Georgia

Experiences Georgia

People

The Georgian people are really great. I got welcomed more that 6 times into Georgia before I even crossed the border into Georgia. In general the Georgian people are very kind towards Foreigners although they may look a big strange at you if you find yourself between the touristic area’s Especially me with my car.

this one day I went to Gergeti. Gergeti Is in the north or Georgia, about 10 km from the Russian border. I found myself a pretty nice guesthouse in a town nearby. When trying to go out for dinner I met a group of friends from Georgia. After a little chat and a shot of homemade chacha(you can compare it with wodka) they invited me to join them for dinner.

“Be warned, their tolerance regarding alcohol is extremely high”

As i do like my occasional beer or wine, i can say i’m used to drinking alcohol. but there is no way for me to keep up with them. We had dinner with a lot of homemade wine and palinka and after a great evening everybody stands up easily without any problems.

Georgia in a nutshell

Georgia is a great country with a lot of diversity. You can find ski resorts in the norths, beaches on the east and a lot of mountains all over the country. Maybe winter is not the best time to visit Georgia because it can get pretty cold out there. Anyway. I did enjoy Georgia a lot despite the cold and snow.

Not getting any better I would say!

Couchsurfing

I did not use any couchsurfing in Georgia. So not much to say about that.                               

Accommodation

In general accommodation if easy to find in Georgia. Their tourist is already developing in the good way. In most area’s you will find hostels, guesthouses or hotels. The prices are not that high. I payed for a nice dormitory about 19 Gel (6 euro) you will find guesthouses or hotels from 30 Gel (9.5 euro)

Religion

Georgia is not a specific religious country. There are no rules about religion with about 80% Christian and 10% Muslim.

Culture

In Georgia there is a strong wine culture. They love their wines and don’t dare to say you don’t like it. With in the east of Georgia a lot of winery’s they are famous for this.

‘Gaumarjos’ The Georgian cheers. The ‘tamada’ is the leader of the table. He will tell people when to drink their wine or Chacha. In general you will start a meal with a glass of wine. The custom is that the tamada is giving a small speech and tell everybody what to cheer on. For example: Cheers to our beloved and beautiful woman. After this everybody will drink their drinks to the end.

Gaumarjos!

The task of the tamada is to get the party started, not to get everybody drunk as fast as possible. The second task of the tamada is to make sure nobody get drunk. In the beginning of the evening the drinking speed will be high, he will slow down the longer the evening takes.

Police

They police in Georgia is really friendly towards travellers. They will help you if needed. They even have to duty to help you getting to a safe place if you feel unsafe.

‘one time I got pulled over by highway police Mercedes. Yes, they drive in pretty decent and expensive cars. This police man was totally impressed of me driving trough Georgia with my beelte. He had never seen a foreign beetle before on the Georgian roads. He asked me very politely if he could sit in the car and if he could sign my car😊’

They are really polite and friendly and only there to help.

Traffic

Traffic in Georgia can be a bit different from Europe. For me not a big deal because I am used to different kinds of driving. Without that much experience it can be challenging. In general people drive in really old cars full of scratches and bumps. They don’t really care if they hit something. Keep this in mind. Some of these people drive really fast, so you will see the occasional car upside down on the side of the roads.

Road conditions

I have the feeling that the road conditions are getting better really fast. Most of the main roads are pretty decent. But be careful for the occasional pothole. If you are going to the back-roads the situation can get pretty bad. They don’t really maintain these roads so there will be a pothole every couple meters.

Car insurance

When entering Georgia you need to get a car insurance. As far as my information goes the European car insurance company’s don’t cover Georgia. When crossing the border into Georgia the custom official will point you to a small office behind the border to get a car insurance. The cost of such an insurance is about 30 euro’s for 30 days.

Crossing the border with your vehicle

Crossing the border into Georgia is a pretty fast and easy process. I crossed from the Sarpi border into Georgia. They welcomed me 6 times before I was in Georgia and In my case they where more interested in my story and car then in checking paperwork’s. Customs are really helpful and friendly.  With an European car you don’t need any special papers to cross the border.

Language

The Georgians do speak English. But expect this only on the borders and in touristic area’s. going out of the touristic area’s it become less quit fast.

Money

The money used in Georgia is GEL. The general Georgian does not trust their own currency that much. A couple of them are always changing their savings to euro or dollar.

Getting money in Georgia is easy. You can either take money from the ATM. Check different banks because some of them might take a percentage for giving out money from a foreign account. I always used the TBC bank because they didn’t take an extra percentage.

Getting money form an exchange office is also a good option. You will find these in most toeristic area’s shop around a little bit for a good rate.

Internet connection

You will find pretty reliable internet connections. A lot of places do have glass fiber connections and good wifi.

Getting a sim card is a good idea. You can pick up a sim card in a lot of telecom provider stores for a couple of euro’s. Just bring your passport because they need to make a registration.

Alcohol

Alcohol is widely available in Georgia. As Georgia being on of the biggest wine producers you will find a lot of good and tasty wines around. Drinking beer is considered the cheap and low life option.

They have had a bunch of problems in the past with alcohol and driving. Police is really strict on driving with alcohol. The policy is 0.0%. do absolute not drive when you had some alcohol. They do have a lot of alcohol checks, especially in the evening and at night.

Health insurance

There Is no need of a special health insurance in Georgia. Your own insurance policy probably covers Georgia. Check your policy to be sure.