Georgia Away - 6th September 2008

[Beavis]

Beavis any idea how much for train tickets?

Tbilisi - Batumi
Second Class 23 Lari (€10)
First Class 40 Lari (€17.50)

Price for Istanbul-Belgrade
43 euros one-way 2nd class, 65 euros one-way 1st class.

Add a sleeper supplement to this, about 12 euros for a bed in 3-bed compartment (with 2nd class fare) or 20 euros for a bed in 2-bed compartment (with 1st class fare) or 40 euros for sole occupancy of a single bed compartment (with 1st class fare).

I'll be going 2nd class sleeper, Nis is the stop before Belgrad so may be a bit cheaper lets say €50 total.

Havent been able to get the exact price for Nis-Podgorica but Nis-Bar (further on than Podgorica) is less than €15 for a sleeper car.

I'll estimate a total of about €85-€90 if you go cheapo, no accomodation needed either if you can manage get enough kip on the trains.

Ps bet you stink by the time of kick off.

Yes I’d advise anyone to avoid the unshaven bloke with the flies swarming overhead, he may be drunk and irritable and have lost all concept of time and clothing

[Kingdom]

Tbilisi - Batumi
Second Class 23 Lari (€10)
First Class 40 Lari (€17.50)

Price for Istanbul-Belgrade
43 euros one-way 2nd class, 65 euros one-way 1st class.

Add a sleeper supplement to this, about 12 euros for a bed in 3-bed compartment (with 2nd class fare) or 20 euros for a bed in 2-bed compartment (with 1st class fare) or 40 euros for sole occupancy of a single bed compartment (with 1st class fare).

I'll be going 2nd class sleeper, Nis is the stop before Belgrad so may be a bit cheaper lets say €50 total.

Havent been able to get the exact price for Nis-Podgorica but Nis-Bar (further on than Podgorica) is less than €15 for a sleeper car.

I'll estimate a total of about €85-€90 if you go cheapo, no accomodation needed either if you can manage get enough kip on the trains.



Yes I’d advise anyone to avoid the unshaven bloke with the flies swarming overhead, he may be drunk and irritable and have lost all concept of time and clothing

Good stuff, however from the place you're coming from I reckon there will be a few unshaven smelly blokes. We'll have to keep an eye out for the palest one.

[Green Tribe]

I see one travel agent is advertising trips for Georgia and seperately for Montenegro. Is there any travel agent doing a combined trip (besides pilgrams abroad) for us lazy folk?

not that i know of, and if they are, they'll be charging loads...

[zenokelly]

I see one travel agent is advertising trips for Georgia and seperately for Montenegro. Is there any travel agent doing a combined trip (besides pilgrams abroad) for us lazy folk?

I think I saw an ad from Abbey Travel the other day doing the double.

[Kingdom]

I think I saw an ad from Abbey Travel the other day doing the double.

About €1600 is what they advised. Still not finalised yet. Anyone use them before.

[galah]

No prob

Tbilisi Central 10.00(07/09)/19.40/21.10
Batumi 17.55/05.55(08/09)/07.40

Batumi Airport 11.15 08/09
Istanbul Ataturk Airport 12.25 08/09
- Turkish Airlines (total €82.50)

Istanbul (Sirkeci station) 22.00 08/09
Edirne 02.34 09/09
Kapikule 02.54 09/09
Svilengrad 05.05 09/09
Plovdiv 09.11 09/09
Sofia 11.40 09/09
Nis 16.24 09/09[
(tickets can't be purchased online-final destination is Belgrade)

Nis 19.00 09/09
Pozega 01.10 10/09
(change trains here)
Pozega 01.47 10/09
Podgorica 07.14 10/09


Ar se I forgot bout that. I'll have left work so in no rush,maybe ferry to Italy and mosie from there

Cheers lad! looks like they could be a convoy of us doing that route ...as for the trip home ....have u seen the women out that way ....might be tempted to stay!

[citizenerased]

About €1600 is what they advised. Still not finalised yet. Anyone use them before.

yeah, keep away, pile of shiite rip off merchants..you will be staying in hotels 100km outside of the cities and doing about 20 flight transfers..pack of jokers + lots of dublin chavs travel with them

[Kingdom]

yeah, keep away, pile of shiite rip off merchants..you will be staying in hotels 100km outside of the cities and doing about 20 flight transfers..pack of jokers + lots of dublin chavs travel with them

Thanks for the advice Citizen. Always good to know.

[RodgenotPodge]

I've sort of lost track of the various itineraries doing the rounds. Some of them are ambitious (a polite word for verging on nuts). Trains and Planes in this part of the world are notoriously unreliable. The airlines are getting a bit better but internal flights on local airlines are very hit and miss. Trains are eevn worse; I took the Tbilisi -Batumi sleeper once. I didn't sleep because it keep shuddering to a stop and rattled in the meantime. I also arrived about 4 hours late, although that was in the days when Batumi was in a self-declared indpendent region of Georgia and they pretended to have immigration and customs (they left you alone for a small fee) but it still took about 2 hours for them to frisk all the passengers.

My advice is to trade up to First Class at least; the extra few Euro will look like a very good investment. Did you check the Tbilisi-Batumi flights? Much better.

The train from\Istanbul to Ns should be a classic and again get the best accomodation posible.

The connection times allow a good margin which is very wise of you. Nis is where they make Montenegro's best beer so you wll have something to do.

[kevincronin2000]

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntre...readID=1454826

[Beavis]

I've sort of lost track of the various itineraries doing the rounds. Some of them are ambitious (a polite word for verging on nuts). Trains and Planes in this part of the world are notoriously unreliable. The airlines are getting a bit better but internal flights on local airlines are very hit and miss. Trains are eevn worse; I took the Tbilisi -Batumi sleeper once. I didn't sleep because it keep shuddering to a stop and rattled in the meantime. I also arrived about 4 hours late, although that was in the days when Batumi was in a self-declared indpendent region of Georgia and they pretended to have immigration and customs (they left you alone for a small fee) but it still took about 2 hours for them to frisk all the passengers.

My advice is to trade up to First Class at least; the extra few Euro will look like a very good investment. Did you check the Tbilisi-Batumi flights? Much better.

The train from\Istanbul to Ns should be a classic and again get the best accomodation posible.

The connection times allow a good margin which is very wise of you. Nis is where they make Montenegro's best beer so you wll have something to do.

Nice 1 for the info. I do intend to see a bit of each of the cities between the trains and shall certainly avail of a beer or two in Nis.

Couple of questions seeing as you seem to have some experience of the area.
You say its advisable to trade up to first class, is 2nd class unbearable?is the problem with comfort or security?
Is there a real threat of attack on trains and around train stations given that I'll be traveling alone and Georgians/Turks/etc wont understand that I'm a Dub and naturally not to be messed with

The only part of the trip with any ambiguity is between Kars, where I arrive at 22.00 on the Thursday, hoping to head immediately towards Batumi, where I need to be preferably for 8.00 but can be later.Is there any problem getting minibuses through the night in Eastern Turkey or is this journey unfeasible at this hour, and I presume there is no problem crossing the border at any hour?

Any help would be appreciated because I havent yet been able to source this info elsewhere on tinter.

[Green Tribe]

beavis i'll post your query up on the tartan forum as they travelled there last oct, they might have an idea.... Will get back to ya

[Beavis]

beavis i'll post your query up on the tartan forum as they travelled there last oct, they might have an idea.... Will get back to ya

You'd do that for me

Cheers, I'll probably post on Lonely Planet aswell, usually someone there can help.

[RodgenotPodge]

First Class is for comfort and privacy. The small (for us) price difference is a lot for locals so the extra is well worth it. Safety shouldn't be an issue; locals will be falling over each other to show off their English and help. Just don't accept any invites to visit their cousin's shop but that's just to avoid rip-off.

Turkey travels by bus and mostly at night. Very well organised and again, a few bob extra makes a difference. Be careful to check if your bus is smoking or non-smoking.

What's taking you to Kars? Its not on the way from Tbilisi to Batumi - or anywhere else.

The border at Batumi is a busy freight route and I'd be surprised if it closed at night but check with Lonely Planet or the like.

[Green Tribe]

You'd do that for me

Cheers, I'll probably post on Lonely Planet aswell, usually someone there can help.

Actually Virtual Tourist is good too, post gone up on tartan army forum

[Green Tribe]

Beavis, check out the tartan army thread, few replies already (my post is at the bottom of page 4), expect more replies over the next few days when more people notice it....

http://taboard.com/forum/index.php?s...ic=71678&st=45

[Beavis]

What's taking you to Kars? Its not on the way from Tbilisi to Batumi - or anywhere else.

.

Thanks for the help.
Kars is the last stop on the train to eastern Turkey and the closest train station to Batumi, even if its still nearly 150 miles. I'd prefer train to bus, and by all the accounts I've read the scenery along the train line after Ankara, along the Euphrates, is spectacular.

Beavis, check out the tartan army thread, few replies already (my post is at the bottom of page 4), expect more replies over the next few days when more people notice it...

Thats a great help GT. It seems from RodgenotPodge's and the Tartan Army's experience, safety won't be an issue, providing suitable vigilance.

[RodgenotPodge]

OK; I hadn't realised yu were going to Tbilisi that way also (I miust have confused you with someone who is flying via Riga). That is one hell of a journey you have given yourself; my main advice is to use the biggest and best coach company you can find. The good ones are excellent but the cheaper ones are miserable and dangerous - the roads in that part of Turkey are pretty scary and the driving in Turkey (and Georgia) is wild.

[Green Tribe]

Have heard the taxi drivers in Georgia are mental....!

[Sligo Hornet]

Have heard the taxi drivers in Georgia are mental....!

No.....who's it by?