How to get to New Athos, transportation

New Athos is located 80 kilometers from the border with the Russian Federation and 25 kilometers from the capital Sukhum (New Athos on the map of Abkhazia). You can get here from the border crossing with the Russian Federation by bus, taxi, and from the Russian Federation by train, electric trains, and your own transport.

It is best for Russian citizens to get to New Athos from the territory of the Russian Federation through the Psou checkpoint in the village of Veseloe in Adler using an internal Russian passport, and in no case present a foreign one. Note in the passport about crossing the border of the Russian Federation-Abkhazia can further bring serious problems when visiting Georgia (see more about this How to get to Abkhazia). If you want to get here officially from the point of view of the Georgian authorities, then this can be done only with a foreign passport after obtaining the appropriate permits through the Inguri checkpoint on the border with Georgia.

Below are all the ways to get to New Athos on your own, and the following information may also be useful to you:

• How to get to Abkhazia
• Visa and visa regime in Abkhazia
• How to get to Abkhazia by car

New Athos by plane

There is no operating airport in Abkhazia, and the nearest one is located on the territory of the Russian Federation in the city of Adler (Sochi airport), 100 kilometers from New Athos. This is the main airport of the resort city of Sochi, and here during the year, and especially in the high tourist season, many flights are operated from Moscow, the regions of the Russian Federation, abroad. If there are no direct flights from your city to Sochi, then you can always fly with a transfer in Moscow, and sometimes flights with a transfer in the capital are even cheaper than direct ones.

You can check prices and select options for flights to Sochi airport, including transfers, using the search form:

ЦЕНА	ПЕРЕСАДКИ	АВИАКОМПАНИЯ	ДАТА ВЫЛЕТА	ДАТА ВОЗВРАЩЕНИЯ
Купить от 8493 ₽	1 пересадка		03.06.2026	04.06.2026
Купить от 20982 ₽	1 пересадка		08.07.2026	14.07.2026
Купить от 19085 ₽	1 пересадка		27.08.2026	07.09.2026
Купить от 15109 ₽	Без пересадок		27.09.2026	14.10.2026
Купить от 12164 ₽	Без пересадок		11.10.2026	21.10.2026
Купить от 14476 ₽	Без пересадок		26.11.2026	10.12.2026

How to get to New Athos from the airport

To get from Sochi airport to New Athos, you will have to cross the border of the Russian Federation-Abkhazia through the PSOU checkpoint, which is about 10 kilometers from the airport. You can do this directly by taxi, or by public transport with a change of transport, because nothing goes directly from the airport to Abkhazia.

If you want to get there quickly and without transfers, it is best to order a tourist transfer or taxi. The driver of the car will meet you at the airport and take you across the border to the hotel. You can check prices and book such a transfer through the search form:

If you can't afford a taxi or transfer, you can get there inexpensively by public transport, but you will have to make transfers, which, however, is not at all difficult:

• By bus from the airport

  From the airport, you can get to the Psou checkpoint by city bus number 173, cross the border on foot, and then take a minibus to Gudauta. The route taxi departs by filling (approximately every 20-30 minutes) in the daytime from 7:00 to about 21:00 from the forecourt (bus station), which is located after the checkpoint on the side of Abkhazia. The fare is 200 rubles, a little more than an hour on the way. Minibuses pass through New Athos on the main highway, and you can get off at the right place (in the center or in a residential area on the outskirts) and walk to the accommodation on foot.

  Also, after crossing the border, you can take a taxi, which will cost much cheaper than taking a taxi directly from the airport, but to get a good price, you will most likely have to bargain.

• By train from the airport

  Attention! The movement of electric trains along the route is suspended. Check the renewal information in the schedule.

  In New Athos there is a railway station where you can get from the territory of the Russian Federation from the city of Sochi by train or long-distance trains (railway station on the map). But the trains run only in the summer, and it is better to clarify whether they go in a particular season, as they can be canceled.

  To get from the airport, you will have to make a transfer. First, from the arrival terminal you need to take the train "Lastochka" (46 USD), or buses No. 105, 105C, 131, 535 (30-60 minutes on the way) to the railway station Adler. At Adler railway station, you need to transfer to an electric train or a passing long-distance train directly to the station of New Athos. The fare costs 250 rubles, 4-6 hours on the way, departs at 07:38 and 14:10 daily, but only in the summer season. You can check the schedule on the website Yandex. schedules

New Athos by train

New Athos is served by long-distance trains from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Belgorod, Samara and other cities along the way. If there are no trains from your region, then you can take the train to the railway station Adler, and there transfer to the train or bus to the PSOU checkpoint. Train schedules and ticket prices can be found at official website of Russian Railways, or via the search form:

Novy Athos railway station is 2 kilometers from the city center (railway station on the map), but in the heart of the residential area of New Athos, where most of the guest houses and private apartments rented to tourists are located. If you choose accommodation in the center, you will have to use a taxi or passing transport, which follows the main highway of the country E60. The exit from the railway station leads directly to this highway.

New Athos by bus

Regular buses to the resorts of Abkhazia from the cities of the Russian Federation do not exist, at least, we do not know about such flights. But you can check their availability through this search form:

If you can not find a direct bus, you can take the bus with a transfer through Gagra, where there are direct buses from the cities of the Russian Federation (see how to get to Gagra). You can also take a bus to Sochi (Adler), then by public transport to the PSOU checkpoint, and after passing the border by minibus or regular taxi directly to New Athos.

Local city buses run from the cities of Greater Sochi to the border with Abkhazia (PSOU checkpoint) :

• #125 (from the center of Sochi via Khosta, Kudepstu, Adler)
• No. 173 (from Sochi airport, Adler, Kudepsta)
• No. 117, No. 100 (Kudepsta, Adler railway station)
• No. 134 (Khosta, Kudepsta, Adler railway station)

These routes reach the border checkpoint or stop near it. After crossing the border, immediately after the checkpoint on the Abkhaz side, there is a parking lot of local taxis, which can be used to get directly to New Athos for 200 rubles. Buses are poisoned every 20-30 minutes by occupancy, a little more than an hour on the way.

New Athos by car

You can get to Abkhazia by car only through the PSOU checkpoint, which is located on the border with the Russian Federation (PSOU checkpoint on the map) in the Krasnodar Territory, Sochi, Adler district, Veseloe settlement. The road to the border runs along the Black Sea coast through the cities of Greater Sochi, and this is the only way here. If you have never been to Sochi, then keep in mind that the section from Dzhubga to the checkpoint is a very difficult mountain winding road. Its length is 200 kilometers, but you can drive it in 5-6 hours with good weather and a free highway. Gasoline on this site is consumed decently. During the high season (in summer, especially in July and August), there is a chance to get into a long traffic jam on this section, especially between Dzhubga and Tuapse. Therefore, sometimes you can go faster through the Shahumyan pass (through Apsheronsk, Khadyzhensk, Shahumyan), and go straight to Tuapse.

After passing the border at the checkpoint to New Athos will drive 80 kilometers on a flat good road.

Learn more about how to get to Abkhazia by car, including how to cross the border, here.

Transport in New Athos, what to move around the city

There is no public transport in Novy Athos, but you can move between the districts (the center, a residential area on the outskirts) by fixed-route taxis plying the main E60 highway from Sukhum to Novy Athos and beyond. But they do not go very often and stably, so sometimes it is faster to walk two kilometers from the outskirts than to wait for Transport. In addition, you can make this way along the beach. Also in the center and near the railway station there are always "on duty" a lot of private cabs, always ready to take you for 50-100 rubles.

To budget from New Athos to go during the day to Sukhum orGagra, you can also take any passing minibus in the right direction on the main road E60.