If you want to go to Sochi for the Olympic Games next February the advice seems to boil down to, "Good luck!" Tickets and accommodation packages are available now through website cosport.com but they're not cheap.
Two nights bed and breakfast in a Sochi tower block three star hotel with tickets for the Ladies' Super Combined and Luge on 11th February 2014 were from 2,243 Euros for a double room, excluding travel to Sochi, or from Sochi to the venues in the mountain above. A five night package incorporating the Men's and Women's downhill races, on the same board basis, is from around 4,400 Euros for five nights and add the Opening ceremony to your package and prices quickly rise above 6,000 Euros with plenty of choices above 20,000 Euros for your short Sochi break!
Because of the high prices and questions over accommodation availability, international tour operators are reported to have chartered seven cruise ships to be anchored in the Black Sea off Sochi with over 5000 cabins to sell during the games. They did the same in Vancouver for the Whistler games and it worked well, according to reports.
Everyone heading to the Olympics will also need a tourist visa and a special 'Spectator pass' as an additional security check.
It's not known yet how popular Sochi will be as a destination for British skiers and boarders after the Olympics. The legacy of the games will be a network of world-class ski resorts, largely inter-connected by gondola lifts and with a promised joint pass.
However Crystal ski (crystalski.co.uk) who have been operating holidays there for several years says that so far they have not taken more than 10 skiers a year there, although they think that will change for the better once the Games have been staged.
"We love Sochi for the snowfall, not dissimilar from North America in its consistency, and the vast slopes offering a massive variety of skiing, including plenty to keep even the hardcore skiers entertained," said a Crystal Ski spokesperson.