What to see in Sochi with children

Sochi is a popular beach and Family Resort, and therefore very often go on vacation with children. And therefore it is not surprising that almost every Sochi resort has a lot of entertainment and interesting places that can be visited with children of all ages.

So, even in the tiniest Resort Villages of Sochi you will find children's entertainment that has already become traditional for local resorts such as shooting galleries, trampolines, rental children's electric cars or gyroscuters, slot machines. Of course, there are water activities on the beaches, and among them water slides, banana riding or more extreme tablet riding are suitable for children. You can ride children on a jet ski or lift into the air on a parachute, but this is more dangerous and extreme entertainment, so be careful with this.

In larger and more developedAdler Resorts, Loo, Lazarevskoye, center of Sochi or the village of Sirius the list and variety of children's entertainment and attractions is already much more impressive. There are amusement parks, zoos, water parks, dolphinariums, entertainment museums. Let's talk about them a little more:

An almost mandatory place to visit during a holiday with children should be one of the Sochi dolphinariums. In my experience, let's say that no matter how many times you take children to the show of dolphins and whales, they will be happy to see it again, so you can go to the Dolphinarium at least every visit. But in addition to the show in the dolphinariums there is also an exciting program of swimming with dolphins and dolphin therapy.

Another place where we recommend to go with children in Sochi - amusement park "Sochi Park" in the village of Sirius. This is a kind of Russian analogue of Disneyland, where you pay for admission and during the day you can ride on the attractions as much as you like. Just note that the entrance fee is quite high, and there are many restrictions for children by age. But what is good, children up to 107 centimeters tall are free, and for growth up to 140 centimeters there is a discounted ticket.

If Sochi Park seems too expensive or you will not be able to visit it for other reasons, then as an alternative you can have fun in another famous amusement park "Riviera" in the center of Sochi. In IT, payment is made for each attraction separately, so you can save money by choosing only those that you like.

Another popular type of entertainment for children in Sochi is water parks. There are several of them here, so choose where to go from what. These are water parks: "Amphibius" in Adler, "Morskaya Zvezda" in Lazarevskoye, "Nautilus" in Lazarevskoye, "aqualoo" in Loo. There are even two indoor year-round water parks in the mountain resorts of Krasnaya Polyana: " Galaktika" in GRK Gazprom and Mountain Beach on the cruise "Krasnaya Polyana". But the old water park "Mayak" in the center of Sochi is closed and apparently will not work anymore, so from the center you will have to go to the nearest one in Adler.

Another place that can be recommended for visiting with children is the tunnel aquarium Sochi Discovery World Aquarium in Adler. It is considered the largest on the Black Sea coast, and the only full-fledged tunnel aquarium. In addition to exotic aquatic inhabitants from around the world, you can also see a show with the participation of "mermaids" and feeding sharks (not mermaids, of course 😊).

And, of course, what kind of trip to Sochi will do without visiting some famous attractions. We definitely include "Olympic Park" and Singing fountains and a trip to Krasnaya Polyana for ascent to the mountains by cable car. You can also visit one of the entertainment and educational museums in Sirius: Tesla electric museum, Leonardo da Vinci Mechanical Museum and Sochi Auto Sport Museum. From natural attractions, children will enjoy easy excursions to 33 waterfalls, to Vorontsov caves and Sochi Arboretum.

Well, if your children are old enough and ready for extreme attractions, we advise you to visit "Solohaul Park" or SkyPark extreme amusement park (AJ Hackett). In the "Solohaul Park" you can take to the air in a balloon or airship, ride an armored personnel carrier and much more. And SkyPark extreme amusement park is known for the world's highest suspension bridge SkyBridge (in 2018, he lost this championship), extreme swings, rope park and other entertainment for adults and older children.

And now we will tell you about each of the mentioned places to visit with children in Sochi in more detail, indicating the opening hours, costs and ways to get to them yourself.:

Dolphinariums in Sochi

Every major resort in Sochi has at least one Dolphinarium, and many of them hold performances around the clock, albeit on a reduced schedule. For example, if in summer there are 3 performances every day, then in winter they are reduced to several per week. The show is held with the participation of Black Sea Dolphins, white whales, sea lions under incendiary music and accompanied by the host. Here are the dolphinariums in Sochi that work in winter:

• Dolphinarium in the center of Sochi, scheduled site - https://delfin-riviera.ru/
• Adler Dolphinarium, site with schedule - http://www.adlerdelfin.ru/
• "Coliseum" in Lazarevskoye, site with a schedule - https://vk.com/dolphin_sochi
• "Morskaya Zvezda" in Lazarevskoye, scheduled site - https://www.delphinoterapiya.ru/
• Lazarevsky Dolphinarium, site with schedule - http://www.delfin-laz.ru/

Sochi Park amusement park in Sirius

This is the grandest theme park in the whole of Greater Sochi, stylized as the cultural and historical heritage of Russia, or a kind of Russian "Disneyland". On the territory there are more than 20 extreme and children's attractions, several playgrounds, a dolphinarium and Aquarium, a mini zoo, an anti-Museum, a children's play complex "country of the bear", a fairy tale theater and its own 4-star hotel. And all this is visited on a single ticket and without time limits. Of course, there are cafes and restaurants on the territory, fast food, souvenirs and gifts are sold. In general, everything so that you can enjoy spending the whole day with your family. Just keep in mind that not all attractions are suitable for all ages: for example, for the youngest children there is only one attraction and a game room, and for younger children not all extreme entertainment is suitable. Read more about Sochi Park and how to visit it here.

Riviera Park in the center of Sochi

This is the main entertainment park of Sochi with children's and extreme attractions, a ferris wheel, a dolphinarium, a crocodile show, a mini-aquarium, a Penguins, a mini-zoo, a butterfly tail, alleys for walking and Recreation, several mini-museums, a fear room. The park is very large in area (but not in the amount of entertainment), and going here with the whole family you should plan to spend half a day on it, and, of course, a lot of money. Unfortunately, there are very few extreme attractions for older children and adults, and many of them are often on prevention. So, at the height of the season in July 2021, there was not a single extreme attraction that could be of interest to older children or adults. Well, if your kids are less than 10 years old, then there are a lot of options to have fun. Read more about Riviera park here.

Amphibius water park in Adler

Amphibius, although not the largest water park on the coast (the largest in Gelendzhik), but one of the most comfortable to visit, and especially with children. The fact is that although it is in the open air, the water here is heated, which makes it possible to visit it even in the low season. True, heating is not always included, it all depends on the weather, so check this before buying tickets. Otherwise, this is a standard small water park with a set of 16 not very extreme slides for adults, a zone for children, a sunbathing area, a cafe, etc.not all slides are available for children under 7 years old.

Water park "Morskaya Zvezda" in Lazarevskoye

An open-air water park (under the open sky) with adult and children's slides, saltwater pools, a recreation area and a full complex of infrastructure for recreation. It is not very large, rather even small, so do not expect a "wow" effect from it if you have previously been to large water parks. Adults and teenagers can have fun on Eleven slides, but for primary school children there are very few options for entertainment: just one slide and pools. Kids have nothing to do at all, since there is no separate entertainment area for them, only a small playground and a shallow pool. Read more about the water park "Morskaya Zvezda" here.

Water park "Nautilus" in Lazarevskoye

"Nautilus" is almost twice as large in area as the "starfish", but it can not be unequivocally said that it is "cooler". In fact, the slides here are even less than in the "Morskaya Zvezda", although they are a little more extreme. It is worth noting that despite its two hectares of occupied area, it still looks somewhat modest compared to large water parks, such as Amphibius in Adler. There are only 7 slides, but they are extreme and high. The coolest – tsunami and Kamikaze. A considerable selection of entertainment for children of primary school age, and a children's town with a shallow pool for the youngest. Learn more about the water park "Nautilus" here.

Aqualoo water park in Loo

Aqualoo water park is unique among all water parks in Greater Sochi. The fact is that this is the only year-round water park, consisting of an indoor part (Winter part), as well as a playground with slides and outdoor pools (summer part). It is part of the hotel complex, where you can stay for the entire period of your vacation.

The Winter part consists of two warm pools for adults, one children's pool, four water slides, two steam rooms, a bar and a cafe. And judging by the reviews of tourists, in winter there is nothing much to do here: there is little entertainment and it is boring. But in the summer the water park opens in all its glory. In the Open-Air area there are several extreme slides, a children's area, a huge swimming pool with artificial waves and sea water, sun loungers and umbrellas, a cafe.

Avkopark has a convenient tariff policy that allows you to choose the time of visit for your needs at a different price. There is a unique tariff "Aquanoch", which includes tickets to the water park and accommodation in the room, which allows you to come here from distant resorts and cities, have fun on the slides and relax in the room.

Water park and entertainment center "Galaxy" in Krasnaya Polyana

The Galaktika RC is the entertainment center of the Gazprom ski resort, but you can easily visit it from other resorts of Krasnaya Polyana. In addition to the indoor year-round water park, there is a wax museum, a museum-exhibition of Cosmonautics, A Museum of illuminations "Wow Park", an Ice Arena, a cinema, a slot machine zone. Also in the RC there are shops with souvenirs, sports and festive events are held, etc.even if you do not intend to visit the water park or one of the museums, you can just come here and take a walk, take beautiful photos. Read more about the RC "Galaxy" and the water park here.

Mountain Beach Water Park in Krasnaya Polyana

The Mountain Beach Water Park is quite modest in terms of slides: there are only children's slides, three parallel pipes and several spiral slides. But there are several swimming pools, recreation areas, a sandy beach, artificial palm trees, a restaurant, a bar, a salt cave. Actually, it is in this form-as a place of rest, and not as a classic water park, we advise you to consider this place so as not to be disappointed after visiting. You can go to relax and have fun here at any time of the year, it is located indoors in the building of the shopping center.

Sochi Discovery World Aquarium

This aquarium in pseudo-guides on the Internet is described and positioned as the best and largest in Russia. In fact, this is not so, and it is inferior to the aquarium in Moscow in size, and in terms of the diversity of inhabitants it is not much better than other oceanariums in large cities and resorts of the Russian Federation. But if you've never been to a tunnel aquarium, it's definitely worth a visit. In addition to the tunnel with a length of 44 meters, there are 30 large aquariums with underwater inhabitants, and the "highlight" is a show with mermaids and feeding sharks. But it is worth saying that in the peak season there are a lot of visitors, so it is better to visit it on weekdays in the morning. Read more about Sochi Discovery World Aquarium here.

Olympic Park

The Olympic Park is without exaggeration the largest attraction of Adler and the most famous place of the whole of Greater Sochi. If someone else does not know, then it was originally built for the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014, and around the Olympic facilities equipped the Sochi Autodrom race track for the Royal F1 car races and others. Now you can walk around the park and see the majestic Olympic facilities on your own and for free. You can also visit all Sochi Resorts for cheap sightseeing tours to the park. Learn more about the Olympic Park and how to visit it here.

Singing fountains in the Olympic Park

The singing fountains in Adler's Olympic Park are one of the resort's most visually impressive attractions. To watch this light and sound show, people even come here from other resorts of Greater Sochi and from the city of Sochi with excursions or on their own. The show is accompanied by modern and classical music, including Russian and foreign hits. The show lasts one hour and starts every day at the same time, but the schedule changes from season to Season (see below). Read more about singing fountains here.

Krasnaya Polyana cable cars

An obligatory tourist activity in Krasnaya Polyana, which every guest of the village and other resorts of Sochi should and seeks to experience – is, of course, cable cars. This is not about skiing or snowboarding, but about climbing on a cable car to one of the viewing platforms on the slopes or peaks surrounding the village of Krasnaya Polyana. By the way, even in early summer you can climb to a height with snow and play snowballs in June. There are simply ascents to the observation decks, and there are complex excursions with Entertainment and visits to individual attractions at the top (as a rule, these are waterfalls and hiking trails) or at the bottom (museums). Learn more about Krasnaya Polyana cable cars here.

Tesla electric Museum

Informative and entertaining museum, introducing visitors to the nature of electricity and its properties. The visit is an excursion to get acquainted with the inventions of scientist Nikola Tesla, and then in an entertaining interactive form, visitors are shown a show program with lightning. The visit takes place only in the form of excursions that begin every hour.

Leonardo da Vinci Mechanical Museum

This is another informative and entertaining museum dedicated to the great artist, scientist and inventor. The exhibits are mechanisms and machines recreated according to drawings and diagrams left by Leonardo, including: perpetual motion machines, flying machines, catapult, crossbow, trebuchet (throwing machine), auxiliary mechanisms, etc. Some of them can be touched and activated, and guides tell about the purpose and principle of work.

Museum of sports and classic cars or "Sochi Auto Sport Museum"

This is a museum of cars and motorsport, collected by a private collector. The exposition presents several thousand exhibits dedicated to the history of cars and motorsport, including smaller models of cars, caps, helmets, costumes of racers and mechanics, cups, wheels, awards. But the most important thing is more than 40 sports and classic cars in the original. Among them is a real F1 car-Jaguar R5B 2004, a car for Drag Racing Dodge Viper, ultra-fast Jaguar XJ220, the legendary DeLorean DMC from the movie "Back to the future" and others. There are also Russian cars, of which most have not even heard. Learn more about the Automuseum here.

33 waterfalls

There are many waterfalls in the mountainous regions of Sochi, but if you really choose to visit something during your vacation, then we would definitely recommend visiting the "33 waterfalls" in the Valley of the Shakhe River in the Lazarevsky district. In fact, most vacationers will not be able to see all 33 waterfalls, but only 13 of the most easily accessible and equipped with a convenient path and stairs. The reason is that organized group excursions, with the help of which this place is most often visited, are limited in time: usually no more than an hour is given for a walk and rest at the waterfalls, which is clearly not enough to get to the rest of the slightly more inaccessible ones. But if you really want to, you can see the other 20, although for this you will have to come here on your own and you will need to walk along the river along unequipped trails, which not everyone can overcome. In terms of time, the full route will take 2-4 hours with rest and swimming in natural pools (fonts), and if you are ready to limit yourself to easily accessible waterfalls, you can easily see them in half an hour. Learn more about 33 waterfalls and how to visit them here.

Vorontsov caves

If you have to choose one cave to visit in Sochi, we would definitely recommend this one. Of course, we are talking about the choice among caves equipped for tourist visits, and not about Speleological caves for professionals or advanced enthusiasts. The system of Vorontsov caves is the most branched and Extended of them. The investigated part of the passages has a length of more than 11 kilometers. The halls are filled with bizarre stalactites and stalagmites, the ceiling and floor are connected by columns formed over millions of years from fused stalactites and stalagmites. Read more about Vorontsov Caves here.

Sochi Arboretum

Sochi Arboretum is one of the most visited places by tourists in central Sochi, which should definitely be included in your stay program. Here you will see traditional for the climatic zone of Russia and exotic plant species from around the world. As stated, there are more than 1 800 species, forms and varieties of tree and shrub species, 74 species of Pines, 66 species of Oaks, 54 species of Palms, cypresses, rare species of tropical and subtropical plants. The arboretum covers an area of more than 46 hectares and consists of two parts, upper and lower, they are visited by one entrance ticket. You will have to walk a lot and for a long time, so you should plan a visit for several hours, and preferably half a day. Take drinking water with you, and in sunny weather, sun protection, glasses, headgear. Read more about the Sochi arboretum here.

Solohaul Park amusement park

In the mountainous area, 25 kilometers from the nearest shore, there is a park of extreme entertainment and active recreation "Solohaul Park" or "green Glade". There is a zipline, a rope park, a shooting range from onions and airsoft, a trampoline, zorbing (descent in an inflatable sphere on a slope), riding on an armored personnel carrier, a balloon and an airship. And all this is surrounded by tea plantations and with magnificent views of the mountains. It is worth coming here for the whole day.

SkyBridge suspension bridge and Skypark extreme amusement park

This is a complex of extreme entertainment in Sochi, located on the road to the mountain resorts of Krasnaya Polyana. The basis of the Skypark is the SkyBridge Suspension Bridge (read "SkyBridge"), stretched over the Akhshtyr Canyon and the Mzymta River at an altitude of 207 meters. In addition to walking on the bridge for an additional fee you can try really extreme rides at the limit:

• Bungy jumping elastic rope jump for 69 meters - 8000 rubles/5000 rubles.
• Bungy jumping on an elastic rope for 207 meters - 18,000 rubles/ children are not available.
• Zipline (trolls) over the abyss at a distance of 700 meters-2500 rubles / 1500 rubles.
• High-speed troll MegaTroll at a distance of 700 meters-3000 rubles / 2000 rubles.
• The highest SochiSwing swing in the world - 8000 rubles / 5000 rubles.
• Rock climbing on the equipped route via ferrata No. 1-2000 rubles / 1500 rubles.
• Rock climbing on the equipped route via ferrata No. 2-5000 rubles / 3000 rubles.
• Rope park "Mowgli" (seven tracks) - 500 rubles / 200 rubles.
• Climbing wall-one lesson 500 rubles.

Learn more about the SkyBridge suspension bridge and SkyPark and how to visit it here.