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I recently completed Arara Tours’ “Wonders of Central Asia” tour, covering all five Central Asian countries, and overall I couldn’t recommend the experience highly enough. 

The tour is a fantastic way to experience a small but meaningful taste of five very different countries in a relatively short space of time. It is, inevitably, a fast-paced itinerary with a very full agenda, but I thought the logistics were extremely well thought out. You get to see and experience an incredible amount, while there are still little pockets of free time here and there to explore destinations at your own pace. 

All of the transfers and transport were extremely well organised and, importantly, timely. Considering the number of internal journeys, border crossings, flights and connections involved, I was genuinely impressed with how smoothly everything came together. The accommodation was also consistently above and beyond what I had expected, and whenever food was included, it was exceptionally good. 

The hospitality of the people throughout Central Asia was another highlight. Everywhere we went, we were met with warmth and friendliness, and the whole experience gave us a wonderful insight into the people and cultures of the region. 

The guides were truly phenomenal. Each brought their own knowledge, personality and passion to their respective country, and they played a huge part in making the trip so memorable. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to introduce us to Central Asia. 

Arara Tours themselves were efficient, thorough and very well organised throughout. There were regular check-in points during the tour, including contact from Florena, our tour operator, which gave reassurance that everything was being monitored and that support was available whenever needed. 

If I had one point to mention for future UK passport holders, it would be the Tajikistan visa process. I absolutely do not believe this was the fault of Arara Tours, but my experience of trying to arrange the visa myself was particularly difficult and, for whatever reason, can apparently take months. Arara initially offered me their guaranteed visa option, and having gone through the process myself, I would now say that this should probably be highlighted much more strongly to UK passport holders as being closer to a necessity than simply an optional extra. It would certainly save future travellers a lot of uncertainty and stress. 

I also want to personally thank Florena for her patience with me during what can only be described as a period of hysteria when I was booking the trip! She was incredibly patient, reassuring and helpful, particularly at times when I really needed that reassurance. That level of personal support made a real difference. 

Overall, this is an incredibly well-planned and brilliantly executed way of experiencing so many countries in such a short space of time. It is busy, but that is also part of what makes it so rewarding. You come away having experienced five fascinating countries, their cultures, history, food and people, with memories that will last a lifetime. 

I would absolutely recommend Arara Tours and the Wonders of Central Asia tour to anyone looking to explore this fascinating part of the world. It was an unforgettable experience and one I am very glad I chose to do. 

Dear Sati, 

we had a wonderful time in Armenia, and we’re very grateful to Arara for that. We saw so much of Armenia; we got to discover new dishes from Armenian cuisine time and again in beautiful locations; we came to appreciate Armenian wine and brandy; and the performance by the “Garni” choir at Geghard Monastery was one of the highlights of our trip. This time will remain unforgettable for all of us. 

Even though we didn’t get to meet in person, I know that you, Sati, did a lot of organizing behind the scenes. Thank you so much for that. 

Many thanks also to Karine, who helped us gain a deeper understanding of the country and the history of the Armenian people. 

Best regards 

Doris Schwarzner

I wish to thank you and Arara for our wonderful tour. Everything went smoothly from our pick-up at Baku Airport till our final transfer to Yerevan Airport. All hotels were good, with many exceeding our expectations. All 3 guides - Rugiya, Ira & Raffi - were excellent and they clearly enjoyed showing off their countries. It was a pleasure to meet them and we learned a lot. The drivers were also good and helpful. We visited many interesting places and created many memories. Possibly a few too many churches/monasteries for our liking, but we knew that in advance and appreciate how important they are to the history of the Caucasus. We were also fortunate to have a good group and we all mixed well.  Overall rating 10 out of 10. As to the future, we are thinking of visiting Central Asia (5 Stans) next year. I know Arara offer a 19 day tour but ideally we would like a slightly longer tour. Maybe we could add a few days on at either end like we did this year or do a little tour on our own before joining the tour. If we wanted to proceed, would we contact you, or is there someone else who is the contact for those tours.

We took the 17-day Caucasus group tour. We met wonderful people from Australia. Everything was perfectly organized by Sati. I thought 17 days wouldn't be enough to understand the history of the Caucasus, but everything went smoothly, and I took lots of interesting notes about each country. The hotel in Yerevan had a very small shower, but on the second night, we were upgraded to a larger room without asking. Our guide in Armenia, Raffi and Nini in Georgia were brilliant, very caring, careful and passionate about their countries. We learned so much about the history and culture. Highly recommended!

Hi, Haiku. We are finally back home after a very long flight with 2 layovers. But we are back with wonderful emotions and memories of our trip. 

The days were a bit long at times, and we didn't get back to the hotel until 7 p.m. a few times, but we still managed to see a lot. Our guide, Tazo in Georgia and Mary in Armenia were very helpful and informative. Besides the history, they shared other general information about the countries’ tax system, education which was very much appreciated. We have already recommended Arara to our friends as some are already interested. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed our trip very much. Thanks for everything and for taking such good care of us.

Hi Elena! I just wanted to quickly thank you. We had a wonderful time in the Caucasus. I especially loved the local food and music. In Yerevan, we went to see an opera during our free time, and it was truly memorable.

The driver in Georgia (I think his name was Zura?) was excellent and handled those crazy roads perfectly. On the second day, we had a slight problem with the Wi-Fi at the Baku hotel, but reception fixed it. I highly recommend this route. It's great when there's a limited number of people in the group; you can have a wonderful time together. The guides in both countries were very knowledgeable and spoke English very well. I will recommend this tour to my friends.

Hello Again Florena.

Thanks for helping me so much. It made things easy for me to enjoy the tour to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.

The organising just got better as the trip progressed. 
When there was a problem, the Guides dealt with it quickly and efficiently.

Kristina in Azerbaijan was good - especially her knowledge of recent history and the old city of Baku.

Ia in Georgia was even better - great communication and extremely helpful.

Raffi in Armenia was my favorite - incredible knowledge of the country and its history.
His ability to communicate was superb. 
Raffi shared his own story and answered all questions from his deep knowledge of the history and politics of Armenia and the adjoining countries influencing it.

The accommodation, transport and organisation was excellent.

i wish I could offer some advice an how the tour could be improved but I cannot think of anything to help - I am a totally happy client !!!

Best Regards
Dave

Hello Florena, 

These are my comments: 

- Baku transfer airport to hotel: excellent 

- Baku whole day tour: excellent, good restaurant recommendation; the guide spoke good Spanish. 

- Bishkek half day tour: excellent, we had limited time so he was right in schedule, the guide spoke good English. 

- Samarkand transfer rail station to hotel: excellent 

- Samarkand morning tour to Tajikistan: excellent, the guide crossed the border with us, he spoke good English 

- Samarkand half day tour to Shakhrizyabz: excellent, he was the same guide as the day before, he recommended a real good restaurant. 

- Samarkand to Tashkent, I decided to buy air tickets since the agent in Uzbekistan didn't get earlier trains, that's the only, but mayor fault on my tour. He got the Tashkent - Samarkand tickets the very first day he could, but he didn't buy the Samarkand - Taskent tickets when they were first available, he waited too long. 

- Transfers Samarkand hotel - airport, Tashkent airport to hotel, and hotel to airport: excellent.

Hi Sati,

it was a wonderful trip and truly memorable journey. The itinerary was well planned and efficient throughout the three Caucasus countries. We were satisfied with the drivers and guides service provided during the trip. The border transfers were smooth and well organized. The hotels were comfortable and conveniently located close to the city centers.

You are a trustworthy and responsive travel agency, and we will definitely recommend your services to others. Thank you!