RFI on Georgia, Armenia. and Azerbaijan

[luckyman]

Considering going to Tbilisi, Yerevan, and Baku in the early fall. I’ve heard that safety might be an issue away from the cities towards the borders, but I’m really uncertain about how safe the actual cities are.

Would really appreciate any insights. Plus just general travel feedback is always greatly appreciated.

[Caballoflaco]

Considering going to Tbilisi, Yerevan, and Baku in the early fall. I’ve heard that safety might be an issue away from the cities towards the borders, but I’m really uncertain about how safe the actual cities are.

Would really appreciate any insights. Plus just general travel feedback is always greatly appreciated.

I’m not an expert by any means on that part of the world, but with so much happening right now, any advice someone might give you today could have zero value by this fall. There have been some border incursions/fighting in Armenia/Azerbaijan and between Georgian separatists and Russia in the last 2-3 weeks.

If you were an irl friend I would suggest traveling to an area that’s not a gray zone on the outskirts of the largest land war in Europe since WW2 right now.

Eta: I also forgot about some massive protests in Tbilisi in early March too.

[Duces Tecum]

The State Department Travel Advisory may be useful:
https://www.insuremytrip.com/travel-advice/travel-planning/us-state-dept-travel-advisories/#IC

Some people hire a guide, familiar with the local customs, accompany them while in that country. If the State Department has a presence, they might be helpful in recommending someone.

If you need a guide plus a car and driver while in-country, you might approach a used car dealer. They might provide their eldest son as driver, and because it's their son the car will be one least likely to break down. And they're local so they know most of the places to avoid.


Duces

[TGS]

The State Department has a presence (it's the state department), but will not recommend specific travel guides to you. The US State Department is not in the business of showing preference to commercial entities or acting as your personal travel agency to help you set up your plans.

The best/easiest way to check the current state department security rating for the country is to Google "US embassy >insert capital city here<" and read it off the embassy website. Aggregators 1) may not be up to date, 2) may only display security notices as they're released, and not the entire report.

State is much better these days about giving detailed reports to a region. Ex: you're okay to travel to most capital cities, even if there's a "Do Not Travel" advisory for a specific region (like Nagorno-Karabakh).

It's a good place to start, but the state department is typically afraid of its own shadow and the security ratings reflect keeping the lowest common denominator out of trouble....so the ratings can be fairly conservative (erring towards safety), and are slow to come down back to normal when it might actually be okay to visit a certain area. So, use them for your initial idea and as a springboard to research specific areas/activities more in depth on a travel forum.

[Stephanie B]

Considering going to Tbilisi, Yerevan, and Baku in the early fall. I’ve heard that safety might be an issue away from the cities towards the borders, but I’m really uncertain about how safe the actual cities are.

Would really appreciate any insights. Plus just general travel feedback is always greatly appreciated.

Um, why? Armenia and Azerbaijan aren’t much more than a border guard’s itchy trigger finger from another war. IIRC, the Russians had peacekeeping troops there, but the Russian army’s kind of distracted these days.

[luckyman]

Really appreciate everyone’s feedback. I was not in favor of this situation, and am trying to figure out how hard to push back. This has all been really helpful.