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

General information, recreation, beaches

Betta - a small resort village on the Black Sea coast in Greater Gelendzhik (Betta on the map. Officially called Khutor, it belongs to the resort town Gelendzhik. Its permanent population is only 800 people, but during the holiday season its number increases several times due to visiting tourists. Just six kilometers from Betta is another similar but less developed resort in the village of Krinitsa.

Betta farm is located in a quiet natural corner in a cul-de-sac of the road from the village of Pshada, and apparently therefore is not very well known to mass tourists coming to a beach holiday in the Krasnodar Territory. But residents of the region and neighboring regions are happy to come here for a week or two or for a weekly weekend to relax in the sun and swim in the clear sea. The advantageous position away from cities and a large highway surrounded by hills covered with dense green forests makes the farm also a good climatic resort.

However, despite the beauty and pluses of Betta, there are also enough minuses here. Objectively speaking, the rest here is suitable only for the most unpretentious tourists who are ready to put up with a poorly developed infrastructure, relatively high prices for accommodation and food, as well as a crowded central beach at the height of the season, and especially on weekends.

✔ Advantages of the resort

• A quiet and environmentally friendly place away from the highways.
• Beautiful nature and clear clean water.
• Long wild Pebble and rocky beaches.
• Excursions to attractions in the surrounding area and in the region are sold.
• There is a small promenade with cafes and entertainments.

❌ Cons of the resort

• The pebbles on the beach are large, it is inconvenient to walk.
• The main beach is small and sometimes crowded with vacationers.
• Infrastructure and entertainment are poorly developed.
• Few accommodation options near the beach.
• It is difficult to reach and navigate without personal transport.
• No attractions or Entertainments.
• High prices for accommodation and food.

Note that the village is surrounded by hills and mountains, and most of the Betta also lies on their slopes with differences. Accommodation options are also located on hills and slopes, in most cases well above the water level, and accordingly the beach. Therefore, during the rest you will have to walk a lot up and down the stairs or not very convenient dirt path. It is almost impossible to find accommodation on the first line near the beach here, or it will cost too much.

Betta Beach only one, a little more than 300 meters long. It is exceptionally pebbly, there is no sand at all. Pebbles are large. During the beach season, paths of wooden decking are equipped on the shore, but, despite this, it is still inconvenient and painful to go into the water and swim on large stones. Therefore, we highly recommend buying shoes for swimming "aquashusa". In the local tourist market, such a pair costs from 350 rubles, a little cheaper in Gelendzhik.

The entrance to the water here is flat, but the depth increases quickly: already 5-8 meters from the shore adults are on their shoulders, what can we say about children. By the way, for children there is a separate swimming area fenced in the water, and on the shore there is a tower with rescuers.

The infrastructure on the beach of Betta is well developed, there is everything you need for a comfortable beach holiday. Renting a chaise longue costs 250 rubles/day, gazebos for several people from 1000 rubles/day are offered. Beach Entertainments and rental of equipment for water Entertainments (catamarans, jet skis, kayaks, SUP-surf) are offered. Along the beach there is a small but neat promenade. There are points for the sale of draft drinks (beer, kvass, lemonades), Beach fast food (ice cream, french fries, etc.), there are full-fledged cafes and canteens. There are also several simple children's entertainments such as shooting galleries and trampolines.

Unfortunately, during the high season in July and August, and especially on weekends, Betta beach can be very crowded with vacationers. Therefore, some tourists go to the outskirts on wild beaches. They stretch for many kilometers in both directions from the village to Krynitsa and Arkhipo-Osipovka. Theoretically, these villages can even be reached on foot, although the path on the stones will not be easy. Wild beaches are very rocky and sometimes even dangerous for swimming. At a certain confluence of weather and waves, mountains of garbage and algae are thrown ashore, which begin to rot and exude an unpleasant smell. In this case, go further along the shore and look for a cleaner place, otherwise there is no way. If you go to save in the direction of Krinitsa, you will get to places favored by nudists.

Betta Infrastructure it is better developed than in Krinitsa, especially on the beach and the promenade. In the farm there are several shops with products, on the embankment there are tents selling goods for recreation, souvenirs, local products. Especially popular are local tea collections, sweets, honey, smoked fish, home-made alcoholic beverages. Regarding the latter, keep in mind that, like everywhere else, you will have to buy them at your own risk, only words are responsible for quality.

You can eat in one of the cafes and canteens near the beach. Prices are higher than in large resorts and cities, the quality is also lame. We do not recommend ordering complex dishes of foreign cuisine in local establishments, but traditional Russian dishes and shish kebab are quite tolerable. Most accommodation options provide the opportunity to cook independently in a shared or individual kitchen. Food and drinks in local stores are also expensive, so you can buy inexpensive products at the entrance to the network "magnet" in Pshada. There are several more network "Pyaterochka" and "magnets" in Arkhipo-Osipovka, and large supermarkets in Gelendzhik.

In Betta there is a Savings Bank ATM, but it is one for two resorts at once: Betta and Krinitsa. Therefore, it is often idle without money. The nearest other ATMs are in Beregove and Pshad.

Hotels and accommodation in Betta where to stay

In Betta, you can count several dozen accommodation options, most of which are private mini – hotels and guest houses, as well as rented rooms and whole houses. There are only a few options with amenities and services such as hotels and sanatoriums, and they should be booked in advance, especially during the peak season in July and August.

In general, in the summer months it is difficult to find good accommodation at a reasonable price in Betta, and especially during the weekly weekends, since everything is "disassembled" by residents coming for a weekly rest from large cities of the Krasnodar Territory and neighboring regions. And do not believe the advertising guides on the Internet, which paint in colors that everything is very cheap here. In practice, for accommodation of approximately the same level, you will pay more here than in large popular resorts, such as Gelendzhik or Arkhipo-Osipovka. For reference, in the peak season it is worth counting on the amount of 400 rubles per person for the cheapest housing with amenities on the street and very far from the beach.

We recommend searching and booking accommodation in Betta in advance through these sites of world and Russian booking systems or the search form from Booking:

• 🛌 Search for hotels in betta on Yandex.travel
• 🛌 Search hotels on Ostrovok.ru

Weather in Betta, tourist seasons

• 🌞 need to go from June to August. High tourist and beach season. The hottest and most expensive vacation months are July and August.

• ⛅ you can go in May, September and October. These are not the best months, but quite acceptable for rest with certain reservations. The water and weather are not very warm, there may be rains and lingering clouds, especially in May. In addition, infrastructure and entertainment in these months is almost absent. Of the advantages, perhaps lower prices for accommodation.

• 🌨 do not go from November to April. These months are too cold and uncomfortable to rest.

Current weather in Betta and forecast

How to get to Betta

Betta is off the main highway and relatively far from transportation hubs. The only public transport that goes directly to Betta is suburban buses from Gelendzhik and Pshada, respectively, all ways to get here by public transport will pass through these settlements, sometimes with several transfers. Given this, we recommend using a taxi or tourist transfer to travel from the airport or railway station.

And now briefly about each of the ways:

• By plane. The nearest airport is in Gelendzhik (53 kilometers), but it is cheaper to fly to Krasnodar airport (160 kilometers). It is not always possible to find good prices for flights to Gelendzhik airport, especially from the regions, so sometimes it makes sense to fly to Krasnodar and take a taxi from there than to overpay for a ticket to Gelendzhik.
• By train. There is no railway station in Gelendzhik, the nearest one is in Novorossiysk. To get from there by bus, you will first have to go to Gelendzhik, and there transfer to the suburban bus number 107.
• By bus. The nearest bus stations, which can be reached by long-distance buses, are located in Gelendzhik and Arkhipo-Osipovka. It is better to go to Gelendzhik to change there to the suburban bus number 107 to Betta. From Arkhipo-Osipovka you can get directly only by taxi, or by buses with a transfer in Pshada.

See the detailed instructions, about each of the ways and how to get to Gelendzhik here.

Also do not forget that many hotels and private accommodation facilities offer a meeting at the airport or train station with delivery, which is cheaper than ordering a tourist transfer. Please check this when booking.

How to get from Gelendzhik and Pshada to Betta

• Bus number 107 (Gelendzhik-Betta) departs several times a day according to the schedule from the old Gelendzhik bus station on Sadovaya Street 23 (bus station on the map. Departure in summer from 05:20 to 20:10 approximately every hour, one and a half to two hours on the way. Through Krinitsa passes along the main street of the world, where you can get off at one of the stops and walk to any place in the village.
• Bus number 109 (Pshada-Betta) walks only a few times a day.

Attractions and entertainments to see

In advertising guides on the Internet, you can sometimes read that Betta has numerous natural and historical attractions, such as Pshad waterfalls, Dolmen complex, Mukhinsky gorge, etc.Some sources even manage to attribute water parks and dolphinariums of neighboring resorts to this small village. In fact, there are no attractions in Betta, and entertainments are represented only by traditional beach Entertainments and simple children's attractions. All interesting places, including those mentioned above, are located tens of kilometers from the village, and belong rather to the sights and entertainments of Greater Gelendzhik, but certainly not to Betta.

Fortunately, many of them can be visited during a one-day independent trip by private transport or with group excursions. The latter can be bought from distributors on the embankment. The choice of excursions from Betta is not as rich as from large resorts, and they do not go every day, but according to schedules several times a week. Therefore, we advise you immediately upon arrival on vacation to decide on the program and book interesting tours for you. Here are the most interesting places that we recommend visiting first:

• Dolmen complex in Pshada
• Waterfalls on the river Jean or Pshad waterfalls
• Old Park in Kabardinka
• Gelendzhik Safari Park and cable car
• Olymp Park, petting zoo and cable car in Gelendzhik
• Novorossiysk sightseeing tour
• Golden Bay Water Park in Gelendzhik
• Dolphinarium in Gelendzhik or Arkhipo-Osipovka

This is not a complete list of attractions and entertainments that can be visited from Betta, especially by private transport. See more in our individual guidebooks, as well as explore the map of Betta and surrounding areas below:

• Sights Of Gelendzhik
• Sights Of Kabardinka
• Sights Of Arkhipo-Osipovka
• Sights Of Divnomorskoye
• Sights Of Novorossiysk

Some more guidebooks mention the numerous tourist routes around Betta through the surrounding mountains to observation decks and natural attractions. But this is only partly true. In fact, there are no official organized tourist routes here, but there are only "folk" trails that are available only if you have experience of hiking or trekking hikes and the ability to navigate the terrain well. And this is not mass tourism and Recreation, but rather a test. Although, in fairness, it should be said that physically and technically all these routes are not difficult.