Category Pages For: Where To Stay

Detailed analyses of where to stay in particular destinations

SEPTEMBER 2019: OVERVIEW: We have just spent 3 nights in Kutaisi, Georgia. KUTAISA (QUICK NOTES): I won’t provide a full write-up of Kutaisi because, to be brutally honest, I didn’t do much. That said, Kutaisi offers many good day trip options: Gelati Monastery, Prometheus Cave, Okatse Canyon, Martvili Canyon, and Imereti to name a few. You can also take multi-day tours from Kutaisi north into Svaneti National Park. GETTING THERE: I started in Akhaltsikhe. I walked to the Central Bus Station and caught the 10:30am bus to Kutaisi. My suitcase went under the back seat. I was not charged extra […]

Mtskheta – Georgia – Living Ideas

SEPTEMBER 2019: OVERVIEW: We have just spent 3 nights in Gyumri, Armenia.  We now go to our first stop in Georgia: Akhaltsikhe. PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Georgia is the Lari (or the ‘GEL’). I will refer to them as G$s. At the time of writing: US$1 EU€1 GB£1 G$2.96 G$3.28 G$3.69 Over time, these exchange rates will change. Please check the current rates. GETTING THERE: Minibuses are the most common form of transport in this part of the World. The problem with these minibuses is that most don’t have any luggage space. If you have a big backpack or […]

Akhaltsikhe – Georgia – Living Ideas

SEPTEMBER 2019: OVERVIEW: We have just spent 3 nights in the capital city: Yerevan.  We are on our way to Georgia. Our next (and final) stop in Armenia is Gyumri … PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Armenia is the Dram (or the ‘AMD’). I will refer to them as A$s. At the time of writing: US$1 EU€1 GB£1 A$475 A$525 A$595 Over time, these exchange rates will change. Please check the current rates. GETTING THERE: You can catch an inter-city minibus from either the Central or the Sasuntsi David Bus Stations. Most leave from Central. The price is A$1,500. The journey […]

Gyumri – Armenia – Journey

SEPTEMBER 2019: OVERVIEW: We have just spent 3 nights in Goris which is said to be ‘one of the top 10 nicest towns in Armenia’.  Goris made my mind up – I am leaving Armenia and going to Georgia. To get to Georgia I have to go through the length of Armenia and connect in (the capital city) Yerevan. I decided to have a quick look at Yerevan on the way … PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Armenia is the Dram (or the ‘AMD’). I will refer to them as A$s. At the time of writing: US$1 EU€1 GB£1 A$475 A$530 […]

Yerevan – Armenia – Journey

SEPTEMBER 2019: OVERVIEW: We have just spent 6 nights in the Health Spa town of Jermuk. Being a popular Health Spa town, Jermuk is relatively expensive for Armenia. It is time for us to try out a less touristic, more remote town: Goris. The internet says that Goris is one of the ‘top 10 nicest towns in Armenia’ … so, let’s have a look … PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Armenia is the Dram (or the ‘AMD’). I will refer to them as A$s. At the time of writing: US$1 EU€1 GB£1 A$475 A$530 A$585 Over time, these exchange rates will […]

Goris – Armenia – Living Ideas

SEPTEMBER 2019: OVERVIEW: We have just spent a week on a road trip in Transylvania, Romania. We ended up in Bucharest. It is time for us to move on to an Armenian Health Spa Resort … PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Armenia is the Dram (or the ‘AMD’). I will refer to them as A$s. At the time of writing: US$1 EU€1 GB£1 A$475 A$520 A$570 Over time, these exchange rates will change. Please check the current rates. GETTING THERE: There are direct flights from Romania to Armenia. TAROM FLIGHT: I booked a one-way ticket from Bucharest to Yerevan on […]

Jermuk – Armenia – Health Spa

AUGUST 2019: OVERVIEW: This is not a typical GRANDPAcking Post. This post is about my personal journey through Transylvania, Romania. It was such a pleasant experience that I felt that it needed to be told. I did not want the experience nor the pictures to be lost. Enjoy. I travelled by shuttle bus from Belgrade, Serbia to Timisoara, Romania. It was a 5 hour trip that cost US$17. From Timisoara, I took a train to Sibiu. The trip took 6 hours and cost R$67 / US$16. We, now, do a 1 week road trip in Transylvania. Our Road Trip will take […]

Transylvania – Romania – Road Trip

AUGUST 2019: OVERVIEW: We have just spent 5 nights in Timisoara which is located in western Romania near the Serbian border. I found it to be a little ‘ho hum’. We, now, head further east into Transylvania … our first ‘port of call’ is the historical town of Sibiu. PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Romania is the Leu (or the ‘RON’). I will refer to them as R$s. At the time of writing: US$1 EU€1 GB£1 R$4.26 R$4.73 R$5.16 Over time, these exchange rates will change. Please check the current rates. GETTING THERE: Sibiu is about 270 kms east of Timisoara. […]

Sibiu – Romania – Information

AUGUST 2019: OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Romania is the Lei (the RON). I will refer to them as R$s. At the time of writing, US$1 = R$4.26. We have just spent 4 nights in Bajina Basta, Serbia … … followed by a long weekend in Belgrade, Serbia. We, now, head east into Romania … our first ‘port of call’ is the city of Timisoara … GETTING THERE: You can get from Belgrade to Timisoara by public transport: Train-Taxi-Train (via Vrsac / Moravita), Bus-Taxi-Bus (via Vrsac / Moravita), and long distance bus. I chose to go by Shuttle Bus. […]

Timisoara – Romania – Information

AUGUST 2019: OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Serbia is the Republic of Serbia Dinar / the RSD (I will refer to them as S$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = S$105. We have just spent 4 nights in the famous Ski Resort town of Zlatibor.We now head north to the small town of Bajina Basta … GETTING THERE: We need to get to the Bus Station in the centre of Zlatibor. I purchased my ticket to Bajina Basta the previous day to guarantee a seat. The ticket costs S$400. The bus leaves at 2:15pm. You pay an extra […]

Bajina Basta – Serbia – Information

AUGUST 2019: OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Serbia is the Republic of Serbia Dinar / the RSD (I will refer to them as S$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = S$105. We have just spent 4 nights in Sofia, Bulgaria … … and 3 nights in Nis, southern Serbia. We experienced a lot of history and culture. Back in Bulgaria, we made an off-season, summertime visit to Borovets which is a famous ski resort. It was now time to compare Borovets to the famous ski resort of Zlatibor in Serbia. Again, we were going in the off-season / […]

Zlatibor – Serbia – Information

JULY 2019: OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Serbia is the Republic of Serbia Dinar / the RSD (I will refer to them as S$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = S$105. We have just spent 4 nights in Sofia, Bulgaria. For me, a visit to somewhere like Sofia is all about experiencing history and culture. We, now, head north to our first stop in Serbia: Nis … to experience more history and culture … GETTING THERE: We need to get to the Central Bus Station in Sofia which is located north of city centre next to the main […]

Nis – Serbia – Information