Georgia huh? Did you go to Savannah?

Not that Georgia!

This is not where we went!

The Republic of Georgia is a former Soviet republic south of Russia on the Black Sea.

Why go there?

Because of our school schedule, the holiday of Eid fell right as we get back from the summer this year.  As a result, we had a week and a half of teacher work days and a week and a half holiday to start the school year.

When deciding where to go we had 3 criteria:

1. Cooler and greener than Saudi Arabia (not that difficult)

2. Short-ish flight time

3. Few Connections.

Georgia seemed to tick all of these boxes.  We had an hour flight to Dubai and a three-and-a-half hour flight to Tbilisi.  We weren’t the only ones that had this thought, and about 5 different families from school decided to go to Georgia as well!

Whenever we travel, we prefer using the Bradt Travel Guide Series.  We find that these have better maps; a more in-depth history; and more pertinent information than other guidebooks.

The Flights

When booking the flight, we looked at ease and cost.  We decided to take FlyDubai.  FlyDubai is a low-cost airline carrier that is associated with Emirates airlines.  If you are looking for a reference, think Spirit or Easyjet.  When looking at low-cost airlines, you kind of “get what you pay for.”

The flights themselves were fairly uneventful.  The planes weren’t too bad and the seats were fairly comfortable.  We had a pretty major delay in Dubai arriving, but I am not sure how much the airline was at fault.

The biggest problem with FlyDubai is that they fly in and out of Terminal 2 in Dubai.  Terminal 2 is another world! It is cramped and overcrowded, and many flights seem to go to horrible places or ones that we never heard of! (and we are fairly experienced travelers) While waiting for our delayed flight, we saw planes departing to Baghdad and Kabul.

Will we use FlyDubai again? Maybe.  I think a lot of it depends on what the alternatives are and how much of a price difference it is.

Tbilisi

We bookended our trip with a stay in the capital city, Tbilisi. Tbilisi is a city of 4 million inhabitants with the river Mtkvari River flowing through it.

Because of our 3 hour delay flying out of Dubai, we had a bit of emergency planning for our first night.  Since our new arrival time was around 3am, our Airbnb host would not be available to meet us with the key (completely understandable).  Luckily, since we have the IHG Rewards Club Visa, we were able to book the Holiday Inn – Tbilisi last minute and gain some points in the process.

Interesting aside, McDonald’s in Georgia do not serve breakfast food.  There was one next to the hotel, and we were too tired to get anything else the next morning.  A breakfast of Chicken McNuggets and fries was a welcome sight for Simon!

The next day we moved into our first Airbnb.  It was ideally located in the heart of Old Tbilisi.  When traveling, especially in large cities, we like to book an Airbnb when we can.  Especially traveling with children, it is so much nicer to have a kitchen, living room, and separate bedrooms.  It is also much cheaper than staying in a cramped hotel room.

After returning from our adventures around the country, we ended back in Tbilisi for another 3 nights.  While our second Airbnb wasn’t as well situated as the previous one (farther from old Tbilisi), it was comfortable and in more of a residential area.  It also had a nice little playground at the bottom of the hill!  The best part about staying in this location was that it was right down the street from a restaurant called Shavi Lomi.  This restaurant takes traditional Georgian cuisine a gives it a modern flair.  It doesn’t seem like much from the outside but then there is a tranquil garden for outside seating when open the outside gate.  The Chicken Satsivi (walnut sauce) was divine!  They also have their own craft beer!

Impressions of Tbilisi

We really enjoyed our time in Tbilisi.  The ‘Old Tbilisi’ area is very walkable with cobblestoned streets and loads of cafes and shops.  We found many pedestrianized areas dotted around all over the city.

While only using it once, the Metro was easily navigatable and cheap! We had a difficulty driving out of the city due to construction, so this is a city where you don’t really need to own a car.

I always seem to like cities that have a river running through it.  For some reason, it seems more picturesque.  The area near Europe Square and Meteki Church is especially picturesque.  Old Tbilisi flows into this area and there quite a few churches and other interesting places to visit.  From Europe Square, you can also take a funicular (cable car) up to the botanical gardens and Narikala fortress.  We decided to skip that as the car seemed overly packed and we thought that Simon wouldn’t like that too much.

Tbilisi also has a strange-looking pedestrianized bridge called the Bridge of Peace.  The locals have nick-named the bridge the “Always Ultra” bridge because it looks like a maxi-pad!

Another highlight of our time in Tbilisi was the Dry Bridge Market.  Although we visited early in the morning, it was still full of vendors selling all times of randomness – from household goods to antiques to art to kitschy Soviet-era memorabilia.  You can even by apartments at the Dry Bridge.

We weren’t able to see everything we wanted to (traveling with a toddler and the need to take it slow was a priority).  Nevertheless, we enjoyed our time immensely.  Tbilisi had a cool vibe and nice café culture.

Borjomi and Rabati

Our first excursion outside of the capital was a trip to the spa town of Borjomi.  The town is famous for its natural mineral water, which is one of Georgia’s largest exports.  While there, we stayed at the Crowne Plaza, Borjomi.

Overall, Borjomi was one of our favorite spots in Georgia.  Nestled within a gorge carved by the Kura river and surrounded by the Trialeti and Meskheti mountain ranges, Borjomi is green, tranquil, and peaceful.  I suppose that is why it is famous as a spa town from the times of the tsar!

I think one of the reasons why we enjoyed Borjomi so much was Crowne Plaza itself.  Because we have IHG Platinum status by having the Mastercard, we were treated like royalty.  We not only got free bonus points when we arrived, but we also got a free bottle of Georgian wine and access to the member’s lounge (for free food and snacks at any time.  We stayed in a duplex suite with a lovely view from the balcony.

Staying at the Crowne Plaza also gave us free admission to the Borjomi Central Park (the main attraction here) Here you can get a free sample of the famous water (locals take large jugs every day) or even take a dip in the mineral water. (Don’t worry, they process it before bottling!)

Within the park, they also had a creepy, post-Soviet dystopian children’s theme park called “Fairy Land” It seems right out of Panem.  Sufficed to say, we didn’t let Simon ride any of the extremely unsafe-looking rides.

Rabati Castle

While in Borjomi, we took a side trip about an hour Southwest to the town of Akhaltsikhe to take a look at Rabati Castle.  As old as the 9th century, most of the buildings are from the 17th century and built by the Ottomans.

The complex has been completely restored (not without controversy) and includes a mosque, church, and even a hotel. Overall, it was worth a few hours of exploration.

Kazbegi

Our other major excursion outside of the capital was towards the Russian Border along a road called the Georgian Military Highway. This was a fun driving experience (although I am not sure that Lindsey agreed). This road reaches 7,815 feet at its highest (near the ski resort town of Gudauri, where a ski lift went haywire once!)

The major reason for this excursion was the town of Stepantsminda, more commonly referred to as Kazbegi. The most famous attraction is the Gergeti Trinity Church.  This 14th-century church probably sits in one of the most breath-taking spots imaginable.  The road up to the church required local knowledge and a good 4×4! You can make a 2-hour hike up to the church (though not recommended for young children)

I will let the pictures speak for themselves. What a magical place.

Equally magical was the hotel that we stayed at, the Rooms Hotel Kazbegi.  This was really one of the only options available that was a Western-standard hotel.  It was worth the price.  The view from the terrace was unbelievable!  On a side note, it is also part of the SPG family, so I was able to get points! Score!

Overall Thoughts of Georgia

It is no wonder that Lonely Planet named Georgia one of the top 10 countries to visit in 2018.  There was something special about our trip.

Since the war with Russia in 2008, Georgia has increasingly turned to tourism to help boost its economy.  Georgia seems to be a well-kept secret until very recently.  It seems that Georgia is at a crossroads.  We noticed signs of tourism but still a lack of infrastructure in places.  To us, that makes Georgia the perfect place to go (away from maddening crowds).  It was such a great vibe!

Perhaps the thing that stands out the most is the people.  Their friendliness, openness and the pride they have for their country is astonishing.  They welcome you with open arms and want to show you the best of their country.

This trip for us was more relaxation than sight-seeing.  As a result, there is still so much of Georgia that we want to see, including:

The cave monastery of Vardzia,

Gori (Stalin’s birthplace)

Sighnaghi and the wine region.

Coupled with the fact that Armenia looks like an interesting country to visit, this means that eventually, we will make it back to the magical Caucasus region.