Areas and hotels in Gagra where to stay

Hotels and accommodation where to book

There are a lot of hotels in Gagra, prices are lower than on the other side of the border in Sochi. However, the quality of accommodation is much lower. You can book a room in a private guest house or an apartment with minimal amenities from 1200 rubles for two, a room in a more or less comfortable hotel with service will cost from 2500 rubles.

Accommodation can be booked in advance through reservation systems (recommended), or can be found on site. Intermediaries offering accommodation "catch" tourists already in the parking lot after passing through border control, stand with signs along the main road along the way, even at night. You can find housing without intermediaries, just going around the house with signs "for rent". But in order to have fewer problems (for problems that may arise with accommodation in Gagra, read below), or to be easier to solve when they appear, we still recommend booking accommodation in advance through the following hotel search and booking systems:

• 🛌 Search for cheap accommodation and hotels in Gagra on Yandex.travel
• 🛌 Search for cheap accommodation and hotels in Gagra on Booking.com
• 🛌 Search hotels in Gagra on Ostrovok.ru
• 🛌 Search for affordable housing in Gagra on Sutochno.ru

What problems can arise

When searching for and booking accommodation in Gagra, keep in mind that there are not so many real hotels operating legally and ready to provide financial documents (payment checks). The bulk of the rooms offered through the booking systems in guest houses and mini-hotels are rooms in private houses, sometimes simply "killed". Be sure to pay attention to the reviews of other guests about housing, otherwise you can get into very poor living conditions.

In general, it is necessary to be especially careful when searching and booking hotels in Gagra, especially inexpensive accommodation options in private homes, since the deception of tourists in Gagra has become just a classic of the genre of recreation in Abkhazia. You should be prepared, at least, for such "surprises":

• Refusal to check in by reservation due to lack of room;
• the price at check-in will be higher than when booking;
• the number in reality and the photo with the description on the site do not match;
• in order to save money, the owners can turn off electricity and water, citing problems.;
• hot water is often absent;
• the location may differ from the one shown on the map;
• there may be clutter, dampness and mildew in the rooms.

If you are looking for accommodation on the spot through intermediaries, be sure to specify the location and check it on the map, otherwise you may be very far from the beach and the center. A good advice is never to give money for accommodation at once, but to pay for each day, so that in case of anything there is an opportunity to change the place of accommodation. Money given in advance in the private sector, no one will return to you. And yet, before the final consent to the settlement, be sure to inspect the room and check the performance of plumbing, TV, air conditioning, etc., do not believe the promises in words.

To be prepared for similar troubles, read also the article, how to solve problems when booking hotels in advance, here.

Where to stay, which area to choose

The city is conditionally divided into new and old districts (old Gagra and New Gagra). There is no clear boundary between the districts, and you will not even notice the difference. They are separated by almost 6 kilometers, you can move between them by taxi (trip from 200 USD) or minibus (from 20 USD), or you can walk along the beach.

• New Gagra

  

  This area is considered the center and it is more developed (district on the map). There are more shops and markets, cafes, restaurants, entertainment for tourists, and a more well-groomed promenade and beach. At the same time, it is worth noting that this area is more or less equipped and pleasant for recreation only in the very center, which is conditionally located around the Independence Memorial Park. A little further from it is not so clean and beautiful.

  If you decide to stay here, very carefully select the location of the hotel or accommodation, it is best to read reviews. If you choose an unsuccessful place, it may turn out that you will have to go around to the beach and very far, and besides, you will live in the middle of ruins or in the neighborhood of abandoned buildings.

• Staraya Gagra

  

  This is a very sprawling area, stretching along the coast for almost five kilometers (district on the map). Here all the infrastructure and hotels are located along the main road of the country near the beach. Therefore, having settled here, you will almost certainly find yourself very close to the beach, but you may have to cross a busy road every time. Although old Gagra can not boast of infrastructure and entertainment, there is a pleasant seaside park for walking. In general, it is much quieter and calmer here than in Novaya Gagra, there is almost no entertainment.

Hotels and districts of Gagra on the map