We've got five days coming in Georgia. We'd like to see the wine country in Kakheti, go to Batumi or maybe go north to the Caucasus mtns.
If anyone has a proven plan of action I'd love to hear your ideas.
Our two youngest are with us, so that's a consideration.
Replies
I do not know Max other than Tim mentioning his blog, no idea if he is selling trips.
Tim is a TCC board member and he and I have previously kicked around ideas for getting more interaction among TCC members such as getting the word out more on this forum. That is the discussion he referenced. I am not selling trips and I do not know that Tim is, either.
Janice S. Lintz said:
I guess it depends how much time you have. But definitely a couple of days for Tbilisi, and do Gori & Mksheta in one day from there. You can spend a couple of days with 1 or 2 overnights to explore Sighnaghi & Telavi. Make time to go north to the mountains if you are visiting in Summer months - unfortunately there was heavy snow towards December so I had to skip that, but I would go back there. If I had more time I would have liked to visit the cave monasteries in the south.
(I also travelled to Sukhumi in Abkhazia - but that is a rather surreal experience)
Batumi is ok, it's quite a developed touristy City, but just not a place to prioritise as there's not that much to see save for taking the cable car for views. For myself it was a useful stopover on the way to Turkey though.
Adrienne
Tim, absolutely, TCC is a club that attracts loners and introverts who occasionally want the company of other humans! :)
Hi Stefan,
I believe there are many opportunities ahead of us that we are not realizing the full potential of. I sent a friend request through the Forum to have more in depth conversations about this with you (or you can send me an email).
As for Max? I only know this about him as he is in my Western Canada chapter.
Tim
Tim,
It would be nice to have a reference of members with active websites, this is the first I have heard of Max and when the current post is St Helena, he has my attention!
Stefan
Hi Scot,
Max Johnson is a TCC member out of Winnipeg and regards Georgia as his favourite place on earth. He travels there several times per year and has travel info on his blog: http://www.maxglobetrotter.com
I'm sure you can find some great info on his blog.
Regards,
Tim
Ha...as fortune would have it, we literally got back from the trip that included Georgia about an hour ago. Tbilisi was indeed VERY Euro feeling, but out in the rural areas it still felt like the rural Soviet Union. The wine country was amazing. Our mileage varied a bit with the cab drivers as we found them more than reasonable, perhaps if only because cab rides were so unbelievably cheap there to begin with.
Georgia is a very interesting country. I stayed in Tbilisi then ventured around the city.Quite the European feel in the region. A city called Mtsketa near Tbilisi I found to be interesting, afterwards heading to Gori where I had the dubvious privledge of seeing the embalmed body of Josef Stalin whom was Georgian not Russian as many think. Venturing to the Three Caucasus Countries was quite interesting all are different. Be wary of Georgian Taxi Drivers as they are notorious for trying to ''Jip'' foreigners all the time.
This is great, thanks Adrienne. Any particular reason Sighnagi is better than Telavi? Our fave Georgian wine happens to come from Telavi, so I'm bummed!
Hi. I was in Georgia in November/December and travelled around mostly with public transport. From Tbilisi there are various different hubs you can go to for catching taxis and mini-buses north, south, east etc. Private taxis are very easy to arrange, and you can haggle for a good price. However the quality of the car is highly variable. Most drivers think nothing of smoking cigarettes, talking on their phones while driving and don't have seatbelts - so with a young family it might not be preferable. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the local buses in the eastern part of the country - mostly new mini-buses plying the routes from Tbilisi to Kakheti, and extremely cheap fares.
Alternatively you can easily arrange a private guide with better quality vehicles in Tbilisi - they hang around major tourist sites, or through your hotel.
Major cities such as Batumi are on the railway line. You have to register first, but you can search and purchase tickets on line at the official website (also in English) http://tickets.railway.ge/login.aspx?lang=en-US
There were also English-speaking staff at the main station ticket office in Tbilisi. Don't expect that elsewhere though. I found the trains, though infrequent, to be perfectly fine.
If you only have 5 days you'll want 2 days in Tbilisi, a day or so in the Kakheti wine area (my friends advised me, if you have to choose one or other: go for Sighnagi over Telavi), Gori & Mksheta is an easy day trip (I took the train to Gori, then a taxi to Mksheta and a local bus back to Tbilisi) and the mountains in the north are worth time as they are beautiful. Personally, with limited time, I don't think its really worth going to Batumi - its not as interesting as other locations, and would be an all day or overnight train trip from Tbilisi to reach there and eat into your time.