Georgia and Armenia are two former Soviet Union countries, that has been getting the attention of travellers lately due to its impressive landscapes and natural beauty. One thing that you should also know is that, a trip to these two countries won’t break your bank as the prices are relatively low considering that it is part of Europe. 

Last week, I have written about our 9 Day Itinerary on these two amazing countries. As promised, I will be laying down how much we have spent (approximately) during our vacation.

Note: AMD or Armenian Dram is the currency in Armenia while GEL or Georgian Lari in Georgia.

Air Ticket

If you are like us, who is coming from Doha, Qatar, an economy air ticket usually range from QAR 1,800 (USD 490) to QAR 4,000 (USD 1,095) depending on how early you booked your flight, the season of your trip and if there are layovers. We booked our ticket with Qatar Airways. Initially, our flight to Georgia have a layover of 12 hours at Azerbaijian. Thankfully, that flight was cancelled, so they moved us to a direct flight, which gave us additional one day for this trip.

To know more about air ticket prices from your place to Georgia or Armenia, you may check out Skyscanner.

Accommodation

We are a bit finicky when choosing an accommodation during our travels, but we always make sure that it is within our budget. Below are the places where we stayed on this trip. The rooms that we booked have its own bathroom and the prices below doesn’t include breakfast.

There were some flaws during our stay, but the positives still outweigh the negatives, that’s why I would still recommend these places. You can check them out at booking.com.

Depending on your budget, you can opt to stay in a posh or average hotels, cheap hostels, apartments or you can even do coach surfing. But whatever your choice will be, one thing that you should always consider is the location. It should be within walking distance from various tourist attractions, restaurants, stores or at least near a train or bus station.

Daily Tours

A lot of tourist attractions in Georgia and Armenia are located outside the city center, that’s why it is recommended to either hire a car or join a tour, as public transportation to reach these places are somewhat limited or impossible.

During our time in Armenia, we hired a car with driver as recommended by our host at the accommodation. The price is per car and per day, based on the places that you would want to visit. The car that we used has 4 seating capacity, once you maximized this, the price per head will be lesser.

The total amount below is the cost per person assuming that we reached the maximum capacity of the car.

 

As for our tours in Georgia, we got the service of Kartveli Tours for Day 6 and 7 on a private basis, while G7 Euro Travel and Tours provided the trip on Days 8 and 9. Both of their price quotations are per person and based on the tours that we have selected.

Kindly note that tour prices may vary based on the season, the number of persons in your group or the places that you wanted to include on the itinerary.

Entrance Fees

Most of the tourist attractions on these two countries doesn’t have entrance fees except for the following places we visited. I have also included here the fares that we have paid for the cable cars and funicular to get to certain attractions.

Transportation

Both of these countries got various options when it comes to public transportation. If you want to get around the city or travel to other cities, you can use their trains, metro, buses and taxis. The fares are relatively cheap. We didn’t get to use their public transportation often as we were usually on tours and the hotels where we stayed in are within walking distance to the city center.

Below are some information on the fares of the public transportation that we were able to use.

Food

Food is very affordable in these countries. Their cuisines are somewhat similar with each other, but the taste is different. One food that is always present every meal is bread. They consume it just like how we Filipinos devour rice.

In Armenia, a complete meal of meat, bread and drinks on an average restaurant can cost around AMD 2,000 to 5,000 (USD 4 to 10.50). While in Georgia, it can cost around GEL 15 to 30  (USD 6.25 to 12.50). Wines are also cheap on these countries and most people living there consume it every meal.

If we will talk about the cost of food per day per person, I would recommend you to budget atleast AMD 10,000 (USD 20) in Armenia while GEL 60 (USD 25) in Georgia. This is assuming that you are like me who loves to eat and try different types of food, you won’t be skipping any meal and you will be dining in average or casual restaurants. But it can be lowered down if you opt to prepare your own food or you will buy in grocery stores.

Other Expenses

Visa fees – This is based on the nationality or your residency. Filipinos living in the Middle East are visa free in Georgia, while in Armenia, one must pay AMD 3,000 (USD 6) for a single entry visa on arrival.

Souvenirs – I already forgot how much the souvenirs cost for each countries. All I remembered was we paid AMD 8,000 (USD 17) and GEL 60 (USD 25) for some keychains and ref magnets that we purchased.

I believe these are all it. Just do the math guys in getting the total for all the expenses. I hope this can help you in budgeting your own trip either to Georgia or Armenia.

P.S.: I used Google in translating the amounts to USD and rounded it off as well.

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Tour Operators

Tours in Armenia:

Artur 
+374 91 584 550 (available also in whatsapp)

Tours in Georgia:

Kartveli Tours
www.kartvelitours.com
+995 557 213 515 (available also in whatsapp)
contact@kartvelitours.com

G7 Euro Travel and Tours
www.g7eurotravelandtours.com
+ 995-579-128-007 (available also in whatsapp)
g7eurotravelandtours@gmail.com