles.

By car

Many people are afraid to go to Abkhazia in their own car, but there is nothing wrong with that. The main route to New Athos runs along the sea, very good, without holes. Therefore, it will be quite easy to get there even without a navigator.

From Moscow you need to take the M4 Don highway, there are toll sections of the road, after Krasnodar you need to go towards Dzhubga, the M-27 highway is considered one of the most difficult due to the winding mountain road. The distance from Adler to New Athos is 80 km. Cross the border on a first-come, first-served basis. To pass customs control you will need a passport, driver's license, and a vehicle. Please note that compulsory motor liability insurance is not valid on the territory of Abkhazia, and indeed no insurance is valid at all, so you need to carefully monitor the road.

There is no need to pay any customs duties at the border! But if you arrive at the height of the tourist season, instead of 4 hours you can stand for an hour thanks to the so-called guides who will help you pass control for 1,500 rubles.

There is a problem with gasoline in Abkhazia: either there are no gas stations at all, or the gasoline sold is stolen and costs more than in Russia. Therefore, take several cans with you as a reserve.

Leave your cars in paid parking lots. Always record your journey with a DVR. If you are stopped by a traffic police officer and are trying to impose a fine on you for speeding (even though you did not exceed), insist on your position. You should also know that for speeding and failure to comply with the rules, Abkhazians are immediately deprived of their license; you can pick it up only after paying a fine to the traffic police of the area where you committed the traffic violation.

In the photo is Stalin's dacha, where you can also stay for 3 thousand rubles per night.

In New Athos, tourists relax all year round, unlike Gagra, Pitsunda, Sukhum. Because travelers often come to holy places around Christmas, Easter, and just to meditate. There are guest houses on every corner in the city, and there are even luxury hotels.

You can stay cheaper in guest houses - about 500 - 1000 rubles. But usually the bathroom is either shared by several rooms or has an unpleasant smell from the sewer. There are few accommodation options on booking, but even upon arrival you can easily find where to stay. Please note that a holiday in New Athos will cost more than in Sukhum.