Gelendzhik is not Kamchatka for you! You can easily get to the resort in a variety of ways: by plane, train, bus or your own car. We have already tested all types of transport. Let's find out about each method and choose the best one. Go!
By voucher
You can relax on a ticket to Gelendzhik very inexpensively. Even in the midst of the season, in July 2021, you can buy a tour from Moscow for only 27,000 rubles for two. The price includes flight, transfer, accommodation. You can find and buy such profitable vouchers at the popular online stores Travelata and Level.Travel - they compare the offers of 120 tour operators, so they are able to find the best option. We buy tours only there, because it is more convenient and more profitable than in travel agencies. Find out also 7 ways to buy a tour cheaper.
By plane to Gelendzhik
Gelendzhik has its own airport, which is located right in the city. It is convenient: in 20-30 minutes you can reach the hotel by taxi, bus or minibuses. The only bad thing is that the Gelendzhik airport accepts not so many flights. It will be convenient and quick to get to the resort by plane only from Moscow, St. Petersburg and several other large cities of Russia. Check what flights are from your city to Gelendzhik and how much tickets cost on the well-known search engines Aviasales and Skyscanner. Be sure to check out our tips on how to buy cheap flights.
Here are the prices for the round trip in summer 2021:
- From Moscow - 7 500 ₽
- From St. Petersburg - 15,000 rubles
- From Yekaterinburg - 12 000 ₽
- From Novosibirsk - 21,000 rubles.
In the off-season, tickets are cheaper, but there are fewer flights.
By plane to Anapa or Krasnodar
The airports of neighboring cities accept much more flights from all over Russia than Gelendzhik. In addition, air tickets there are cheaper, so it is worth considering these options. You can get to Gelendzhik from Anapa and Krasnodar by buses - read about the prices and schedule below. But the Adler airport is already too far away, there is no point in flying there.
Prices for air tickets in both directions in the summer of 2021:
- From Moscow to Anapa - from 7 400 rubles.
- From Moscow to Krasnodar - from RUB 4 800.
- From St. Petersburg to Anapa - from 12,000 rubles.
- From St. Petersburg to Krasnodar - from 8,000 rubles.
As you can see, it is cheaper to fly to these cities than to Gelendzhik. And in the off-season, tickets are even cheaper.
By train
Ticket prices are one way per person.
It is impossible to get directly to Gelendzhik by train, because in the city no train station... You can only get to the nearest cities: Novorossiysk, Anapa or Krasnodar. And then you will need to change to a bus or find a taxi. Look for train tickets on the Tutu.ru service or on the Russian Railways website.
Personal experience... At one time I had a chance to travel south from Perm in the summer by train. What a pleasure, I tell you! It was in 2014, since then we have been traveling to the Black Sea only by our own car or by plane. Keep in mind that it is unbearably stuffy in the old carriages in summer and very crowded due to the influx of tourists. So I advise you to choose a branded train or get to Gelendzhik in a different way.
The most convenient way is to travel by train to Novorossiysk, because it is closest to Gelendzhik, so it will be easier to get to the resort. From Moscow, trains run daily, a reserved seat ticket costs from 2800 ₽, in a compartment - from 4300 ₽. A regular train travels for 30 hours, and the branded train # 30C "Premium" arrives 6 hours faster, although tickets for it are one and a half times more expensive. Direct trains run from St. Petersburg to Novorossiysk only in summer, the rest of the time you will have to get there with a change in the capital.
Approximately the same prices for train tickets in Anapa... Direct trains from St. Petersburg also run only in summer.
But in Krasnodar much more trains run from Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities of Russia, so it is easier to find a ticket at a convenient time. Tickets from Moscow cost from 2500 rubles, from St. Petersburg - from 4000 rubles. On the branded train "Dvuhdeazhny" from Moscow can be reached in just 18 hours, on a regular train - in a day. The branded train "Northern Palmira" from St. Petersburg reaches Krasnodar in 30 hours, other trains travel for 10 hours longer.
Buses to Gelendzhik
Here are the prices for bus tickets and travel time to Gelendzhik from the nearest cities where there is an airport or railway station:
- From Novorossiysk - 100 ₽ / 1 hour.
- From Anapa - 250 ₽ / 2 hours.
- From Krasnodar - 500 ₽ / 4 hours.
It is very easy to be left without tickets for the desired flight, so we recommend buying them in advance, especially during the high season. See the bus schedule on the bus station website or Yandex Timetables.
You can also get to Gelendzhik by bus from Moscow, but it is not very convenient, and it takes about a day to go. It seems to me that it is better to choose another transport, because trains and planes are not much more expensive.
By car
It is not difficult to get to Gelendzhik by car, it is much easier than to Sochi, because the most difficult part of the road with serpentines and terrible traffic jams will remain farther. Almost every year I drive my car to the south of Russia from Perm. Driving three days in each direction, of course, is tiring and costly (I have a gluttonous SUV), but in the south it is convenient to have your own car and go wherever you want without thinking about buses or excursions. With your car in the south, you will have access to all the sights and wild beaches. Traveling by car with a family or a group of friends is almost always cheaper than traveling by plane or train.
Almost all the way from Moscow runs along the excellent M4 Don highway - it is a pleasure to drive along it. The only thing that upsets us is the absence of normal cafes, they are almost all completely awful and they trade by buying themselves reviews on Yandex, so it is very difficult to choose a decent place. If you try very hard, you can get to Gelendzhik even in one day, if you have a fast and comfortable car and two drivers. Distance from Moscow - about 1600 km, from St. Petersburg - about 2300 km.
You can get from Krasnodar to Gelendzhik by two roads: through Dzhubga (the road is more picturesque, but the mountain serpentine begins) or Abinsk and Novorossiysk. Large traffic jams are there and there, look at Yandex.Navigator, where it turns out faster in the current traffic situation. I warn you that Novorossiysk does not have a bypass road, so it is not very convenient to go there, and repair work is often carried out on the way between it and Gelendzhik.
Route of the way by car to Gelendzhik, Anapa and Sochi from the cities of Russia:
Conclusions: how best to go
What is the best way to get to Gelendzhik? The choice depends on many factors: where the path lies from, in what season the trip is made, how many people travel with you on vacation.
Plane - the fastest and not particularly expensive way. If there are no air tickets to Gelendzhik from your city or they are expensive, check flights to Krasnodar and Anapa, and from there take a bus.
A train it is worth choosing only if nothing works at all with air tickets. Do not forget that, in addition to tickets, you will have to spend money on food on the way. Also, vacation time is lost, because it will take a long time to travel. Do not forget that in the summer it is very stuffy and noisy in the old cars, plus the aromas of socks and beachpacks soar. Choose branded trains so you don't have to suffer a lot.
Bus suitable only for those who travel not from afar, but from neighboring cities or regions.
To drive by car reasonable in the following cases:
- your city is located near the south of Russia;
- a family or a large company is traveling;
- no cheap air tickets;
- you are planning to actively travel to the sights of the coast.
In other cases, personal transportation will create more inconvenience than help.
