Sochi – Abkhazia. 6 day tour to the country of Apsny, Prince Oldenburg story

Book the tour - 23 Mar - 28 Mar 2021

We start and finish in Sochi. This tour can be connected with Enduro Training, Sochi-Elbrus, Sochi-Crimea or Sochi-Elbrus-Moscow tours.  

• Dates: 23-28 March, 30 March - 04 April, 6-11 April, 13-18 April, 20-25 April 2021, 4-9 May 2021
• Duration: 6 days
• Total mileage: 1200 km
• Tour level: medium-hard, there will be gravel roads in the mountains
• Roads: 80% asphalt, 20% dirt roads
• Price: 1500 EUR (includes BMW F750/850GS rent)
• Extra charge for BMW R1250GS: 250 EUR
• Comprehensive motorcycle insurance: 350 EUR (no deposit needed, full coverage)
• Deposit for the motorcycle: 1200/1500EUR for F750GS/F850GS and R1250GS
• Price if you ride your own motorcycle: 850 EUR 
• Price for the passenger: 850 EUR
• Single room supplement: 200 EUR
• Key tour highlights: Mountains, serpentine roads, abandoned cities, Black sea, soviet architecture.

Included services:

• Motorcycle rental (BMW F750/F850GS)
• Petrol (for rented motorcycles only)
• Accommodation in 3-4* hotels (based on sharing a double/twin room)
• Meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
• English-speaking guide on a motorcycle
• Support vehicle
• Entry tickets to the places of interest and excursions with local guides
• Hotel transfers from/to the airport
• Welcome dinner
• Souvenir pack (t-shirt, paper maps, etc.)      
• Visa assistance (visa to Abkhazia can be obtained online for 10 Euro and it takes 3-5 days, you need at least Double Entry visa to Russia to go to Abkhazia and return back)

Services not included:

• Air tickets to/from Russia
• Personal medical insurance
• Visa counsel fee
• All services not mentioned as included

Route: Where we will go

Sochi - Noviy Afon – Sukhum – Gagra - Sochi

Day 1. Sochi/Krasnaya Polyana, arrival

You arrive in Sochi international airport and we arrange transfer to the hotel. After checking in you will get your bike, we sign all needed documents and brief you about the tour details. In the evening we go for a dinner and take a walk in Krasnaya Polyana.

Important: to prevent any timing issues, please, make sure your arrival time is not later than 3 p.m.

Highlight of the day: welcome dinner

Day 2. Krasnaya Polyana – Noviy Afon (Abkhazia), 310 km

After breakfast we ride towards the Abkhazia border. Passing customs control will take about one hour and then we will visit Mount Mamzyshkha, where we can admire a beautiful view of Gagra from a height of 1500m. Then we will go to Lake Ritsa, where we see Stalin's country house. On the way, there will be many interesting stops in the most picturesque places: waterfalls, lakes, mountain rivers, rocks and a mossy relic forest. After lunch in the national apatskhe on the lake, we will visit the Byzantine Temple Ambar, built in the 6th century, and ride to the hotel in Noviy Afon.

Highlight of the day: lake Ritsa

Day 3. Noviy Afon – Sukhum, 140 km

In the morning we will ride via a picturesque dirt road to the Kaman Monastery, where according to the legend, St. John Chrysostom was buried. We will return to Sukhum for lunch and walk along the embankment. In the afternoon we will go to the Kodori Gorge, where we visit the Macharsky waterfall and a beautiful gorge in Chernigovka. In the evening after checking in, we have dinner in the famous restaurant of Sukhum.

Highlight of the day: the capital of Abkhazia - Sukhum

Day 4. Sukhum – Tkuarchal – Gagra. 310 km

In the morning we ride to the city Tkuarchal, where we will visit abandoned mining areas, a power station and a railway bridge. In case of good weather, we will climb to the Akarmar waterfalls. After lunch in Noviy Afon, we will visit the Mokvinsky Cathedral. Then we will reach Gagra via a beautiful road through Pitsunda. In the evening we take a walk along the promenade and have dinner at the Gagrapsh restaurant, which was founded by the Prince Oldenburg in 1902.

Highlight of the day: the abandoned city Tkuarchal

Day 5. Gagra – Solokh-Aul – Krasnaya Polyana. 240 km

After crossing the border, we will visit the Olympic Park and ride to the highest point of coastal Sochi - Mount Bolshoy Akhun. Then along a picturesque serpentine road we will reach the tea plantation of Judas Koshman. At the beginning of the 20th century the first tea in the Russian Empire was grown here, which was considered the most northern tea at that time. We will have a cup of tea with pancakes with local honey and jam, and then return to Krasnaya Polyana.

Highlight of the day: serpentine roads

Day 6. Krasnaya Polyana, 0 km

Breakfast and transfer to the airport