Georgia
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You are currently reading a thread in /trv/ - Travel
You are currently reading a thread in /trv/ - Travel
Hey /trv/, im in Turkey right now but im planning on going to Georgia next month. Pretty much going there cause the scenery looks really nice. Anyway, for those who have been:
What did you do there?
How long were you there?
How did you get around?
What was the people like?
What are the prices like?
How would you rate the country?
Which country did you arrive from?
Also general Georgia thread
Been there for 3 weeks this summer
>Tbilisi is an interesting city, part of it is quite damaged due to an earthquake
>really friendly people, except at tourist traps (mostly the Tbilisi sulfur baths, you'll most likely get ripped off )
>have been to kazbegi, very nice little village, absolutely stunning scenery, great for hiking
>conversation in English will be possible in Tbilisi, in more rural parts Russian is really helpful
I'd give it a 7.5 at least, most likely if I had known Russian
Pic related : breakfast in the hostel I stayed in in kazbegi : the owner treated me like her son
>>1085072
this pie looks delicious and i dont even know that is it. Cheesepie?
>>1085079
on second thought maybe its just bread hahaha..i just remembered that bread there looks this way. Still good
I went to turkey/Georgia in 2014
Flew to trabzon, took minibuses to Batumi (great party city), took the morning train to tbilisi, stayed in the old city, ate a lot, hiked around a lot. Rented a 4x4 and drove around to mishteki and kazbegi, the road to kazbegi is unbelievable. All round top-tier country.
Stay away from Atlanta.
>>1085080
It is bread lol
But awesome bread
Went twice in 2014 while I lived in Turkey. Op, I recommend going through the Ardahan border if you are going to travel overland really stunning castle just 20mins from the border (pic related) and batumi is filled with fat Russians and Turks anyways.
I visited Tblisi, Telavi where I was treated to some unbelievable hospitality (A guy I met in a restaurant invited me to stay at his for 2 nights where his mom was basically cooking a feast non stop), and the Tusheti region where I did some good hiking (guy whose house I stayed at arranged and payed for the Jeep)
Overall I highly rate the country. Great food and drink, cheap and easy to get around and the people are top notch. You won't get any people whispering "yabanci" in fear.
>>1085208
Georgian hospitality.
>>1085208
Tusheti region. Road up is absolutely mental. My host handed me a two liter bottle filled with cha-cha (Georgian moonshine) and told me I'd know what to do with it when the time comes. The Jeep driver spoke Spanish for some reason and when we started going up the shitty mountain roads he told me it was time to start chugging. I ended up blacking out (you probably will too at some point during yiur time there, based Georgians) and woke up the next morning here where I watched the sun rise.
>>1085208
Second day of staying with my host. After sleeping our hangovers off, we went to his neighbor's house to play Georgia's national sport. His two neighbors had been distilling brandy for several years and were waiting for the right time to bust it out. Having a guest was so important to them and they treated me with the most respect (more than I deserve tbqh). Not memeing, but drinking and toast making especially are an important part of Georgian culture. OP, you better start planning your toasts now because they need to be at least 5 minutes long.
Just a side note, but the food is really fucking good there. Everything fresh and organic. I can remember biting in to a tomato and thinking to myself "this is what a tomato is supposed to taste like."
Thanks for reading my blog.
>>1085072
Cheers for the response. So if i understood it right Kazbegi is a national park right? So which little village are you talking about?
>>1085141
So Batumi for great parties? I do want to try the nightlife in Georgia. What are the girls like?
>>1085208
Fuck me that castle looks like something out of Age of Empires lol, do you have the name of it?
>>1085210
Where in Tusheti is this? Also lmao at the story
And thanks for all the valuable info, feel free to share more, Georgia sounds freaking wonderful.
>>1085353
No kazbegi is the village
The official name is stepantsminda but everyone knows it as kazbegi
From there you can also start tours to mt. Kazbek which is not that hard to climb as some Americans I met told me
>>1085368
>not that hard to climb as some Americans I met told me
those were canadians you idiot dont you remember? stahp yr lyin eddie.
>>1085353
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabati_Castle
Highly highly recommend going through this border other than the the batumi one. I became Facebook friends with one of the border guards and he constantly offers to find me a Georgian wife)))
>Where in Tusheti is this?
There are many picturesque fairytale villages in the region. This was the one most tourists arrive to and begin their trekks from. If I remember correctly it's called Omalo. Lots of picturesque homestays that were about $10 USD a night including food and a bottle of cha-cha.
>>1085246
This was my hosts' basement. Everything there that had been jarred was from his garden. Fry up some hotdogs and you've got yourself a meal son. Not everyone can afford to ear shashlyk every day.
>>1085538
Forgot pic, this place was called Dartlo. A two day hike from Omalo.
>>1085423
Nope those were 2 Americans serving the military. They even gave me a free lift back to Tbilisi
>>1085538
Why did I say picturesque twice? I sound like a faggot .
Been there twice, may go again this year.
>What did you do there?
Tbilisi - Kazbek - Juta - Batumi - Svaneti - Davit Gareji - Javakheti, probably more.
>How long were you there?
10 days and 23 days respectively.
>How did you get around?
Trains and minibus aka marshrutka. Metro in Tbilisi, taxi when I had to and didn't feel like walking or hitchhiking. Public transport is actually quite efficient.
>What was the people like?
Extremely friendly and hospitable - got drunk with random strangers about once a week.
>What are the prices like?
Compared to Western Europe: dirt cheap.
>How would you rate the country?
Very high, because no matter what you like, you can do it there.
>Which country did you arrive from?
Arrived by plane both times, flying over Istanbul and Kiev respectively.
>>1085368
>From there you can also start tours to mt. Kazbek which is not that hard to climb as some Americans I met told me
While it's not technically hard, the crevasses past the Bethlemi are dangerous because they're not always visible, and the Khmaura stonefall - let's just say I saw three people coming down with broken limbs.
But anyway, you're probably safe as long as you're not Polish, because the vast majority of people dying on the mountain are Poles.
>What did you do there?
I mostly stayed in Tbilisi and explored that city along with a friend I'd met traveling earlier in my trip. We got ourselves into a bit of trouble here and there, worked our way around some abandoned old building complexes, and went out drinking.
>How long were you there?
Between a week and week and a half.
>How did you get around?
Almost exclusively by walking.
>What was the people like?
Decent enough. I've heard a lot of people go crazy about "Georgian hospitality," but I found people just alright compared to Turks and and the folks in Iraqi Kurdistan. Of course, I didn't spend very much time in the countryside, so there's plenty I could have missed.
>What are the prices like?
Very cheap. Alcohol, food, and lodging were all quite inexpensive. Unfortunately, because I went in 2013, I can't remember enough to give you any specifics.
>How would you rate the country?
6-7/10. Definitely worth visiting and a place I'd like to go see again, but not so special that I'll make a detour just to be back in Georgia.
>Which country did you arrive from?
Turkey. Took a bus from Istanbul to Tbilisi.
>>1085625
>6-7/10. Definitely worth visiting and a place I'd like to go see again, but not so special that I'll make a detour just to be back in Georgia.
If you've only done Tbilisi, you're missing out on the best the country has to offer.
>>1085035
are you me? I am planning to go in march too from istanbul to trabzon then to batumi. wanna meet up?
>>1085626
I'm sure I missed out on plenty. Regardless, my experience in a limited geographical area leads me to say 6-7/10. I'm sure OP can read between the lines and figure out that other people posting in this thread have spent more time in more places in Georgia than did I.
>What did you do there?
Stayed based in Tbilisi, trips out to Mtskheta & Jvari; Gori & Uplistsikhe (photo) and Davit Gareji. Saw incredible historic sights (vespers in Jvari monastery on St George's day in late November, on a misty mountain just before the whole place closes down for the winter stays with me especially), ate amazing food, drank top quality wine, including from rams' horns.
>How long were you there?
Only a few days- four or five I think, it was winter (late November/early December). Crossed into Armenia for a few days and then came back to Tbilisi. Would gladly have spent longer and explored further, hopefully will do so before too long.
>How did you get around?
In Tbilisi, by metro (which is fine) and occasionally by minibus (which is not brilliant, but at least the bus stops in the city centre have good, up-to-the-minute electronic information in Georgian and English), and it's all cheap, and you can get a smartcard from metro stations to use. We travelled back from Gori by train (but I couldn't recommend that, certainly not without advance booking), and got to Gori from Tbilisi by shared taxi from the utter chaos that is the Didube bus station (seriously the most chaotic I've ever seen. Without speaking Russian or having a basic knowledge of the Georgian script you could easily be lost there.) Other places the amazing woman who ran our homestay in the centre of Tbilisi set us up with a driver who took us out for 150 USD a day. (this was 4 years ago, it might even be cheaper now). Tbilisi to Yerevan on marshrutka (minibus)
>What was the people like?
Reasonably friendly and welcoming to strangers. I think if I'd gone more off the beaten track/to smaller cities I'd have seen more of that.
>What are the prices like?
Dirt cheap
>How would you rate the country?
Highly. It's fascinating, romantic, turbulent, but also utterly chaotic and disorganised
>Which country did you arrive from?
From the UK via Istanbul on Pegasus Airlines
>>1085793
Cheers man. Are all the places you listed "daytrip" places?
>>1086964
You don't book marshrutkas. Just go to the place where they all are (for example a big market in Tbilisi (can't remember the name ))
Then you just ask people where the marshrutkas you look for are (mostly you just have to say the name of the place you wanna go to and they point you in the right direction )
As beautiful as Georgia is, don't underestimate how chaotic and unorganised it can be
>>1085072
>kazbegi
>nice
You must have been there in summer. I was there in march, and it was the epitome of sad sovjet village. On my way through the village I was attacked by at least 7 feral dogs with rabies and almost kicked by a donkey
still 8/10 would reccomend
>>1087448
Yeah been there in august
I know what you mean by sad soviet village, I noticed it too, especially on the outskirts of the village. As for the animals, all cows and pigs I saw walking the streets were pretty chill
>>1086964
It was an old watchtower that got turned into a little hotel thingy. Brekky included.
>>1086968
yes, all day trips, although you'd almost certainly need a driver for Davit Gareji, and probably Uplistsikhe and Jvari. Not essential for Gori or Mtskheta, but it would make things easier.
as regards marshrutkas, for internal or local transport no pre-booking. If you were going on an international one (eg Yerevan or Baku, or into Turkey), yes it'd be best to pre-book, at the bus station from which they leave (most likely Ortochali in Tbilisi, which is in the suburbs, not the central and chaotic Didube bus station that domestic marshrutkas leave from)
>>1086964
>marshrutkas
Basically, they are just minivans/shared taxis running a fixed route and fixed fare. Quality can vary, but almost universally you can expect to not have any personal space.
>>1087589
And be aware that the drivers are absolutely mental and probably drink off wine/chacha. Every one I have been on tried to over take traffic on a two lane highway, only to not have enough spac. Both the car we were trying to over tske and thr oncoming car ended up pulling over to the side to create a third lane at the last possible second.
There are also many guys standing around their personal cars near the bus station. Most of them are working as taxis and you can negotiate with them on a price. Try getting a Georgian friend to do this for you. It's nicer since you can get out for food, take pics, buy wine from the guy parked out on the highway, etc.
Georgian anon here
are you lads interested in hardcore and extreme hiking around Georgia?
I mean, what would you prefer comfort and sitting on your ass in cars or extreme and hard shit in the mountains
>>1087778
Too lazy for extreme shit but hiking is always better than sitting in cars.
Never met a Georgian though, what do you have to say about the country from a Georgians point of view?
>>1087778
I'm planning on hiking and camping wild this summer actually. I've hiked and basically slept in farmers fields in Europe but there isn't much wilderness here. Would you recommend Georgia for this comfyness?
I'm thinking about tying Georgia into a larger Caucasian trip. What kind of connections are there to Armenia and Azerbaijan? How easy is border-crossing (visas, international tensions etc)?
>>1088709
Easy, no problems at all, other than with Russia (not sure if foreigners are currently allowed to cross into Russia at Kazbegi-Verkhny Lars now, and Abkhazia and South Ossetia are also problematic). There are several marshrutka every day from Tbilisi to both Yerevan and Baku, and other than the ludicrous and expensive visa requirements for Azerbaijan (which you probably need to arrange in advance), there's no problems crossing those borders at all. In general Georgia has good relations with Azerbaijan and tolerable relations with Armenia, and in practice Tbilisi is the main place (other than Moscow, I guess), where Armenians and Azeris can meet and not kill each other. Armenia has abolished visa requirements for many westerners, but if you need one you should be able to buy one cheaply at the border
So what about Armenia then? Worth popping into? Might be worth considering while being in the region.
>>1088815
Yeah, it's worth seeing, and is surprisingly different to Georgia. I only spent time in Yerevan (which is a pleasant, but modern city, surely much more livable but much less wildly romantic than Tbilisi. Food and drink much less good, but decent cultural sites of various kind and agreeable easygoing atmosphere) and Etchmiadzin, the religious capital. (The landscapes are quite something, especially up near the Georgian border, while Mount Ararat looms over Yerevan and the south, sadly out of reach, like so many historic Armenian sites, now ruined and over the closed Turkish border). Possibly other things worth seeing in the countryside too, like monasteries, ancient churches and Lake Sevan
I'm going too in may... got tickets from Montreal at 625$ with Turkish airlines. I'm amazaed as prices usualy range from 900-1300$
For those who ent or kartuli bros, which neighborhood do you recommend in Tbilisi for 4-5 days stay?
Also, is there still a plane doing Tbilisi-Mestia 4 times a week and is it hard to get tickets.. the internet is a little obscure about it
>>1086975
You're probably thinking of Didube, the largest marshrutka station in Tbilisi. Crowded and appears very chaotic at first sight, but it never took me more than a few minutes to track down the marshrutka I needed. There's smaller stations too, one of them being behind the city's main railway station, which has services to Batumi and Zugdidi - but I'd recommend taking the train for both of them. There's Ortochali too, I think for international services - unsure.
Keep in mind that, when you're in smaller towns and villages, marhrutky will almost always leave early in the day, usually ~8-9am, and rarely after noon. The drivers like to be home for supper.
>>1087585
For Davit Gareji, you can now use the Davit Gareji line, 25GEL both ways, 4 hours on site (which is enough for some in-depth exploring), leaves daily from Pushkin Square, right next to Freedom Square/Tavisuplebis moedani. By far the cheapest and easiest option, but the driver drives like a true Georgian.
>>1087741
That's hardly fair, only one in three drives like a madman. The rest are at least moderately responsible drivers, depending on how much the like their car.
>>1088748
>(not sure if foreigners are currently allowed to cross into Russia at Kazbegi-Verkhny Lars now, and Abkhazia and South Ossetia are also problematic)
Foreigners are allowed to cross, you have to be in a vehicle, that's all. Abkhazia is easy from within Georgia, but entering from Russia don't travel on to Georgia proper, so have a multiple entry Russian visa. South Ossetia is still only accessible from Russia, border with Georgia is closed. Truth be told however, it's easy enough to actually blunder across the border while hiking off-trail, as long as border guards don't spot you.
>>1089984
Old town or nearby.
>>1089985
The plane's still flying, probably easier to book locally if it hasn't been fully booked by the time you arrive. Best alternative is a night train to Zugdidi, then immediately hop on a marshrutka to Mestia.
hii all
I've been reading over what you laughing at what you thought, and came to the conclusion ! have to invite you to visit me I live in Georgia I have a big house near Tbilisi. All interested persons are invited to visit free of course as far as possible :) for me the opportunity to meet new people make new friends And for you to see Georgia become familiar with the sights and cuisine. My name is Soso this is my email [email protected]
