text:
Sochi

Sochi (Russian: Со́чи, SO-chee) is one of the southernmost places of Russia and the second-largest city of Krasnodar Krai, with a population of 425,000 (2018). It's along the Black Sea coast, about 1600 km south of Moscow. In 2014 it hosted the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, and in 2018 it hosted football (soccer) matches in the FIFA World Cup.

Understand
Sochi is often called the unofficial 'Summer Capital' of Russia, or the Black Sea Pearl. This is the country's biggest and busiest summer sea resort, attracting more than 4 million visitors annually with its amazing mountainous coastline, endless shingle beaches, warm sunny days, and bustling nightlife. From May to September Sochi's population at least doubles with tourists, including celebrities and political elite of the country. Likely due to Russian visa costs and requirements, only 3 percent of this visitors' crowd are international travellers. Perhaps the most famous non-politician foreign visitor to Sochi was Bono, who was invited to spend some time at President Medvedev's residence in 2010. But in general the city remains a very domestic destination, somewhat lacking in appropriate international infrastructure and having the same language barrier most regional centers of Russia do.

Another paradox of Sochi is that the city, always associated in national mentality with south, palms and hot climate, won the 2014 Winter Olympic bid. This phenomenon will be probably never understood by Russians completely: every place in the country has a real winter, but Sochi? The answers are absence of harsh frost and the very promising Alpine resort of Krasnaya Polyana in the city area. A less pragmatic explanation is the lucky destiny of Sochi. The most famous Russian saying about the city is "If I could read the cards, I would live in Sochi" (Знал бы прикуп - жил бы в Сочи). Derived from the Preference card game, this saying shows the association of Sochi and its inhabitants with luck, moreover, with an accidental and unpredictable fortune.

Well, perhaps such an Olympic luck will help the city to reach beyond the national borders and to become a truly global site. Sochi has many attractions to offer for anyone who loves nature, sports, history, and sunny beach leisure. This Black Sea Pearl is still waiting to be discovered.

History
The territory of today's Sochi was inhabited for thousands of years, populated by Caucasian mountainous tribes and being under the influence and dominion of ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Abkhazian and Ottoman civilizations. A few landmarks of antecedent civilizations remained, including the Bronze Age table-stones and medieval Byzantine temples.

The Russian Empire approached these lands in the beginning of 19th century, and after a war with the Ottoman Empire acquired them in 1829. Soon after that, in 1838, Russian authorities established the fort of Alexandria, at the site of modern Central Sochi, and 2 more forts in the modern Lazarevskoe district of the city. Alexandria was renamed several times and finally obtained the name Sochi (by the name of a local river) in 1896.

In the beginning of the 20th century, Sochi became known as a resort place. In 1902 the first bath building in Matsesta was constructed and in 1909 the official resort named "Caucasian Riviera" was open. Right before the 1917 revolution Sochi got its city status, and in the same time the railroad connected it with the rest of Russia. But the regular train service started only 6 years later, after the Russian Civil War finished with the Bolsheviks' victory. The city was growing quite slowly (from 13,000 in 1916 to 17,000 in 1932).

The situation changed in 1934, when a general reconstruction of Sochi was initiated by Stalin's government. For just 7 years from 1932 to 1939 the city's population skyrocketed from 17,000 to 72,000. New roads, theaters, parks, hotels and spa resorts were constructed, making the look of Sochi closer to what can be seen today. Sochi became a favourite vacation destination for Stalin and the rest of the Soviet elite.

In 1961 authorities decided to incorporate neighboring settlements into Sochi, giving the start to the history of Greater Sochi (Большой Сочи).

After the Soviet Union collapsed, Sochi took the role of Russian President's traditional summer residence from Crimea, as that became a part of the independent Ukraine.

In 2007 the city opened a new chapter in its history by winning the bid of the Olympic host city of 2014. The volume of construction work is huge, including new infrastructure (roads, sanitation, air and seaports, etc.), sport venues (both indoor and outdoor), commercial and residential buildings. The new look of Sochi has already started to transform the features of once a Soviet domestic resort.

Climate
Sochi belongs to that tiny part of Russia, which is happily located in the subtropical climatic zone. In contrast to Mediterranean climates, Sochi has a very high humidity level, like that in Abkhazia or in some USA states (e.g. Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia). Despite high precipitation, Sochi enjoys 300 sunny days annually, which is unbelievable for any other part of Russia except neighboring Krasnodar Krai coastal cities. This makes nearly all the year months comfortable for visiting Sochi, except maybe November, December and January.

Most of precipitation falls during the winter, partly in snow, but there is usually no regular snow cover in the coastal part of the city. Sochians rarely use winter tyres, so every heavy snowfall comes unpredictably for drivers. The climate of the mountainous part of Greater Sochi is significantly colder, allowing for a full ski season in winter (usually, February and March). Thanks to that, Krasnaya Polyana is quickly developing as a winter resort and hosted all outdoor competitions during the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The period of spring is quite short and is characterized by gardens blossoming (usually starts in March, even if temperatures are lower than in February). This is a comfortable season with less rain, but still with the cold sea.

Sochi summer can be associated with the swimming season, which usually lasts from the mid-end of May till the end of October. This is the true high season with its touristic peak in July–August. In September and October the city attracts fewer visitors, partly because of the start of the school year. These two months, when the Black Sea is still warm, air is not very hot, and streets are not filled with tourists' crowds, seem to be the most enjoying time to visit Sochi. This period is called smoothy season ("бархатный сезон").

The off-season autumn, coming to Sochi in the end of October, is warm, but with more cloudy days and rain. By the end of November daily average temperature drops below 10 °C.

Ethnicities and religions
Sochi is one of the most multinational cities in Russia with people of more than 100 ethnic groups living there. Most of them are ethnic Russians (68%), the important minorities are Armenians, Ukrainians, Georgians, Greeks, Circassians, Belorussians, Tatars, and Jews.

Russian is the predominant language spoken by almost everyone in the city, including nearly all minorities, but many local placenames came from Abkhazian and Circassian languages. The most commonly used ones include "pse" / "psh" / "psta" (water), "akh" (high), and "nykh" (holy).

The major part of Sochi inhabitants are Orthodox Christians (80%). There are also Muslims (5%), Catholics and Jews. Orthodox cathedrals are represented in all the parts of the city. The only Catholic cathedral in Central Sochi was built in 1997 (most churchgoers are Catholic Armenians). There is also a mosque, albeit a very small and remote one (in Tkhagapsh community, 15 km towards the mountains from Lazarevskoe). The city authorities are planning to build a new mosque and a synagogue by 2014.

Orientation
Greater Sochi occupies 105 km along the Black Sea coastline. Its total area is 3,500 km² (3 times as large as Moscow). However, most of the population is spread along the narrow coastline stripe, while the mountain area (1,900 square km) mostly belongs to Sochi National Park and partly to Caucasian Biosphere Reserve. The city alignment is from north-west to south-east, from the neighboring city of Tuapse right to the Russian border with Abkhazia.

Greater Sochi has 4 administrative districts. Central Sochi District is the core of the city and its most developed and populated part. Many of the city attractions, hotels and most shopping centers are there. During the summer season, Central Sochi is usually overcrowded and traffic-jammed. Lazarevskoye District is the largest (1744 km2) and the longest (65 km coastline) one among Sochi districts, includes 34 sub-districts, most of them are spread along the sea shore. Lazarevskoe district is less urbanized that other ones in Greater Sochi. In fact it has many various settlements, often poorly connected with each other and lacking basic infrastructure. Khosta District is to the south-east from Central Sochi, this district contains some major attractions, such as Akhun mountain. While Adler District is the city's important transport hub, which includes Sochi International Airport, Adler train terminal (final point for most trains going to Greater Sochi) and the only open border crossing with Abkhazia. The role of Adler is rapidly increasing now because it will host all the Olympic venues for the 2014 Games (the Olympic coastal cluster at Imeretinskaya lowland and the mountain cluster at Krasnaya Polyana). By 2014 the look of Imeretinskaya lowland and Krasnaya Polyana has drastically changed, as well as the local transport infrastructure.

The best developed, urbanized and monolithic part of Greater Sochi is the coastline between Dagomys (south-east of Lazarevskoe district) and Imeretinskaya lowland of Adler district.

Money
Like elsewhere in Russia, the Russian rouble (RUB) is the only currency officially accepted in the city. Money exchange is not a problem, but use only official counters at banks and avoid people offering you exchange at major transport hubs. By Russian legislation passport is needed for exchange operations.

Sochi has many ATMs, especially in Central Sochi and Adler. You may withdraw not only roubles, but also dollars or euro at some of them (approximately 10% of all ATMs). Take into account, that Visa and MasterCard are widespread in Russia, but American Express cards are usually not accepted even at major tourist places. Also, expect possible problems with paying by card at minor shops or restaurants and at small private hotels. Have some cash with you for such cases.

Get in
Sochi is among several Russian seaports, where international tourists have the opportunity of visa-free entry for up to 72 hours (applicable for cruise ships and ferry line passengers only). Check limitations and requirements carefully before use.

For other foreign visitors standard Russian visa requirements apply.

International flights
There are regular air connections with Vienna (Austrian Airlines), Istanbul (Turkish Airlines), and Tel-Aviv (Rossiya Airlines). Also Belgrade (air serbia, 2022)

Former Soviet Union countries are also connected to Sochi:

Yerevan, Armenia (Ural Airlines), Minsk, Belarus (Belavia), Chișinău, Moldova (Air Moldova), Tashkent, Uzbekistan (Rossiya), and Dushanbe, Tajikistan (Tajik Air).

Domestic flights
Several flights per day connect Sochi with Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Other major cities of Russia, such as Kazan, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Perm, Rostov-on-the-Don, Samara, Yekaterinburg and others are also connected by air with Sochi.

Key carriers:

 * Aeroflot - flights to Sochi from Sheremetyevo airport, Moscow
 * Nordavia - flights from Arkhangelsk
 * S7 - flights to Sochi from Domodedovo airport, Moscow
 * Sky Express - domestic discounter, flights to Sochi from Vnukovo airport, Moscow
 * Utair - flights from Tyumen, Ufa and Surgut
 * Yakutia - flights from Yakutsk

Airport transfer
By bus/marshrutka:

 * 51 - from the airport to Adler (central market)
 * 105, 124 - from the airport to Sochi central railroad station
 * 135 - from the airport to Krasnaya Polyana

By taxi:

Taxi service at the airport is chaotic, taxi drivers can rarely speak English, and the declared price for a ride can be inadequate. To protect yourself, book taxi or hotel transfer in advance. The price varies greatly depending on the district you are going to.

By train:

Russian Railway company has completed a two-way railway to Sochi airport and it is the easiest way to get to Sochi Adler from the airport. Tickets are fairly cheap and the train goes approximately every hour.

By train
Sochi has two major rail terminals in Central Sochi and Adler. However, most trains make short stops at small transit stations of Great Sochi: Lazarevskaya, Loo, Dagomys, Matsesta and Khosta. Tickets can be purchased via Russian Railways website, at RZD counters, or via travel agencies. RZD opens ticket sales 45 days prior to ride, book in advance during the high season.

There are regular train connections with key cities of Russia, and also with major cities of Belarus and Ukraine. Round-the-year destinations include:

International:
 * Kyiv, Ukraine (30 hours)
 * Minsk and Gomel, Belarus (34-39 hours)
 * Kaliningrad (64 hours, via Vilnius, Lithuania)
 * Sukhum, Abkhazia (from Adler station, 5 hours)

Domestic:
 * Moscow (25-28 hours, speed trains and 15 hours route are planned to be launched by 2014 Olympics)
 * Saint Petersburg (40-49 hours)
 * Chelyabinsk (64 hours)
 * Kazan (49 hours)
 * Krasnodar (6-7 hours)
 * Krasnoyarsk (95 hours)
 * Novosibirsk (81 hours)
 * Perm (68 hours)
 * Rostov-on-the-Don (14 hours)
 * Samara (43 hours)
 * Saratov (32 hours)

During the high season (May to September) the number of trains and the diversity of destinations increase dramatically.

By car
The M4/E115 road connects Sochi with Moscow (1660 km) via Voronezh (1150 km), Rostov-on-the-Don (570 km) and Krasnodar (300 km).

The quality of this busy road differs from a narrow serpentine to a highway depending on its section, tending to improve during last years. Normally it takes 2 days to reach the city from Moscow and 5-9 hours from Krasnodar, depending on traffic.

Going to Sochi from Europe you can use transit roads through Ukraine or Turkey. In the last case a car can be transferred to Sochi from Trabzon by ferry. Entering Sochi via Georgia and Abkhazia is impossible because the border between these two countries is closed.

By bus
Sochi main bus terminal is near the main train terminal in Central Sochi. The second important terminal is in Adler.

International route destinations:

 * Chișinău, Moldova (30 hours, except Fridays and Sundays)
 * Odesa, Ukraine (27 hours, weekly by Sundays)
 * Sukhum, Abkhazia (4.5 hours, 3 times a day)

Major domestic route destinations:

 * Anapa (10 hours, daily)
 * Astrakhan (26.5 hours, daily)
 * Krasnodar (8 hours, 2 times a day)
 * Maykop (8 hours, 2 times a day)
 * Makhachkala (27 hours, daily)
 * Nalchik (17.5 hours, daily)
 * Novorossiysk (8.5 hours, daily)
 * Rostov-on-the-Don (12.5 hours, odd days)
 * Stavropol (14 hours, 2 times a day)

By boat
Going to Sochi by a cruise ship or by a regular ferry can be an attractive opportunity to visit Russia without a visa. Passengers are allowed to stay up to 72 hours at Russian territory if they live at the cruise ship or at the hotel, which is arranged for this particular group tourist program.

Unsurprisingly, up to now, most international tourists come to Sochi by cruise ships (please check the itinerary).

The seaport of Sochi operates several regular international routes, mainly in the period from May to October:

 * Fast ferry from Trabzon, Turkey - 3.5 hours, May to October, 2 times a week
 * From Batumi, Georgia — 4.5 hours, daily, open only for citizens of Russia, Georgia, and CIS countries.

Ferry tickets from Sochi can be usually purchased only at the port, 1 day prior to departure.

There are also regular ship connections with neighbouring cities of Novorossiysk, Tuapse and Gagra, Abkhazia.

By foot
Within Central Sochi most distances are walkable, with some regard to hilly landscape and appropriate physical efforts needed.

Other districts of the city have significant spaces between their parts, so it's better to use some transport to get, for example, from Matsesta to Kudepsta or from Loo to Lazarevskoe. To walk between districts and sub-districts of Greater Sochi is also usually not convenient due to lack of sidewalks, hilly terrain, and intensive traffic.

It may seem that the city extended along the sea coast should have long promenades. In fact, most of the coastline space behind the beach is taken by the railroad. So, the only real promenade is between Riviera Park and Dendrarium of Central Sochi. The other one is under construction in the Olympic Park of Adler.

Due to the resort specifics of Sochi, the usual approach there is to measure the distance in meters from the beach. This may play a bad joke: you can find yourself at a hotel or apartment close to the sea, but far away from any infrastructure and transportation. So, be attentive while booking.

By bus/marshrutka
In contrast to other Russian cities of the same size, Sochi does not have any trams or trolleybuses. The initial bus transportation system after the collapse of Soviet Union was doped with smaller private buses and marshrutka (minibuses). The last category mostly duplicates the existing bus routes with some minor, but often useful additions. The service is quite frequent and relatively cheap, that makes it the most popular way of transportation in Sochi.

The most important bus/marshrutka routes in the city are:

 * 3K - from the central bus terminal to Matsesta
 * 12 - from Bytkha to Matsesta
 * 17 - from the central bus terminal to Novaya Zarya (ring route of Central Sochi)
 * 22K - from the central bus terminal to Bytkha
 * 36 - from the seaport of Sochi to Mamayka
 * 47K - from the central bus terminal to Transportnaya street (Olymp Mall)
 * 57 - from Adler train station to Imeretinskaya Lowland and Vesyoloe (to the border with Abkhazia)
 * 64 - from Mamayka to Kudepsta via Central Sochi, Matsesta and Khosta
 * 99 - from Sochi train station to Vinogradnaya street (ring route of Central Sochi)
 * 105 - from the central bus terminal via Matsesta, Khosta and Adler sub-districts to Sochi International Airport, then to Alpika-Service part of Krasnaya Polyana. The 105K bus goes to the airport only.
 * 106 - from Sochi train station to Trout Farm via Sochi International Airport
 * 125 - from the central bus terminal to Imeretinskaya Lowland via Matsesta, Khosta and Adler
 * 130 - from Adler train station to Trout Farm
 * 135 - from Adler (market) to Krasnaya Polyana
 * 155 - from the central bus terminal to Lazarevskoe via most sub-districts of Lazarevskoe district (Dagomys, Vardane, Loo, etc.)
 * 167 - from the central bus terminal to Adler (market / Novy Vek Mall)

Bus / marshrutka numbers from 1 to 99 mean that the fare is fixed for all the distance of the ride. Numbers from 100 have flexible fare system depending on the travel distance.

By train
The 100-km length of Greater Sochi makes the trains one of the fastest and most suitable transports to travel between the city districts. Sochi used to have the only track along significant part of the route between Tuapse and Abkhazia, beading 5 major stations, 4 minor ones, and 28 platforms inside the metropolitan area. Preparing for the 2014 Olympics, Russian Railways (RZD) built two new lines, connecting Adler, International Airport, Imeretinskaya lowland and Krasnaya Polyana region), having a total length of 48 km, with 5 new stations.

Commuter trains of Sochi have been constantly improving, upgrading from standard Russian elektrichki to modern and comfortable ones. Most of them go from Adler (or from Sochi central terminal) to Tuapse or Goryachy Klyuch and back. One or two trains run daily to Krasnodar and Maykop. One-way ticket for a ride in an old train (elektrichka) from Sochi to Lazarevskoe has a travel time of 1 hour and 45 minutes. A ride on a new commuter train has a travel time of 50 to 70 minutes. Expect to pay 40% more if going to Lazarevskoe from Adler (travel time is 2 hours 20 minutes for a plain old train).

While summer hot season brings more interregional trains to Sochi, the number of local commuter trains is decreasing for that period. So, there are only 6 round-the-year local trains (16 in off-season period). The good news is that each long distance train will also stop at Adler, Khosta, Sochi, Loo and Lazarevskaya stations, so it is possible to travel inside the city by these trains. The bad news is that you will need a passport each time you are buying a long-distance train ticket.

By taxi
As usually in Russia, putting your hand out on the street will attract several cars willing to earn on your ride, and only a few of them will be licensed taxis. Such unofficial transportation is still popular in the country because it is usually cheaper and faster than official taxi services. In the same time, it is less safe, cars are less comfortable etc.

You will hardly find any English-speaking taxi drivers in Sochi. So, unless you are a bit adventurous or familiar with Russian, it is highly recommended to use mediators such as hotel receptionists to arrange a ride.

Even official services rarely use meters, more often measuring the fare by time of ride or using fixed prices. Have cash with you as only few services accept credit cards.

By car
Driving style in Sochi is more chaotic than in most parts of Russia: southern blood affects it. So, expect the road culture similar to that one in Greece or Turkey and be extremely careful while driving, if you have finally decided to do that.

Another issue is that Sochi is extremely lacking parking space, especially in the central part of the city. Drivers often have no alternatives to leaving their cars at bus stops, pedestrian areas etc. Together with the fast increase of car users this leads to traffic jamming at the streets.

Car rentals in Sochi:

By boat
Regular ship service from Central Sochi to other city districts was stopped in 2005 due to an obsolete fleet and several local piers' destruction. Restoration of this shipping is underway.

By bike
The city bike rental service allows a bike to be taken and left at any of 30 automated terminals (pilot ones are installed in Central Sochi and Khosta districts). The service is free, but you must leave a deposit before you return the bike.

There is also work on cycle lanes allocation in the city. However, Sochi is still uncomfortable for cycling due to heavy traffic and a lot of construction sites.

By wheelchair
Generally, Russia has a huge gap in the level of accessibility for people with disabilities. Several cities have started their improvement programs in this area, and Sochi is among them. The accessible city is a requirement for 2014 Paralympic Games organization.

So far, at least the airport facilities and new commuter trains in Sochi are accessible. The project to create the accessibility map of Sochi has been launched in 2011, giving the start to the same all-Russian project. Hopefully, next few years will bring the significant improvement in the city's accessibility, as it happened in Khanty-Mansiysk prior to another Paralympic sport event.

Historical sights

Monuments
Among the traditional Russian set of monuments left as a legacy of the collapsed Soviet Union, Sochi has several original artworks worth to be explored by the city's guests.

Museums

Fischt Olympic Stadium
Watch football at a stadium that has hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The home team are PFC Sochi, who play in the Russian National League, the second tier of Russian football. Until 2018 they were FC Dynamo St Petersburg, then they upped sticks and moved down to the Black Sea. The stadium (capacity over 47,000) is actually in Adler, 25 km east of Sochi and only 3 km from the border with Georgia. Long-distance and metro trains terminate at nearby Olympic Park Station.

Wildlife expositions

Outdoor sights

As a rule with some exceptions, Sochi outdoor sights are inside the area of Sochi National Park. This means that in some cases you will need to pay the park entrance fee. All major sights attract both independent travellers and guided groups. Tours can be arranged at hotels or at the hot tourist areas in the city.

Do

Sports

 * Yachting
 * Kitesurfing

Russian language
There is no sustainable practice of learning Russian as a foreign language in Sochi. Two places can offer such classes potentially:

Work
Getting a work permit in Russia is not usually an easy process, at least if you are not a former Soviet Union state citizen. Sochi can possibly be an exception, as the preparation of Olympic Games will create many new workplaces. Some of the potential vacancies will require international expertise. Highly qualified international candidates will have simplified visa and work permit procedure.

There are potential vacancies for English tutors, as the demand for English study in the city is constantly growing. It is also possible to find sport instructors' jobs, in both winter (skiing, snowboarding) and summer (diving, yachting, kitesurfing) sports, but knowledge of Russian is essential for those positions.

Sleep
Sochi has more than 200 hotels, and their number is steadily increasing, but the cost of stay may seem to be overpriced, comparing to many European destinations. There are more than enough gigantic health resorts and hotels, which were a pride of former Soviet Union resort industry, but which are completely obsolete. On the other hand, many mini-hotels have opened in Sochi, but only few of them are able to meet average international service requirements. Hotel staff often has problems with hospitality, helpful answers and advice, and with speaking any other language than Russian.

Between these two extremes, there is a gap of normal chain or chain-like 2-3-4 star hotels with reasonable prices and acceptable level of English and hospitality skills of staff. The situation is slowly improving, but the room to grow is still large.

In general, Lazarevskoe district offers cheaper accommodation, while Central Sochi and Adler have more expensive options. Prices also depend on season, traditionally increasing in summer and in the beginning of May (between 2 national holidays). Always book in advance in summer. The selection of hotels below includes mainly those of them, where better English and/or service level has been reported. For the mountain part hotels please see Krasnaya Polyana.

Budget

 * Chastny sector - many Russian visitors of Sochi stay at unofficially rented rooms or apartments (so called chastny sector). This opportunity can be significantly cheaper than hotels, especially if several people rent one facility. But owners of such properties usually don't speak English, their facilities are not available via any online booking, and their quality varies greatly. You will meet many rental properties owners and agents at train and bus terminals (they usually offer komnata (комната), i.e. room). Chastny sector of proven quality is usually can only be recommended by someone who has already stayed there. Prices vary.

Mobile operators
Sochi has the traditional set of Russian mobile operators:

GSM 900/1800:

CDMA:

4G (LTE):

Check roaming prices before using non-Russian sim-card, especially those for mobile Internet. Some standards of mobile connection are not supported in Russia, e.g. those for Japan and United States.

Staying in Russia for a week or more, it's definitely worth to buy a local sim-card, but be aware, that a passport is needed for that. The easiest way refill a local mobile account is to use an ATM for that. Most ATMs have bilingual interfaces, allowing numerous kinds of payments, including those for mobile services by local operators.

Wireless Internet

 * GPRS / 3G Internet is provided by all mobile operators.
 * 4G internet is provided with Yota and MegaFon . Yota is available in Sochi and a few other cities. You can buy their USB modem in almost every outlet selling mobile phones (Euroset, Svyaznoi, DNS etc.) as well as in any computer related store. The price of the modem is ₽2900. You can use it for free for seven days, after which you should select your tariff on their website. The advantage of this operator is that you can change your tariff at any time without paying. You just choose another tariff using the scroll bar, and the number of days will be changed according to your current payment, the speed will increase. Megafon also offers 4G LTE connections.
 * Wi-fi connection can be found at part of Sochi hotels and restaurants. Below is the list of major free wi-fi spots in the city (see also Krasnaya Polyana):

Media
Among dozens of Sochi newspapers, magazines and radio stations, there are no expat-oriented or internationally focused media. Everything is published in Russian only. Hotels often provide satellite TV with standard assortment of international channels (BBC, CNN, Russia Today, etc.) Following resources are recommended in addition:

Stay safe
Krasnodar Krai is probably one of Southern Russia's most safe regions. Sochi does not stand out with the higher crime rate, but standard safety precautions should be used. There is a saying in Russia: "Nights are dark in Sochi" ("В городе Сочи темные ночи"), and this can be explained as that anyone or anything can get lost in the city.

Try to avoid unlit spaces during the night and beware pickpockets in crowded places, such as markets and transport terminals. Beggars can approach you at stations and beaches. Fraud is widespread at Russian summer resorts, but most of its organizers would have problems with English. Anyway, try to avoid drinking and gambling with newly met people.

Several reports of explosions in Sochi area luckily were more vandalistic than terroristic, and their organizers were arrested soon after.

Sunburn can occur in summer, so use sunblock during the hot season.

Tap water is practically safe and Sochi was awarded with first in Russia drinking tap water certificate (2011).

Consulates
Sochi has the following consulates:

 * 🇦🇲 Armenia
 * 🇮🇹 Italy

Abkhazia

Once a flourishing sea resort and part of Soviet Georgia, this mountainous Caucasian republic passed through a bloody civil war with Georgians after the Soviet Union collapse, proclaimed its independence and was supported by Russia, but yet unrecognized by most countries. Honestly loved by many Russian tourists, Abkhazia is undeservedly mostly unknown by travellers from other parts of the world.

Abkhazia is quite small and can be quickly discovered within a weekend, but longer stay is certainly needed for deeper impressions. The monastery and the cave at New Athos, as well as Lake Ritsa, are definitely among most amazing places at the Black Sea. This breathtaking beauty mixed with Abkhazian poverty and the remains of the civil war will leave no one indifferent. Locals are very friendly, but only few of them will understand anything in English.

Sochi is the only place with Abkhazia border crossing possibility from Russian side. There is a crossing point at Vesyoloe (southern part of Adler district). It can be crossed both by foot and by car/bus (two separate bridges through the border Psou river). Coming to Abkhazia by foot, you will find a marshrutka parking right after the bridge - a cheap opportunity to reach any key destination of the country. The Abkhazian capital Sukhum is also reachable by a direct bus or commuter train (elektrichka) from Sochi. There is also an option to get to Gagra, Abkhazia by boat from Sochi port.

Going to Abkhazia be prepared to comply with Abkhazian visa requirements. Be also aware that, to return to Russia after a trip, you may need double-entry or multi-entry Russian visa.

Adygea
A fully enclaved into Krasnodar Krai small national autonomy, neighboring to Greater Sochi, Adygea has a significant tourist potential, which is underestimated. Rafting, waterfall seeing, trekking and other mountain activities in front of awesome Caucasus views make this destination very promising. It is also important that Adygea is safer than any other Caucasian region except Krasnodar Krai.

Maykop, the capital of Adygea, is accessible from Sochi by train (daily, 6 hours) and bus (1-2 daily plus transit buses, 8 hours). There is also an option to reach Adygea by car (6-8 hours via Tuapse). An extreme alternative to that is the mountainous unpaved direct road connecting Sochi with Adygea via Caucasus ridges. Be more than careful using it.

Caucasian Biosphere Reserve

This natural reserve has the second-largest protected area in Europe and the largest one in Caucasus mountains. It occupies the mountain ridges of Krasnodar Krai, Adygea and Karachay-Cherkessia, including part of Greater Sochi metropolitan area (Khosta district and Krasnaya Polyana), bordering Sochi National Park.

Caucasian Biosphere Reserve is the richest biodiversity treasury, having no equivalents in Russia and an international value as a piece of untouched nature with primeval habitats. Reasonably, this unique area is included into the UNESCO World Heritage List. The official site of the reserve is available in Russian only.

Two exclaved parts of the reserve, those are in Greater Sochi, are easy to visit: yew & boxtree wood at Khosta and the wild animals nursery at Krasnaya Polyana. To visit other parts of the reserve, you need to get special permit, requiring the following:

 * list of participants,
 * passport details and passport copies of each participant,
 * name of the group's leader,
 * planned route/itinerary,
 * period of stay (number of days),
 * entrance fee

In Sochi you can get the permit at the reserve's headquarter: Karl Marx street, 8, room 10, Adler district, Sochi.

Gelendzhik
A resort town at the Black Sea coast to the north-west from Sochi, one of the most popular domestic summer destinations of Russia. Gelendzhik has both natural and leisure attractions. Gelendzhik's aquapark is the largest in the country, and its surroundings have very beautiful scenery. The town is home to International Sea Aviation Conference, which is conducted there each two years.

Gelendzhik is a transit point for several buses going from Sochi (4-5 daily). A ride will take 5.5 hours. The Sea Flight fast ferry going from Sochi to Novorossiysk and back also makes stops at Gelendzhik.

Novorossiysk
This Krasnodar Krai's 3rd largest city is the biggest Russian port at the Black Sea and the main cement industry center in Southern Russia. The majority of the city's tourist attractions are related to the II World War, when Novorossiysk was among Russian key battlefields. The most known memorials are Malaya Zemlya, Defence Line (Rubezh Oborony) and Death Valley (Dolina Smerti).

Novorossiysk's vicinities have beautiful nature of Caucasus foothills. On the top of local natural wonders is the amazing Abrau lake, the biggest one at Northern Caucasus. Just nearby the wine manufacture of Abrau-Dyurso is located, making this place the capital of Russian sparkling wine (tours to Abrau-Dyurso with wine testing are available). There are also several smaller beach resorts around the city.

There are several ways to get from Sochi to Novorossiysk. Buses go daily (8.5 hours). Sea Flight speed ferry connection operates from May to October, 3 times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays). One-way ride will take about 5 hours. It is also possible to get to Novorossiysk by train via Krasnodar.

Tuapse
Another important Russian port at the Black Sea and the closest neighbour town bordering Greater Sochi. This is mostly industrial and transport hub, attracting fewer number of tourists, than other Russian Black Sea coastal locations. But anyway, Tuapse is good for a single-day trip from Sochi. After a look at the downtown, the awesome surroundings should be visited. There are several very scenic cliffs around, the top of those is Kiselev's Rock, a 46-meter upright cliff breaking down into the sea. There are also quite a few ancient cultural remains, such as table-stones, around Tuapse.

Any elektrichka or long-distance train from Sochi stops in Tuapse, the frequent bus/marshrutka connection is also available. Expect 2 - 2.5 hours for one-way trip from Central Sochi.

title: Sochi


text:
Society Islands

The Society Islands are the most populated archipelago of French Polynesia.

Windward Islands

 * — the main island with the airport, the country's capital Papeete, and more than half of the population of French Polynesia in its entirety. The place is not as interesting as you might think and, for the most tourists, serves as break point after a long journey. From here you can reach all of the other minor islands by ferry or by air.
 * Maiao — uninhabited.
 * Mehetia — uninhabited.
 * — one of the most beautiful islands in the Societies. It's a "high island", which means it's mountainous, as are most of this group.  It's easily accessible from Tahiti by ferry.
 * Tetiaroa — private island. Once the vacation spot for Tahitian royalty, the atoll is widely known for having been purchased by Marlon Brando. The only inhabitant is Simon Teihotu Brando, one of the many sons of Marlon Brando.

Leeward Islands

 * is one of the most beautiful islands in the Society group. A popular destination but very pricey. Bora Bora is known for the beauty of its lagoon, the most beautiful in the group. The best known resorts are the Four Seasons and Intercontinental Thalasso. The best rooms are the Bungalows with lagoon view.
 * — a good choice for a resort vacation with a little more cultural activities and on a quieter island than the more popular islands nearby. Home to Maeva Marae, one of the most important archaeological sites of the archipelago.
 * Manuae — an atoll with fifteen inhabitants.
 * Maupiti — a beautiful and undeveloped island with just over 1,000 residents, which might be best to visit quickly before any resorts, restaurants, etc. go up.
 * Maupihaa — an atoll with ten inhabitants.
 * Motu One — uninhabited.
 * and Taha'a are a pair of islands within the same lagoon. Taha'a has a beautiful lagoon with lots of motus, and a few  high-end resorts.  Raiatea is more known by yachters.  It is considered the cradle of Polynesian civilization, and contains an important archaeological site, the Taputapuatea marae.
 * Tupai — uninhabited.

Cities

 * - capital of French Polynesia, home to nearly half the country's population.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Society Islands


text:
Socorro

Socorro is a town in the southwestern region of the state of New Mexico, in the United States of America.

Understand
The name Socorro is Spanish for "succor" or "aid," which is what 18th- and 19th-century looked for as they travelled south through the desert between Mexico and Santa Fe. During the late 19th century Socorro was the largest town in what is now New Mexico, as the result of an intense but short-lived mining boom. The bubble burst by the early 1900s, and today Socorro is a smallish town of about 9000 people, dominated by the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (a legacy of its mining days and now a well-regarded technical college) and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Socorro is in a geologically interesting area, as its mining past might suggest. Scruffy mountains (one decorated with a large "M" denoting the college, formerly the New Mexico School of Mines) rise to the west, while the Rio Grande east of town flows through a major continental rift and has created a number of wetlands -- bosques -- that attract wildlife in this dry region. More ominously, a body of volcanic magma is intruding into near-surface crust not far north of town, creating an uplift that scientists at New Mexico Tech delight in studying. Even though the region has been the site of considerable volcanism in geologically recent times, not to worry; this uplift is not viewed as posing imminent volcanic hazard -- yet.

Get in
The nearest airport with commercial air service is in Albuquerque, about north. The nearest train (Amtrak) station is also in Albuquerque. Buses run between Albuquerque and El Paso, Texas with a stop in Socorro.

If you're driving to Socorro, access from Albuquerque and El Paso is via Interstate highway 25, with uniformly good road and full services every or so. If approaching from the east (US 380) or west (US 60), however, gas stations are few and far between, so plan accordingly.

Get around
There's not much town to get around in, but the motels along California Avenue do sprawl somewhat and the stores there are some distance from Tech. A bicycle is handy for Tech students, although other visitors are unlikely to need transportation other than what got them to town. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (see below) is away along a road that is pleasant for cycling (although somewhat narrow -- be on the alert for recklessly driven vehicles); most other outlying attractions are far enough away to be best reached by car.

See
Most of the interest in the Socorro region is outside town and is covered in the "Get out" section, but a couple of in-town points of interest:

Sleep
California Avenue, the main drag north-south through town paralleling I-25, has the usual assortment of chain motels and motor lodges (EconoLodge, Super 8, Motel 6, Days Inn, etc.), mostly serviceable, none exceptional. The, 1100 California Ave NE, +1 575 838-0556, has more amenities than most and is comfortable. Lodging in Socorro tends to be tight around the Festival of the Cranes, the second or third weekend of May when New Mexico Tech has its graduation, and also in early October when the overflow from the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta reaches town, but otherwise is usually not hard to get.

Go next

 * Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is part of the national wildlife refuge system, maintained in part by the Friends of the Bosque, an all-volunteer group. About south of town; follow I-25 to the village of San Antonio, then south on SR 1 to the refuge ($5 fee/car; NPS pass applicable). This is where snow geese, cranes and hundreds of other birds stop in on their migrations. Gorgeous photography in the winter months during sunrise and sunset - be prepared  for the cold!
 * Fort Craig National Historic Site is a ruin reachable via a short side road from SR 1 south of the Bosque del Apache. A quick visit gives you a sense of the bleak existence faced by the Army forces based here to guard transportation routes during the 19th century. No visitor services other than toilets.
 * Langmuir Lightning Laboratory in the Magdalena Mountains west of town, associated with New Mexico Tech, is a major center for atmospheric-science research and has a visitor center open during summer daylight hours. The road to the laboratory is rugged and may require 4-wheel drive. Hiking in the Magdalenas is feasible using trailheads at, and on the way to, Langmuir, even when the visitor center is closed.
 * Trinity Site. Site of the first nuclear bomb explosion, now a National Historic Landmark. The radiation has long since decayed to the point that the site is now safe for visitors. The White Sands Missile Range holds an open house at the Trinity Site yearly, the first Saturday in April from 8AM-2PM. South on I-25, east on NM 380, enter at Stallion Gate. Free.
 * The Very Large Array, long considered the world's most sensitive interferometric radio telescope and still a first-rate instrument of astronomy, is about west of town, beyond the Magdalena Mountains and the tiny town of Magdalena. Driving out west along US 60, it is surreal to come upon this shimmering, alien-looking collection of radio dishes in the middle of the Plains of San Agustin. Open year round during daylight hours for free self-guided tours.
 * Mountainair, about northeast on I-25 and US-60, is home to the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, which preserves the ruins of several abandoned pueblo villages and impressive Spanish missions.
 * El Camino Real International Heritage Center is a New Mexico State Monument that celebrates El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, a Spanish colonial road that ran from Mexico City and Veracruz to Santa Fe. It is on I-25 about south of Socorro.

title: Socorro


text:
Socotra

Socotra (Arabic سقطرى ; Suquṭra) is an archipelago consisting mainly of one large island and three smaller islands in the Indian Ocean, an offshore territory of Yemen, near the "horn" of Somalia.

Understand
While an integrated province of Yemen, Socotra has much in common with the East African islands.

Due to its remarkable biodiversity, with over a third of the local plant species found nowhere else, Socotra has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With over 40,000 inhabitants, though, it's not just a nature reserve.

The island is new to tourism, so if you are looking for a luxurious vacation this is not the right destination. Socotra takes pride in their eco-tourism and values their spectacular plant and wildlife that may sometimes be only found on this island. Although the lodging and facilities may not be the same as more modern and developed locations, Socotra is a beautiful and magnificent destination choice. Great care is shown to both guests and the environment.

Flora
The long geological isolation of the Socotra archipelago and its fierce heat and drought has combined to create a unique and spectacular endemic flora (which may, therefore, be vulnerable to introduced species such as goats and to climate change).

The known Socotran flora stands at over 940 species, including some 300 endemics, 16 of which are restricted to Abd Al Kuri and another 10 confined to Samha.

Many are strange-looking remnants of ancient floras which long ago disappeared from the African /Arabian mainland.

They create a scene of weird vegetation and make the archipelago the world's tenth richest island group for endemic plant species.

There are certainly many more plant species that have yet to be discovered. For example, in the early years of the 21st century, Dr. Tony Miller of the Royal Botanical Garden in Edinburgh collected the first known specimens of a tiny carnivorous plant, which grows on moist tree trunks in the higher reaches of the Haggier Mountains.

Only in sheltered valleys and higher mountain areas is the vegetation more luxuriant.

Different main types of vegetation can be recognised.

The most distinctive is the open deciduous shrub land of coastal plains and low inland hills dominated by the common shrub, Croton socotranus, and tree succulents such as the bizarre Adenium and Dendrosicyos.The higher altitudes are home of frankincense, Socotran Aloe and wild pomegranate. One of the most famous botanical curiosities of Socotra is the Dragon’s Blood Tree (Draecaenia Cinnabari), whose name is derived from the fact that by carving its trunk it pours out a red resin, it is said by the ancient belief, to be the blood of the dragon, also there is ancient belief that the tree grown on the same place where Cain killed his brother Abel, for this reason the tree called in Arabic (brothers blood's tree).

Fauna
The island of Socotra has a rich variety of plant and animal species, with a high degree of endemism. 12 mammal and more than 223 species of birds have been recorded here with new species being found every year.

Over 48 of the bird species breed here, while 85 species are regular migrants or winter visitors.

There are eight bird species that can be found nowhere else, such as the Socotra Starling Onychognathus frater, the Socotra Sunbird Chalcomitra balfouri, Socotra Sparrow Passer insularis, Socotra BuntingEmberiza socotrana, Socotra WarblerIncana incana, Socotra CisticolaCisticola haesitatus and Socotra Golden-winged Grosbeak Rhynchostruthus socotranus

About 12 species of mammals are known from Socotra, but all of them have been introduced by man or may occasionally come from the mainland. Further taxonomic studies are needed to clarify the status of a number of forms. The coastal area with the shores, sea-cliffs, rocky slopes, and small mangrove belts appear to be a suitable breeding habitat for sea birds.

Extremely rich and interesting is the reptile fauna comprising 19 out of 22 endemic species. Nesting of sea turtles, probably Green Turtles but possibly Hawksbills, takes place on the north coast.

Ornithologists believe that more detailed study of the ten endemic subspecies will lead to the splitting of some to full specific status. This most obvious bird to the visitor, however, is the ubiquitous Egyptian Vulture, known locally as saeedoh or Al Baladiya Socotri, or Municipal Bird, for its habit of cleaning up everything such as kitchen waste.

However, this unique biodiversity in the island and its marine surroundings enriched with precious fish-wealth, coral reefs and other marine life has become threatened by predators who sniff their prey of such rare plants, animals, and birds. Also the exploitation of the fish wealth exposes it to loss.

Socotra is an eco-tourism system with limited infrastructure and new to the international tourist market, and therefore the hotel accommodations are not quite like other destinations.

There are two information centers at the airport and in Hadibo.

When to go
Climate is an important consideration. And this depends on your interest. Nature enthusiasts should go from early October to late April. The monsoon occurs in July till mid-August (during July in the south east and south west of the island, wind surfing activity can be arranged). Generally, wildlife and natural viewing is best from the end of January through May.

By plane

Commercial flights started again in 2018, and local authorities are delivering visas. The easiest route is to take a Yemenia flight from Cairo or a Felix Airlines flight from Dubai.

Get around
There is a public bus from the airport to Hadibo and from Hadibo to Qalansia. Beside these two buses, there is no public transport, but car rental with driver is available. There is a lot of walking and hiking along with camel back rides available.

See
Socotra is considered the jewel of biodiversity in the Arabian Sea. Although the region is small, it is characterized by unique land and marine biodiversity.

The interior of the island is dominated by the beautiful and green Hagghier mountains and limestone plateau. While on the outer coastline, breathtaking natural beaches have pure white sand dunes and palm trees. Socotra Island is very rich and is home to many rare spectacular species of reefs, fish, birds, plants, and trees which are not found anywhere else in the world. The limestone plateau and the Hagghier Mountains are the richest areas for endemic plant species, but endemics are found throughout the island in every type of vegetation. One of the most famous plants is the dragon's blood tree "dracaena cinnabara" which exists only on Socotra and nowhere else on the Earth. The tree got its name because if any damage is made to the bark then a dark red liquid oozes out.

There is also the Desert Rose (adenium obesium) which looks like a blooming elephant leg. Also found in Socotra's landscape is the ever-strange and extremely rare Cucumber Tree. In addition there are over 120 species of birds and about 190 species of butterflies. There is so much beauty all around the island, it is difficult not the appreciate to magnificent scenery and wildlife.

Do
Camp: With a bit of water for washing, a good meal and warm sleeping surrounded by virgin nature, camping on the beaches will provide a very special break from the every day routine in civilization!

Socotra Adventure tours can carry all the camping equipment and cooking gear or you can opt for any one of the several campsites like Dihamri and Homhil.

Hiking: The Scant, Tinnera, Firmihin, Dersmotin regions, are the most popular destinations for trekkers. Hiking is for everyone and even for those who are less athletic. However, for more difficult and high altitude trails, it is recommended to be accompanied by a local guide.

Camel back ride: It is an opportunity to get to know and enjoy the spectacular scenery and relaxed the rhythm of ancient time. This is more of a less active adventure. The camel back rides provide a more relaxing ride over plateaus and colorful panoramas and mountains.

Surf: Socotra has excellent conditions for surfing. The best time to come for this activity is during the monsoon season from June up to late August. In July the wind speed can reach up to 60 mph and you have to be aware of such conditions. Since the winds can be very rough it is recommended that only experienced surfers participate.

Scuba dive/ Snorkel: Dive into the tropical warm weather filled with coral reefs. Enjoy swimming among the hundreds of species of fish and marine life such as barracudas, monkfish, dolphins, rays and even mantas. Diving for all ages and levels.

Bird watching tours: This is for anyone who has an interest in birds. Excellent way to view nature and the highly diverse bird population while avoiding harming any wildlife.

Local boat safaris and fishing: Take one of the organized tours and be taken to incomparable destinations. The trip to Shouab beach is a half day tour to discover the beauty of this remarkable destination. With the clear water and white sands you can snorkel and relax. While driving the boat, dolphins can be seen swimming right next to the boat.

Also go on a fascinating fishing experience with some of the locals.

Remarkable volcanic caves: Explore the Hoq Cave with its overwhelming beauty and variety of crystal decorations.

Beaches Shouab, Qalansia, Arher, Noget, Amaq among others

Wadis and fresh water pools Homhil, Wadi Dirhir and others

Eat
Socotra is a remote island and therefore their cuisine is limited and simple. Local restaurants often serve fresh fish, chicken, goat, rice, and potatoes. The fish is highly recommended and all meals are typically served with flat Arabic bread.

There are also restaurants at each of the five hotels with a simple menu similar to that of the local restaurants.

Oranges, bananas, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, bottled water, and soft drinks can all be bought at shops in town. Vegetables can be bought also but they are more expensive because they must be shipped over.

 * If you are camping in Socotra, your driver/guide will be responsible for your meals (typically some delicious freshly cooked fish). Although it's nice to help the driver you don't have to.
 * Shabwah Restaurant
 * Socotra Holidays and Tours
 * Taj Socotra Tourist Hotel
 * Hadramout Restaurant
 * Ma'aly Restaurant

Drink
Because Yemen is an Islamic country, there are no alcoholic beverages provided except at five-star hotels in the big cities on the mainland. Bottled water and soft drinks can be purchased at shops in town.

Bottled water is also available at the campsites, and tea is served with all the meals as well.

Sleep
There are four hotels in Hadibo: Taj Socotra Hotel, Socotra Tourist Hotel, Heathrow Hotel, Al-Gawhara (Diamond) Hotel and Summerland Hotel. These hotels may not be the most luxurious, but they do provide air-conditioning, televisions, and refrigerators in all of the rooms. Most of the rooms at these hotels have their own bathroom, but there are a few rooms at the Hafijj Hotel and Socotra Hotel that must share bathrooms. There is a restaurant in each of the hotels with simple yet delicious cuisine. Considering Socotra is a fairly new eco-tourism destination, their facilities are decent. In addition, there is another hotel at the airport and several guest houses around the island.

The most popular lodging is camping on the beaches. There are several campsites that allow tourists to barbeque on the beach with beautiful mountain views in the background. Tourists can choose to purchase camping tour packages which include a driver or guide that will show tourists around the beaches as well as provide meals during their stay. It is a fantastic way to enjoy the beauty and wildlife of the island.

 * Hotel Heathrow, +966 59 529 2959, on the waterfront in Hadibu
 * Taj Socotra Tourist Hotel, +967 5 660 626, on the western edge of Hadibu
 * Summerland Hotel, +967 5 660 350
 * Hotel Al-Gawhara (Diamond)

Stay safe
Many governments advise against all travel to Yemen, including Socotra. Do not take photos of military installations and equipment and the airport. Comply with orders and searches from Emirati and Saudi Arabian armed forces. Do not instruct your driver to drive quickly as you are approaching an armed checkpoint. You risk indefinite detention by the transitional government otherwise.

Stay healthy
Malaria is not common, but malaria prophylaxis is recommended. Cholera is not on the island at all. The US CDC recommends having up to date Polio and Measles vaccinations. Rabies vaccinations are also advised due to the prevalence of Rabies, and because hospitals in Yemen lack adequate stock of rabies vaccines.

The hospitals offer less than adequate service, but pharmacies are located around Hadibo.

title: Socotra


text:
Soc Trang

Soc Trang is a city in the Mekong Delta.

Understand
This modern city has a very high Khmer population. The many temples here are in the Cambodian Khmer-style, and the culture is highly influenced by this. It is a bustling town with a population of around 120,000. Very few people speak any English here, and tourists are few and far between, although they are well received.

By road
Soc Trang is 231 km from Ho Chi Minh City, 60 km from Can Tho. National Hwy 1A links the province and Can Tho, Bac Lieu.

By bus
There are services to Soc Trang from HCMC (5 hr) leaving from the Mien Tay bus station.

Soc Trang is about 1 hour from Can Tho by local bus.

Local buses from Tra Vinh only leave in the morning.

Get around
You can walk anywhere in this town in under an hour. Xe oms are readily available, look for guys relaxing by their motorbikes on a street corner. Make sure to make the price very clear before you go.

Eat
Soc Trang, despite its small size, has a good selection of restaurants serving traditional Vietnamese food. If you head over to Võ Thị Sáu St, there are a few restaurants specializing in hotpot (100,000-150,000 dong) and other countryside delicacies (snake, rice paddy rat).

title: Soc Trang


text:
Sodankylä

Sodankylä (Northern Sámi: Soađegilli) is a municipality and the namesake town in Finnish Lapland. Internationally it is perhaps best known for its highly renowned Midnight Sun Film Festival. It is the second largest municipality in Finland with land area nearly half the size of Belgium.

The municipality is bilingual, both Finnish and Northern Sámi being official languages; the northern part of it belongs to the Sámi native region.

Understand
Sodankylä is situated in the heart of Finnish Lapland. It provides a perfect environment for both the active hiker and the person seeking peace, space and silence as almost all the people here live in the villages by the highway E75. Vast conifer forests, unspoiled wild nature, wide open aapa-type mires and rugged fells of Northern Lapland in particular, are characteristic to this area. The Luosto ski resort, the Tankavaara gold village, and most of the Urho Kekkonen National Park are located in the Sodankylä municipality.

The area consist mostly of taiga forest scattered by vast open mires and individual treeless fells. In the northern part there is the wide, one of the most popular hiking destinations in Finland. The area was inhabited by nomadic Sami people until Finnish settlers arrived here during the 17th century. When the border between the Russian Empire and Norway closed in 1852, nomadic Sami reindeer herdsmen lost their pastures, and some families decided to move south-east into the uninhabited forests in northern Sodankylä. This is why Sami dresses you'll see here resemble those used in northwestern Scandinavia.

The aftermath of World War II known as the Lapland War caused widespread damage at the area. Very few buildings here survived the scorched-earth policy of the retreating German troops.

To ensure availability of hydroelectric power, the huge and  were created during the 1960s and 1970s. Formation of the Lokka reservoir is still a sensitive topic as – in addition to Posoaapa, until then one of the largest mires in the whole Europe – the reservoir drowned also three local villages, and the villagers lost their homes, croplands and pastures.

The Jaeger Brigade is the northernmost military unit of the Finnish Army, and the barracks are located on the north-west outskirts of the Sodankylä town. Military personnel and conscripts are a visible part of the street view. Despite the name Sodankylä literally meaning "War's Village" in Finnish, it has nothing to do with military but is most probably derived from a name Sova. However, the town is commonly known as Pyssykylä ("Gun Village") around Lapland.

Despite its pristine nature, in fact the mining industry is a major source of income to this society. The producing copper-nickel ore is one of the largest employers around. The gold mining at has ceased, but operations are (as of 2020) expected to continue in near future. There are just 8,300 inhabitants living in Sodankylä but thanks to the mining industry the net migration is positive, and the municipality has somewhat safe economy. Debate around a new copper-nickel mine at Sakatti is at least hot. The quarry would bring employment and money, but it would destroy Viiankiaapa, a protected-by-law mire complex, risk the purity of local rivers and cause harm to the reindeer herding.

The northern limit of Norwegian spruce forests roughly follows the border between Sodankylä and Inari.

Towns and villages
Sodankylä is a town and a large municipality. This article covers most of it, including:

Get in
There is no passenger traffic to Sodankylä airport and the nearest railway station is at Rovaniemi, so the only way to get in is by road, in practice by car or a bus. The distance to the Sodankylä town from Rovaniemi is 130 km and from Ivalo 160 km (both have airports). It is possible to buy a train ticket to Luosto but your trip will continue from Rovaniemi train station with a bus (VR JunaBussi service).

Long distance coaches along national road 4 (E75) between Rovaniemi and Ivalo stop in the centre of Sodankylä as well as at the bus stops by the road. As this is one of the most important intercity lines in Lapland there are several daily connections. A single ticket from Rovaniemi costs about €25/adult to the town and about €44/adult to Tankavaara. Use Matkahuolto travel search for detailed schedules for the day of travel.

The Onnibus daily F42 line Rovaniemi–Ivalo stops only at some stops: the coach station, Torvinen (for Luosto), Vuotso, Kakslauttanen, and Tankavaara. The Onnibus does not accept cash payment and their ticket is usually much cheaper if purchased from their own online store than from Matkahuolto or the driver.

In summer, a daily direct connection from Nordkapp is available.

All long-distance coaches stop at, which is nicely in the very heart of the town.

Get around
You can get around in the town itself easily by foot. Almost everything you will need is located either on the Jäämerentie road or within a few blocks off.

However, many attractions are located tens of kilometres outside of it and there are just a few buses a day (mainly just along highway 4), hence a car is the most practical mode of transportation. Experienced road cyclist probably enjoy biking these roads, but it is worth understanding the distances and being able to help oneself if something happens.

Outside the highway 4 the traffic is very low and distances between inhabited locations are huge. On the other hand, on the highway 4 there is a notable amount of truck traffic. Never stop your car on the lane.

See
Sodankylä is one of the best places on Earth for watching the Northern lights. This was acknowledged already in 1913 when the (SGO) was established. Today the observatory is part of the University of Oulu. It is a scientific research station and not open to visitors. You can check their aurora forecasts and watch the all-sky aurora cameras online though.

The Midnight Sun is shining from May 31st until July 14th creating a six weeks long polar day (at the latitude of the town). Thanks to the atmospheric refraction real polar night when Sun doesn't rise at all lasts only four days and is darkest around December 20th. During the winter months the daylight is sparse anyways.

Do
A large variety of activities are available around the municipality in winter as well as in summer: snowmobile driving, ice fishing, reindeer farm visits, snowshoe walks, cross-country and downhill skiing, riverboat cruises, fishing, hiking and cycling.

For most fishing in the rivers, you need permits from the owners of the waters, usually fishing cooperatives. Check who the current agents are.

There are skiing tracks at least by Sodankylä (including Kommattivaara), Levi, Rajala (including Kaarestunturi) and Sattanen, including a short illuminated loop. If you have backcountry skis, there are endless woods to explore.

Backcountry
As expected, there are lots of space for wild camping according to the right to access. Choose somewhere off, don't light campfires and leave no trace. For national parks and wilderness areas, preferably camp by infrastructure such as lean-to shelters, if there are any in reach. In some of the parks camping is restricted in the less remote areas; overnighting in Sompio is restricted to the campground.

Buy
If you want Sami related souvenirs, make sure they have the Sámi duodji patch to guarantee their authenticity.

Nearby
Two national parks and some resorts are fully or partly in the municipality, but covered in other articles:

title: Sodankylä


text:
Soda Springs

Soda Springs is a city of 3,100 people (2020) in Southeastern Idaho. The city is named for the hundreds of natural springs of carbonated water that are located in and around the city.

Get in
Take I-15 to McCammon and head east on US-30 East for an hour to reach Soda Springs.

Montpelier
Located southeast of Soda Springs on US30, Montpelier is near the Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge and  from the Wyoming border.

title: Soda Springs


text:
Sodere

Sodere is a spa town (population 1,900) in Ethiopia that has natural hot springs. It is a weekend get-away place for people from Addis Ababa.

Get in
It is 25 km south of the city of Adama. You can take the blue and white minibuses from Adama. Rental cars are also available in Adama and Addis Ababa. NTO, a tour company organizes a bus tour to Sodere from Addis.

Get around
Ride a horse-drawn cart.

Do

 * The resort campus has two swimming pools filled with warm water. The large Olympic size one is open at weekends, the medium sized one mid week. This is to enable them to be refilled weekly with the thermal water. The large pool has no shallow end, but does have a small non-swimmers area at the side. The mineral water is refreshing, and there are some good masseuses that give you a massage for a reasonable price.
 * Camp-fire. The hotels organize campfire events twice a week. It's a good way to meet with other tourists from different parts of the world.

Sleep

 * Though the accommodations in Sodere try to maintain a high standard, they are somewhat overpriced. If you can, drive back to Adama, where there is a good choice of hotels.
 * Though the accommodations in Sodere try to maintain a high standard, they are somewhat overpriced. If you can, drive back to Adama, where there is a good choice of hotels.

title: Sodere


text:
Sodus Point

Sodus Point is a village of 860 people (2019) in the Finger Lakes Apple Country region of New York. It is a lakeside community surrounded on three sides by water, and part of the Rochester metropolitan area.

The village is on Sodus Bay, an arm of Lake Ontario.

Understand
The area became an important port on Lake Ontario in the 19th century. As the Erie Canal shifted state transportation patterns, the village's function as a port declined. In the later 19th century, it became a popular vacation resort, especially for people from Chicago and other cities during the summers.

Get in
Plan on getting in by car or boat. If coming in by boat from the lake, head for the lighthouse at the end of the pier, not the historic lighthouse on top of the hill, your boat will thank you.

Drink
See Eat - bars are at Abe's Waterfront, Captain Jack's, Papa Joe's, The Bay Street and Connelly's Cove, among others. Live music (mostly outdoors) is abundant and free every weekend from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

title: Sodus Point


text:
Sodwana Bay

Sodwana Bay is in the KwaZulu Natal Province of South Africa. It is renowned for its popular diving and beautiful reefs. Sodwana is in the Maputaland Marine Protected Area and is the only recreational scuba diving area along the iSimangaliso Wetlands Park (formerly Greater St Lucia Park) coastline. It is classified as one of the top dive sites in the world.

Understand
Only 4x4 vehicles is allowed onto the beach, and very rarely a 2x4 vehicle. To drive past the 1-km mark on the beach one must obtain a permit, otherwise it is for free.

Sodwana Bay National Park is a narrow strip of forested sand dunes along the east coast. It is frequented by anglers and divers. The bay is near the southern end of the tropical western Indo-Pacific marine ecoregion, and reef-building corals are present. The 50-km reef complex is the habitat of a wide diversity of resident and migratory species. Several submarine canyons cut into the edge of the continental shelf, which is very close to the shoreline. It was in one of these in 2000 that a resident population of coelacanths was discovered.

Sailfish, king mackerel, kingfish and other pelagic species of game fish migrate south down the east coast of Africa and since the activities of sea pirates off the coast of northeast Africa healthy populations of pelagic game fish again reach all the way south off the coast of South Africa which has re-established Sodwana as a sport fishing destination for pelagic species. The marine protected area is known for endangered marine megafauna including whale sharks, great white sharks, zambezi sharks, hammerhead sharks, blacktip sharks, manta rays, orange-spotted groupers, potato cod, critically endangered leatherback turtles loggerhead sea turtles, and coelacanths.

Whale watching targeting migratory or resident cetaceans is a local tourist industry. Bottlenose dolphins live in the vicinity and have been observed to swim with whale sharks. Humpback whales migrate through the bay during winter to spring seasons while southern right whales and other species are less common. Orcas may also visit the bay waters.

The land areas of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park are home to species of large land animals such as lions, giraffes, elephants, hippos and rhinos.

See
Jabu's Hut: Get a delicious door stop for ten bucks. A must if you want to feed the fish at 5 mile, when descending to 20 m in a dive.

Drink

 * Jan maak n Jol: a restaurant at day and bar/club at night.

Stay safe
Tent looting: beware of occasional tent and equipment theft at the camping spots.

Go next

 * ISimangaliso Wetland Park

title: Sodwana Bay


text:
Soest

Soest is a city with around 50,000 inhabitants and a well-preserved old town in the region North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 50 km east of Dortmund.

Understand
Soest was first mentioned in a document dating from 836, making it one of the oldest towns in the region. It was located on the Hellweg, an important medieval trade route, crossing Westphalia in a west-east direction. Soest's town charter, noted on cowhides, was a model for the municipal laws of about 70 other towns in Germany.

During the Middle Ages, Soest became one of the most important and prosperous trade places in Central Europe and a principal member of the Hanseatic League. The town's confident citizenry even tried to win their independence from the Archbishops of Cologne. This led to a five-year feud (Soester Fehde), during which an imperial ban was put on the town. The conflict ended with Soest becoming part of the Duchy of Kleve-Mark and receiving far-reaching privileges. This was however a pyrrhic victory: cut off from its hinterland that still belonged to the Archbishops' territory, the city lost most of its economic affluence during the following decades and centuries.

The merchants' residences decayed and most citizens had to subsist on agriculture. Therefore, the town maintained its medieval-to-Renaissance outline rather than expanding and modernising. Even today, two thirds of the city's Medieval wall still exist, enough for you to circle the city. Both the walls and churches are made from green sandstone that was quarried in the region. This special material contributes to the old town's unique appearance. In addition, there are several hundred half-timbered houses from the 15th to 19th century—once a sign of poverty, as the owners could not afford a stone building—now providing a picturesque, old German townscape.

Under Prussian rule, Soest was made a county seat and major railway station, but unlike most cities in the nearby Ruhr region, never developed major industries or population growth. The upside of this development (or rather lack thereof) is that the medieval townscape is mostly preserved and was not replaced by modern buildings.

Soest was an important motif of German Impressionism and Expressionism, being "still quite a medieval city, a splendid nest," as Christian Rohlfs enthusiastically wrote in 1904. In the 1910s and 1920s, the city was home to an artists' colony. Its most important members were Wilhelm Morgner, Eberhard Viegener and Arnold Topp. Famous artists such as Otto Modersohn, Karl Schmidt-Rotluff and Christian Rohlfs often joined the local artist group.

In addition to the painters, also Bruno Paul—a pioneer of modern architecture and teacher of, inter alia, Mies van der Rohe—had worked in Soest several times by creating three city villas there between 1928 and 1931. He was also a prominent cartoonist of the satirical magazine Simplicissimus.

By plane
The closest airport is Dortmund (1 hour by bus and train via Holzwickede). A major airport with more international connections is in Düsseldorf (1½ hours by train).

By train
Reaching Soest by train is easy, and the is very close to the old town.

Intercity trains from Weimar (taking 3½ hours), Erfurt (3 hr 15 min) and Kassel (1½ hours) as well as Cologne (2 hr–2 hr 20 min) and Düsseldorf (1 hr 35 min) call twice a day. Once a day, there is a direct link from Munich (4 hr 40 min) and Nuremberg (3½ hr). Other far-distance connections usually require a change of trains in Hamm, Dortmund or Kassel.

There are half-hourly regional trains from Hamm (15 min), Paderborn (25–35 min), Dortmund (45 min) and Münster (50 min). Every hour a regional train arrives from Düsseldorf (1 hr 45 min), Duisburg (1 hr 25 min) and Essen (1 hr 5 min); every two hours from Kassel (1 min 35 min).

By car
Soest is on the Autobahn A 44 (Dortmund – Kassel).

Get around
The old town is very compact (1.2 km from one end to the opposite). It is advisable to leave the car behind and walk, given the narrow lanes and many pedestrian zones.

The Regionalverkehr Ruhr-Lippe GmbH (RLG) operates eight local bus lines within the town (all of them connect to each other in front of the train station) and eleven regional bus lines that pass through Soest.

Do
Several events throughout the year celebrate the town's heritage and history.

 * late-January to early-February: Soest Winter Beams (Soester Winterstrahlen) – a light show illuminates the city and immerses its architectural highlights in a special light.

 * March: Pub Festival (Kneipenfestival) with live acts in more than 25 pubs

 * May or early-June: Bördetag – festival in the old town

 * late-June: Marksmen's festival (Bürgerschützenfest; Saturday after Saint John's) – humorous reenactment of a medieval tradition, where thieves were punished by seesawing them into the big pond; parades of the marksmen fraternities.

 * July: Winemakers market

 * first weekend of August: Feud of Soest (Soester Fehde; only in years with an odd number) – reenactment of the war that took place from 1444 to 1449. Around 900 fans of the Middle Ages from 12 different nations – dressed in medieval clothing and armour – come to Soest for the occasion and camp for three days in the now drained moat at the foot of the city wall. When the battle for the city is reenacted, they storm the city wall using medieval weapons and cannons.

 * September: Börde Farmers Market – the harvest of the Soester Börde, a region of highly fertile chernozem soils, is celebrated with a farmers' market

 * October: ProBierBar (beer tasting event)

 * November: All Hallows' kermess (Allerheiligenkirmes; Wednesday to Sunday after All Saint's day) – celebrated since 1338, this is Europe's biggest funfair held in an old town (rather than on a separate site outside the town core). During this period, Soest is in a "state of exception": In five days, the town of 50,000 inhabitants receives more than one million visitors. The whole old town is transformed into a funfair area, hosting around 400 attractions, rides and stalls.

 * December: Soest Christmas market – while most German towns have their Christmas fair, the one in Soest is one of the most popular and scenic in the region, receiving some 600,000 guests per year.

 * Christmas Eve: Gloria Singing – at 19:00, a students' choir, accompanied by a brass ensemble, sings "Gloria in excelsis Deo" from the four corners of St Peter's steeple. After the last verse, all churchbells of the town join in ringing.

Eat
Local specialties include Pumpernickel—a heavy, slightly sweet rye bread, which is common all over Westphalia, but Soest claims to be the place of its invention; and Möpkenbrot—a coarse cooked sausage, made from bacon, pig's head, pork rind, blood and rye grist.

Drink
Bullenauge ("bull's eye") is a coffee liquor topped with a dash of cream. It is typically drunk during kermess. Dudelmann is a cordial that is exclusively served during kermess season. Beekeeper Amelunxen's mead and honey liquor are typically associated with a visit to the All Saints' funfair, as well.

Mid-range

Go next

 * Hamm, 25 km northwest (15 minutes by train)
 * Meschede, 37 km southeast
 * Paderborn, 50 km northeast (30 minutes by train)
 * Dortmund, 50 km west (40 minutes by train)
 * Gütersloh, 50 km north (one hour by train)
 * Münster, 70 km northwest (50 minutes by train)

title: Soest