Anyone ever been here (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan)? Does it live up to the hype?
>>2854178Been to Georgia. Was cool. Really beautiful places to explore, and dirt cheap wine.
>>2854178>Does it live up to the hype?Where is it hyped?
>>2854897In general whenever it's brought up. Everyone says it's a great hidden gem with tons of cool stuff to do that's also safe, cheap, and has few tourists (for now).Also the girls look hot
>>2854178Has anybody ever been to Adygea? Seems like such an odd place. IIRC its a pity state given to the remnants of the Circassians the Russians genocided from the region.
>>2854178I live in Azerbaijan. Its a cool place if you're tourist
>>2855341Any word on the land border opening up? I really want to go during my Georgia trip this summer, but because the only way in and out is flying, it just seems like too much of a hassle. They said the land border was supposed to open in 2026, but I've yet to see any news on the matter.
>>2855350You can leave Azerbaijan by land into Georgia. This isn't terrible, as there's some cheap flights into Baku.
>>2855352Oh that's good to hear, may actually change my plans. Is there reliable public transport from Baku to Tbilisi? Or perhaps from Ganja to Tbilisi?
>>2855429Never done it, so this is all theoretical. My guess is:>bus to AZ border>walk/taxi border>bus to Tbilisisome efags seem to have done it:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpXT8xs8kPwFrom video desc:>Azerbaijan side Balakan and Georgia Lagodekhi town.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEae6t2nvHs>Georgia border taking a bus from Sheki (bigger town than Balakan) to Lagodheki.Seems to be the main border people are doing.Taxis are usually dirt cheap in this part of the world.
Good thread, I have some questions also>How prevalent is English in Georgia & Azerbaijan?>Has anyone taken the ferry from Alat --> Aktau?>Is getting around city to city easy via bus in both Georgia and Azerbaijan?
>>2855435>Has anyone taken the ferry from Alat --> Aktau?Seen the bald and bankrupt video? Consensus seems to be that it's working but unreliable with no scheduled times, meaning your travel plans can be thrown 2-4 days out of sync if you're unlucky. It's a huge bottleneck in kino travel plans like traversing the silk road, imo.
>>2855439I have watched it yeah but I wanted some other anon's experiences. I have no travel time limit nor financial limit (for this period of travel) so I can take a few extra days if needed to wait for the ferry, I wanted to spend a few weeks in Kazakhstan afterwards but I am unsure how easy it is to get transportation from where the boat lands in Aktau. I like long travel adventures, I have taken a 2 day ferry on-foot before in the Faroe Islands
>>2855442Hope you manage to make it and write up about it. A Xian - Istanbul overland has been on my todolist for a very very long time.
Obligatory: how easy is it to get laid in this region?
How to take advantage of Georgia's wine culture, wine tastings, vineyard tours? what bottles do you guys recommend from this regiont. wine guy
Does anyone speak English in Georgia? Will ppl assume im Russian?t. western yuropoor
>>2855671Most young people speak English, just like any European country. A lot of the older generation knows Russian, but of all the former Soviet republics, Georgians probably hate Russians the most, so it's probably best not to open with Russian, not with the young people at least.
>>2856287>but of all the former Soviet republics, Georgians probably hate Russians the mostEven more than Ukrainians and Baltics do?
>>2856294Ukraine is fair, but Baltics just hate Putin.Georgians will actually look at you bad if you're Russian
Planning a trip to Georgia, Armenia, and Turkey this summer. About 17 days in total.Never been to this region before. Fluent in Russian and English. Flying out from US east coast. Any recommendations? Anyone from these areas or planning to be? Also, looking for a travel partner. I'm a single 34 year old man, half Armenian.Budgeting about $5-7k for the entire trip.
>>2860401discord: tfw.vlad
>>2860401What months?I'm planning a trip to Georgia + Armenia in late May>Budgeting about $5-7k for the entire tripEven with a 2 way flight from US, that sounds like a lot. I wanna go for about 10 days and was thinking 3K max would do fine
>>2855432>Taking your two little bleach blond white kids through active warzones and the biggest shitholes in South AsiaThose people are fucking nuts
>>2860401>>2862250Both of those amounts of money are way too much for your trip duration, what the fuck do you even plan on doing there? also I am to spend cash like a dickhead sometimes but you guys are loading up for ??? reason
>>2863072Honestly I was being generous and accounting for worst case scenario so I could I have a good cushion. My mindset for most trips to Europe is that it's about 1K for the flight tickets from where I'm from, then about 1K for 10 days of accommodation, then about 1K for all the miscellaneous stuff like food, museums, transport, partying, maybe a souvenir, etc. Yes you can obviously make it much cheaper, but overall this is the mindset I have for ensuring a cushion just in case. Realistically I'll spend much less, especially as a solo traveler in hostels.But then I realized just how cheap the Caucasus really are, at least in terms of accommodation, so I think under 2K overall is pretty doable
Does anyone know if staying at Fabrika hostel in Tbilisi is worth it? Seems to be all the hype and rage with a good location for meeting people, but uuugggghh I don't want to share a shower area, and I heard it's mostly nomads who are to busy working to socialize
>>2854178yes they are friendly people
Welp, so much for Georgia and Armenia being safe from the conflict
>>2868912I am going to Fridayon Wednesday, kek
>>2869000>>2868912Fucked that up majorly. I am going to Georgia on Friday***
>>2869001Where you going to? What you gonna do?
>>2869017Flying into Tbillisi (cooking class, wineries), Batumi (not sure what to do yet), Kazbegi for some hiking (snow depending, not sure how much there will be). That is all I have so far, I think I have 9 days or so. Any suggestions?
>>2854178Been to Georgia/Armenia, enjoyed my time with both of them. Went in early Summer. >live up to the hypeif anything they're underhyped, especially Armenia
>>2860401For Georgia/Armenia, if you like Wine definitely don't skip out on the wine areas. There are multiple regions that focus on it but I recommend Kakheti/Vayots Dzor
>>2855671General rule for caucasus is young = speaks English older = speaks Russian Also to everyone going to the Caucasus AVOID TAXIS AT THE AIRPORT YOU WILL GET SCAMMED USE YANDEX/GG PRO APPS FOR TRAVEL
>going to Azerbaijan in two weeks>go to e-visa portal to apply>due to holidays no visa processing done from 20.3. to 30.3.Well, fug. I'm forced to take the more expensive express option.
>>2869025Take a daytrip to Gori to see Stalin's birthplace.
Just got back from 9 days in Georgia, AMA
>>2872613Where you go?How crowded/touristy was it? Did you do any nightlife? Did you meet any chicks?
>>2872613Is Batumi still a big, never-ending construction site? I lived there for a couple of months back kn the day, looked pretty grim. Amazing nature tho
>>2872616I spent my time between Tbillisi and Batumi, just did day trips and hired vehicles to see stuff. Honestly it didn't seem like there were many tourists there I think the season still has not changed yet. I tried to go north to see the famous church but an avalanche blocked the road for 3 days.I met a chick in a cooking class and one thing led to another, the nightlife seemed insane desu super busy. I didn't actually go out as I am solo travelling and try to only drink in social situations but on the weekends the town was so busy it honestly looked like a great time and I wish I had a friend there to experience it with. I also went to Mtirala National park and it was beautiful there wasn't much snow there either as the altitude wasn't so high.>>2872621It didn't seem too bad, there was a little bit of construction (I am observant of these things as I work a construction related profession) things definitely needed upgrades though such as sidewalks etc, my general feeling was that the construction was the same as most other european places (every monument or great church I have ever seen ALWAYS has scaffold up lol) Yeah honestly the train ride from Tbillisi to Batumi is kino just watching the Caucasus mountains the whole ride.Will reply to this post with some pics from the trip
>>2872749Tbillisi-->Batumi train ride
>>2872758Makhuntseti waterfall
>>2872759Didn't mean for that to go sideways, this photo is somewhere in Tbillisi
>>2872760Somewhere on the way to Gergeti Trinity Church before the avalanche blocked me
>>2872762A random church on the way to Gergeti Trinity Church before the avalanche blocked me. There are heaps of hairy stray mountain dogs everywhere in Georgia, it is kind of nice because everyone is kind to them (including the locals) and they aren't mangey. This guy was definitely the ruler of these parts
>>2872763A random beach in Batumi, I will upload more photos if requested
>>2872749>I met a chick in a cooking class and one thing led to anotherwtf does that mean? Did you go out with her? How come you didn't experience the nightlife with her?
>>2872765We spent the night together, we got some vino and went back to hers (it was a week night) she was foreign. The women of Georgia are so good looking but it would be difficult without speaking the language IMOcows in Mtivala National Park
I have been five times now for archaeological work but also just for fun. Georgia is a lovely country>>2872616Different anon. I met women each trip, since online dating apps are great. Women can see you as someone to hook up with that won't have repercussions socially
any reason NOT to go to Georgia?
>>2872902russian chimpary is probably the main one
>>2872904are there that many ruskies hanging around Tbilisi? Are they violent like blacks?
>>2872906Yes, but I was talking more about the russian government chimping out (again).
>>2872910What's the likelihood of that? I thought that Russia already got what they wanted out of Georgia
>>2872916You asked for "any" reason not to go. russia chimping out is the main issue with Georgia. The chances that you encounter any problems if you go as a tourist for a week in 2026 are quite low, especially considering how tied up russia currently is in Ukraine. When you look at a longer timeline in Georgia however, especially considering putin's empirical ambitions, Georgia becomes less attractive. It could turn into a Belarus type situation where it's essentially a puppet state and then everything goes out the window (literally).>pic related, my neighbor's driveway in Tbilisi 2024
>>2872921Fair enough, i just am trying to weed out any reasons not to go. Anytime I look up "Should I go to [Place]" The answer online is usually Yes. I have not met many people who went to Georgia but one of them she told me it was her favorite place she's visited
>>2872923Many people love it. It's an interesting place, but it has issues (besides the russian threat). I work remotely and am always looking for a second home. I stayed in the nicer area of Tbilisi in two "good" airbnbs and lost power at least once in both of them over the course of 3 months. Only for a few hours, but that's enough to bug me. I also hated the grocery stores. I found myself having to buy groceries at a convenience store, a fruit and vegetable store, and a meat store because supermarkets were almost non-existent and the ones that did exist were not consistent or reliable (at least when I did my shopping). I'm sure it was a good bargain in the 2010s, but that's not the case anymore. There was an influx of russians after 2022 (from my understanding) that drove up prices and now it's more expensive than many (or maybe most) parts of SE Asia. It's definitely not an expensive destination by any means, but it's also not a great deal, at least imo. Armenia might be better, but I've heard Yerevan is getting shittied up as well
>>2872931Yes... the Ukrainian situation fucked both real estate and really most other prices. I've heard that pre-2020 it was near perfect... cheap, etc. There is so much development happening its unhinged.
>>2855435Hipsters/ppl in bars in Tbilisi will speak English. Don't count on it otherwise.In Georgia they have minivans converted into buses. These go between large cities every hour or even more frequently. You might need something for car sickness if you ride on them.I really recommend Kazbegi, Shatili and the Svaneti capital. Bring sausages to make friends with dogs. Tbilisi is also good.
>>2854178>Does it live up to the hype?What hype? I wouldn't want to set foot in any one of those shithole countries
>>2872916Russia never stops wanting more. There is no such thing as "they got what they wanted so they will stop" in russian mentality. They will continue to chimp out until subdued by superior forces.
>>2873070This.>>2873171>superior forcesLike what?
>>2873070By what measure are they shitholes? You must be the Parisfaggot who pans every other destination in the world as an obscure shithole.>>2873171Like China the Russians desire a sphere of influence extending beyond their land borders. But at least they don't expect their sphere of influence to extend over the entire planet like the USA does.
>>2873332>the Russians desire a sphere of influence extending beyond their land bordersThey had their chance and it failed catastrophically. Even post-USSR, their attempts have been nothing short of a disaster, with China taking the lead now.
If I go here, will I get murdered and die? Or are they pretty cool?
>>2874384Only if you go near Russian occupied areas
>>2874395Which areas are Russian controlled?
>>2874421South ossettia and Abkhazia
