I found really cheap tickets (40 euro both way) from where I live (Warsaw) to Kutaisi in Georgia.
I'm thinking of jumping on the offer but I'm worried this might be a bad idea with all the ISIS shit going on. Has anyone from this board been there or to the surrounding countries? What the prices like? I'm sort of on a tight budget and the return flight would be a week after I arrive in Georgia.
Thanks!
>ISIS
>Georgia
Literally what? Just go you autist, it's a great place.
>>1052914
>ISIS
>Georgia
Also for double that price you can easily get a Wizzair flight to Kutaisi. Depending on the price of a Ruskie transit visa, it might actually turn out barely more expensive than the train.
>>1052918
I thought it was implied that I was talking about a cheap airline flight (yes, it's Wizzair). What did you think I was taking?
>>1052918
I don't understand your post. I thought OP already had flight tickets to Kutaisi? Why a Russian transit visa?
>>1052914
Hey OP. I have been to Georgia in September. It's an amazing city, especially the scenery. Tbilisi is a bit run-down, but still an interesting city. Check out the Dry Bridge Market, a cool flea market with old people selling all sorts of ancient stuff, from old maps to Soviet memorabilia. Even though this might not be that interesting to you as a (presumed) Pole.
I will gladly give you more tips on Georgia. The people there are very friendly. When I was there a family invited me for dinner and drove me to the Russian border (can't get there w/o car) to look at the second-biggest church in Georgia. A very cool experience.
Prices in Georgia are quite low. You can get khachapuri (pastries with all sorts of stuff on them) from a streetside kiosk for as little a 1GEL. And they're quite filling.
Let me know if you have any questions. Batumi is very beautiful, too.
>>1052920
>it's an amazing city
country*
>>1052920
Hey, thanks a lot for the reply! Would it be worth seeing Armenia or just staying in Georgia for the week? What's a way to find cheap accommodation? Do people speak English? Is it easy to get around Georgia?
>>1052924
If you're just staying a week, going to Armenia is ..... possible, but I worry about how much fun you're going to have. If you want to go to Yerevan, you'll probably take a shared taxi / minibus from Tbilisi - this takes about 5 hours to get to Yerevan. The buses and taxis however are quite erratic, on my way back from Yerevan the motor gave up and I was stuck for an hour 30km before the Georgian border. I hear this is not a very rare occurence, so with getting back and forth you're almost spending 2 days on the road. Nevertheless, you could maybe do a city tour and just go to Tbilisi, Yerevan, and back. Yerevan is a very beautiful city and completely different from anything you'll see in Georgia. The café culture of the city is enchanting.
There might be a night train from Tbilisi to Yerevan, however. Takes even longer, but hey, you can sleep in there. Not sure about the winter schedule though, but if you like, I can look it up later.
People speak very little English. Georgian among young people, Russian among older people are most widely spoken. If you know some Russian phrases, that will make it a lot easier.
It's quite easy to get around Georgia. You can take minibuses (marshrutky) almost everywhere.
Another thing: I've only been to the region in summer. Georgia is a very mountaineous country, and a lot of places become ski resorts in winter, while other places become virtually unreachable. So I'm afraid my advice to you is a bit limited.
For the bigger cities, you can check Airbnb for accomodation. There's some nice things. You can also find a lot of guesthouses / homestays in the villages further out. This requires a certain leap of faith. If you go to a long-established tourist destination (say the wonderful Stepantsminda aka Kazbegi), old ladies will wait for you at the bus stop. Accomodation in these places is quite cheap. I think I paid the equivalent of $15 for a night's stay, including great khinkali dinner and breakfast.
>>1052928
What I also did was take two very cheap tours from Tbilisi, one to Davit Gareja (ancient monastery on the border with Azerbaijan) and the other to Gori/Upsilitshke (spelling almost certainly wrong). They leave from the Pushkin statue in central Tbilisi every day, afaik. Both about $10-15. Very good value for seeing something other than Tbilisi.
By the way, here's the DL for the LP of the South Caucasus countries:
http://gen.lib.rus.ec/book/index.php?md5=2f8e8d25b77850e17ed4d93a04690254
I may as well piggy bag in here.
I'm planning on going to Armenia this summer and have only done some research with the tourist sites, churches and stuff.
Does anyone have personal experience and knowledge of the day to day stuff there? How was the food, girls, etc? I speak Russian by the way.
OP here
I've messaged some people on couchsurfing and so far 3 girls from Georgia (though I ended up messaging more dudes than girls..) said it's a wonderful country with very nice people, easy to get around by hitchhiking and there's a very good chance that they will host me.
I've never used CS before, anything to expect?
>>1053137
>a wonderful country with very nice people, easy to get around by hitchhiking
All true.
Don't know if I'd visit Armenia if I only had a week - haven't been there myself, mind you, despite having been to Georgia twice so far - but unless there's a night train from Tbilisi to Yerevan, it'll take to much time to get there and back.
Random pic from Svaneti.
>>1053091
Same guy here as above, I'll gladly talk more about Armenia and Georgia.
Good food, interesting meats. You will find a diverse cuisine that takes its influence from the Caucasus, Persia, and the Near East. Try Shashlik and the many cafés lining the beautiful Yerevan streets. Food is affordable. You can even go to "Armenia's national restaurant" which is where apparently all the "important" foreign people go. (Pic related). They proudly display photos of Hollande, Putin, etc. People who have been there. The food was excellent, about €10 for a main course. This is, of course, very expensive for the average Armenian, esp. those not living in Yerevan.
Girls are incredibly good looking (much better than Georgians, sorry everybody from Saqartvelo!) - I personally felt that some of them really do take inspiration from the Kardashians - so they have a very liberal dress sense. They WILL eye you if you look foreign. I stayed with an Armenian family and was asked about how much I earn, what I do. Another French guy was staying there and he ended up going out with the stunning cousin of the girl hosting us (he spoke Armenian, so he had that going for him). It's not my main area of expertise though.
If you speak Russian, you'll have it very very easy getting around.
>>1053137
Forgot to post the name of the place, it's called Dolmama.
>>1053137
I don't usually use CS. No reason in particular. A lot of people use it, I don't think you'll run into problems.
Photo: Khinkali, pretty much Georgia's national dish. Dinner at homestay in Kazbegi.
>>1053151
Awesome picture.
I spent a week in Georgia back in 2013. I would not recommend traveling to Armenia if you've only seven days in Georgia. You can easily spend several in Tbilisi. I was lucky enough to have found a direct ride with a German couple who were driving a minivan from their hometown to Thailand and it still took us the better part of a half day to move from capital to capital.
I'll also agree that Armenian women are much more attractive than Georgians! However, I didn't spend more than a couple of nights before having to fly over to Dubai. Regardless, the locals in both countries seemed genuinely friendly, although I wasn't nearly as taken or impressed by Georgian hospitality as many others have been.
>>1053157
holyshit i can eat in one of the most prestigious and upmarket restaurants in the country for only 10 euros? that's definitely on my to-do list.
OP here
Decided to bite the bullet and buy the tickets. Thanks for the replies guys. I'll ask some questions once I finish my exams this week.
>>1053510
Nice man, I'm sure you'll have a good time.
OP here again,
Does anyone else have any general information about Georgia? What to see on a budget?
>>1053534
thanks man
Georgian here.
ama
>>1054114
1) Could you give me a rough estimate of some basic prices? Night at a cheap hostel, cheap food from a supermarket, bus from Kutaisi to Tibilisi?
2) I'm probably going to spend a few nights at some people hosting me from Couchsurfing, however they all like somewhat far apart in smaller towns. Is it easy to cover distances of about 100-200km by hitchhiking?
3) Must see things in Georgia that don't cost a lot? I will be in Kutaisi and Tiblisi for sure, but I'm willing to go somewhere else if it's worth the trip.
4) Any other tips for visiting Georgia appreciated
Thanks
>>1054114
Is Armenia better than your country and are the women prettier?
Be honest.
I want to visit South Ossettia desu
>>1054119
1) Night at an acceptable hostel can cost anything from 15 GEL and above. Local food is really cheap, khachapuri can cost 1-2 GEL, lobiani even lower. Doner or shawarma is popular and cheap for a good filling. Lunch at the restaurant can cost about 10-15 GEL per person if you want some khinkali with beer. I don't know about Kutaisi-Tbilisi but micro bus from Tbilisi to Kazbegi in the north costs 10 GEL. I can't imagine Kutaisi-Tbilisi would be anything much more than that. I definitely recommend visiting Kazbegi region for amazing scenery, churches and mountains. You can even ski in Gudauri if you want to.
2) I personally have never hitchhiked but my friends tell me that it is really easy around here. If you're with a girl and you look like foreigners your chances multiply though.
3) Depends on what you're in to and what season you'll be visiting. Kazbegi is a must as I mentioned above. Svaneti is fascinating as I've heard though I've yet to go there. Batumi's really nice and it has been renovated in recent years. Last president had an ambition to make it look like Nice and Cote d'Azur.
4) Definitely try local cuisine.
Locals are usually really friendly and Georgians are known for their hospitality, but beware to not be taken advantage of.
Crime is really low and I wouldn't be afraid of any of that.
>>1054190
I've never been to armenia but I have every reason to think it a complete shithole.
I don't like georgian women because of their personality and general mentality but foreigners really seem crazy about how they look.
>>1054246
Bleak, occupied, Russian infested shithole. If you enter from Russia say goodbye to visiting Georgia.
>>1052914
now is a really bad fucking time to move to georgia
not only is it still heavily militarized, but the russians are moving forces to a possition where they could attack turkey
that would mean by default steamrolling georgia
the russians already fucked georgia, they'll do it again in a heartbeat
the russians have already moved missile cruisers into the black sea, and their planning to fill syria with artilery and anti-air
also the terrorists running around everywhere, but
>>1054314
What the fuck are you going on about?
>>1054288
What are you perceptions of Armenia? Why does it seem a shithole and what do you mean?
anyone else? I'm looking for more suggestions of what I should see
Is there anything worth seeing/doing in western Georgia in the winter that doesn't involve skiing?
