Holidays in Bolshoy Utrish - how to get there, what to see, where to stay

General information, recreation, beaches

Bolshoy Utrish - a village on the Black Sea coast in the city of Anapa, 20 kilometers from the city center (Bolshoy Utrish on the map. It is located on the territory of the reserve (reserve) "Utrish" surrounded by beautiful hills and forests, and is famous for the purity of air and sea water. Part of the resort is located on the small peninsula of Utrish with a lighthouse.

People most often come to Bolshoy Utrish for one day from Anapa or Sukko to visit the local Dolphinarium, the aquarium at the science center, take one of the routes through the Reserve, or just relax on the local pebble beaches famous for the purity of the water. But also Bolshoy Utrish is an independent holiday destination, where you can spend your entire vacation, staying in one of the few accommodation options or in a tent camp. The most important thing for which they come here is the proximity to the protected nature of the Reserve, which you can get acquainted with during walking or sea excursions. Also here is a dive center, which offers dives for beginners, training with the issuance of a certificate, rental of equipment for experienced divers.

The infrastructure is very poorly developed, only the most necessary is presented. There are a couple of cafes and canteens, and a market with goods for tourists. There is no ATM. A big problem of the resort is the lack of free parking, you can leave the car only at paid parking for 100 rubles/hour.

✔ Advantages of the resort

• Clear sea, clear water
• Located on the territory of the reserve, it is considered an environmentally friendly place

❌ Cons of the resort

• Few accommodation options, high prices
• Poorly developed infrastructure
• Only pebble beaches
• No free parking

Greater Utrish has several beaches, all pebbly or rocky. The water here is very clear, you can even go snorkeling. We recommend taking special slippers for swimming – aquashuzes. By the way, you can buy them here at the market with tourist goods, prices are reasonable.

The only equipped beach with small pebbles is the central one (The central beach of Bolshoy Utrish on the map. It has umbrellas and sun beds for rent (200 USD), a cafe, a fenced area for bathing children, changing cabins. A few more beaches belong to campsites, but the passage to them is free and free, all in accordance with the law. But in order to travel to their territory by transport, you will have to pay. Moreover, if you come to the village for the whole day, it is more profitable to call at the campsite and pay a one-time 400 rubles, and not 100 rubles for each hour in paid parking lots.

The coast to the south of the resort (towards Novorossiysk, nudist beach on the map) favored nudists. Here begins the zone of the reserve, for the entrance will have to pay 100 rubles. On this beach you can walk to the Pearl waterfall (2.5 kilometers) and swim in any place you like, but there are also disadvantages: sometimes you can see mountains of garbage on the shore, and the bottom and shore are very rocky in places.

Hotels and accommodation where to stay

There are very few accommodation options here, budget options are generally minimal. There are campsites in a juniper Grove and near the beach with minimal amenities from 1000 rubles for parking a car and a place to install one tent. In general, compared with the center of Anapa, the prices for accommodation here are significantly lower, so if you just want to get acquainted with the resort, you can come here for one day.

We recommend searching and booking accommodation in Bolshoy Utrish and Anapa in advance through popular sites of World booking systems:

• 🛌 search hotels in Bolshoy Utrish on Yandex.travel
• 🛌 Search hotels on Ostrovok.ru
• 🛌 Search for affordable housing in Anapa on Sutochno.ru

Weather in Bolshoy Utrish, tourist seasons

• 🌞 need to go from June to August. It is high tourist and beach season. Especially popular and the hottest months are July and August, but in the first half of June it can be cool and rainy.

• ⛅ you can go in May, September and October. This is an acceptable time to relax in Anapa, but not very comfortable. In these months, the weather can present unpleasant surprises in the form of rains and cold weather, and in May the sea is also too cold for comfortable swimming. In October, the beach season can end at the beginning of the month or in the middle, so if you have to choose the best of these off-season months, then we would definitely recommend September.

• 🌨 do not go from November to April. In November, or rather even in mid-October, it becomes cold and uncomfortable for a beach holiday, tourist routes in the Reserve and attractions stop their work.

Current weather in Bolshoy Utrish and forecast

How to get there

The resort of Bolshoy Utrish is part of Anapa, and all options to get here lead only through Anapa. For detailed instructions on how to get to Anapa, read here.

For a taxi ride from the center of Anapa, they ask from 500 rubles, which is very expensive for just 20 kilometers. But you can use the local bus number 109. Just note that there are several varieties of Route number 109, some go only to Sukko, check when boarding.

If you go here by your own car, there are two roads: through the center of Anapa, or bypassing the center through the village of Gai-Kodzor. Both roads are in good condition. Unfortunately, there are big problems with parking, i.e. parking for free is prohibited almost everywhere: signs are installed and tow trucks are working. Paid parking costs 100 rubles / hour, or you can drive to the peninsula parking lot for 400 rubles for a car, 200 rubles for a trailer, 100 rubles for a motorcycle. You can park your car for free only outside the village on the side of the road, which is very far from the beaches and the beginning of tourist routes.

Attractions and entertainment, what to see

• Utrish Nature Reserve

  

  The Reserve "Utrish" surrounds the village of Bolshoy Utrish from all sides and is its main attraction. Relict flora grow on its territory, including endemic Juniper, pistachio, skumpia, Pitsunda Pine. The fauna is rich in red book species, including marine life. During boat trips and diving you can see the Mediterranean turtle, flocks of horse mackerel, mackerel, Hamsa, bottlenose dolphins.

  Although the village itself is actually located on the territory of the reserve, you are unlikely to see anything interesting directly in it. To visit the reserve, there are walking and Sea tourist routes, which can be visited with excursions accompanied by eco-guides. They start from different points, these routes are available from Bolshoy Utrish: Morskaya to Zhemchuzhny waterfall, Morskaya to Lobanova gap, Morskaya to Navagirskaya gap, coastline, obzor.

  All kinds of children's and adult amusement parks and attractions here are the sea, the variety is huge. There are simple swings for the little ones, Ferris Wheels, roller coasters, extreme swings for adults, prize shooting galleries, modern 3D, 5D and so on ad infinitum cinemas, interactive virtual reality attractions, houses of fear, etc. They come across almost at every turn, but the largest and most modern are in the park near the embankment and the main entrance to the Central Beach.

  🌐 Website: https://www.utrishgpz.ru

  🕐 Working hours: guided tours are available when groups are recruited by appointment by phone +79996320403 or email: utrish-tour@mail.ru. The number of visitors per day is limited, so it is better to book in advance.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: entrance to hiking trails and boat trips from 100 rubles.

  🚶 How to get there: the entrance to the Reserve in Bolshoy Utrish is located near the campsite "Utrish wave" (entrance to the Reserve on the map. Sea excursions are carried out from the pier on the island of Utrish.

• Pearl falls

  

  This waterfall is located on the beach two and a half kilometers south of the center of Bolshoy Utrish in the Reserve. The way to it is a paid tourist route No. 5. You can get to it on foot along the shore or swim on an excursion boat. The height of the waterfall is 5 meters. It is full of water in winter and spring, and in summer it turns into a thin trickle of cold water. Objectively speaking, the route and the waterfall are not particularly impressive, so you should go to it when there is nothing to do at all. It is noteworthy in it, perhaps, only that this is the westernmost waterfall in the Krasnodar Territory, and the only one available to tourists in Anapa.

  For hiking, wear comfortable shoes, in beach slippers it is very difficult and painful to walk on pebbles. Also bring water, and you can beach accessories to swim in the sea or under the icy jets of the waterfall. When hiking with children, keep in mind that the path along the shore will pass through a nudist beach, and nudists often spend time and swim near the waterfall.

  🕐 Working hours: around the clock.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: the fee for admission to the Reserve is 100 rubles.

  🚶 How to get there: the waterfall can be reached along the shore 2.5 kilometers (entrance to the Reserve on the map), or use excursion boats departing from the pier of the peninsula for 200 rubles/person.

• Dolphinarium in Bolshoy Utrish

  

  This Dolphinarium is one of the few where dolphins live almost in their natural environment – in an open-air Bay in seawater. True, objectively it is worth saying that the performances themselves here are nothing special compared to the classical closed dolphinariums do not stand out. In addition to the show, swimming with dolphins (dolphin therapy) is offered.

  🌐 Website: http://www.dolfinarium.ru/

  🕐 Working hours: the show is scheduled at 11:00, 15:00 and 17:30, with an evening performance at 20:00 on select days.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: 1000 rubles, children under 5 years-free of charge. Evening show-1300 rubles. There are benefits for privileged categories and birthday children. Purchasing tickets access to on the official website.

  🚶 How to get there: located in the village of Bolshoy Utrish, 20 kilometers from Anapa (Dolphinarium on the map. You can get here by bus number 109 (to B. Utrish) from the bus station, but they rarely go, about every 30-60 minutes. You can also buy a tour for 450/350R. + entrance fee.

• Oceanarium in Bolshoy Utrish

  

  The Aquarium in Bolshoy Utrish operates at the Scientific Center for the study of the Black Sea. But you need to understand that this is not a traditional spectacular aquarium with a large number of colored fish and predators, but rather an educational place. ie, it is not very spectacular, but very interesting, you can learn a lot about marine life. Visiting is possible in the form of three excursions: Aquarium of two halls with large aquariums with Black Sea inhabitants (400 USD); Laboratory of the Scientific Center (450 USD); a walk through the Juniper Grove to get acquainted with the flora and fauna (500 USD).

  🌐 Website: https://bolshoyutrish.ru/

  🕐 Working hours: from 09:00 to 19:00, seven days a week. In 2020, due to the epidemiological situation, the center does not accept visitors.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: depending on the tour from 400 rubles.

  🚶 How to get there: located in the center of Greater Utrish (Oceanarium on the map).

• Diving

  

  Dive center "Utrish" offers acquaintance with the underwater world of the Black Sea in the coastal waters of the utrisha Reserve. The water here is clean, the underwater world is rich in fish and crabs, at the bottom there are remnants of ships and man-made objects (underwater museum) to enhance the emotions of diving. Dives for beginners without certificates, training with an international certificate, equipment rental and dives for experienced divers are offered.

  🌐 Website: https://anapa-diving.ru/

  🕐 Working hours: individually according to your request.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: dives for beginners from 2000 rubles, see the rest of the prices on the website.

  🚶 How to get there: the dive center is located on the shore of the peninsula (Dive Center on the map).

• Viewing platforms

  

  On the way to Bolshoy Utrish there are several viewing platforms with views of the sea and coastal mountains, and from them there are trails down to the shore to wild pebble beaches. You can make a stop here on the way to take some beautiful photos, but you should not go specifically.

  🕐 Working hours: around the clock.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: free.

  🚶 How to get there: the lookouts are along the road between Sukko and Bolshoy Utrish (observation deck on the map).