Ma Do Na
Thanks a lot for this wonderful trip... we enjoyed a lot, this Arara Travel tours made our trip memorable, our tour Guide Arthur in Armenia & Demetre in Georgia is so nice & very accomodating. 5 star to our hotel Silk Road Hotel & Shine Hotel, staff are very helpful and kind, with good foods and wines. I really love it, Im gonna miss this place soooo much...
10.01.2017
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Tala Nabulsi
The trip was wonderful and very well organized but made even better because of the amazing tour guide we had Rima Armenian and wonderful driver Artium.
Never imagined Armenia is so beautiful, the culture is so inspiring, the food wonderful and the people so down to earth.
I am definitely coming back soon.
26.05.2017
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Janet Rounds Dunn
My nephew, Daniel, my friend, Diane, and I took an amazing archaeological tour of Armenia this Sept 2016. Arara's Liana Levonyan arranged this most perfect private tour for us, providing our multi-talented guide, Armine and dear driver, Andrinak.
Armine is a working archaeologist and college professor (not to mention a singer/songwriter) who personally worked on most of the sites we visited. She explained in meaningful detail what we were seeing and her professional theories - connecting the importance of ancient Armenia to the development of our western world. Andrinak, a former engineer, was so professional; knowing shortcuts, more "comfortable" routes, provided help for us over rocks and up steep hills, and ensured the car was clean and comfortable. These two quickly became our teachers, treasured friends and family to us.
We saw sites and evidence of huge, walled prehistoric cities, many Iron Age civilizations, artifacts in national and local museums, burial sites of beloved warriors and kings, rock pictographs, 11th and 12th century monasteries and early Armenian churches. We spoke with archaeologists who were currently working on the sites and even jumped down into graves and pits for closer, first-hand looks! Truly a once in a lifetime experience for us!
Hotels and staff were great and food was delicious and abundant. We left our trip in love with this beautiful, historic land and its people.
18.09.2016
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Morten Kvam
Thank's to efficient organization and the flexibility of Arara Armenia Travel we had a great holiday in Armenia during the first days of October. great advice on how to organize some intense days in the best possible way, and great restaurants, especially for dinner.
4.10.2016
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Michalis Kladis
We booked with Arara an 11 days trip to Armenia and Georgia.
The trip was amazing! Perfect places to see and discover every day something new,
Our drivers were very friendly and professional. The Arara Tour is very good company and they gave us the best services we could have. Highly recommend!!
10.09.2018
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Christine Fry
We had the most wonderful Armenia/Georgia tour with Arara. Their booking agents, their tour guides and their drivers were professional and knowledgeable. Nothing was too much trouble. We learned a lot about both countries and had a great time doing it. We'd highly recommend this agency and its very professional staff.
03.10.2018
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Gary Geisel
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!
07.09.2018
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Eleanor Wong
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 “
28.09.2018
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Strondl Erich
Car: Perfect for this type of tour
Hotels: Except for 2 places totally fine.
What did you like best? Besides some small issues that we faced, the tour was more than enjoyable. We’ve visited interesting sights and the food was delicious (even though I had some problems with digestion)
What could’ve been better? For my taste there were too many churches and monasteries, also we could’ve driven a few more kilometers per day.
Guide: Vahe was very competent and always kept the necessary calmness.
Driver: Vardan was, just like his brother, very competent. He never drank a single drop of alcohol, not even during dinners.
Would you recommend us to your friends and family? Yes, definitely
05.08.2018
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Harry Fellows
The tour was enjoyed immensely by all our members, please convey our thanks to all your staff for the excellent service you provided. We have been experiencing comments such as, “the best ever”, “the itinerary was splendid and covered everything we could wish to see”, “ the scenery was spell-binding and the attention paid to detail was excellent”, “the hotels and their service was first class”, “when you go again please reserve a place for us”, etc, etc.
The only comment that had any criticism was that the long tables were too crowded with hardly sufficient room to handle a knife and fork, a particularly valid comment as the dishes were so good and what a selection, the “soup and bread” lunches in Georgia were particularly enjoyed!
Thank you for arranged such a good tour that highlighted the scenery and history of both countries and thank you personally for your kind invitation to the Jazz Club which Kate and I enjoyed immensely. To crown all this the 15 year old Brandy that you so generously gave us is something very special and will only be shared with our closest friends (if they twist my arm very hard).
Thank you Nune,
With very best wishes until we return
Harry & Kate.
06.09.2018
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Richard Whitekettle September
Guide: Eva (Yeva) is the best! She knew everything about Armenia and the places we visited. Her english language skills were great. She was also flexible and willing to add or drop stops depending on our particular interests. If we come back I would ask for her again.
Driver: Aurther was a very skilled driver. He did not speak english but always went above and beyond the call of duty to take care of us.
Car: Very nice Mercedes Sprinter Van.
Hotels: Mostly just fine. In small village had an issue with hot shower but worked around it. One of our party is handicapped and had some step challenges but worked through this.
What did you like best in your trip? Felt like I got a real feel for the country, politics, food, and people. All positive.
What didn’t you like in the trip? We visited 8 out of the 10 regions which meant a bit of driving but don’t think I would change this.
What would you add to your trip? I would have added few more days to the trip.
Would you recommend our company to your friends? YES
07.09.2018
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Lesley and Andrew Fenton
Guide: Ara was very personable. His standard of English was excellent. He was well-informed, being an archeologist and historian by training, and obviously knew the country well and was evidently an experienced guide. He was able to answer all our questions about history, culture and everyday life in Armenia.
Driver: Ara was our driver too. It sometimes made it a bit difficult to ask him about things while he was concentrating on negotiating windy mountain roads or driving in think fog! We realise this keeps the cost down but it does mean he was having to work doubly hard which must have been tiring.
Car: The car wasn’t really quite big or comfortable enough for such a road trip. We, fortunately, only had a small amount of luggage, but had anyone had more, it would have been impossible to store it all out of sight. Also being a right-hand drive it meant Ara constantly had difficulties seeing what was coming when overtaking.
Hotels: Cascade, Yerevan: Lovely, friendly staff, especially the receptionists. Excellent location, comfortable rooms. Good laundry service. Breakfast good but terrible coffee!
Khachik B&B, Goris: Friendly reception from the owner. Rooms basic but very clean and comfortable. Good breakfast (but again lacking decent coffee). We didn’t see much of the surroundings.
Heghnar Hotel, Stepanakert: Rather ordinary, trying to be grander than it really was. But clean and comfortable enough. Breakfast average (can’t really remember it). Restaurant wasn’t open in evening. Without a car it would have been difficult.
Noyland, Sevan Lake: Clean and comfortable enough but lacking in character and felt a bit desolate out of season (it was only mid September). Breakfast average.
What did you like best in your trip? Beautiful scenery, visits to markets, trying local food. Wine tasting in Ijevan.
What didn’t you like in the trip? Too much time on the road. Not enough time in places such as Dilijan. Too many monasteries: before the last day we had already seen the most spectacular ones and would have preferred to have seen more of Dilijan (where we wanted to stay). we only had time for a quick lunch an a walk down one road.
In view of the fact that we were being driven to Tbilisi the next day, it would have been better for our tour to end in Dilijan, stay there the night, then we could have taken a car from there to Tbilisi. We ended up driving all the way back to Yerevan for one night at the end of tour, only to retrace our steps as far as Ijevan the next morning.
What would you add to your trip? Would have liked to have some more local crafts and artisans.
Would you recommend our company to your friends? Definitely. The pre-trip service by Lusine was excellent.
18.09.2018
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