Because there were no optional excursions I will not spoil people's enjoyment as all are mentioned in the brochure. I never heard anyone say "That was a waste of time". The group size at 29 was manageable and only once did the ladies have to commandeer the gents toilets.

Travel Arrangements.

Airline.  I would strongly suggest that you have a good meal at Gatwick before you fly as the next decent food you will get will be breakfast in Tblisi. The food on Georgian Airways was the worst airline food I have ever tasted. It was little better on the return journey. Therefore sensible to buy some food in Tblisi, as the plane is the last to land that night at Gatwick North and the airport is virtually closed, especially if you are travelling on that night.

Coach.  Very comfortable and modern with an excellent driver. We were allowed to act as grown ups without seat allocation (We could be winning the battle here Bob) and this worked well.

Hotels.

2 very good hotels and the other more than adequate. No tea/coffee facilities in any although there was a kettle and cup in one. Not all rooms in the Tskhaltubo Spa had a safe. Porterage had to be paid for in both the Marco Polo and Tskhaltubo Spa hotels.

Food.

Food in all the hotels was served buffet style and of a good standard and enough choice to satisfy most people. Gluten free food did not seem to be a problem. During the course of the trip we had 3 Georgian style meals in different venues, these were especially good and different to what we are used to.

Itinerary.

All morning starts were at 9 o'clock, probably due to the fact Georgians start work at 9 or 10 and finish at 6 or 7) however this made for some long days travelling/sightseeing of up to 11.5 hours and in one instance having to find somewhere to eat on the return to the hotel.

On the first day the visit to the Synagogue could not be fitted in possibly due to tiredness/excessive heat. We did manage to visit on the last day but as it was a Saturday could not enter and so did not see the intricate floral designs and Hebrew details.

The excursion to the Kakheti region had to be curtailed as we did not have time to spend the evening in Sighnaghi.

On day 5 we did not get to the UNESCO listed expansive cave town of Uplistsikhe as the police had closed the road (we never found out why) so we visited the Stalin museum, a very interesting experience. A good idea on this day to save time at lunchtime (not an included meal) was to call at a restaurant and give our orders before the visit to the Stalin statue and return in half an hour to the prepared food.

Caves of Prometheus. Although the TM said it would be wet, muddy and rough ground don't let it worry you. Although there are 800 steps in total (not all at one go) they are of an even depth and height with a smooth concrete pathway throughout which is adequately lit.

Local Guide/Driver/TM

We had Oleg who was brilliant and a fountain of knowledge without overloading us, our driver Didi who spoke no English was helpful and did a marvellous job and they were supported by a competent TM Lezlie.

A holiday well worth doing before the country becomes too commercialised.

If I've left anything out or anyone disagrees please comment or if you've any questions please ask.

Thanks very much for your review. I'm glad you had a good trip and thanks for the useful feedback, I've passed it to our holiday team so they can continue to improve this tour.

Would you have any photos from your trip which you'd be happy to share with us? And were there any stand out experiences for you that really made the trip?

Thanks,

Vickie

Hope you are well.  Thanks for the very useful review ahead of my trip in September.  Hopefully the glitches that can be attended to will be ironed out by then - obviously some of them can't be forecast and there is always an element of as you say visiting a country not yet accustomed to tourism which is part of the attraction for me.

I will be interested to hear from anyone who did the Armenia add on.

Regards

Chris

One thing I forgot to mention was that there was little free time unless you were doing the Armenia add on when most of Saturday afternoon and evening are free.

Thank you for writing your review which is a great summary of the tour.

It was nice to meet you and the rest of the group.

As mentioned during the tour I am going to add my thoughts about the holiday. To start with I thought that Oleg the local guide was outstanding with his knowledge and his fantastic command of English. 

This interesting new tour which I thoroughly enjoyed did have a certain amount of strenuous walking including up and down hills, up and down steps. So pleased that I had a walking stick with me. The friend who I travelled with did say though had she realized about all the walking, she would not have booked the tour, as she has knee problems. She took the day off when we went to the canyon and  enjoyed the facilities of our spa hotel. When reading the itinerary of the tour the mention of gorges, canyons and mountains should really give one a clue about the terrain.

Money. I think we all exchanged some money on arrival at the airport. Enroute Oleg  advised us where banks and ATMs were. Hardly any shops selling souvenirs, Georgia isn't geared up yet for hordes of tourists. No postcards but of course you could buy the staple JY souvenirs, fridge magnets. So not much spending money required at all-just for drinks and a few snacks.

Weather. Really hot the day we arrived. it then cooled down to about 22 degrees, just right for sightseeing.. I expected a lot of rain and thunderstorms, but we were fortunate and didn't have much of either. However, whilst travelling in the High Caucasus views of stunning scenery were hampered by low clouds and rain.  apparently in the summer temperatures can be higher than 40 degrees.

Caves of Prometheus. Yes, when we were told that they would be wet and muddy with rough terrain and to take a torch if we had one, I almost backed out of going. 4 or 5 people didn't bother going. I was glad that I went in them, they even had hand rails, albeit wet ones, in many parts. At the end we could either walk out of the caves or take a boat, which cost about 15 Lari extra. About 12 of us took the boat and I would recommend it because not only did we see more of the cave system but it was fun.

Armenia add-on. I didn't do this either and I don't know whether anyone else on the tour uses the Forum.

Kind Regards

Di

Regards

Jaya

It is obvious that I need a proof reader. Under the entry about the coach this should read 'seat rotation' not 'allocation'.

One thing I forgot to mention was that there was little free time unless you were doing the Armenia add on when most of Saturday afternoon and evening are free.

Glad I'm not the only one who finds the seat rotation spiel from the TM unnecessary and imo patronizing!

Thanks for your very helpful reviews. They make my forthcoming trip on 22nd even more exciting and I have a better idea of what to take. Can I just ask if you exchanged sterling or $US ? My local travel agent seemed to think sterling was not as welcome as the dollar.

I am doing the Armenian add-on so will endeavour to write a review on my return next month.

Best wishes, Joany

Hi Di and Roger,

Thanks for your very helpful reviews. They make my forthcoming trip on 22nd even more exciting and I have a better idea of what to take. Can I just ask if you exchanged sterling or $US ? My local travel agent seemed to think sterling was not as welcome as the dollar.

I am doing the Armenian add-on so will endeavour to write a review on my return next month.

Best wishes, Joany

Hi Joany,

I exchanged both sterling and US$ and the rates were compatible. No problem in changing either currency.

Have a good trip, I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Regards,

Roger

I didn't have any problems at all changing sterling at Tbilisi airport and on return I changed £100 worth of Lari back to sterling. I had taken Euros as well, but didn't need them, and my credit card for back up.

One other thing, if you aren't taking a scarf with you, it might be an idea to do so. Women have to cover their shoulders and heads in all monasteries./ churches and there are a lot of them. Surprizingly, although us ladies were wearing long trousers, we were told that we still had to put a skirt/ sarong on.These were always provided.

I did see ladies, not in our group though, not wearing them. Strange!

Have a lovely holiday and I look forward to hearing about Armenia.

Kind Regards

Di

Just wanted to put the other side of the coin!

At the risk of hijacking Roger's excellent review and the comments from other travellers on this tour.  The point you make about seat rotation are valid but some people cannot travel at the rear of the coach and equally some (me) cannot travel at the front.  There is also the desire to be treated like adults and not as if we are on a school trip. Most tours I have been on (14) managed perfectly well without compulsory rotation and if anyone is seriously bothered they can speak to the TM

Regards

Not sure what the problem is with seat rotation.  I enjoy meeting different people on the coaches.  It saves the front seat ‘hogger’ the effort of being first on the coach everyday.  People don’t become ‘stuck’ with someone they don’t want to be with.  It stops people saving seats for those with whom they have become friendly.  Also some travellers would be too self conscious to deliberately sit with a stranger so could spend all the coach trips sitting alone. 

Just wanted to put the other side of the coin!

It depends on which type of rotation is used. The main one I've come across ends up with you sitting by the same person everyday just moving either one row forward or back. You therefore always have the same people infront or behind you and does not facilitate chatting to other people. Also does not cater for people who feel travel sick in certain sections of the coach. There are always ways to deal with a front seat 'hogger' although I must say on all my trips people have been most sensible. However one TM on a TS tour compiled a list every night taking into account peoples preferences a sterling effort on her part and this worked well. But this was a one off. 

Regards,

Roger

Just to say another thank you for all your useful tips and info.  Should be good. 

Happy Adventures !!

Joany

Cindy

Just catching up on a few posts now!  Roger I'm delighted you enjoyed Georgia, it is a great country with stunning scenery as no doubt you discovered!  Also glad the seat rotation didn't materialise - it is completely unnecessary once the TM asks the group not to take the same seats each day and to move around a bit.  Always works, no problems and those who prefer the front can sit up in the front half and those who prefer the back can have it to themselves.  

My one suggestion to JY is that you consider taking a leaf out of Jules Verne's book...I did a Caucasus tour with them last September and it was a ten day tour - five to Georgia and five to Armenia.  However, as an add-on I choose (along with my travel buddies) to go to Azerbaijan as well, thereby completing the trio of Caucasus countries.  I was delighted that I did as it was wonderful - great architecture in Baku, a boat trip on the Caspian Sea (world's largest lake) and a trip to the petroglyphs in Gobustan and the fascinating and unique mud volcanoes!  We then travelled through the country and saw more of Georgia before arriving in Tbilisi.  There was also a post-tour add-on to Kiev (wonderful!) as we flew with Ukrainian Airlines (not great, but they got us there in one piece, so that's all that matters on a short flight!).  Strongly recommended!

All the best,

Bob

thank you for your review, now I am a little apprehensive about the trip but hopefully will have a good time,