Georgia, Armenia and Moldova

Hey guys,

Leaving for Georgia on Tuesday, to spend 2 months visiting Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and Transnistria for my MA dissertation.

Anyone been to these places, or been to the 'parent' states of Georgia, Armenia and Moldova? Any recommendations?

I went to Georgia for 10 days last month. It was a fantastic trip - really interesting and beautiful place! The food is amazing, really interesting cultural influences from neighbouring countries, and everything we ate was locally grown, seasonal, etc.

I'd recommend travelling around the Kakheti region in the east (try some cha-cha, the Georgian version of grappa!) - the wine there is excellent, and you can visit a winery to learn how it's made. Sighnaghi, Telavi and Lagodekhi are all worth passing through. If you're going in the summer definitely go up the Caucaus mountains - possibly in the Lagodekhi national park as you can camp there and hike/cycle.

Tbilisi, the capital, is also worth visiting. The dry bridge market has loads of Soviet paraphernalia and other oddities. Shavi Lomi was one of my favourite cafes. Lots to do there.

Also - a great video on bicycle touring in Georgia (I plan on going back one summer, to do something similar to this!) http://vimeo.com/30601991

@kati hi! Did you ever go back with your bike? I’m looking at the faesability of a touring trip in Georgia and looking for advice and help! Cheers, Ben.