6 independent reviews for Georgia & Armenia cultural holiday
Reviews for Georgia & Armenia cultural holiday
Ruth Girdham review 19 Jun 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The walk up to the church at Kazbegi.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Have your own driver rather than travel on a bus3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes local guides were used and some were very knowledgeable. We traveled in a hybrid car. Georgian owned hotels and local restaurants were used.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent. We saw a lot of the country in a short time. Rhia Steele from the tour operator did a great job of organising the trip for us, and was always pleasant, helpful and available when I phoned up.Read the operator's response here:
Thank you for the kind feedback. We are delighted that you enjoyed your holiday.
Jay Pike review 2 Jul 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Yerevan2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Ensure it is with a small group and not too long3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Not at all4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
75% - guide in Armenia was difficult to understand, hotel in Yerevan needed attention, last day was a waste of time, but I would try your company againRead the operator's response here:
Thank you for your comments. It is difficult from this review to ascertain how much you enjoyed the tour which consistently achieves good feedback and so I will speak to you personally as well but I am pleased you would use our services again. Our group sizes are a maximum of 12 clients and I believe on your departure the group was smaller than that. The tour is 16 days in duration which is longer than some tours of Georgia and Armenia which are on the market (many of which are combined also with Azerbaijan). We feel this is a duration of tour which reflects the amazing things to see in both countries.
I feel i must address point 3 on the review. This tour absolutely supports local people on the ground. Firstly the tour is guided by local people in both countries, the drivers are local, the accommodation we use on the tour is largely locally owned especially in relation to the guesthouses in the mountains and staff that work in the properties are also local. Revenue from visits to the many amazing historical sites protect them for future generations to enjoy.
Also our management support team on the ground are all local. We keep our group sizes small compared to many operators (12 or less) to minimise our impact. I feel sorry that you feel that the last day is a waste of time as it is the first time I have ever heard such feedback about the trip to Kakheti province, a region quite different to what you see elsewhere on the tour, and the main region for viticulture, an industry steeped in several millennia of history within Georgia . It would be useful if you could elaborate so again I will speak to you personally about this. Once again thank you for your comments.
G Phillips review 24 Jun 2018
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The walks, especially Kasbegi, Ushguli and the Molokan village. But there were too few opportunities for walking.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Be prepared for long hours of minibus travel. Some days had six or more hours of bus travelling with only brief visits and “photo-stops”.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
We used local guides, hotels and restaurants, thus supporting the local tourism economy. On the other hand, plastic bottles of water were handed out continually, and we saw no attempt at recycling. Food wastage was prodigious, with all meals being grossly over-provisioned: we probably managed to eat about half of what was provided. Obviously, the air travel and diesel minibus were polluting.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Frustrating. Georgia and Armenia are beautiful and interesting countries, but we mostly saw them from the minibus windows. The itinerary tried to cram every corner of two countries into a two-week trip, which was unrealistic. It would have been better to select fewer locations and to have had more time in each. We also wasted a lot of time over huge long lunches every day, when a picnic or light lunch would have been perfectly adequate, leaving more time to visit the places we wanted to see. The driving in Georgia was terrifying: continual tail-gating and overtaking on blind bends. Not a pleasant experience, especially in a small minibus with apparently no emergency exit. (The driving in Armenia was good, and we had a much more comfortable vehicle). The Georgian guide was very knowledgeable, the Armenian guide less so (though fine as a general tourist guide). The final day was a complete waste of time. Five hours driving in order to have a “traditional Georgian lunch” which is what we had had every day already.Read the operator's response here:
Thank you for your feedback. We are reviewing the tour at the end of the season and will take in to account all of your comments regarding the itinerary. The driving times each day are described in the itinerary and it is classed as a'busy' tour. We are looking in to the conduct of the driver in Georgia as we expect the highest levels of professionalism from all our guides and drivers.
Part of the tradition in these regions is to have a long lunch and the hospitality of the people often means that large portions are provided. We will speak to our local hosts to try and reduce the amount of food waste.
Thank you for taking the time to proide this feedback and we are glad that overall you enjoyed the tour.
Maddy Ball review 19 Oct 2017
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Waking up in the morning in Gudauri and opening the window to see fresh snow on the Higher Caucasus mountains - spectacular.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
The trip is advertised as a cultural holiday and the itinerary mentions that many monasteries will be visited. Complaints about "not another monastery" are unwarranted. The variety and environment in which all of these are found varies and the journey to and from them is quite spectacular.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, as all restaurants were used by local population and the hotel staff were local. Also we were taken to small local markets rather than big supermarkets.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent introduction to these 2 countries. You certainly felt you would like to return and explore more of them.Judy Schneider review 25 Jun 2017
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The friendliness of the local people, in all three countries, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. I was happy to see many efforts at preserving local buildings, e.g. churches and monasteries, especially after the Russian occupation which closed (even destroyed), places of worship. The guides for both the Armenian and especially the Georgian sections were very knowledgeable and helpful. All three drivers did a great job, on sometimes, precarious roads, steering clear of wandering cows and some risk taking drivers (mainly overtaking in the opposite direction), going up and down mountainous narrow roads.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Be prepared to have your eyes opened as to the depth of Christianity practised in both countries, both in the past and still today. Bring healthy appetites, for the food is very good and tasty and so plentiful. If you can extend your trip by a couple of days (before and/or after the guided sections), you can experience more of the local capitals.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
The one thing that stood out for me, was the abandonned sites (mostly factories) left by the Russians. If only they could be demolished, some of the materials used to rebuild, e.g. just crushing some concrete and reuse for sealing more roads. We did not see many homeless people, but convert other disused buildings into housing and so on. We did see a couple of settlements for refugees from Russian occupied areas, in Georgia. Hopefully, more tourists will bring in more money into the local economies.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
I would definitely recommend this trip (with extension to Azerbaijan), to people who want to see more than the well trodden tourist routes in Western Europe.Read the operator's response here:
Thank you. We are delighted that you enjoyed your holiday.
Rachel Mcgavin review 16 Oct 2017
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Travelling into the mountains of Georgia.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Ask the company about the walking, the timing of the itinerary and the time allowed in Yerevan. We found the walks were disappointing or did not happen. Sticks were helpful and proper walking shoes. Accommodating non walkers and walkers meant some compromises which some of the group found disappointing. Overall we felt in order to attract enough people, the walking that was included was not necessarily as described.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
To some extent local people were involved but the amount of driving did nothing to reduce environmental impact.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
We enjoyed our group and the guides were good. We felt the itinerary was unrealistic and not enough time was available to enjoy Yerevan and some of the other places we stayed in.Holiday Reviews
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