In 2016, two cities located on the Black Sea coast are fighting for the title of "The most fashionable and expensive resort". Yalta or Sochi - who will win this battle of the titans of the tourism business? Who has the best hotels, beaches, longer list of attractions and attractions? Let's try to answer this difficult question by comparing the individual components of rest.
The best beaches - Yalta or Sochi?
Yalta offers rest on pebble beaches, many of them received the famous Blue Flag, among the cleanest and most well-groomed: Massandra beach; beach areas belonging to the hotel complex "Yalta-Intourist"; beach of the sanatorium "Livadia". Municipal beaches are free, the use of umbrellas or sun loungers is paid. The infrastructure is on a level, although there is room for improvement.
The beaches of Sochi are similar to those of Yalta, they also consist of pebbles, however, the size of the pebbles can vary significantly, in some places you can find tiny sections of the coast covered with sand. The beaches are public, closed and wild. The first ones are free, for an additional payment you can organize a comfortable stay, but they are always quite crowded. There are few people on wild beaches, but there is no infrastructure either. Some of the closed beaches belonging to sanatoriums and hotels can be accessed by paying an entrance fee.
Treatment or sports
Yalta
In Yalta, guests have a choice - treatment or active sports, to the services of guests who intend to improve their health - sanatoriums, boarding houses, where they offer various massages and balneotherapy, climatotherapy, fitness and other useful procedures. There is an opportunity to practice various sports, including diving, there are several clubs that provide training and education for beginner diving enthusiasts.
In terms of treatment, Sochi is a worthy competitor to Yalta, since general methods of treatment and recovery are used here, as well as specific ones characteristic of this region. The latter include pearl, iodine-bromine, hydrogen sulfide baths, hydrotherapy (Matsesta).
At this resort you can do almost any kind of sports, and all the facilities were built not so long ago (for the 2012 Winter Olympics). There are several dive centers, although the local underwater scenery cannot match the beauty of the kingdom of Neptune off the coast of the Bahamas or in the Andaman Sea. Vivid impressions are left by diving in the lakes located in the caves.
Attractions, excursions, entertainment
As a rule, tourists who come to Yalta are not limited to walks around the resort, but try to see the sights that are in the city and its surroundings. The Massandra Palace and the Swallow's Nest Palace, stylized as medieval buildings, are called visiting cards. Many architectural masterpieces are located near the resort; they will be of interest to those who love the history of art.
You can appreciate the Crimean nature in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden or by taking a cable car to the top of Ai-Petri. In Yalta, there is entertainment for a young audience, with children you can go to the Atlantis water park, the Fairy Tale zoo, where animal feeding is allowed, and the Glade of Fairy Tales theme park.
Neither Big Sochi, nor, in fact, the resort of Sochi can boast of important historical sights. Therefore, tourists have two options - sports and nature, around which rest is built. There are many sports entertainment, including newfangled ones, such as kitesurfing or parasailing. From traditional - popular tourist routes and excursions in the vicinity of Krasnaya Polyana, Lazarevskoye, where there are beautiful waterfalls and valleys, groves and forests.
Sochi Park, a theme park based on Russian folk tales, remains the favorite among urban entertainment. It has a huge number of attractions, interesting for both kids and adults, cafes, restaurants, play areas. It is also good to walk with children in the Yuzhnye Kultury Park and the City Arboretum, where not only local trees grow, but also exotic guests from far abroad.
Sochi
It is rather difficult to answer the question which of the resorts is better, since each person has his own evaluation criteria and his own choice of components of a good rest.
The main thing that can be noted is that Yalta is chosen by travelers who:
- dream of stretching out on a warm pebble beach and getting pleasure;
- want to conquer Ai-Petri;
- plan to take a selfie with the Swallow's Nest in the background;
- are going to arrange a luxurious vacation for their children.
Magnificent Sochi, located between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, is suitable for those tourists who:
- want to rest in the shadow of the Caucasus Mountains;
- dream of trying all the trendy extreme sports on the beach;
- are going to go diving;
- love amusement parks.
