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The balmy months of spring are best; temperatures hit the sixties in April and seventies in June. High summer is a favorite with visitors who enjoy swimming and hiking outdoors; temperatures remain in the sixties through October.
S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) runs inexpensive, short-haul flights from Moscow to Sochi’s Adler airport. Consult Greg Tepper of Exeter International (800/633-1008; www.exeterinternational.com) for travel advice and arrangements in Russia.
A visa is required for entry to Russia. Many hotels offer tourist invitations (required of all applicants), for a small fee in addition to the cost of the visa. For more information, see www.waytorussia.net or www.expresstorussia.com.
Cabs are plentiful but charge more for foreigners, and most drivers speak only Russian. Ask the concierge at your hotel to arrange transportation.
Grand Hotel Rodina 33 Vinogradnaya St.; 7-8622/539-000; www.grandhotelrodina.com; doubles from $600.
Radisson SAS Lazurnaya 103 Kurortny Prospekt; 888/201-1718 or 7-8622/663-333; www.radissonsas.ru; doubles from $285.
Amshenski Dvor 15A Krasnaplotskaya; 7-8622/955-121; dinner for two $25.
Beliye Nochi 9 Ordzhonikidze St.; 7-8622/625-288; dinner for two $25.
Black Magnolia 33 Vinogradnaya St.; 7-8622/539-000; dinner for two $150.
Shalet 5 Rivyersky Pereulok; 7-918/104-5254; dinner for two $20.
The country remains steeped in Soviet attitudes and regulations. For all activities, including outdoor ones, make arrangements with your concierge—the Rodina staff was endlessly helpful—or contact local travel agency SG tours (7-8622/665-070; www.sgtours.ru).
Zelyonaya Roscha Hotel at Stalin’s Dacha Travelers may not enter the gates of this museum without a prior reservation (ask your hotel to book one for you); the phone number (7-8622/621-842) rarely works.
Kinotavr Film Festival Occurs every June in Sochi, attracting national and international filmmakers. www.kinotavr.net.
Ordzhonikidze 96/5 Kurortny Prospekt; 7-8622/ 976-657.
Mettalurg 92 Kurortny Prospekt; 7-8622/ 971-945.
Light contemporary Russian fiction—it’s a beach town, after all—such as mysteries by essayist Boris Akunin and novels by Moscow native Oksana Robski, available in translation.
Sochi’s black-pebble beaches are murder on bare feet: bring water shoes. To fit in with locals, pack your fanciest, flashiest resortwear. The standard gratuity in Russia is 10 percent.
Copyright © 2008, American Express Publishing. All rights reserved.
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