Georgia Trip Advice Please
 

Re: Georgia Trip Advice Please
 

Been a couple years so not the most recent information but I do know I ate and drank pretty well. Surprisingly well. Relied on tripadvisor for reviews and suggestions. Old Town Tbilisi is very charming, a mix of the restored and picturesque decay. Saw plenty of coffee shops and wine bars. Did day trips to the monasteries and the mountains. Take the bus up to Stepantsminda and trek up to Kazbegi and the church at the top. Bus is only about 2.5 hours from Tbilisi, I believe.

Re: Georgia Trip Advice Please
 

Went there at Easter. Great place. Change money at the airport; very easy, loads of places, but do check the rates - when I changed mine, all were showing the same rate except for one which had a measurably better rate. Changing AED at the airport is easy, but I was advised also to take $ or Euro if you might end up changing money further afield. I think I also drew money out of a cashpoint once without difficulty.
We stayed in one of the family rooms at Fabrika Tblisi - highly recommended, and the Fabrika is a great place to hang out (loads of small bars and restaurants in the old courtyard). Its not in the oldest part of town, but it's walkable, or a quick taxi ride.
Taxis are not great, but use an app - Taxify and Yandex both worked prefectly, and are (a) a lot cheaper than normal taxis, and (b) a lot easier to use as you don't need to speak Georgian to tell the driver where to go to.
If you decide to explore out of town, PM me and I'll let you have the number of a driver we used - he's South African, married to a Georgian woman, and has 2 Suzuki 4x4 minibusses. He was recommended to us, and I'm more than happy to recommend him on.
Tblisi is a fantastic city, lots of good recommendations on Trip Advisor for places to eat. If you do stay at the Fabrika, try the Black Lion restaurant nearby - though you will need to get someone to tell you where it is, as it is completely unsigned, and you definitely need to make a reservation. Tripadvisor has its location.
Definitely go to the Stalin underground printing press - details on tripadvisor also. A complete throwback to the communist era, run by the former leader of Georgia's communist party, who is still a complete unconverted believer. He doesn't charge, but I suggest you should leave a small tip. He also doesn't speak any English, but we managed to communicate with a mixture of handwaving, very basic russian words, and scraps of other languages - and he had a bit of paper with a few English works written on them to help. But if you can go with someone who speaks Georgian or Russian you'll benefit!
Also highly recommend one of the free Tbilisi Hack Free Walking Tours.
Anyway, it's a great place!

Re: Georgia Trip Advice Please
 

Must be good. Not sure that Georgia is in the Middle East. I would say The Caucasus. Will you visit the birthplace of Comrade Djugashvili. aka Stalin ?

Re: Georgia Trip Advice Please
 

Thank you for all your advice. Can’t wait to explore it all!

Re: Georgia Trip Advice Please
 

Re: Georgia Trip Advice Please
 

2.5 hours on a Georgian bus to then trek uphill to a church?

I like exploring but holy hell that would need to be a special church, draped in gold and offering free beer and tummy rubs.