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The trip to Davit Gareja takes 1.5 hour on a cab if driving on the new road or alternatively 2.5 hours on a very bad road, like we did on our way there since the driver did not know how to go the new way. On our way back we went through the new road.
Buses to Pasanuri (a village close to Ananuri) from Didube are quite a rara avis, so if you are in a hurry or want to save the day, it’s worth paying a little extra, hop in a Kazbegi bus and then ask to stop an hour later at Ananuri. For the return to T’bilisi however, you’ll need to hitchhike until the first village, around 20 km, from where there are regular masrhrutkas to T’bilisi. I waited about 20 mminutes until i got the ride.
Marshrutkas for Kazbegi leave Didube station from morning until early afternoon, depending on the length of day , as they have to arrive in Kazbegi before night falls. The journey takes 4 hours and costs 10 lari.The last hour on the road to Kazbegi leads through what's left of the “Georgian military highway”, a bumpy and virtually unpaved path climbing up mountains in narrow U-turns. Pretty cool!
Most marshrutka routes within Georgia departing from T’bilisi seem to use Didube station as hub. (Kutaisi buses can be taken from the railways station as well). This is good news, especially when you need to travel from one town to another and don’t find direct connections. Frequency of connections largely depends on how close to T’bilisi and how large the town of destination is. After passing through Didube a dozen times, I can say that:- Mtskheta – at least every half an hour, all day long, journey takes 20minutes , 2 lari- Gori – at least every 2 hours, all day, journey a little more than 1 hour, 5 lari- Kutaisi – from 07,30 am to 18,00 pm, 4 hours, 10 lari
I arrived in Sighnaghi from Sheki, in Azerbaijan, on a somehow off-the-beaten-path route..While I’ve seen some marshrutkas Telavi (Georgia) – Qax (Azerbaijan) on the road, indicating that there may be a return from Qax, I took a morning marshrutka (10,15) from Sheki to Balakan (1 manat, 2 hours), and a taxi from Balakan to the Georgian border (3 manat). Luckily, other taxis were waiting on the Georgian side (10 lari to nearest village, 30 lari for Sighnaghi after bargain). Arrived in Sighnaghi around 14,00 hours.
From T'bilisi (17,15) to Baku (9,00 next day) 80 lari/40 euros first class, second class about 50 lari. First class means 2 bed compartments, sealed windows, air con in the morning, but no water in the stinky toilet. The wagons' attendant usually requires some small change "for the sheets". The journey includes:- 2-3 hours stay at the border- no smoking on the corridor- receiving food and drinks from friendly local travellers- passing through Mad Max type scenery in the afternoon- filling in applications in Georgian letters
There are several marshrutkas (minivans) between T’bilisi and Yerevan. As the journey lasts around 7-9 hours, depending on how long does it take to cross the border, marshrutkas leave in the morning, usually not after 11 AM.. There’s no night bus/marshrutka, the only way to travel overnight between the two capitals being the train.From Yerevan, marshrutkas for T’bilisi leave from Kilikya Autokayan. From T’bilisi, marshrutkas for Yerevan leave from Ortachala bus station. 20 lari one way, but drams or dollars as well acccepted.
i used the services of Nana Kokiashvili (see my Sighnaghi page). Her husband took us from Sighnaghi to Davit Gareji, waited for over 2 hours, and then left us in T’bilisi, for the cost of 120 lari. I think it was reasonable enough, since the whole thing started at 9 in the morning and we jumped off in T’bilisi around 3 pm. We also had a 30 minutes stop at Niakhuras Tsikhe on the way to Davit Gareji.The road to Davit Gareji is really bumpy, but the deserted hills are quite an image.
Both bus stations and the main railway station are linked to public transportation, so there’s no need to bargain with taxis unless you are in a hurry or the backpack suddenly seems too heavy. The underground network links Didube with the railway station and with the town centre (Tavisuplebis Moedani and Rustaveli). From the other bus station, Ortachala (if you come from Yerevan), there are direct buses to the town centre. The bus stop is on the opposite side of the boulevard. An average taxi ride, from the centre to the railway station or to Ortachala should not be more than 3 dollars/6 lari. But be sure you make it clear where you want to go and set the price before you jump in. If not, you can easily be asked 10-20 lari.
Marshrutkas are the way to get around cities and the country cheaply, and relatively efficiently. They are minivans, and ply all different routes, of varying distances. They can be used on short trips, day trips, or, long distance hauls, for example, between Batumi and Tbilisi, a 7.5 hour journey.They are not the most comfortable means of transport ever. They tend to pack people, and their stuff, in and keep picking up passengers when you just swear that there's no way to hold any more of them and all their stuff.As I said in my Tbilisi page, there never seemed to be a consistent way to determine when you pay, but all you have to do is make sure the driver know when you want to get off. (Easier said than done if you don't speak Georgian, but other passengers were consistently helpful on letting us know when we should depart, and telling the driver for us.)The other problem is that the...
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Q: Is the beach nice in Batumi? Would you recommend going there? How is the water in September?
A: The beach is not sand, but golf ball sized stones. The promenade is quite long with a few activities scattered along it. It's relatively clean. But Batumi is better...
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