Rome, Yerevan And Tbilisi In 10 Days – Was It All Worth It?

Rome, Yerevan and Tbilisi In 10 Days – Was It All Worth It?

Ever since visiting Georgia and Armenia the year before to say I wanted to go back – I think this was an understatement. I even remember quite well just sitting there in the Friends Hostel in Georgia searching for another flight to come back out. I think there was one with a stop over in Milan but mostly everything else seemed very expensive.

It was something that I kind of bugged me as I did feel like I hadn’t seen really everything out here. So, this was something I was on and off looking for until one night out at the pub when I found my solution.

This involved flying to Rome first, I could pick up a £31 flight there and then a £51 flight on to Yerevan where I could go to Tblisi with a 19 euro transfer. It was a sound plan and not only this but the flight I found back from Georgia was a direct flight for under £50 too.

It was a no brainer – Rome was somewhere I’d visited the previous year and had been meaning to revisit anyway — I never got round to exploring the Roman Forum. I had a walk around the colosseum but I really felt at the time that it was shame I didn’t get to go around the nearby grounds because I was there too late.

So it seemed like the perfect plan. Two birds with one stone – But was it?

Going Back To Rome — Not As Great As I Thought It Would Be

My last trip to Rome was pretty good overall. Missing my ferry to Tunisia aside, I’d found it a fascinating place — the Colosseum, the ancient buildings – all of it! It was quite an experience so definitely I would say I came back expecting more of the same as my last visit here.

Although, things got off to a bad start almost immediately. I tried my card on the train barrier, it didn’t work, and with the train right there and the barrier open, I made the daft decision to just get on and try to buy a ticket from the inspector (If I wasn’t able to avoid him entirely – which I did not).

Back in England, I’ve occasionally managed to sort this out by finding the inspector and asking upfront — but this particular inspector was having absolutely none of it.

Fifty euros for the fine, then twelve euros for the actual fare on top. That was nearly everything I had on me, and it hit hard given I’d been hoping for a budget-friendly stop over before heading to Yerevan.

Getting Lost and Finding My Hostel

The funny thing here was that even though my hostel was only 25 minutes away from Rome Termini Train Station – Yet, it still took my 6 hours to finally get here – spending almost an hour walking in circles before I finally found it.

I was grateful there was no one with me — I’d have driven them absolutely mad I’m sure.

Then there was the hostel itself. It wasn’t the cheap bunk beds there or the shared room that shocked me — it was within minutes of being there seeing a very large rat run across the top of a sofa in the garden area. I’d gone out to drink a beer and I just couldn’t believe my eyes.

The Indian receptionist seemed oddly unbothered when I told him – saying he sees them often, they live on the roof and they make him feel less alone. A very strange response and I suppose with all the connected roofs etc. you probably couldn’t get rid of these animals even if you wanted to but it was very off putting for me.

I think that between this hostel and the last one I stayed at in Rome — where anything that could be broken was broken — I’m clearly going to need to be a lot more careful with my choices in future if I ever return.

The Next Day and the Irish Pub Near The Colosseum

If truth be told I love a good old proper pub. I hate getting drunk and wasting my money but definitely finding somewhere like this to sit down and relax will always be a bit of a honey trap for me I think. But it was quite bad – this was supposed to be my big sightseeing day — the Roman Forum, maybe another look at the Colosseum and really kind of justifying my reasons for coming back here.

I suppose it is quite funny but still quite sad – Instead, of doing my thing as a tourist I walked straight past the Colosseum, found this pub at half one in the afternoon, and didn’t leave until half one in the morning.

I got back to the hostel very late, very loud, and I must have upset everyone. I firstly was asking everyone in my room for a lighter for my cigarette and then I was laughing my head off reading a reddit post about how you can light a cigarette with a microwave, a bit of paper and the lead off a pencil.

I put a screenshot off this on Facebook next to another saying how dangerous this could be and I was in hysterics. 3:30 in the morning and this was before I fell asleep and started snoring my head off.

The next morning I got a proper earful from my dormmates — I didn’t like getting told off but honestly, I couldn’t argue with a word of it – I knew what I did – I was just relieved to be leaving.

Heading For The Airport — and Missing My Train

By this point I actually couldn’t wait to get out of Italy. The €50 euro fine, seeing the rat, the confrontation with my room mates — I’d had more than had enough of being in this city – I couldn’t wait to get to Yerevan.

However, I had a couple of beers that morning, which probably didn’t help my focus, and then made a last-minute dash for the train. I made it with a minute or two to spare, which felt like a triumph but if only it was.

What I never did was actually look at where I had to get to. I just assumed that this train would take me straight to the airport but the longer I was on here the more I felt something was wrong.

I eventually plucked up the courage to ask a fellow passenger how far we were, and discovered I’d missed my stop entirely. I was supposed to change at Rome Ostiense and head to the airport — instead I was at the end of the line in Civitavecchia, miles away from where I was supposed to change at.

Staying an Extra Night in Italy (Civitavecchia)

This was an absolute nightmare – my first instinct was to jump back on the train heading back in the other direction but there was just no time. It was about half one and my flight was at four – It just didn’t seem doable, and when Uber quoted me €110 to get there that was it – I didnt even want to try.

Maybe i could have made it if I got the Uber but I thought if I got there and still missed my flight it would be another load of money gone to waste. So I found the nearest Cafe and sat down. It felt eeirily similar to when I missed the ferry in Salerno the year before. I just had to take a breather and decide what to do next.

Staying in Italy for any longer than I actually needed to be was just not an option. I thought about Malta and Croatia but in the end what I decided was to just get to Yerevan and resume my initial plans.

£90 on the credit card it cost me for a new flight the next afternoon – more money that I shouldn’t have had to spend but it had to be done. I got an apartment just down the road and actually Civitavecchia turned out to be a pleasant enough place to be stranded — it’s by the sea, quite relaxed, and somewhere I can actually imagine coming back to properly one day – maybe to properly catch the ferry to Tunisia.

Something I will have to keep in mind for the future but anyway from this point it felt like my nightmare (at last) was over. There was no way I would be making the same mistakes again and I could finally get on with the rest of my trip.

Getting To Yerevan — With a Few Hiccups

So actually I guessed that after getting to Yerevan at almost midnight that a few hiccups were probably inevitable. The place I headed to stay was the Jan Hotel Hostel (where I’d stayed on my last trip) and even though I was 24 hours late I came here hoping I still had an ongoing booking.

It was really quite a pain in the backside. Firstly, the mobile data I’d bought at the airport I could not get to work. This left me stuck for 30 minutes trying to get the Yandex Go app running with the WiFi so I could book a taxi.

I didn’t want to ask for a taxi from one of the drivers at the airport as I was worried about being over charged but In the end I did and surprisingly It was fine — under £10 it cost me, and he got me here even though I couldn’t show him exactly where the hostel was due to having no internet.

It was a relief getting here at first but my head ache wasn’t quite over. By this time it was nearly half past midnight, it was freezing cold with snow on the ground, and nobody was answering the door at the hostel.

The restaurant across the road was still open but annoyingly they would not let me connect to their WiFi. I’d hoped I could phone or WhattsApp to get let in but it was just a waste of time.

The only thing I could do really was to keep knocking and eventually, after ringing the bell again, I was let in. My host here wasn’t exactly thrilled with my timing, but he was good enough to let me stay and even though I had to make a new booking everything was actually fine.

Staying In Yerevan — The Part I Kind of Hated

It was genuinely quite nice to be back in Yerevan. Like Tbilisi it is very charming with a lot of character about it. I definitely felt that last time I didn’t spend enough time here – so this time for sure I wanted to see more of the city. The zoo was high on my list and I was thinking a lot about doing another tour but sadly I never did either.

What stopped me I think was I kept looking at the snow and I was just thinking the worst. I just thought what if it doesn’t stop? I am already one day late getting here and I wont have enough time in Georgia.

It was definitely quite a hasty decision – I sat down with some food and booked my transport to Tbilisi for the next morning. I should have given it at least another day – I was quite sad to leave so soon but my thinking was that I’d still have had a good few days in Georgia and I couldn’t do much with all the snow anyway.

The Drive to Tbilisi From Yerevan

Getting to my pick up point was no trouble. It was the same place I left from last time but once my transport was off and driving – this was the part what really made me wish I had stayed here longer.

The snow on the mountains looked absolutely incredible. All I could think was I probably could have still booked a tour for this day and it would have been such a unique experience whilst the weather was like how it was.

At this point I really felt I was rushing too much. I can’t imagine the usual tour would have been cancelled and even I probably could have gone to the zoo without issue too – and I really should have.

That said, Georgia is my favourite of the two countries, so it was good to be heading back. And I had a great eBay sale on the journey — £80 for a Transformers figure I’d paid £2 for.

I think after Italy, that felt like winning the lottery to be honest after my recent bad luck / costly mistakes

Tbilisi — Some Problems, But I Was Finally Back!

Actually, there was a problem I knew I would have waiting for me in Tbilisi – I’d have no mobile data and I need this to get a taxi to my hostel. It is exactly why I need to get an eSim for future trips. The sooner I get one of these the better. I’d definitely suggest this for any would be traveller but anyway – I thought I’d be alright because I was expecting to be dropped near the McDonald’s (Isani Mall) where I could use the WiFi.

I am not sure where they dropped me off. I think actually it may have only been just around the corner but I kept walking and making life difficult for myself. No mobile data, no Google Maps, and nobody I spoke to was helping. A hotel I tried for WiFi told me to go away, as did the guys at the Yandex Taxi Office but fortunately I found the McDonald’s in the end, and from here ordered a Bolt Taxi and finally I made it to the Galaxy hostel.

It was a funny place – £4 a night, cheap enough but no curtains on the beds, and a fairly swift stream of complaints about my snoring. It was pretty rubbish really – I had tea bags but the only kettle was one you had to heat on the stove and there was no cups. It was OK for WiFi and had Hot Water but I probably wouldn’t stay again unless I really had to.

The Next Day — Tbilisi Zoo and Another Irish Pub

My mission this next morning was quite simple – find a phone shop and get a Georgian SIM card so I would have mobile data. I thought it would be easy enough to find somewhere but I kept putting it off and it was just silly really because I could have found one if I just paid a bit more attention.

That morning I set off in what seemed like a reasonable direction and, the best part was that completely by accident, whilst crossing over a high bridge, I spotted the baboons from the zoo in the distance.

This was one place I definitely wanted to revisit.

My 3rd time here after coming twice on my last stay in the city.

I paid the 4 GEL to get in and spent a lovely morning wandering around seeing Begi the Hippo, the monkeys, the vultures, and everything else.

The big wheel was running, but for some reason they didn’t let me on – which was a shame, but otherwise it was a really nice visit.

I had the best hot dog here too. They are so good in Georgia. Mostly the bread but I was really craving them after this for basically my whole stay.

So, I left the zoo and, the plan was: find a phone shop, and maybe somewhere else to eat but Instead, after walking past the Billy Burkes Irish bar I just couldnt help myself.

Going Back To Billy Burkes

Thankfully the Irish bar was still open after this and they let me charge up my phone. I then did what I should have done hours ago – called a taxi. It was beyond stupid that I didn’t earlier and I actually couldn’t believe it on the way back, out the taxi window I spotted a phone shop directly across the road from the bar.

And if this wasn’t bad enough this was where Google maps was telling me to go to to get back to my hostel. All I had to do was cross the road but Instead I spent hours walking round in circles – I felt so daft (again).

Coming Back Drunk and Almost Getting Thrown Out of My Hostel

I was pretty much out of it by this point. I’d lost count of the amount of beers I had. It was kind of like they was mistakenly not charging my card and I was taking the mickey and I was drinking one pint after another.

I stopped at the shop on the way back to the hostel – I bought a couple of bottles of beer to drink with a big bag of doritos. It didn’t even occur to me that this might be a problem — I only noticed the “No Alcohol” sign after a member of staff came over to me swearing his head off and letting me know in no uncertain terms that it wasn’t allowed.

I was lucky because the sign also said that they could ask people to leave for coming in here drunk. I wasn’t in a position to argue so I apologized and went outside to finish my beer before quietly coming back in.

I ended up sleeping on the lounge sofa that night. I thought I would spare my dormmates another night of my snoring – which I expected to be much worse because of my drinking. At some point the next morning I fell asleep again while on my laptop — this was funny because I even got told off for snoring by one of the cleaners.

Even the sofas weren’t safe.

Mobile Data and Mtatsminda Park

I found a phone shop pretty quickly the following morning. Probably because I had sobered up – I stopped into a McDonald’s after this to do some blogging for a while, and there I decided that I would again head up to Mtatsminda Park on the cable car.

It was covered in snow and bitterly cold up there, but what a place. The views over the city from every angle are just incredible. And this time, for the first time, I got to ride the rollercoaster.

On my previous two visits something had always got in the way, but I noticed a group of Indian tourists getting on and just followed them. A bit scary, but deeply satisfying to tick off the list.

I also had trout with pomegranate sauce at one of the restaurants up here — a dish I’d had on my last visit, though I couldn’t track down the exact same place this time so had it somewhere else.

Finding The Begi Hippo Statue

This was actually before Mtatsminda, I realized looking at my photos. I spent a nice morning wandering through a lovely park to get here and although it took me a while I finally found the Begi the Hippo statue.

This was tucked away near a big duck pond, and just sitting here was so nice.

I stopped at a café on the way back from here – after briefly getting lost (again lol). They had very tasty hot dogs here which I had with a pot of green tea. It’s not something I’d normally go for at home, but they were made with really good bread rolls and I actually couldn’t get enough of them.

Back To The Friends Hostel — A Much Better Choice

On my last full day in Georgia I decided to cut my losses on the £4 room at the Galaxy Hostel and move somewhere else. That morning I had another barrage of complaints about my snoring – a Russian woman here give me a good telling off because she found one of my room mates crying because he couldn’t get any sleep. I should have left sooner for £4 a night it wasn’t the end of the world and it was much better at the next place.

I booked a private room this time at the Friends Hostel in Tbilisi — £17 for the night, and it was the best decision I made on the whole trip.

I stayed here last time and It was great to be back. Especially, because there were students here drinking – they didn’t have any strict rules, no mad Russian women and I was able to actually make a cup of tea with no issues.

Really, the only shame was that I hadn’t booked this place for my whole stay. I should have booked further in advance but I kind of assumed it would be free but it was not for all my dates.

My Last Morning — The Botanical Garden

My flight on this last day wasn’t until 17:30 (Georgian time) so I had a full morning left to do something. I’d been wanting to visit Turtle Lake, which I found out about last time after climbing the stairs up to the Mother of Georgia statue. That last time I only see it sign posted I never actually went there so I was hoping to see it this time.

Although, I didn’t quite find it this time either – I thought I had when I found a ticketed gate near the statue but this was the Botanical Garden — and it was absolutely incredible.

Five GEL to get in, and then you follow this trail down into something genuinely beautiful. A bamboo garden, a river, and a waterfall! I was a bit gutted knowing I couldn’t explore it properly with one eye on the time, but it’s absolutely somewhere I’d love to come back to see with more time on my hands.

Flying Home Back To Luton

It was a good relaxed flight home, and one of the perks of staying in Georgia is it being four hours ahead of the UK – which meant I still got back at at a reasonable hour.

My sister picked me up, I collected a pile of Vinted deliveries I’d been buying on the road, and I even got to see my little niece before she went to bed. Not a bad way to end things but it was sad to go.

The trip had a rough start, no question, but it finished well I would say. But is 10 days in Rome, Yerevan, and Tbilisi — long enough?

I think a couple more days more would have been nice. I never made it to the Roman Forum, never got to Yerevan Zoo, never reached the Chronicles of Georgia – So I suppose I’ll just have to come back and do it all again — this time with slightly more organisation, and maybe slightly fewer Irish pubs and no alcohol lol

If you would like to do the same definitely look at Skyscanner for 2 seperate flights. Not a lay over – look for flights from Milan or Rome first to Yerevan or Tbilisi and then look for flights to Rome or Milan. I think this is the cheapest way unless you get lucky otherwise.

I shall finish this blog here but definitely please share your thoughts about all this below.