Anapa is Russia's family seaside, and everything about it is built around sand. The town sits on a low coast where the northern foothills of the Caucasus finally flatten out into the Taman steppe, and the beaches that run for tens of kilometres are broad, gentle and shallow, with water that warms quickly in summer, which makes the place a favourite for parents with small children. The sand is real, unlike the pebbles farther south, and the dunes along the Bugaz spit to the north form a protected landscape of grass and sand beside the Black Sea lagoons.
The history goes back to the Greeks. Under the name Gorgippia, a Greek colony and later a major city of the Bosporan Kingdom stood here, and some of its streets and houses have been excavated and preserved in an open-air museum in the middle of the modern town. Later, the Ottomans fortified Anapa in 1781 as a base on the Circassian coast, and Russian troops took it in 1790, then again in 1828, and what remains of the fortress walls can be seen near the lighthouse. The town was heavily damaged in the Second World War and rebuilt as a resort, with wide avenues, sanatoria and promenades.
For a rider, Anapa is a place of flat ground, wide roads and heavy summer traffic. The coastal highway from Novorossiysk and the roads into town can be packed in July and August, and the speed cameras are many. Spring and autumn are far better, with warm air, calm seas and open roads, and from May to June and September to October the region is at its best. Vineyards and orchards stretch inland, and the roads through them are flat and easy, with long straights and mild curves. Winds can be strong, especially in the late autumn, and rain arrives in squalls.
Everything you need is here. Petrol stations line the main roads, cafés and restaurants serve fish, grilled meat and local wine, and the hotels range from basic guest houses to large holiday complexes. In high season, accommodation is expensive and fills quickly, so book ahead. The town has a lively market, and the smell of grilled mackerel and peaches follows you down the streets.
Walk out onto the sand at sunset, and watch the sea turn pink. Families come out in droves, and the whole beach feels like a long, cheerful evening.