“Abkhazia or Sochi?” – the question for some future vacationers is cleaner than Hamlet's “To be or not to be?”. Indeed, they are located on the Black Sea, the nature and weather there are plus or minus the same, and vacationers bring good and bad reviews about equally. How to decide? One of the options is to take a look at the impartial material of Subtleties before the trip, in which we compared the two Black Sea destinations in terms of the most important parameters. In this regard, Sochi outperforms Abkhazia quite confidently. From Moscow, you can fly here by direct flights in 2.5 hours, while you cannot get to the cities of Abkhazia by air: the nearest airport is in the same Sochi. There are no direct buses from Moscow to Abkhazian Sukhum, the train runs once a day, the journey takes 1.5 days. Trains run to Sochi 4 times a day, and you can get home in 23 hours, buses depart once every few days. By car, Sochi is also closer than Sukhum: 21 hours versus 23.5. One of the significant disadvantages of traveling to Abkhazia is the need to cross the border, which is a waste of time and not very pleasant procedures. Both Abkhazia and Sochi boast a good selection of hotels of different price categories and years of construction. True, in Sochi there are many times more of them, especially 5 * complexes; in Abkhazia, the “five” can be counted on the fingers of one hand. In addition, Abkhaz vacationers are much more likely to complain about the general “fatigue” of the room stock. But the prices for accommodation are significantly lower than in Sochi – and there are fewer people, so it's a draw. 
Road
Sochi-Abkhazia-1:0
Hotels
Sochi — Abkhazia — 2:1
Infrastructure
It is definitely worth going to Abkhazia without any expectations, otherwise you can be very disappointed. Tourists note that in the vicinity of cities there is poor mobile communication, there are frequent interruptions in water and electricity in hotels and the private sector, many buildings have an unsightly appearance, there are chain supermarkets only in Sukhum, and in small towns and villages the only store or pharmacy can work on an unknown schedule.
From city to city in Abkhazia can be reached by minibus or taxi. But the former can wait almost hours for more passengers to pick up, while the latter cannot be called up using applications, and they often lack child seats (but there are reckless drivers). Another complaint from vacationers is the lack of good restaurants. Sochi is in the lead: with all of the above, this is in order; except that electricity and water are also periodically turned off – but according to the schedule, warning about this in advance.
Sochi-Abkhazia-3:1
Beaches
In both Sochi and Abkhazia, the vast majority of beaches are pebbly. Sandy areas are rare and usually remote from major resorts, although this does not stop true connoisseurs. Sochi beaches have a richer tourist infrastructure: it is easier to find sun loungers with umbrellas and find entertainment there. But Abkhazia takes with the purity of sea water, comparatively few people and intoxicating air. We bet a draw.
The main disadvantages of Sochi beaches are called dirty water and overcrowding with tourists during the peak season, and the pluses are the length of the coastline and the already mentioned infrastructure.
Sochi-Abkhazia-4:2
Entertainment and attractions
Abkhazia is mainly natural attractions: Lake Ritsa, caves of New Athos, gorges and passes, beautiful rivers, forests and waterfalls. There are many interesting monasteries of different eras and ancient ruins. Sochi also has historical architecture and natural areas worth visiting, but the main thing is just an incredible selection of modern entertainment.
Theme parks, sports facilities, an oceanarium and dolphinariums, casinos, a bunch of shopping centers and clubs – vacationers will find all this in Sochi. As well as a full range of entertainment for thrill-seekers – from bungee jumping and paragliding to racing on a real Formula 1 track. So Sochi wins here.
Sochi-Abkhazia-5:2
skypark.ru
Prices
Tour for two to the Abkhazian resort with a flight in June and accommodation in a 4 * hotel will cost an average of 75,000 RUB, in Sochi under the same conditions – from 90,000 RUB and more. In a mid-range cafe, prices in Abkhazia and Sochi will be similar: from 250 RUB per person for lunch. Public transport is cheaper in Abkhazia. Minibuses between cities-towns in Sochi and Abkhazia cost 150-300 RUB depending on the distance, the same is a taxi in the city. A ticket to a water park in the Abkhazian Gagra costs 1500 RUB for an adult and 1000 RUB for a child, in Sochi Loo – 1000 and 700 RUB, respectively. On the main points, Abkhazia still wins, although not by a large margin.
Total: Sochi – Abkhazia – 5:3