Arrival at Tbilisi International Airport

Note: I will be mostly using Georgian Lari (GEL) when talking about amounts. 

1 GEL≈  1 AED; 1 USD ≈ 2 GEL

Everything went smooth in Tbilisi Airport.  Customs and baggage collection was easy as well and there is no security check when leaving the airport.  As for those people who are like me that require a sim card when traveling, I found two kiosks near the airport exit.  The one I went for was Beeline; the number itself costs 20 GEL and if you want data for internet use it costs an extra 7 GEL for 3GB data allowance which is more than enough for a short trip.  They only require to look at your passport to give you the number.

It has come to my attention that it costs less if you purchase it from the stores and shops outside the airport; I read someplace that it is 2 GEL per number but I can't guarantee the price.  The speed of the internet was not very efficient (and for those who care, SnapChat was blocked). 

Taxis are found right at the exit of the airport and it costed about 40 GEL to the Marriott hotel which is about a 20-minute drive.

A review on the Marriott Hotel will be in a different post.

Until next time.

Happy traveling!

Hind

Pre-travel to Georgia: Travel Details and Hotel Booking

Choosing a place to travel is never easy, especially with my family; always wanting to experience new things, meet new people, and understand new cultures.  This time the choice of destination was Georgia, and no not the state.  I got used to saying this sentence due to a lot of people not knowing about this place or assuming that we would not go to the country.  As to the reason or how we found out about this place is as follows:

Eid-Al-Fitr break was coming up and our beloved government gave us a whole week off, which meant a whole 9-days, this meant TRAVEL to us.  Looking at various places over the internet and long hours of conversation with my mother; we of course wanted a place close to Abu Dhabi and were no visas were required since most EU embassies at this time were packed.  I read previous reviews from people who visited Georgia from different nationalities and it was set to Georgia.

Looking on how to get there was the most troubling part, since our local airlines do not have direct flights to Georgia, we found that it was either through FlyDubai or Qatar Airlines.  We set to go through Qatar Airlines because their timing was most suitable for us.

Travel details: 

Departure: 31 July 2014

AUH-DOH: 05:55 - 05:55 (Duration 1hr)

DOH-TBS: 07:25-13:30 (there was one technical stop in Baku, Azerbaijan- total duration 5:05hrs)

Return: 6 August 2014

TBS-DOH: 20:00 - 23:59 (Duration 4:59hrs)

DOH-AUH: 01:55-03:55 (there was one technical stop in Baku, Azerbaijan- total duration 1hr)

Transit waiting time in both departure and return is about 1 hr.

Total ticket cost (at the time):

Business class: AED 12,180 (approx. $3,316)

Economy class: AED 2,100 (approx. $573)

Hotel booking comes next, we booked the hotel through the travel agent in Qatar Airways.

Marriott Hotel, Tbilisi: great location, it overlooks the main avenue in the center of Tbilisi.  The atmosphere is great, food is okay as well.  The room rate, per night was about AED 1,400 (approx. $381). I did not take pictures of the hotel, but they are the same as those found on their website.

Happy traveling!

Hind