Georgia Travel Answers

I travelled the other way round in June 2003. I left Tbilisi in the evening with the night train to Batumi, and arrived to Batumi in the morning. I guess there is a night train going the other way too, but I'm not sure. I stayed the day and a night in Batumi. The morning after I left for Turkey and in the afternoon I arrived to Trabzon. From the border I had to change bus twice. In Batumi I stayed at Hotel Sputnik. It is not in the centre of town, but on a hill outside. It is highly recommended though and it easy to take the marshrutka 126 from just outside the hotel to the town. The hotel is situated on a green hill and in the end of June there was a lot of Horthensias blooming. The rooms were clean with bathroom, TV and balcony. I can’t remember what I paid but it was not so much. In Tbilisi I stayed at Nasi's Homestay. It is a nice place, but doesn't have any privat rooms.

I'm writing this from Tbilisi, having just travelled from Istanbul a week ago :) From Trabzon, the best way to cross the border is to do it in stages...the direct bus has to wait for everyone to go through passport control and customs and stops at the border for a very long time. Take a local bus from Trabzon to Hopa (they leave nearly every hour, so you don't have to get up too early!)...it costs 13 YTL and takes around three hours. The bus conductor will ask you where you want to go in Hopa, so say "Sarpi" and he will stop the bus at the garage where shared taxis run to the border. Mine left immediately...it costs 3YTL each, although make sure the driver knows this is what you are going to pay before you get in...there should be others heading to the border as it is quite a busy crossing, so ask them how much they are paying. It takes about twenty minutes to get to the border. The border crossing is very easy...as long as you have your visa (get it in Istanbul, or Trabzon (the consulate is on the road heading down to the sea from Ataturk Square, look out for the flag (red cross on a white background, like the English flag but with four mini crosses in red in each corner!)...1 photo, 20 YTL, 5 minutes. Nobody asks for bribes, nobody searches your bags...it takes just five minutes. on the other side, there is a small kiosk where you can change Turkish Lira into Georgian Lari...the rate is bad (1YTL = 1 Lari), so change enough to get yourself to Batumi. There are supposed to be marshrutkas (minibuses), but I didn't see any and had to take a taxi. It cost me 9 Lari. If you don't know any georgian or Russian, the taxi drivers can all speak very good Turkish, as can many people in Batumi, although English speakers are few. Twenty minutes later, you will be in Batumi...I stayed at the Hotel Iliko, which has rooms with a bathroom for 25 or 30 Lari, without bathroom for 10 or 15. The hotel is really an extended family house, very clean and comfortable, and the owners are friendly. The hotel is on Gamsakhurdias Kuchas, which is one of the main streets of Batumi, but your taxi driver will probably know it anyway. From batumi to Tbilisi, buses leave early morning, but minibuses leave anytime...the road is VERY bad to begin with, partly because they are re-surfacing it and the whole road is ripped up, and partly because it was so bad in the first place! But after about an hour, it isn't so bad. The trip takes about six hours, and you will be dropped off on a busy street in the middle of nowhere in Tbilisi, so your only choice is to take a taxi to your hotel. I'm afraid I can't help with Tbilisi accommodation, as I am staying with friends. My hosts tell me that Svaneti is most definitely not safe for foreigners, and opinions about Tusheti seem to change daily...some say it is safe, others say it isn't. I'm trying to plan a trip to Khevsureti and Pshavi in the mountains, although my hosts are trying to put me off this idea...it is hard to tell if they really know if it is dangerous, or if they are just being over-protective. I have been to Kazbegi, despite their warnings of banditry and kidnapping, but had no such problems! You can ask around for a homestay when you arrive...people will probably guess you want somewhere to stay anyway! Kutaisi is a nice place, about halfway between Batumi and Tbilsi, so if you want to break the journey, you could spend a couple of days raound there visiting various monasteries in the mountains. I stayed with a woman called Lali Jalaghania four years ago (address on my page, and also in Lonely Planet guide I think)...she runs a homestay for 20 Lari per night including lots and lots of food :) Hope this helps, and have a fantastic time in Georgia! Regards from Tbilisi Maykal

hey maylkal I go to Turkey -- Tao Klarjeti, former Georgian Kingdom now the part of Turkey. I go there along with a bunch of people by a bus. Feel free to join us if you are interested... . The cost of the trip should make around USD 200 for 6 days.... You can find some details of my trip "Yusufel - Trips to Dortkilise, Tekakale and Barhal" - Yusufeli by rjaparidze "Barhal Church" - Barhal by rjaparidze Most of the people are english language speakers... And we depart on Firday. My tel is 899 730203 Cheers, R

Just a quıck update....the bıg news ıs that many natıonalıtıes don't need a vısa to vısıt Georgıa anymore...the EU, Israel and a few others...check before arrıvıng at the border, and ıt mıght be an ıdea to check at the consulate before you go too, as they mıght not be 100% sure of the new rules at the border. The other news ıs that there ıs supposedly a new ferry servıce between Batumı and Trabzon...the Kometa ıs supposed to have started thıs servıce three weeks ago. I wanted to ttake thıs boat back to Trabzon, but unfortunately people ın Batumı preferred to pretend ıt dıdn't exıst, even when I physıcally poınted to the boat. Mayube ıt ıs not for foreıgners, but that would be strange as thıs ıs part of a drıve to encourage more foreıgn tourısts to Georgıa! You mıght have more luck askıng for ınfo ın Trabzon. Safety...ı was unable to vısıt all the places I planned to... tushetı (because of bandıts and snow), Khevsuretı (too much snow on the pass), Pshavı (snow), Svanetı (unsafe for ındıvıduals, and tours very expensıve)...but I dıd go b ack to Kazbegı and spent a few days there wıth no problems. Also the area around Akhaltsıkhe (Vardzıa and Sapara) ıs very beautıful and well worth vısıtıng...there ıs also a border crossıng nearby to Turkey, at Posof. have a good trıp :)

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses. We have since had our trip to Georgia and it was wonderful. A beautiful country and a friendly and very hospitable people. We can only recommend it as a travel destination!! Thanks again, Glenda

The details on travel over the border from Turkey to Georgia are very useful. Has anyone used the smaller border crossings south of Sarpi? Has anyone tested that EU member states citizens(GB in our case) no longer need visas? Look forward to hearing more....We leave UK for Turkey on 20th August. Rona (UK)

details on travel over the border from Turkey to Georgia are very useful. anyone used the smaller border crossings south of Sarpi? Has anyone tested that EU member states citizens(GB in our case) no longer need visas? Look forward to hearing more....We leave UK for Turkey on 20th August. Rona (UK) Hi Rona, I've heard that EU citizens no longer need a visa, but to check, I suggest you contact either VT member caribou-ire or queevers_irl who have just come back from a trip to Georgia and Armenia travelling on EU passports :@P Do you mean the crossing between Posof and Vale? I haven't crossed it, but there are definitely buses which take this route....I saw a direct bus heading for the Turkish town of Ardahan, leaving from the bus station in Akhaltsikhe. I might be wrong, but I think the direct buses between İstanbul and Tbilisi also use this crossing, so there should be no problems for foreigners to cross there. Sarpi is convenient though, being close enough to Trabzon and Batumi allowing you to travel between the two cities in a few hours. Hope this helps :@P

Thanks for all this extra info - yes, I was meaning the Posof-Vale border. I have only just joined up on this VT site and have been checking out your country info - I'm so glad I found this forum before we leave for Turkey! Rona

I HAD a chance to cross this crsossing on two occassions. It is ok. I never experienced any problem. But I do not know anything on transportation. Every time I crossed I had my own vehicle. I also saw some busses heading for Turkey but I never asked from where they were coming and where they were going. Bear in Mind that unlike Sarpi the first settlement on Posof/Vale crossing is couple of kilometers away and I can not remember any mini vans or taxis there (though there may be). Besides take into account that before reaching Posof/Vale crossing you need to go several passess and the proximity on the map is quite misleading in terms of time spent. As EU citizen I am pretty positive you will not have any problem. I saw on the border that cusoms officials have a list of no-visa countries and they let the citizens go without problems. have a good trip r