Adler (Russian: Áдлер, Ah-dler) is the center of Adler district and is part of Greater Sochi.

Understand

Adler is the historic and administrative center of Adler district. It is 22 km from the center of Sochi and is 7 km from Khosta. The center of Adler is located near the inflow of Mzymta river to the Black Sea. Adler hosted the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Talk

As in all of Russia, Russian is preferred language. You also can hear Armenian spoken on the streets due to the large Armenian community. English is not widely spoken, so it's a good idea to prepare some Russian phrases for communication.

Get in

By train

Almost every train going to Sochi from other Russian cities has a last stop in Adler. The railroad station is a bit aside from the center. A commuter line is running every half an hour from Sochi station and the trip takes about 30 minutes.

By bus

There are buses running from about 07:00 to about 22:00. Buses 125 and 124 run from Sochi railroad station to Adler center. The trip usually takes about 40 minutes but due to traffic it can be as long as 2 hours.

By plane

Sochi airport is located in Adler. You can take several buses to get from there:

• 51 - from the airport to central market;
• 105, 124 - from the airport to the railroad station (can take also to kurortny gorodok).

There is also an option of using aeroexpress, departing to Sochi railroad station every hour and has a stop at Adler station as well. But the price for a short trip (9 min) is quite high, so it is recommended to use buses. Also you could take a taxi, but it is necessary to have it booked beforehand as the prices in the airport will be inadequately high.

See

• Adler lighthouse (near Yuzhnoe Vzmorye resort.). Still working as a lighthouse one of the oldest on the Black sea coast. It was built in 1898 
• Bestuzhev-Marlinsky monument, Бестужевский сквер (near the museum of Adler history). Stone obelisk and on the one side Каменный обелиск-пирамида, с одной стороны — бронзовый bas-relief made of bronze of a friend of Pushkin who was a Decembrist downsized to soldiers and who died in the fight for Adler in 1837. The body was never found. The park was established in 1913. 
• Olympic Rings (Lenin and Aviatsionnaya streets crossing). Huge rings that has every continent with its own color. Beautifully lighted during the nighttime. 
• Overview platform, Lenin street and Golubye Dali street (остановка Изумруд). Overview platform with a view to the city and the sea. 

Do

• 1 Adler district history museum, Karl Marx St, 8, ☏ +7 862 240-54-28. 09:00-18:00. Shows history of the district from ancient to modern times. 
• 2 Adler Park of Leisure, Romashek, 1 (near Yuzhnoe Vzmorye resort), ☏ +7 8622 40-41-65. M-F 10:00-18:00, Sa Su 10:00-23:00. More like an amusement park 
• 3 Sochi Discovery World Aquarium, Lenin St. 219 (in Kurortny Gorodok), ☏ +7 862 246-33-56. 10:00-18:00. The biggest Aquarium in Russia and one of the biggest in Europe. 
• 4 Dolphinarium, Lenin 219 (in Kurortny Gorodok), ☏ +7 862 246-33-03. Dolphins' show. 45 min. 

Buy

• 1 Novyi Vek, Demokraticheskaya, 52. 10:00-23:00. A mid-sized mall 
• 2 Plaza City, Kirova 58. 10:00-22:00. A mid-sized mall with a movie multiplex. 

Eat

The whole town is scattered with little diners that are called Stolovaya (Столовая), which will gladly serve Russian and local (Causcasian) cuisine. Usually the prices are not high, about 200 руб per person.

• 1 Hinkali Tancevali, Kirova 44 (in Forward tower). Georgian and vegetarian cuisine. 
• 2 Zhily Byly Teremok, Demokraticheskaya 50/7. Local cuisine with a cosy atmosphere. 
• 3 McDonald's, Bestuzheva 1/1. 24/7. 
• 4 Burger King, Kirova 58. 10:00-22:00. On the third floor of City Plaza mall. 

Drink

Local wineries produce wine and it is sold draft in the town. You can find it under label of "Вина Кубани". The quality of the wine differs, but is worth tasting.

• 1 Forward Bar, in the basement of Forward Tower. 10:00-04:00. A small bar with international crowd and upbeat music. 
• 2 Treugolnik, Kirova 56. 12:00-03:00. Rock-an-roll club with wide music collection. 
• 3 Wild West, Kirova 52. 

Sleep

The town has a lot of places to stay, but most of the Russian people coming to stay in summer usually rent a room in a private households (chastnye) because the price will be much lower. Since wouldn't most likely speak English, it will be hard to find English speaking household. Most of the private households will include a separate room with shared bathroom and WC, sometimes outside.

Kurortny Gorodok resort town

Kurort in Russian is Resort, hence the town is named after the resort complex located in the area. It is located midway between Sochi center and Adler center. Distance to the airport is 3 km, Adler railroad station - 1 km, to Sochi center is 20 km.

The heart of the Kurortny gorodok is a resort complex which consists of several resorts - Delfin, Koral, Fregat, Neptun and Smena. There are some renovated hotels like Oasis and Golden Dolphin, and some other small private mini-hotels.

The coast side has a lot of cafes, restaurants, shops and other venues for entertainment, such as the dolphinarium, aquarium, aquapark, some night clubs, bowling etc. Cost of stay can be considerably higher than in other areas in Adler.

Hotels

• 1 Aurora, Bestuzheva 22, ☏ +7 988 134-98-68. Private mini-hotel in the heart of Adler with scenic views with a walking distance to the sea. 
• 2 Uyut, Prosvesheniya 113A, ☏ +7 988 238-92-86, +7 988 237-68-25. A little hotel with several categories of rooms. Works all year round. 
• 3 Golubaya Laguna, Medovaya 72, ☏ +7 918 206-95-54, +7 918 203-58-14. A small hotel a bit far from the sea. Works from May to October. 
• 4 Na Ulyanova, Ulyanova 10, ☏ +7 918 309-05-70, +7 862 240-23-30. A guesthouse in the center of Adler. Works all year round. 

Resorts

• 5 «Korall», Lenina, 219, ☏ +7 8622 46-34-55-57. 
• 6 «Yuzhnoe Vzmorye», Kalinina, 1, ☏ +7 862 269-17-77. Check-out: 12:00. Spa resort. 

Connect

Mobile operators

Adler has the traditional set of Russian mobile operators:

GSM 900/1800:

• Beeline (by Vympelcom), ☏ +7 861 945-95-95. 
• Megafon, ☏ +7 800 333 0500. 
• MTS (Mobile TeleSystems), ☏ +7 800 333 0890. 
• Tele2. A multinational European provider, operating in 22 countries including Russia. Tele 2 has its network in many regions of the country, excluding Moscow. Comparing to others, it is the cheapest operator, but having the smallest coverage area. 

CDMA:

• Skylink. The all-Russian CDMA operator, having less subscribers, than GSM operators, but popular for faster and cheaper mobile Internet service. 

4G (LTE):

• Megafon, ☏ +7 800 333 0500. 
• Yota, toll-free: +7 800 700 55 00. 

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

• Wi-fi connection can be found at part of Adler hotels and restaurants. Below is the list of major free wi-fi spots in the city (see also Krasnaya Polyana):
  • Sochi International Airport (Adler district). Service provided by MegaFon. 
  • McDonalds, Bestuzheva 1. inside the restaurant and around it. 
  • Yuzhnoe Vzmorye Resort Hotel, Kalinina street, 1 - Adler.