Armenia & Georgia Classical Tour Package

Me and my husband had a lovely time in Armenia & Georiga. Arthur was our guide in Armenia and Demetre traveled with us in Georgia, both spoke good English and answered our questions. Everything was perfectly organized. My highlight was (unfortunately) the delicious food. Thanks again and good luck to you!

Guide: Armenia - Haykuhi - very pleased, she was excellent in every way. We felt very fortunate to have someone so knowledgeable and with such a good command of English. She was very kind and considerate. We felt that we were with a very authentic person, who answered questions honestly and always in a good way. She became a friend.

Georgia - Tazo - We really liked him. Gary especially enjoyed hiking 1-on-1 with Tazo while Marie did something else. His depth of knowledge was a bit less, but he was always alert to connecting us to knowledgeable people. He is clearly well-known and well-liked among the locals. His knowledge of nature and the outdoors really impressed Gary.

Driver: ARMENIA - He was an excellent driver, thoughtful and helped us with the ATM. He seemed painfully shy. We were pleased.

GEORGIA - Tazo was both guide and driver. Excellent driver. We felt very safe with him on those dangerous Georgian roads.

Car: ARMENIA AND GEORGIA - Both cars were excellent, in good condition, comfortable, clean inside and out.

Hotels: ARMENIA - The room for the first night at Cascade Hotel was too small, but the hotel upgraded us quickly that night. The chef was very nice during breakfast. Location was great, allowing us to enjoy the architecture of the Cascades, and to walk the city. We also enjoyed Eco-Kayan in Dilijan very much. 

GEORGIA - Hotel Opinion - first night, before arriving in Yerevan by plane, the room was too close to loud music outside. The remaining nights after the Armenia tour, and during the Georgia tour, were pleasant. The breakfast buffet was good.

Hotel Kazbegi - we think that this is the finest hotel that we have ever seen. We were thrilled to see Mt. Kazbegi from our hotel window at dawn. This hotel is unforgettable.

We also liked the fact that we could stay multiple nights in a hotel, which spared us the hassles of luggage.

What did you like best in your trip? For both trips, it's very difficult to choose a favorite, all was remarkably good.

ARMENIA - We especially liked the Manuscript and History museums. Genocide museum is a must-do. Yerevan is nice city with art, public spaces for families. It was good to experience part of the Sunday Mass at St. Hripsine Church. It was nice to see local people out and enjoying their city. Dalijan gave a nice, restful pause after being on the go.

GEORGIA - Our guide Tazo recommended 11 კათხა-კონკა / 11 Katkha-Konka restaurant with traditional Georgian food, music and dancers. We loved it! We ate there three times! The Kazbegi region was the most stunning and wild. We liked the scenic variety and the ethnic diversity in Georgia.

What didn't you like in trip? ARMENIA - Instant coffee at Cascades Hotel. GEORGIA - 9:00 Breakfast at Hotel Opinion seems late. We are accustomed to 7:30 or 8:00 AM as travelers.

What would you add to your trip? It would have been nice to experience Armenian dancing, music and traditional costumes. Us! For another visit someday!

Would you recommend our company to your friends? Yes! Definitely! You are excellent!

My sister and I had a very good time and it was great to visit both countries which have their own beauty.  We would not hesitate to recommend our friends in visiting the region (as many of them have not been there before).

The whole tour ran very smoothly, we did not have any hiccups at all. No problems with currency, food or transport!

Armenia

Arthur has taken care of us well during the first part of the trip. He always picked us up at the agreed time and was very patient in answering all our questions, whether it be cultural, historical or religious. He is a safe driver and we had no problems with the mode of transport at all. Please thank Arthur for us for being us a great guide to the country!

We found Hotel Lilia to be a really good option. I am aware that the usual hotel is near the Cascade but I think this location has its particular advantage of being near Republic Square. There are a lot of choice of cafes and restaurants withing walking distance and we felt very safe walking around on our own at night. The staff at Hotel Lilia was always attentive and friendly. Although it was a small hotel it made our stay feel cozy and welcome. Also there was a 24 hour supermarket a few minutes walk which was a highlight to us as it was convenient to get snacks and last minute items there at night. (The dried fruit and nuts store next to Hotel Lilia was also great -we bought a lot of snacks from there!)

Itinerary wise it was a good pace – we got to see a lot of the sights in the 5 days we were there and did not feel rushed. It was a good idea to do the border crossing as it was super easy and not crowded at all. We liked the large roadside store that Arthur brought us to which was on the way to the border. Super fresh bakery that offers so much!

Georgia

Vazha was there to greet us once we crossed the border – no problems with the border crossing, very straight forward. Vazha also took good care of us and is a good driver (they are all quite good drivers in Georgia from what we can gather). We did not run into any problems at all and pick up was punctual and Vazha was very flexible with time and itinerary and never rushed us. Right to the end Vazha was there to send us to the airport and made sure we got there on time!

Hotel – although Citadines was our own choice of hotel, just a bit of feedback in case your other guests make enquiries about staying at this hotel. We would say the hotel has 4* location but all else it probably should be classified more a 3 star. Understandably, hotel costs in central Tbilisi may be quite expensive so maybe that is why they justified a 4* rating. No doubt location as perfect – we could almost walk to all parts of the town and even take the metro if necessary. I looked up the hotel that originally suggested 3* Hotel Astoria and I think it would have been a less convenient spot.  I could see that there are a number of 3* hotels in the vicinity that could be better choices so you might like to consider this for your future tourists. (We missed staying at  Hotel Lilia once we got to Citadines-  standard corporate chain hotel!)

Itinerary wise – the pace was very good too. It would appear Georgia is larger so  there could be other areas we could possible cover but perhaps we will have to leave it to another day! Tbilisi is definitely a more busy city with many more tourist and traffic which we found which was quite a change of pace from Yerevan. It took us some time to adjust to the pace after enjoying the relaxed charm of Yerevan.

As I mentioned, overall the trip was fantastic and the guides did a great job in showing us around. We enjoyed ourselves and no doubt if anyone asks we can refer them to you in future!

Thanks and regards

Eleanor “