Georgia Away - 6th September 2008

[pineapple stu]

Post info on this game here.

[Kingdom]

Hi,

Just wondering did anyone organise their own way to Georgia the last time we played there? Any stories, good bad or indifferent?
Any info mucho appreciated.

[NeilMcD]

From speaking to Scottish guys they said it was one of the Friendliest countries to go to and this is coming from an experienced traveller.

[Green Tribe]

From speaking to Scottish guys they said it was one of the Friendliest countries to go to and this is coming from an experienced traveller.

Would really love to go to this one, Georgia airways fly from LHR via Paris, Amsterdam or Frankfurt. Think previous travellers went via Istanbul,, but then you've got a good trek east after that. Lufthansa and flyBMI also go from LHR to Tbilisi.

[slow2anger]

Hi,

Just wondering did anyone organise their own way to Georgia the last time we played there? Any stories, good bad or indifferent?
Any info mucho appreciated.

One of the best places I've been too, highly recommended. Arm wrestling with the local armed bouncers being one of the highlights! Also a trip to Gori is worth doing, Stalin's birthplace. A couple of hours north by minibus (minibuses are usually organised in the pub i.e. you have to be in the right place at the right time!). Also I remember a sit-down restaurant that served chinese and indian food - a mix made in heaven!

We went from London via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines as we were connecting to Albania for the match there a few days later. But will hopefully go direct this time!

[Kingdom]

One of the best places I've been too, highly recommended. Arm wrestling with the local armed bouncers being one of the highlights! Also a trip to Gori is worth doing, Stalin's birthplace. A couple of hours north by minibus (minibuses are usually organised in the pub i.e. you have to be in the right place at the right time!). Also I remember a sit-down restaurant that served chinese and indian food - a mix made in heaven!

We went from London via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines as we were connecting to Albania for the match there a few days later. But will hopefully go direct this time!

Good stuff S2A!

[Beavis]

One of the best places I've been too, highly recommended. Arm wrestling with the local armed bouncers being one of the highlights! Also a trip to Gori is worth doing, Stalin's birthplace. A couple of hours north by minibus (minibuses are usually organised in the pub i.e. you have to be in the right place at the right time!). Also I remember a sit-down restaurant that served chinese and indian food - a mix made in heaven!

We went from London via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines as we were connecting to Albania for the match there a few days later. But will hopefully go direct this time!

Thats good to hear, I thought it was going to be a hell hole.Saw a programme once about a godforsaken Georgian city sprung from a desolate dusty landscape,where no-one could leave there houses for fear of mugging and murder.That aswell as Niceman Kilbane getting a knife thrown at him from what seemed to be the entire Georgian army in attendance.

I always had a yearning to see the Caspian Sea so might try get a trip for that.
No shortage of grain based foodstuff and I expect the booze is cheap?:)

[Superhoops]

No shortage of grain based foodstuff and I expect the booze is cheap?:)
There is always McDonalds if all else fails :D Yes, Ronald is in Tbilisi.

[citizenerased]

another trip that sounds good!!

[IsMiseSean]

Im liking the sound of Georgia

[jmurphyc]

How much did people get there for last time? A friend and I have tried various different routes and they are all very expensive (cheapest was about £400 sterling).

[Superhoops]

....I always had a yearning to see the Caspian Sea so might try get a trip for that.
No shortage of grain based foodstuff and I expect the booze is cheap?:)

The Caspian Sea is a good trek from Tbilisi. Georgia does not touch the Caspian and you would have to go through Russia or Azerbaijan to get there.

[Beavis]

The Caspian Sea is a good trek from Tbilisi. Georgia does not touch the Caspian and you would have to go through Russia or Azerbaijan to get there.

Thats a pity, always had a facination with it since I read a National Geographic about the Caspian Sea and surounding area. Its probably best not to try head off to other mad countries, the less border crossings the better when it comes to these places. I'll just wait until we draw Russia then I'll be right beside it:D

[DaveyCakes]

I'll just wait until we draw Russia then I'll be right beside it:D

You'd only be right beside it if Russia started playing matches in Astrakhan:D

Which s a place I've always wanted to go. I think I just like the name

If you have a serious sea fetish, there's plenty of resorts on the Georgian Black Sea coast.

[Cowboy]

Georgia was good craic last time. Watch out for power cuts at night, first time it happened we thought it was last call at the bar. Best club was the Beatles nightclub which for some reason does not play Beatles music. You should also check out the AK47's parked along the wall in the cloakroom. Hotel was great they had all day breakfast and could not do enough for us.

[Green Tribe]

Georgia was good craic last time. Watch out for power cuts at night, first time it happened we thought it was last call at the bar. Best club was the Beatles nightclub which for some reason does not play Beatles music. You should also check out the AK47's parked along the wall in the cloakroom. Hotel was great they had all day breakfast and could not do enough for us.

Did yous go via istanbul also Cowboy?

[cobra]

How much did people get there for last time? A friend and I have tried various different routes and they are all very expensive (cheapest was about £400 sterling).

i can get it from dublin for €400 using next sept/oct as a guide

[slow2anger]

Georgia was good craic last time. Watch out for power cuts at night, first time it happened we thought it was last call at the bar. Best club was the Beatles nightclub which for some reason does not play Beatles music. You should also check out the AK47's parked along the wall in the cloakroom. Hotel was great they had all day breakfast and could not do enough for us.

I do remember the beatles bar and the lack of Beatles music (a plus IMO!) also the Western bar with the ready made noose on the wall - probably gone now after the Scotland game!


How much did people get there for last time? A friend and I have tried various different routes and they are all very expensive (cheapest was about £400 sterling).

I think we paid about GPB850 all in but that was also including Albania and hotels. Looking at BA and BMI GBP450 seems the norm. I'm sure some of the indirect flights will be cheaper though.



No shortage of grain based foodstuff and I expect the booze is cheap?:)

Booze was very cheap, can't remember exactly but approx 80-90 cent and very strong, a pint of beer was like a pint of wine!

[Cowboy]

Did yous go via istanbul also Cowboy?


Yep Turkish airways

[Dazzy]

Looking at BA and BMI GBP450 seems the norm. I'm sure some of the indirect flights will be cheaper though.

Seems to be the norm everywhere, just seen that Air Baltic do this for £275 with a connect in Riga, Used next Sept/Oct.

[SuperDave]

Seems to be the norm everywhere, just seen that Air Baltic do this for £275 with a connect in Riga, Used next Sept/Oct.

what price ryanair to riga, next flight with air baltic? might be cheaper still.

[pineapple stu]

Interesting note on the tourism website -


You may have heard news reports about civil unrest in Tbilisi on November 7th. Due to the government's firm and swift response to the situation today the streets are calm and the city is peaceful. All the airports, bus and train stations, restaurants and hotels are open. Life goes on as normal and the Georgia is a perfectly safe travel destination. There is certainly no resentment towards foreigners of any nationality, by anyone, and all are welcome and still offered the legendary traditional Georgian hospitality. Moreover, the wine harvest is in, and the celebrations have begun. Should you have any questions or need more information, please see the President 's web site:
www.president.gov.ge

Happy Holidays!

All is well...all is well!

[SuperDave]

Interesting note on the tourism website -



All is well...all is well!

brought to you by the ministry of mis...[cough]

your friends at the ministry of INFORMATION.

[Saint Tom]

brought to you by the ministry of mis...[cough]

your friends at the ministry of INFORMATION.

Comical ALi: "the americans are retreating" springs to mind

good shout with airbaltic. they could come in very handy with future eastern european ties

[Dazzy]

what price ryanair to riga, next flight with air baltic? might be cheaper still.

Could work out cheaper but flights are not on sale yet.

[Saint Tom]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_%28country%29

makes for interesting reading.

Dont know if the above link has previously been posted. Mods feel free to remove if so.

[pineapple stu]

Wikitravel links for all countries and capitals on the summary thread.

[CollegeTillIDie]

It may be possible to get there via Moscow too folks if all other flights are booked out!

[Jerry The Saint]

So.... anyone know what airlines fly from Tbilisi to Podgorica?

Or do you reckon it would be walking distance...

[AidoM]

So.... anyone know what airlines fly from Tbilisi to Podgorica?

Or do you reckon it would be walking distance...

Another Bratislava Express :eek:

[SuperDave]

ridiculous. probably the two most inaccessible away games, one after the other.

how the fuuck are fans meant to go to both away games?

terrible terrible scheduling, betraying a total lack of consideration for travelling fans on behalf of the fai. and is there any potential that this will be acknowledged? not a hope.

[shakermaker1982]

geez this is a nightmare - I'm trying different combinations but it looks an expensive outing.

[SuperDave]

flying to vienna and taking a train may be an option, though the train takes about 22 hours. fly from georgia to vienna on sunday, stay sunday in vienna, day train to serbia on monday and and overnight train to podgorica on the monday night/tuesday morning.

austrian rails website has europe wide timetabling

http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/en?seqnr=1&ident=oc.021465132.1200401907&OK#focus

the alternative is to fly to istanbul and take three connecting trains from there. podgorica is a very difficult place to get to.

i can barely find two connecting flights between the two cities. even getting from tbilisi to belgrade is fraught with difficulty.

about €800 going tbilisi - munich - vienna - podgorica on austrian airlines

£500 going tbilisi - istanbul - budapest - podgorica on turkish airlines.

not a cheap trip in the slightest. doomed in that neither are ryanair destinations.

looks like one or the other away trip for most people.

[gspain]

Tbilisi is expensive. Best I could get was STG£340 inc t&c out via Riga on Air Baltic back via Prague. It gets me back into Dublin at 10.15am on the Sunday morning but means less than 24 hours in the country.

Aerlingus is cheap to Dubrovnik less than €200 return Monday to Friday. I probably won't have the time though. With England in Zagreb confirmed yesterday for the 10th this is a nightmare to plan.

Didn't try Tbilisi to Podgorica but Dubrovnik, tirana and Sarajevo are options there too.

[SuperDave]

Tbilisi is expensive. Best I could get was STG£340 inc t&c out via Riga on Air Baltic back via Prague. It gets me back into Dublin at 10.15am on the Sunday morning but means less than 24 hours in the country.

Aerlingus is cheap to Dubrovnik less than €200 return Monday to Friday. I probably won't have the time though. With England in Zagreb confirmed yesterday for the 10th this is a nightmare to plan.

Didn't try Tbilisi to Podgorica but Dubrovnik, tirana and Sarajevo are options there too.

this looks cheapest:

ryanair dublin - riga sept 4th 16:50 - 21:50
airbaltic riga - tbilisi sept 5th 22:40 - 03:10 (next day/match day) (so 24hr stopover in riga, flying in game morning)

airbaltic tbilisi - riga sept 8th 03:45 - 06:20
ryanair riga - dublin sept 8th 22:15 - 23:20

aerlingus dublin - dubrovnik sept 10th 07:30 - 11:45
aerlingus dubrovnik - dublin sept 12th 12:40 - 15:05

total ryanair cost 95.84
total airbaltic cost 140.15
total aerlingus cost 217.56

about e450 total for flights, but you only get into dubrovnik on the morning of the game. you'd probably need car hire to get to podgorica, and it's probably 100 - 150 kms. on bad roads that might be 4hours drive, so it's a big risk, especially with the international border to negotiate. if the game was a 4/5pm kickoff local time, which it could be, this would be a very hairy route to try.

[Beavis]

Charter anyone?

[SuperDave]

Charter anyone?

best charter is dublin - tbilisi - podgorica, in to tb on game morning, out right after and party in podgorica.

charter airlines charge two rates:

1) per hour, flying

and

2) per hour, sitting on the runway

the second is a killer, so you can really only fly in two or three hours before gametime and out right after

time is money.

[MariborKev]

Anyone considering the train from Belgrade, it's a 24 hr trip.......

[Mayo_Bhoy]

Anyone considering the train from Belgrade, it's a 24 hr trip.......

Sounds like an option. Any details??

[gspain]

Here are my flight details. Only suitable for those short on time. 24 hours 55 mins in Tbilisi. Cost STG£340

Prague to Dubrovnik/Sarajevo/Tirana/Podgorica has to be an option for those who don't need to come home between games.

Flight summary



Fri 5-Sep-08

Dublin (DUB)
Depart 13:40 to Riga (RIX)
Arrive 18:40 1,207 mi
(1,942 km)
Duration: 3hr 0min
BT Air Baltic
Flight: 662



3Economy/Coach Class, Boeing 737-500





Riga (RIX)
Depart 22:40 to Tbilisi (TBS)
Arrive 03:10 +1 day 1,399 mi
(2,251 km)
Duration: 3hr 30min
BT Air Baltic
Flight: 722



3Economy/Coach Class, Boeing 737-500





Total distance: 2,606 mi (4,194 km)
Total duration: 6hr 30min (10hr 30min with connections)


Sun 7-Sep-08

Tbilisi (TBS)
Depart 04:05 to Prague (PRG)
Arrive 05:55
Terminal 1 1,567 mi
(2,522 km)
Duration: 3hr 50min
OK Czech Airlines
Flight: 935



3Economy/Coach Class, Snack, Airbus A319





Prague (PRG)
Depart 08:40
Terminal 1 to Dublin (DUB)
Arrive 10:15 905 mi
(1,456 km)
Duration: 2hr 35min
OK Czech Airlines
Flight: 670



3Economy/Coach Class, Snack, Boeing 737-500





Total distance: 2,472 mi (3,978 km)
Total duration: 6hr 25min (9hr 10min with connections)

[Mayo_Bhoy]

Here are my flight details. Only suitable for those short on time. 24 hours 55 mins in Tbilisi. Cost STG£340

Prague to Dubrovnik/Sarajevo/Tirana/Podgorica has to be an option for those who don't need to come home between games.

Flight summary



Fri 5-Sep-08

Dublin (DUB)
Depart 13:40 to Riga (RIX)
Arrive 18:40 1,207 mi
(1,942 km)
Duration: 3hr 0min
BT Air Baltic
Flight: 662



3Economy/Coach Class, Boeing 737-500





Riga (RIX)
Depart 22:40 to Tbilisi (TBS)
Arrive 03:10 +1 day 1,399 mi
(2,251 km)
Duration: 3hr 30min
BT Air Baltic
Flight: 722



3Economy/Coach Class, Boeing 737-500





Total distance: 2,606 mi (4,194 km)
Total duration: 6hr 30min (10hr 30min with connections)


Sun 7-Sep-08

Tbilisi (TBS)
Depart 04:05 to Prague (PRG)
Arrive 05:55
Terminal 1 1,567 mi
(2,522 km)
Duration: 3hr 50min
OK Czech Airlines
Flight: 935


3Economy/Coach Class, Snack, Airbus A319





Prague (PRG)
Depart 08:40
Terminal 1 to Dublin (DUB)
Arrive 10:15 905 mi
(1,456 km)
Duration: 2hr 35min
OK Czech Airlines
Flight: 670



3Economy/Coach Class, Snack, Boeing 737-500





Total distance: 2,472 mi (3,978 km)
Total duration: 6hr 25min (9hr 10min with connections)

According to czech airlines site, there is no connection between Tibilisi and Prague???:confused:

[zenokelly]

What about packages for the 2 games? I think if the travel companies do the double, it will have to be the way to go. Did anyone do the Albania - Georgia double with a travel agent?? It will be expensive but I don't know if going solo will be that much cheaper, and the trouble..........:eek:

[MariborKev]

It will be expensive but I don't know if going solo will be that much cheaper, and the trouble..........:eek:

You see trouble, some of us see craic.

One of our lads was looking at a ferry across the Black Sea as an option.:D

[galwayhoop]

You see trouble, some of us see craic.

One of our lads was looking at a ferry across the Black Sea as an option.:D

yeah i think it really is one for the hardcore.... planes, ferries, trains etc. i reckon you will need to take up on 8 flights to do the trip entirely by plane therefore the option is really package trip or roughneck style!!!

[Mayo_Bhoy]

Spent the afternoon trying to find a route from Tibilisi to Monetnegro. It's a nightmare.:(

[Saint Tom]

i have it as a minimum six flight round trip. And the cheapest way is to come home in between!

[Cowboy]

i have it as a minimum six flight round trip. And the cheapest way is to come home in between!

hey Tom, what total are you coming up with?

[Mayo_Bhoy]

Here's a cheap option:

Thurs. Sept 4/ Monday Sept 8 Dublin - Riga return with Ryanair €92

Fri. Sept 5/ Sun Sept 7 Riga - Tibilisi return with airbaltic €145.

Only snag is arriving into Tibilisi 3am and leaving at same time night of match but it's a great price. Unfortunately i cant make it beause no reasonable way from Tibilisi to Montenegro, so it's just Montenegro for me.

[gspain]

According to czech airlines site, there is no connection between Tibilisi and Prague???:confused:

According to the Czech airlines website

http://www.czechairlines.ie/en/portal/passengers/where_we_fly/flight_schedule.htm?flight_from=TBS&flight_to=PRG&depDay=20&depMonth=1&arrDay=21&arrMonth=1

Tbilisi - Prague
TBS - Novo Alexeyevka, Tbilisi, Georgia
PRG - Ruzyne, Prague, Czech Republic

Validity Days Flight Depart Arrival Type
25Apr - 24Oct -- -- We -- Fr -- Su OK0935 TBS 04:00 PRG 06:00 32S

I've actually paid for my flights incl Tbilisi to Prague. As per the website they only appear to fly from April to October but that is fine for us.

[zenokelly]

You see trouble, some of us see craic.

One of our lads was looking at a ferry across the Black Sea as an option.:D

Ya maybe if I was 12 years old and leaving the country for the first time I might feel thee same....... Sure you can fly into Malta for the Italy match, get a boat to Italy and then get a train to wherever the match is.....

Personally, I'd well prefare to fly direct Tbilisi - Podgorica!


Anyway, Georgian Airways fly from a few handy destinations in Europe i.e. Vienna, Paris (at decent times). But you don't seem to be able to book it on-line. Check it here: http://www.airzena.com/index.php?m=2.