Travel Tips: Abkhazia

BEFORE YOU TRAVEL
- I advise to learn how to speak Russian fluently before you arrive
- To get a visa, you should fill out and send a Visa application form to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia
- Once they receive duly submitted documents, the Conuslar Service usually takes 5 working days to process the Visa request. As soon the clearance is ready you will be contacted by the consular officer and an entry permit letter will be sent to you via fax or e-mail. The Entry Permit Letter only works when you ENTER Abkhazia.

GETTING IN:
- I advise to drive into Abkhazia via  Enguri Bridge, Georgia. Enguri Bridge is near Zugdidi, Georgia.

How to get into Abkhazia via Enguri Bridge:

1. Take a taxi from Zugdidi, Georgia to Enguri Bridge
2. Check your passport with the Georgian Military Checkpoint
3. Walk across the long, dilapidated Enguri Bridge to the Russian Military Checkpoint on the Abkhazian side of the border

ONCE YOU'RE IN
-Once you get into Abkhazia, get a taxi from the Abkhazia-Georgia border to Sukhumi, Abkhazia, the capital of Abkhazia. The price of the taxi is 1.500 Rubles
- You can not leave Abkhazia through Russia or Georgia; you leave where you came from
-  Once you get to Sukhumi, Abkhazia, you need to proceed to the Consular Department of the MFA of Abkhazia to obtain the visa that will serve as an exit permit you might be asked to pay the visa fees at Sberbank
- Avoid any place near the Georgia-Abkhazia border
-Keep your valuables close to you
-Dress modestly