Hi all,
after spending some really nice days in and around Sukhum(i) in late September, I just wanted to share some of the travel insight.
First of all, border crossing was not a big deal. I took a taxi (10 Lari) from Zugdidi station after arriving by night train from Tbilisi and hit the Georgian side of the border around 8am. The Georgians registered my passport and I went all along the Enguri bridge to the Abkhaz side. On the Abkhaz side, I encountered few local people waiting in the line. Therefore, it took me less than 20 mins. to be through and to board a direct bus to Sukhum (with a short stop in Gal, 200 Rubles), which appears to depart from the border at 9.30am almost every morning. Around 11.30am I arrived at the lobby of Hotel Ritsa in Sukhum, which is a nice place for the views on the sea and its location, but rather overprized (2300 Rubles per room) for the rest.
The Sberbank Abkhazii branch has moved now to Pr. Lakoba, one block west of Pr. Leona. There you will have to pay the visa fee, which is around or slightly more than 300 Rubles as far as I remember. They had an ATM installed in that branch, but yet it was not working. They seemed to close for lunch from 1 to 2pm. This seems to be true for the Visa office as well, which has also moved and is now located in the building of the immigration authority at ul. Sakharova 33, which is few steps from Sberbank.
Some more on money: There are some ATMs available now in Sukhum. I am aware of two: one in the Sukhum city shopping mall on the western edge of town. The other one is more conveniently located one block south of the Botanical Garden. With my German VISA card I could easily get (and even without any charge) up to 3000 Rubles per transaction, 500 is the minimum amount. Other ATMs are to be installed during the upcoming months.
What to see in Sukhumi: I was lucky enough to arrive on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the victory 'over the Georgian occupants' that was celebrated between 27th and 30th of September incl. a parade of the Abkhaz military forces in front of the still ruined building of the former government of AbkhazSSR. The whole city was full of victory propaganda, using the same aesthetic as Russia when celebrating the victory in 2nd world war, and all the TV channels were broadcasting heroic clips and documentaries reflecting upon the war two decades ago. Frankly speaking, being aware of the cruelties committed by both sides of the conflict not even a generation ago, I was slightly shocked over the way how history is staged.
Apart of the victory day celebrations I pretty enjoyed wandering around town, drinking loads of excellent coffee, chatting with locals and Russian tourists. The first days there was pooring rain for most of the time, yet, weather improved and I had some really awesome early morning stroll up to Sukhumskaya Gora with amazing 19th century architecture in the leafy atmosphere of a ressort town of former glory. Also day trips to Novy Afon and Lake Ritsa are really worth it. The former you can easily arrange on your own by taking one of the frequent minivans in Western direction to Psou or Gudauta (almost every half an hour, 50 Rubles) from the train station (an equally amazing though desolate Stalinist building). To Ritsa I went on a prearranged tour which I booked with one of the accomodation agents at the seafront for 700 Rubles. It was quite a touristic experience, but still ok, and an affordable alternative to taking a private car, when you are travelling alone or as a couple.
On my way back to the border I took one of the frequent minivans to Gal (150 Rubles), and changed to a shared taxi (50 Rubles) right to the border. This time it took me more than two hours to exit Abkhazia, crammed in a huge crowd of waiting locals. Therefore, try to be there as early as possible.
Good luck in Abkhazia, I will certainly return there!
