Anna

Our journey through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia was unforgettable. Each guide was excellent — Svetlana in Azerbaijan, Temo in Georgia, and Anna in Yerevan — and we felt very well looked after throughout. The hotels were nice, comfortable and centrally located though 3*. We are glad we did not choose the 4*. Thank you for such a well-organized and memorable trip.

Hi Hasmik,

Thanks so much for the best service and communication pre-tour and during the tour checking with me all the time, we couldn’t have been cared for more. All the guides were wonderful, sites were great, the drivers were good and careful. Though I was shocked how fast the driving was in Georgia and Azerbaijan, but our drivers were driving very well.

I am very glad I chose this trip to cover as much as possible. We thoroughly enjoyed the 3 Caucasus countries and the sites. The group members were also great and lovely people.

I had a wonderful time! 

Hi Sati,

Azerbaijan

Rugiya - Very good. Ali (?) the driver - Very good. Baku is a very interesting city and visually stimulating (new skyscrapers, Soviet, ancient, not dirty or crowded). The old city is excellent.I bought a big carpet which is very heavy to carry around and joins the 50 rugs which I have to ship to Australia now! The carpet museum and the Haida Aliyev museums are excellent (we needed more time). The miniature books museum was fun and impressive. The mud volcanoes were interesting and fun. The detour over the hills on the way to Georgia was worth doing to see remote Azerbaijan and the roadside lunch with the two old locals was very enjoyable (thank to Shermineh for huge huge appetite!).

Georgia.

Layla - Very good. Driver (?) - very good. Tbilisi is very scenic in the centre and the old city is excellent. The old fashioned hammam (# 5) is the best (most extreme) and more interesting (they are all different styles) than the old traditional hammams in Istanbul and Bukhara. N.B. Only for blokes who are not easily embarrassed! The Ananuri Fortress was a good trip, very scenic and very interesting as was the old capital. The trip to the Russian border is visibly beautiful.

Armenia

Anna - Very good Driver Sergei - Very good and his drone videos were fun. Fascinating history, sad but uplifting as well. The Genocide museum is emotionally gruelling but essential and the guide there was excellent. The manuscript museum very good. Yerevan is fun and the Cascades are inspiring. Beautiful setting under Ararat. Lavash baking good.

General.

The organisation (you?)was tight and effective and the agenda was good. The guides and drivers were always reliable and punctual and fun!. We all felt that at least half a day by ourselves to wander around in the city centres would have been useful but I understand that some guests might feel they don’t want to pay for having ‘free time’ — we would have willingly done so!

The histories, cultures and foods of all countries are fascinating (and I am not usually interested in what I eat!).

Despite being an ex-international banker, I am interested in the language, nature, geology and economy of everywhere I visit, as well as history and culture. If the guides don’t know much about these areas would it be a good idea to have brief written A4 summaries to hand out for each country? My Lonely Planet book was not very informative.

I felt it may have been fun for us occasionally to have an evening meal all together at a ‘local’ restaurant (especially if there is folk-dancing or music). I appreciate that it would be difficult with people in different hotels and the guides had their own families to look after!

We are very busy trying to sell our house in England and shipping our mountain of possessions to Oz. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best wishes from Kevin and Sue and thanks to all for a splendid trip!