Any of you guys been to Georgia and/or Armenia before? How were they? I am thinking of spending two weeks in each country (from the beginning of July to beginning of August). I really enjoy hiking and nature so if anyone has any input about some hiking they did there it would be appreciated. Did you find some nice spots to relax in either Georgia or Armenia? I am just about to finish quite a stressful period of my life before moving abroad at the end of summer for a new job, so I'd like to be able to recharge my batteries a bit before leaving. What the level of English like amongst young people? I like to be able to chat to people when abroad
Any input would be appreciated!
Monitoring this thread as I'm looking to do the same thing in late July.
OP here. I should also add that I speak French. Do many people there speak it? I don't know if its very common there (maybe though because of the large amounts of Armenians who move to France and Quebec)
>>1125942
Only been to Georgia twice so far, haven't made it to Armenia yet.
>(from the beginning of July to beginning of August)
I hope you are like scorching summer heat then.
>What the level of English like amongst young people?
In bigger cities and more touristy places: decent. Also, while I speak French quite fluently, I haven't encountered anyone speaking it so far. German was surprisingly helpful on a few occasions, but if you want to play safe, learn some basic Russian. Almost everyone speaks it in both countries.
>hiking
Several regions in the Georgian Caucasus are excellent hiking terrain: Tusheti and Kazbegi, with the most developed long hiking route being Omalo - Shatili - Juta - Kazbegi. Have your passport on you in that region though, border guards will want to check it - shouldn't be much of a hassle. Another region suitable for hiking is Svaneti - Mestia is the biggest town there, but don't neglect the smaller villages en route, or further down the road. Borjomi NP also has hiking trails, but I hear it's not quite as spectacular as the high Caucasus - it's mostly forested hills.
Considering Armenia: there's supposed to be hiking trails. That's all I know really.
Pic is near Juta.
>>1126145
When do you recommend traveling?
How are Georgia and Armenia with regards to price(accommodation, food, drink, travel, etc.)?
>>1125942
I've been and I loved it there.
Friendly people and beautiful scenery. We rented a car and drove around.
English is overall alright at tourist places and in the bigger cities.
>>1126158
Not that guy, but I went in September. It was really nice.
>>1126164
It's dirt cheap for most except the 5 star hotels.
>>1126158
Either now - before July, when everything is still green and lush - or September. Still very warm then, but overall nice and stable weather.
>>1126164
Dirt cheap. Hostel dorms from <€10, eat until you burst for less than that, decent full board homestays (most widely spread form of accommodation outside cities) from €20, no bus or train ride costs more than €12.5.
>>1126239
Addendum: prices listed are for Georgia, September 2015. Armenia is supposedly cheaper.
>>1125942
Hiking in Armenia is a bitch. I got lost in several hikes. Well, really all you need is a good map. Without itinerary prepared it's a bit tricky
Went to Georgia last year. Really loved it and really want to go back Tbilisi is a really nice city and people generally speaks English there. Not so much in rural areas though. I had a friend with me that spoke some Russian but sometimes that didn't help at all. We hitchhiked around and people were really helpful even though some of them we only communicated with through sentences of mixed German, Russian and English.
Some guys started driving in the opposite direction of where we were going which was ringing all the alarm bells. Turns out they just really wanted to show us pic related
>>1126145
OP here
>I hope you are like scorching summer heat then.
I do I am from Northern Europe, and I always go on vacation to places with guranteed heat and sunshine as I don't get enough here
Is it hard to get around in Armenia and Georgia between cities or is there decent bus routes? I don't have a license so hiring a car isn't an option. I will be travelling on my own
>>1127523
I'm from northern Europe and I peu much hate scorching heat. I think I might just not go anywhere this July and instead save money for a couple weeks on in Italy this October.
>>1127627
OP here. I am pretty lucky that I can handle anything up to 40 degrees. Likewise I don't have a problem visiting places with cold winters in winter, so like -20
>>1127523
>Is it hard to get around in Armenia and Georgia between cities or is there decent bus routes?
Don't know about Armenia but in Georgia transportation and logistics are very cheap. It costed for me 10 gel ( lari - local money) to take marshrutka from Tbilisi to Batumi and 1 gel to get from Batumi to Kobuleti in 2015. Premium buses aren't widely used, it is more comfortable for big routes. Tickets for them are quickly sold out. Also you might consider using railway transport (fastest and cheapest) which connects many small settlements between big cities.
>>1125967
I ran into various people who spoke French in Armenia. You can't count on it, but it seems to be a possibility.
Also make sure you visit Shushi in Nagorno Karabakh. There is a hole in the fence to the Lower Mosque.
I'm from Ireland and have plans on visiting one of these two countries for three weeks in july.
Is Armenia a popular tourist destination? Only resorts in Caucasus I heard are in Georgia. Which country is safer?
I probably go with Georgia since I've seen many breathtaking pictures about it, heard much abour their hospitality cult and their cuisine looks delicious
>>1127785
Georgia has more tourism, other than Russia it gets along better with its neighbors than Armenia does. There's also a bit more variety in Georgia in terms of landscapes. I think the Soviets used Georgia more for resorts than Armenia.
Each country has some small breakaway regions you should be careful to not get shot at, which messes up the safety situation. They are easily avoidable though and the rest of the countries are very safe. Crime is kind of different there, there is high level official corruption tied to crime. But street crime that would affect a tourist is rare.
Three weeks is enough time to take a detour to the other country.
Smelly, hairy, rude people (Majority of them, Especially The Armenians. Met a few cool people too). Not much to do in those countries aswell.
May be an option if you "Really" want to see those places, otherwise I believe you will get so much more for your money.
>>1128999
OP here. Where would I get more for my money?
>>1129343
Sorry, my post got fucked up I guess. You should try Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia.
Serbia has the best girls, Bosnia is a cool-laid back place and Turkey has the best history - natural beauties and food. Turkey is the overall best but they have some kurds in the southeast as well as in the major cities.
Georgian here
>>1125942
>if anyone has any input about some hiking they did there it would be appreciated
There are many spots in Georgia there you can go hike. What do you prefer: subtrobical rain forests, beaches, or mountains ?
I post some videos to show that you could see in Georgia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKxi88mp_fc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUC_a6p4pQ8
https://youtu.be/WFIrHgleSxs
also if you are intrested in historical buildings
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxj-MNWYipVUx3PunjbjhiQ
>>1128999
> Smelly, hairy, rude people (Majority of them, Especially The Armenians.
Thats not a /pol or /int where you can just offence other nations. I just imagine a guy who scrolled this board, saw a thread about georgians and armenians(you probably hate one of those), and started typing things because his beloved country is not mentioned. Pathetic
>>1129360
"Turkey has the best history"
I hope you are joking, Only tourists Turkey gets for cheap hotels and all included services, thats not much of a history, exluding Istambul and Black sea region(Trabzon), i would highly recommend that(i've been there)
"Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia"
In terms of biodiversity and landscape beauty i highly doubt Balkans can compete to Caucasus ecoregion
Serbia is a good spot if and only "if" you really into Balkan spirit, althought i heard that Bulgaria, Bosnia and Albania have some nice resorts
>>1128999
>Smelly, hairy, rude people
Have you been there? I have not been to Armenia, but Georgian people where really nice.
French
Speaking French did not help me here (I am French). Russian would have been more helpful.
Road
I rented a car. Note that the agency who gave me the car did not allow me to go everywhere. From what I remember, the road from Batumi to Tbilisi was not allow because it was not good. It was fine to go to Kazbehgi with that.
Otherwise, it is easy to travel by train and bus. Note that trains to Batumi may be full and you should book a little bit in advance.
Places to go
You can look into going to Abkhazia. In summer, there are many Russian. It requires a little bit of logistics as you cannot go by car (or it may be too complicated as a tourist). It is a funny experience. Sukhumi is interresting for some Urban exploration. Gagra made me feel likeI was in Phuket (pic related - it was taken in Gagra).
Concerning Tbilisi, I was expecting an ugly sovit-like town. I was very surprised to see that it was pretty well restorated with nice old stones.
Price
Pretty cheap.
I think this country is definitely underrated.
