Azerbaijan / Armenia / Georgia

[Closed Account 2]

Hi,

Anyone been to any of these three recently ? I am thinking of heading to Baku, Tiblisi, Yerevan, Batumi week after next and any tips would be great. Particularly transport between the 3 countries (I know Azeri-Armenia border is shut and you need to transit via Georgia) - was thinking about the night trains.

Does anyone know about the visa situation I'll probably be flying into Baku and EU nationals can pick up a visa on landing at the airport... Armenia and Georgia again EU nationals can get any visa at any border - if anyone could confirm this it would be great.

Also tips on other sites to see would be great, and anything in Eastern Turkey too would be great as I'll be there afterwards (probably Trabzon).

Cheers for any tips!

[paul_oshea]

how can you jst head off to places on a whim in the space of two weeks. Does work bring you there or what? Are you not worried about the money it costs last minute?

[Closed Account 2]

I'm in Turkey for the UEFA Cup Final so thought I might as well see some of these places while I'm in the region. It's possible to fly to Batumi (Georgia) for around €50 and Baku (Azerbaijan) for around €80 from Istanbul. Often going last minute can be cheaper than going pre-arranged.

[DaveyCakes]

Try and find where the girl singing for Azerbaijan in the Eurovision lives! Schwing!

[A N Mouse]

I'm in Turkey for the UEFA Cup Final so thought I might as well see some of these places while I'm in the region. It's possible to fly to Batumi (Georgia) for around €50 and Baku (Azerbaijan) for around €80 from Istanbul. Often going last minute can be cheaper than going pre-arranged.

Is the turkey armenia border not closed too? Might also want to check out situation re visas for the two countries - think you might have hassles depending on the order you visit.

[Closed Account 2]

yeah, Armenia's only open borders are with Iran and Georgia. Apparently the Georgians and Armenians will issue you a visa irrespective of what other countries you've been too. Whereas Azeri's might deny you a visa if you have an Armenian stamp in your passport. Im going Turkey->Azerbaijan->Georgia(for one day)->Armenia->Georgia(few days)->Turkey. I think I should be ok on that but there could be problems with getting re-entry into Turkey with an Armenian stamp. If that's the case I'll just get a boad from Georgia to Romania.

[A N Mouse]

yeah, Armenia's only open borders are with Iran and Georgia. Apparently the Georgians and Armenians will issue you a visa irrespective of what other countries you've been too. Whereas Azeri's might deny you a visa if you have an Armenian stamp in your passport. Im going Turkey->Azerbaijan->Georgia(for one day)->Armenia->Georgia(few days)->Turkey. I think I should be ok on that but there could be problems with getting re-entry into Turkey with an Armenian stamp. If that's the case I'll just get a boad from Georgia to Romania.

Think I saw something that said while the land border was closed there were still flights between Istanbul and Yerenvan, no good to you now [you seem to be booked], but would hopefully be a good indication. And aren't Trkey tring to get into the eu?

If Derry get an Azeri team, there might be a few people looking to change their passports.

Oh and for Armenia anyway book the visa online in advance. Save yourself the possibility of standing around for a couple hours in the sweltering heat.

http://www.armeniaforeignministry.am/eVisa/

[a.a.d]

We stayed in the Marriot in Yereven. It's right in Republic square and is very nice indeed if a little expensive.

One word of warning, Watch your belongings in the Airport although it is brand new as soon as you leave the baggae reclaim you will be attacked by Taxi drivers(I hope you enjoy retro ladas). What ever you do make sure you settle on a price before you leave and if possibl;e don't tell them where you are staying just tell them to bring you to Republic square.

[MariborKev]

If Derry get an Azeri team, there might be a few people looking to change their passports.


Naw, we'll just use the aul British passports for that trip:D

[Closed Account 2]

Got back from there (and Turkey) last month, if anyone is planning a trip there in the future please feel free to contact me (PM or post here) for advice if you want...

[paul_oshea]

was it good?

[Closed Account 2]

Yeah, Azerbaijan's capital (Baku) is interesting but expensive, the area around it and further south on the Caspian Sea is nice. Armenia is lovely, there is a lot to see in the countryside and you can do a lot of trips within 1-2 hours from Yerevan. Batumi and Kazbegi are the nicest places I went to in Georgia, Batumi's a nice town on the Black Sea with good nightlife and Kazbegi is a mountain on the Georgian / Russian border. It's pretty easy to climb a fair way up it and the views are great. If you want to get to this region the cheapest way is to get to Turkey and fly/bus on to your destination rather than going direct from Western Europe. Eastern Turkey itself is lovely and very different to the Turkey most Westerners visit (Bodrum, Antalya, Dalaman, Marmaris etc).

If you do visit the region it's worth picking up a few words of Russian, it's very cheap out there and the people are really friendly (will give you a lift if you're going in their direction) but you might struggle if you just speak English, at the very worst case have a phrase book.