Find out how to plan a vacation in Krasnaya Polyana in the summer in order to have fun: I share my personal experience, useful information and links that will definitely come in handy.
My mixed impressions
Krasnaya Polyana is called the Russian Switzerland. Photos on Instagram and on travel sites also promise tourists real Alpine beauties. With these expectations, I went to the resort, but reality did not fully justify them. Photos have one property - to distort. As Susan Sontag writes:
"Knowing a lot about the world from photographs (art, disasters, the beauty of nature), people are often disappointed, surprised, or remain indifferent when they see something with their own eyes. <...> Often, something excites us in photography more than in direct contact. "
So it happened to us - the photographs turned out to be much more beautiful than reality. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that Krasnaya Polyana is a bad simulation of Europe... Yes, everything here is pretty, smart, clean, decent and the infrastructure is an order of magnitude higher than many tourist places in Russia, there is nothing to complain about. But this inept and vulgar imitation of Europeanness, which is not only visible, but directly hits the eye, spoils the impression. In addition, the buildings that were built for the Olympics are already gradually falling into disrepair due to low-quality materials.
Still, the main thing for a mountain resort is nature, the mountains themselves, clean air and silence. But even here Krasnaya Polyana loses to other parts of the North Caucasus. We have already visited Dombai, Arkhyz, Elbrus region, Dagestan, Ingushetia, North Ossetia and Chechnya more than once - Krasnaya Polyana cannot compete with these regions in beauty and atmosphere. Therefore, to all mountain lovers wishing to explore our Caucasus, I will give this advice: start your acquaintance with the Krasnaya Polyana mountains and gradually move on to more beautiful places.
Apart from these nuances, Krasnaya Polyana is a great place to relax, reboot and replenish your treasury of impressions.
What is Krasnaya Polyana
It is not easy to immediately understand what exactly is being written about on the Internet when Krasnaya Polyana is mentioned - context and details are needed. The organizers of the resorts did not foresee the confusion that has arisen with the names now. To figure out what's what, you need to know that Krasnaya Polyana has three meanings:
- specific residential community
- ski resort, which until 2019 bore the stupid name "Gorki Gorod"
- a resort area with all complexes and villages, or a mountain cluster, as it is now called.
And when you start reading about Krasnaya Polyana, Laura, Gazprom, Esto-Sadki, Mountain Carousel and other strange names begin to emerge - you know, all this is one big resort area. Below I will tell you how they differ and which resort to choose.
Find out how to get to Krasnaya Polyana by car.
Which resort to choose
So, the Krasnaya Polyana district includes two residential settlements Esto-Sadok and Krasnaya Polyana, the ski resorts Rosa Khutor, Krasnaya Polyana (formerly Gorki Gorod), Gazprom and the Alpika-Service and Gornaya carousel". Here I will very briefly tell you about each. Read more about which Krasnaya Polyana resort to choose for summer holidays.
The village of Krasnaya Polyana suitable for a simple and quiet life. It is the cheapest place to live, but you have to get to the lifts by car or bus.
Esto-Sadok will appeal to those who like to be at the epicenter of everything. There are many cafes, restaurants, shops, entertainment and hotels, including inexpensive ones. The elevator "Krasnaya Polyana" is at your side, you have to go to the rest. Noisy, but you can find the hotel further off the road.
Resort "Krasnaya Polyana" duplicitous like Janus. Polyana 540 is an active and cheerful Esto-Sadok, and Polyana 960 is a calm town at an altitude. In summer, the mountains are quiet and calm, clean air and views. The choice of cafes is less, but it is easy to go down to Esto-Sadok and eat there by the lift. There are many interesting trails on the slopes and at the top.
Rosa Khutor resort also two-faced: below - expensive hotels and active life, above - cheaper and calmer. It is interesting to spend the whole day at the Peak.
Gazprom and Alpika - for those who want to be on their own. There are only two hotels, but what kind. There is everything for a comfortable life, and if something is missing, you can go. The resorts are not so rich in entertainment, and there are not many eco-trails.
When to arrive
As Alisa Freindlich sang, nature does not have bad weather, so you can relax in Krasnaya Polyana at any time of the year. To ride the funicular, to have fun and relax, you can come at any time. Just before the trip, check on the official websites of the resorts whether the lifts are working, because in the off-season they are closed for preventive maintenance.
Most come to ride, and the best time for this is March, when the powder falls, it is also good in January and February. If you want to choose the perfect time for skiing, carefully read the long-term statistics on personal experience on RiderHelp.ru.
For walks in the mountains and trekking, come from mid-June to mid-September, but the best time is from July 20 to August 20, when there is least rainfall. Please note that trekking routes around the reserve open around mid-June and close in mid-to-late October.
If you want to capture the most colorful shots, choose a golden autumn - around the beginning of October. Alas, in 2020 the summer turned out to be long, so we hardly saw any golden colors.
Here I will not describe the weather in detail, because this titanic work was done by Dmitry Kovinov - he gave a lot of useful information in one article.
How to dress in Krasnaya Polyana in summer and autumn Is an important question. If it's warm below, don't flatter yourself and take a windbreaker and a light fleece jacket with you. It quickly gets cold at the summit after sunset. Also wear trousers and comfortable shoes, preferably trekking shoes. If you are going on a hike even on a simple route, read this article on how to dress and what to take in the mountains.
Which hotel to choose
Finding the perfect hotel is always difficult, especially in Krasnaya Polyana. It took us about a week of painful thinking, so I decided to help you choose a hotel.
To live comfortably among the mountains and admire them, breathe exceptionally fresh air, not hear the noise of cars, see a minimum of people and quickly climb the mountains on a lift, choose large hotels on Rosa Plato 1170 m, Krasnaya Polyana 960 m and Gazprom 1389 m. These hotels usually have tempting package tours that include breakfast, lift tickets and discounted entertainment. They can be booked on the official websites of the Rosa Khutor and Krasnaya Polyana resorts. The disadvantages are paid parking, high prices, expensive cafes and not always fresh rooms, so read the reviews carefully.
Examples of highly rated and well-reviewed hotels:
- Ski Inn Rosa Khutor SPA Hotel 5 * with excellent spa and service.
- Rixos 5 * with gorgeous views and a good spa.
- Novotel 5 * is considered the best hotel on Krasnaya Polyana.
- Rosa Springs 4 * - a spa hotel with a medical center.
- Polyana 1389 hotel and spa is the highest mountain hotel.
You can book a hotel profitably through the Online Tours service. There you can buy a tour without a flight, that is, book a hotel through a tour operator, and this is almost always cheaper than on Booking or the official website of the hotel.
To live with coziness and comfort, but cheaper, with free parking and a choice of inexpensive food in the neighborhood - settle in small hotels, apartments and guest houses in the villages of Krasnaya Polyana and Esto-Sadok. There are no tours with bonuses to such hotels, and you have to go to the lifts, but almost always there are good, tireless rooms and pleasant owners. Excellent hotels: "Manor", "Yuna Aqua Life", "Grace Calypso".
If you want to go through all the trekking routes, for example, at Krasnaya Polyana (formerly Gorki Gorod), then it is better to stop there or at least in Esto-Sadok, because you will spend a lot of time trying to eat somewhere. to get to the lower station, to stand in line and to the ascent itself.
If you are planning to ski, it is better to stay in ski-in / out hotels - they are located right next to the pistes.
We searched for hotels on Hotellook and Booking. As a result, we chose a wonderful "Usadba" in Esto-Sadok, where there was a heated pool and free parking. The hotel has great reviews, friendly hosts and a homely atmosphere. Find out about the best hotels with a heated pool in Krasnaya Polyana.
Popular hotels in Krasnaya Polyana
How to have an inexpensive vacation
Prices at the resorts of Krasnaya Polyana are Moscow. Here they are focused on wealthy tourists, so everything is very decent and quite expensive. However, even in Krasnaya Polyana, you can relax on a budget, but with comfort. I share a simple recipe.
Come in summer and off-season, when prices are even hotels 4-5 * normal. Compare: a double standard in the Radisson 5 * in summer costs from 5800 rubles, in winter - 24 000 rubles. As you can see, you won't be able to save on housing on New Year's holidays. We stayed in the "Usadba" guest house in October for only 3000 ₽ per day.
IN cafes and restaurants the average bill is usually 500-1500 rubles per person, but there are also 2000-5000 rubles, so choose carefully. I searched on Yandex.Maps: I compared average receipts, looked at the menu and read negative reviews. By the way, many cafes order good reviews, you can see it right away. It is very expensive to dine on the slopes, so take snacks and a thermos with you.
From restaurants, we recommend Adriano in Esto-Sadok - everything is at a high level, the food is delicious, and the prices are average. The "Seli-Poeli" dining room surprised me with its stylish interior and cafe-level food, but with unrealistically low prices. They are always sold out, and it's better to come to dinner before 18:00.
Between the resorts there are inexpensive buses - 15-40 ₽ depending on the distance, but sometimes it is more convenient for 50-70 ₽ to leave with a private trader who gather people at the bus stops. But taxis are expensive - 200-300 rubles for a trip of a couple of kilometers.
Walking tickets for lifts in the summer they cost from 1500 rubles per person - for example, it's just an ascent to the top of Rosa Peak and a descent. We bought them online at a discount from the official website.
On the entertainment you won't be able to save money, so prepare a lot of money if you like outdoor activities or if you are traveling with children. We spent only on tickets to the Caucasian Reserve.
What to see and do in summer
Do not think that Krasnaya Polyana is exclusively for winter. In the summer you will find a lot of interesting things here! The main thing is that in the mountains there are many routes of varying difficulty, we are primarily attracted by this. You can go up the lift and catch a couple of easy routes in one day. For example, in four active days we managed quite a lot: we climbed the Stone Pillar, looked at the waterfalls of Polikar and in the Mendelikha park, admired the valley from Krugozor Efremov and walked along the relict fir forest and the Health Path.
In general, there are plenty of activities: you can rent a regular or electric bike, ride an ATV or horse, go kayaking or try a rodelbahn.
But most tourists in the summer come to Krasnaya Polyana from Sochi with a 1-day excursion to diversify their beach vacation. They ride on lifts, admire the mountains, drink mulled wine and take pictures - they just have a good time.
See also our tips for traveling by car to Krasnaya Polyana.
In a separate article I will tell you in detail what to see and what to do in Krasnaya Polyana in the summer, which lifts are better to climb to visit the most interesting places, how much are tickets to the reserve and other useful things.
And here are our guides to the most beautiful places near Krasnaya Polyana:
Watch the video of Yaroslav Zhirkov about his summer vacation at the resorts of Krasnaya Polyana and the best routes for walking in the mountains. This is a rare example of an enjoyable and informative video on this topic.
A thorough review of the Krasnaya Polyana resort and the Marriott hotel was made by blogger Yulia Akimenko.
