Vacation 2025: to Gelendzhik with Aeroflot tickets. What budget to expect
Gelendzhik with a reopened airport is a trend of the 2025 summer season. Will this resort replace Sochi? NI found out which resort is cheaper to vacation at and what kind of accommodation tourists can expect in Gelendzhik.
Less than a day after the news about the opening of a new airport in Gelendzhik appeared, there was a rush demand for tickets. Because of this, Aeroflot, which will start flying there from Moscow from July 18, even decided to operate two flights a day from August 1, 2025.
So far, only Aeroflot has resumed flights to Gelendzhik. Photo: newizv.ru
Aeroflot is a monopolist on this route. S7, UTair and other leading air carriers have not yet made a decision to resume flights.
Flights to Gelendzhik in the summer of 2025 will actually be conducted in test mode: in 2022, the airport was closed for the safety of passengers in the conditions of the SVO.
Is it safer now? Moscow airports, which regularly close their airspace due to the threat of drone attacks, give reason to disagree. It cannot be ruled out that Gelendzhik airport will also close quite often.
In such conditions, the probability that other airlines will start flying to Gelendzhik this year tends to zero. UAV attacks are not only a security threat, but also large financial losses for airlines, which are forced to bear additional costs due to aircraft downtime, increased crew work time, and the need to accommodate passengers in hotels in the event of a particularly long delay.
Tickets from Moscow to Gelendzhik and back in August 2025 cost an average of 45 thousand per person. Photo: aviasales.ru
Aeroflot still remains a monopoly in this direction, and nothing can be done about it. As a result, tickets to Gelendzhik will be expensive.
Flying to Gelendzhik on August 1 and returning on August 9 with luggage will cost 45 thousand rubles per person. If you specifically select departure dates with the lowest prices, you can get by with 38 thousand rubles.
Sochi Airport receives dozens of flights from Moscow every day. That's why the prices are lower: 20-25 thousand rubles per person in the first half of August. Fly together, and the difference in tickets can easily reach 50 thousand rubles.
But what if you don't live in Moscow, but, for example, in Yekaterinburg? If you choose Gelendzhik, you will have to make a transfer in the capital - there are no other routes yet. Therefore, the cheapest round-trip ticket will cost 62.5 thousand rubles per person. How do you like the prospect of paying almost 130 thousand rubles just for a flight to Gelendzhik for two people?
Flights from Moscow to Sochi and back in August 2025 will be cheaper than to Gelendzhik. Photo: aviasales.ru
A flight to Sochi will be both easier and cheaper. Buy tickets for a direct flight for 30-32 thousand rubles, and in a few hours you will be at the sea without the hassle of transfers and the risk of missing a connecting flight. The savings for two in this case exceed 60 thousand rubles.
So it turns out that flights to Gelendzhik in the summer of 2025 are the lot of wealthy Muscovites. But what will they see?
First of all, tourists can see that, unlike Sochi, Gelendzhik is not yet overcrowded with tourists (the key word is yet).
Gelendzhik, unlike Sochi, is not overcrowded with tourists. Photo: newizv.ru
Complex logistics and the fuel oil disaster on the beaches of Anapa have cooled people's interest in this destination, notes Vice President of ATOR, General Director of the tour operator "Dolphin" Sergey Romashkin . According to him, the demand for tours to Gelendzhik in July is 10% less than last year.
Demand for tours to Gelendzhik in July is 10% less than last year
There have been no problems with infrastructure in Gelendzhik for a long time. Gone are the days when the most unpretentious tourists went there. The city has a modern and beautiful embankment, comfortable 4* hotels. And there is a choice: you can stay in the city center, on the outskirts closer to the beach, or you can choose a country club. This pleasure costs about 100-130 thousand rubles for a standard double room from August 1 to 9.
A 4* hotel in Gelendzhik in August will cost approximately 100-130 thousand rubles for two. Photo: Ostrovok
The choice of 4* hotels in Sochi turned out to be several times larger, and the prices are lower. There you can count on 70-110 thousand rubles. On average, accommodation in Sochi will cost 25 thousand rubles cheaper than in Gelendzhik. And taking into account the flight, the difference will already be 75 thousand rubles. Significantly!
Hotels in Sochi are significantly cheaper than in Gelendzhik. Photo: Ostrovok
But you can always save money by renting an apartment instead of staying in a hotel. Right? Alas, a cheap apartment on the seashore in Gelendzhik is a fantasy. Accommodation in modern complexes by the sea will cost no less than 10 thousand rubles per day.
If you don't mind walking from your home to the sea, you can rent an apartment closer to the mountains. The sea is a 15-20 minute walk away, and prices start at 6.5 thousand rubles per day. Thanks to the high competition in the daily rental market, the interiors in rented apartments even on the outskirts will be nice. There are almost no "granny" apartments left there with linoleum on the floor and colorful, greasy wallpaper.
In Gelendzhik, renting apartments becomes cheaper the further you go from the sea. Photo: Avito
The most frugal will have to live on the outskirts of the city - you can find a one-room apartment there for about 4 thousand rubles per day. If your goal is to enjoy the sea, beach and nature as much as possible, then the best option is to live on the western outskirts of Gelendzhik in the Golubaya Bay area. You will have to get to the city center by taxi - you still have to go around the airport.
But the beaches there are freer, there are fewer people, there are bike routes nearby, and renting an apartment costs about 8 thousand per day. That is, staying from August 1 to 9 will cost 60-70 thousand rubles.
Traveling to Gelendzhik by plane in the summer of 2025 is the lot of Muscovites or very wealthy people from the regions. Photo: newizv.ru
With such prices, Gelendzhik is unlikely to become a super-popular resort even after the resumption of air traffic. This summer, this resort is an exclusive vacation spot for Muscovites. From other regions, only the wealthiest people who do not count money, or old-school tourists who are ready to buy train tickets in the spring and then shake in a compartment or reserved seat for a day or two, can go there.
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