Tbilisi, Georgia

I am travelling to Turkey and am interested in seeing Tbilisi, Georgia also. Has anyone been there who can give me some information on how long to stay or any trips to the Caucasus mountains?

In October 2010 I was in both Istanbul and Tbilisi for the first time. While Istanbul was amazing in it's prosperity and attractions (much more modern than I had imagined), it was Tbilisi that I really loved. Tbilisi is like being in E. Europe years ago - a really charming place. I stayed in the heart of the Old City at a wonderful tiny guesthouse called Skadaveli and would return there in a heartbeat. Central Tbilisi is not large, the food is sensational, and it's people very friendly. Not much English is spoken, but I had no problems. The GE Lari is not convertible, so leave them in Georgia.

Sorry, I don't know much about the rest of the Caucasus, but I did read on the BBC website earlier today about the Russians cracking down in the N. Caucasus in preparation to the '14 Winter Olympics, nearby. I do know that borders are still closed between Armenia and Turkey and Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Georgians are extremely anti-Russian!

I also traveled to the cave city of Vardzia in Georgia (close to the TK border) - totally amazing, and can be done on a day trip from Tbilisi,

I flew between IST and TBS on Pegasus Air (Turkey) - a very good LCC.

Thanks so much for the information. I had wondered if the Russian/Georgian border area was best avoided. You've managed to pique my interest in Tbisili even more though!

(correction)

I flew between SAW and TBS on Pegasus Air (Turkey) - a very good LCC. SAW is Istanbul's smaller airport on the Asian side of the city.