Visit to Georgia

Hello all,

I%26#39;m currently planning a visit to Tbilisi for a football match in September. I must admit that im slightly nervous about the prospect as it will be very different from anywhere i%26#39;ve been before, plus i will be most likely travelling alone. I have flights booked but i%26#39;m yet to choose a hotel, which i should probably try and do as soon as possible. I need somewhere safe, affordable and convient for the sights etc. Any advice for this or about Tbilisi in general would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.

Visit to Georgia

Hi,

I was in Tbilisi in October with my wife, for the Scotland match. Like you, we were a little apprehensive, especially with the gutter press here such as The Sun and The Daily Record (that would be the Mirror in England) running numerous stories of imminent hostage-taking and rape. What a load of piffle.

Our new friend (C_B from here) reassured us and helped us when we arrived. He%26#39;s a smashing fella!

As for Tbilisi, its a fantastic place, and the people are wonderful.

We stayed at the Marriot Courtyard. It was really good, and in a very convenient location. I will admit it was at the pricier end of the market. We were considering other hotels such as the Ambassadori and the Primavera, but in the end I%26#39;m happy we spent the extra, esprcially as we were there for a full week.

I%26#39;m sure C_B will be around to help you more than me, but if I can give you any first hand experience as a visitor, I%26#39;d be glad to help.

Finally, dont worry and look forward to it. You%26#39;ve love it!!

Alex

Incidentally, what%26#39;s the match?

Visit to Georgia

Alex,

Thanks for your reply, thats just the reassurance i was hoping for! I%26#39;m glad to hear you and your wife had a good time in Georgia, shame about the result, mind! The Marriot Courtyard looks fantastic but in all honesty it is a bit more than i%26#39;d like to spend if i do end up travelling alone and dont have anyone to share the bill with me. I dont suppose you happened to notice any other hotels in convenient locations during your time there?

I%26#39;ll be there to watch the Republic of Ireland kick off our World Cup qualifying campaign. The match in Tbilisi is on the first Saturday in September before a trek accross Europe to Montenegro for another game the following Wednesday!

Thanks again for your advice, i%26#39;ll make sure to keep a look out on here for your friend C_B.

Steve

Steve, I should have known it was the ROI playing. We%26#39;ve got a double header at that time as well. While you%26#39;re in Tbilisi, we%26#39;ll be in Macedonia then off to Iceland for the Wednesday.

I%26#39;ve just had a wee thought. Why not have a look at the Tartan Army Message Board? You%26#39;ll find loads of threads and info about Tbilisi (albeit now under the ';archive'; section). I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll get a lot of good stuff there, in amongst the drunken tales of exploits! ;-)

I cant think of many hotels just now, but book early. There were about 2000 Tartan Army footsoldiers there, and some were struggling for accommodation.

The local press had a great time, bemused, in a nice way, at the ';men in dresses';!

I%26#39;ll give you more information later about the bars, etc. Yes, we did visit a few, lol!!

Thanks again for the advice Alex, i%26#39;m cureently trawling through the info on the Tartan Army Message Board. It seems not one of the TA has a bad word to say about the place, which has really put my mind at ease!

Steve, I hope you are now totally reassured. Tbilisi is a cracking place, and dont be afraid to %26#39;wander%26#39; out of the city.

There are other practical tips. Offer no more that seven Lari for any city taxi journey (the taxi drivers are just as friendly as anyone else there), visit the Hangar Bar (say hello to Rebecca, the owner, and you%26#39;ll probably meet C_B as well), and try the local food, although perhaps not as adventurously as me!! Dont ask.

After the game, you are ushered to an area outside the stadium. Hmm, what%26#39;s next, we wondered? Well, all of a sudden, fleets of yellow buses showed up and took us all back to the city centre, applauded by the locals on the way. Fantastic hospitality.

This brings back so many good memories. There will be more to come.

Good luck with the qualifier, and I hope to see you in South Africa in 2010.

Hello Surrey Irish on Tour!!

How you doing Mr Sporran???

Surrey Irish on Tour, all I can say is book up for Tbilisi because it will be the best trip you have this year

Myself and one of my mates went for a week and we had a brilliant time, the Georgia v Scotland game was played on a Wednesday and we went out on the Friday before because we wanted to see a bit of Georgia not just Tbilisi

We heard all these horror stories before we went over warning us not to wear our kilts because taxi drivers would try and kidnap you and people might try and rob you in the street, all I can say is that it’s the biggest load of rubbish I have ever heard!!

The Georgians are amazing people; they are a very proud nation, they couldn’t do enough to help us, everything from people in the street wanting to talk to you to people in shops/bars coming out to say hello, the taxi drivers themselves were sound and we never got over charged once by any of them

At first we were booked into a hotel called Hotel Kala this was located in the old part of Tbilisi http://hotelkala.caucasus.net/

The week we were due to fly out they got in touch with us saying they had to shift us to their sister hotel called Hotel Gorda because guests that they had were wanting to stay longer, the Gorda isn’t as nice as the Kala, it was more like a Hostel but it was still in a central location and the staff were friendly and really helpful http://www.hotels.ltd.ge/

We arranged for an airport transfer through the hotel which I would recommend you to do if the hotel you stay in can arrange that, when they met us at the airport the owner of the hotel and one of the receptionists were waiting for us with a sign with my name on it, myself and my mate were a bit worse for wear after travelling/drinking all day but we soon livened up when we saw them and we had a good laugh

When we were at the airport the receptionist then told us that there were no rooms in the Gorda hotel, I started thinking……. Here we go chaos already!

They had arranged for us to stay for 2 nights in a guest house in an area called Saburtalo, I would avoid staying up in Saburtalo because it is too far away from the centre and we got lost on the way home both nights, even the taxi drivers couldn’t find our guest house

By the time we left the airport it was going on 5am, the people then decided to give us a guided tour and history lesson round Tbilisi!!

They took us up to Narikhala Fortress and Metekhi church and through the streets of the old town and up Rustavelli Avenue, it was superb and a really nice thing of them to do

When we were leaving Tbilisi they told us that the hotel Kala was getting done up and the name was going to change so I don’t know if the email address’s/contact details will be the same

I would recommend staying at the Kala and the Gorda, both were reasonably priced and clean as well

To get a better feel of Georgia and if you have the time I would recommend trying a day trip somewhere

We went to the Davit Gareja monasteries and a place called Mtskheta which is the ancient capital of Georgia, both were great days out

As you know yourself Scotland’s game against the Georgians was a disaster, the Georgian’s were extremely happy and it was mental after the game, people were driving down the streets in their cars beeping the horns, waving flags and hanging out of the windows and sun roofs!

After the game it was very well policed, all the Scotland fans were put onto buses which dropped you off on Rustavelli Avenue

I would thoroughly recommend Tbilisi and I wouldn’t have any worries at all about going

If the Scots were made to feel welcome in Tbilisi you can rest assured the Irish will be as well!!!!

Good luck for the match and campaign and hopefully we’ll see you in South Africa!!!

Cheers

Lucas

p.s.

It’s very heard but try and learn a bit of the Georgian language and the Georgians will love you for it, we learned a good bit and they really appreciate you trying to speak their language

All the best!!!

Lucas, thanks for the reply. Your and Alex%26#39;s advice has really put my mind at ease, its great to hear first hand experience from fellow fans who have recently been there. I%26#39;m currently looking at a few hotels and i will definitely consider both the Kala and the Gorda on your recommendation.

I just hope the Irish receive the same hospility afforded to the Tartan Army so that I come home with memories as fond as yours and, hopefully, 6 points from our away double header!

Thanks again for your advice and reasurrance. Best of luck for your campaign, it would be great to meet the TA in South Africa.

Cheers

Steve

I was also in Tbilisi for the Scotland game and echo the comments above.

The hotel that I stayed in (for about 8 hrs total over two nights!) was Villa Mtiebi. It was a great small hotel and very close to the hanger bar. The price was 85 euros per night in a double room and they have a small single for 70 euros, I think.

How are you going to get to Montenegro from Tbilisi?

Cheers for the advice mac.

I%26#39;m on a flight from Tbilisi to Vienna with a connecting flight on to Dubrovnik in Croatia. Montenegro is then only a short journey accross the border. Its going to be a tiring week alright, but it will all be worth it if we can pick up six points!