Solo Female Travel: A Guide to Georgia
Overall Georgia felt safe as a solo female traveller and there are plenty of females who travel across Georgia alone so you are bound to meet similar solo females along your journey.
The Georgian people are friendly and welcoming towards females so expect people saying hello to you. Bear in mind, not a lot of people speak good English so you may find there is a barrier in language. Usually, you will be able to get by easily though.
Breakaway States:
Georgia is a very safe country to travel to, but you may notice when you look at a map that there are 2 regions which have broken away from Georgia. Their names are Abkhazia and South Ossetia. These regions are unsafe to travel to as there is a chance there could be military action with Georgia. There is also conflict between Georgia and Russia as Russia supports the breakaway states claims for independence.
Be careful if you travel to these regions and exercise caution.
Safety and Scams:
Taxis/Tours/Guides – Make sure to always agree on a price before starting the journey or tour as if you don’t they will rip you off and charge you a lot more than what you should have paid so make sure to always do this.
Georgia’s borders – Be careful when travelling close to Georgia’s borders with the breakaway states as there is always a risk of the situation escalating near the borders. There is a risk of military action so exercise caution when travelling within 5 miles of the border.
Personal Encounter:
When I was in Georgia I had a bit of a frightening experience where I had been offered a lift to the centre of Tbilisi by a friendly guy I had met at the Chronicles of Georgia. He spoke no English but used Google Translate to translate what he wanted to say. When we drove off the driver was driving in the direction of Tbilisi and was friendly. He then proceeded to ask me to marry him which made me feel uncomfortable.
After 10 minutes of driving, he swerved the car around and started driving fast away from Tbilisi. I tried to ask him where we were going but he didn’t respond. I proceeded to shout at him to stop the car. When I tried to open the car door he tried to lock the door. Luckily the door opened and he slowed down and I managed to jump out of the car and run away.
After 10 minutes of driving, he swerved the car around and started driving fast away from Tbilisi. I tried to ask him where we were going but he didn’t respond. I proceeded to shout at him to stop the car. When I tried to open the car door he tried to lock the door. Luckily the door opened and he slowed down and I managed to jump out of the car and run away.
Although, you may think it was silly for me to accept the lift I had previously hitchhiked 3 times in Georgia before this and these were all very positive experiences. However, not everyone is going to be friendly and mean well with offering you a lift.
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