Tuesday April 7th – Tehran

• Morning and afternoon arrival by flight.
• Those coming from our Kuwait Tour arrive at 14:30 where we are picked up and taken to our hotel.
• Free afternoon to walk around Tehran, get to know your group.
• Visit National Jewellery museum – the contents of this place actually back up the Iranian currency, a truly amazing experience and certainly one of the highlights of the trip regardless of if you are a jewellery fiend or not!
• Visit to the heart of Old Tehran to soak up the night time atmosphere, drink some local tea and people watch.
• Overnight in Parastoo Hotel.

Wednesday April 8th – Tehran

• Drive through Tehran past anti-US propaganda and the US embassy (possibility of actually seeing inside the embassy, something which was considered impossible only a couple of years ago!).
• Visit Saad Abad & Niavaran palaces, the last Palaces of the last Shah of Iran.  Lunch at Darband hills.
• One hour free time or tea by the river.
• Shopping in the Tajrish Bazaar of Tehran and visit a nearby mosque.  One hour free time.
• Traditional Iranian dinner of kebabs at famous restaurant Ayaran restaurant, near Ferdosi square.
• Evening walk around the city, with us taking the opportunity to try some shisha, fresh juice bar, and mingle with locals.
• Overnight in overnight in Parastoo hotel.

Thursday April 9th – Tehran/ Shiraz

• Check out of hotel for morning flight Shiraz.
• Visit the citadel in the centre of the city and mingle with locals.
• Visit Grand Bazaar for some shopping and photos.  Chance to buy old anti-American stamps from a local shop owner and collector.
• Lunch in Saray E Mehr restaurant in the middle of bazaar for traditional Di Zi dish.
• Free walk around the bazaar or relax with tea and shisha at poets house/tea house.  Great chance to mingle with local students.
• Dinner at hotel or out to a fast food joint for burgers, falafel, and sambusas.
• Overnight at Parsian hotel.

Friday April 10th – Shiraz/Persepolis

• Up bright and early to visit the colour stained mosque when the morning light shines through spectacularly.
• Late morning drive to Persepolis.
• Lunch at traditional restaurant called “Paradise” on the way to Necropolis tombs.
• Visit the botanic gardens of Shiraz.
• Stop for traditional Shiraz ice cream at a famous local shop.
• Visit a famous Hafeizieh Iranian poet’s park and tomb.  Great opportunity to mingle with locals and take photos.
• Dinner at hotel.
• Exploring the streets.  Shopping for military hats and patches.
• Overnight in Parsian hotel.

Saturday April 11th – Shiraz/Esfahan

• Drive to Esfahan with stop at Cirus’s tomb, an old fortress on the way.  Tea time break.
• Lunch in a restaurant in one of the smaller cities on the way.
• Go to the famous old Khaju bridge.
• Walk across bridge and mingle with locals.  Short rest at hotel.
• Walk for a dinner at local restaurants.
• Visit one of the oldest carpet shops.  Explanation on a variety of Persian carpets and opportunity for a purchase.  The presentation involves a show how carpets are made and explanation of 30 different styles of carpets.
• Evening visit to the 300 year old Abbasi Hotel for traditional Iranian tea.
• Overnight at the centrally located Esfahan tourist Hotel.

Sunday April 12th  – Esfahan

• Visit the beautiful Safavid Chehelsetoon Palace.
• Sheikh Lotfollah mosque and Ali-qapoo palace.
• Lunch in a traditional restaurant at the square.
• Visit to Shah Mosque.
• Free time to see square and shop for gifts at surrounding bazaar.
• Chance to change money for small crisp rial denominations. There is an official change place with good rates but they also have a stack of small denominations that they hold. (They remembered us from last time and changed some money for the group).
• Optional visit to Iran/Iraq war museum.
• Visit Zurkhane gym to watch an ancient Persian sport workout, a strength building exercises done with traditional drum and bell music.
• Overnight at the Tourist Hotel.

Monday April 13th – Esfahan/Tehran

• Morning flight to Tehran.
• Visit Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini.
• Visit the Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetary.
• Stop at the Shah’s Monument AKA Revolution Monument for photos on the way from the airport.
• Farewell meal at the Armenian Club.  Armenians are the main ethnic Christian minority in Iran.
• Overnight in Parastoo hotel.

Tuesday April 14^th – Tehran/Agarak (Armenia)

• Cross-country drive to the Armenian border with stop in Tabriz UNESCO world heritage site, a 13-century historic bazaar
• Cross Armenian/Iranian border, formerly one of the tensest points of the Cold War era.
• Transfer to Agarak and to our hotel for some R&R.
• Sightseeing, drinking and looking at local talent, a real treat after the week spent dry in the Islamic Republic.
• Overnight in Agarak

Wednesday 15th April – Goris 

• Morning departure to Goris via scenic route crossing mountains.
• Lunch at an Armenian Borat house for home brewed coffee, roast chicken, and for those brave enough… vodka.
• Arrive at Mirha hotel.
• Visit the “old village” cave city on the outskirts of Goris, Capadocia of Armenia.
• Dinner in an all-Soviet collectors house for traditional Armenian dishes and wine.  Chance to buy Soviet memorabilia
• Overnight in Goris.

Thursday 16th April – Goris/Stepanakert

• Breakfast in the hotel.
• Visit Tatev Monastery using the longest cable car in the world, 5,700 meters!
• Traditional Armenian lunch in Goris.
• Met by our trusty fleet of vans for the highlight of this trip, the transfer to Nagorno-Karabakh, one of 4 unrecognized breakaway frozen conflict zones in the former Soviet Union.
• Check into Jazz Club Hotel
• Visit the foreign affairs department and get our Nagorno-Karabakh visas. It is optional to have it in your passport, as this stamp means you cannot enter Azerbaijan.
• Leisurely walk into town for a walking tour of Stepankert, one of the smallest and slightly quirkier capital cities of the region.
• We also take the time to visit the fabulous Soviet-era amusement park and drive the dodgems!
• Visit to the national stadium for a look around.
• Pub crawl throughout the town.
• Overnight in hotel.

Friday 17th April– Stepanakert surroundings

• Visit the extremely disturbing museum to fallen soldiers in battles during war with Azerbaijan.  Museum contains a variety of objects and photographs and tells of horror stories about the war.
• A stop for a private tour of a brand new but never properly used Stepanokert airport
• Drive by military base with chance to see tanks on a training course
• No visit without a photo op near the Tank monument, a first captured tank in the war
• #TRIP HIGHLIGHT# picked up by the Lada fleet to visit the “DMZ” abandoned town, Agdam AKA “The Hiroshima of the Caucuses”, situated at the front line of this frozen conflict zone – very off the beaten track.
• #NOTE# Technically it is not allowed to visit here, so the situation will be judged when we arrive. People will have to strictly follow instructions here.
• Quick lunch stop along the way to Gandzasar.
• Visit to the Gandzasar monastery, one of the oldest monasteries in the world, tracing its roots to 600 AD, it survived multiple bombing attempts by Azerbaijan during the conflict.
• Explore ancient cemetery around the monastery.
• Drive to a wacky village of Vank to see Titanic and Seastone hotels, strange places built by a local eccentric billionaire, and a real weird treat of the trip.
• Return to Stepanokert to have dinner at Ureni – a traditional Karabakhi restaurant.
• Overnight in Stepanakert.

Saturday 18th April – Yerevan

• Departure to Yerevan.
• Visit to a Papik and Tatik monument
• Stop at the Armenian Stone hedge, twice as old as the English one.
• Roadside lunch on way to Yerevan.
• Visit Khor Virap, an ancient monastery overlooking Mount Ararat.
• Check into Envoy Hostel.
• Chance for R&R in the hostel. 4 person, twin, and triple rooms are available for little extra costs. Please let us know if advance.
• Dinner in a traditional Armenian Restaurant.
• Night on the town in Yerevan. Yerevan is a very young party town and will provide for a great night out!
• Overnight at the hostel.

Sunday 19th April – Yerevan

• Visit the Gerhard monastery, one of the oldest churches in Armenia, carved entirely out of the mountain!
• Visit town of Garni and site of 2000-year-old pagan temple
• Visit to Armenian Genocide monument and museum.
• Lunch at one of the outdoor restaurants in the hills of Yerevan.
• Dinner in a famous traditional Armenian restaurant in downtown Yerevan.
• Pub-crawl and overnight in Yerevan.

Monday 20th April – Yerevan

• Walking tour of Yerevan
• Visit the cascades waterfall art installation as well as the opera house and parliament
• Soviet Market!!!! Chance to buy USSR branded jackets and all kinds of USSR kitsch.
• Free afternoon for last minute shopping or some rest.
• Overnight train to Tbilisi departing at 21:30 pm.

Tuesday 21st April – Tbilisi

• At 3.30am we pass through the Georgian Border, and the guards come onto the train to stamp passports.
• 7:00 am arrival in Tbilisi.
• End of Group A.

Group B – Georgia

• Arrival in Tbilisi
• Check into Envoy Tbilisi Hostel.  4 person, twin, and triple rooms are available for little extra costs. Please let us know in advance.
• Breakfast at a traditional Georgian restaurant
• Walk around Tbilisi, Independence Square, parliament, “dry bridge”
• Visit to “Baraholka”, an all-Soviet memorabilia market with the chance to buy military hats, medals, pins, stamps, and caucuses-style swords and knives!
• Lunch in the most hard to find local gem called Sofia Melnikova café for a variety of Georgian specialties, like best hand made khinkali in the city
• Visit Narikala fortress overlooking Tbilisi using a cable car
• See Kartlis Deda (Mother Georgia) monument above Tbilisi
• Relaxing time in traditional Georgian/ Turkish baths with local beer
• Overnight in Tbilisi.

Wednesday 22nd April – Gori

• Departure to Gori – The hometown of the infamous Joseph Stalin! Journey takes only a few hours. Stalin is still very heavily regarded here, which makes for some interesting conversations with the locals.
• Visit THE Stalin Museum and Stalin Statue. The museum tour includes his former train and the house he was born in.
• Visit the Akhaltsihe cave city, a 3000-year-old settlement overlooking Potshovi river.
• Transfer back to Tbilisi.
• Free evening or a visit to one of the first Irish pubs in the Soviet Union called The Hangar and / or visit to a local hangout called Dive Bar
• Stay overnight.

Thursday 23rd April– Tbilisi/Train

• Up early to drive towards Stepansminda, near the Russian border
• Stop at Ananuri fortress overlooking Zhinvali reservoir
• Visit a massive, Soviet “Georgia – Russia Friendship” monument overlooking Jvari pass
• Visit the beautiful Trinity monastery with views of beautiful Mount Kazbegi (5,035m)
• Lunch at the house of eccentric “Mother Georgia” local grandma for variety of traditional dishes including hand made (by you) Khinkali
• Transfer back to Tbilisi before taking the overnight train to Zugdidi in Western Georgia.

Friday 24th April– Sukhum

• Zugdidi → Abkhazia border crossing. This is a very tense border, where very few tourists cross, and is one of the most heavily militarized places in Europe.
• Transfer to Sukhum, the capital of the breakaway republic, and until recently war-torn city.
• Walking tour of Sukhum. During Soviet times Abkhazia was the pearl of Soviet tourism, and whilst many Russians still come here its glory days have passed.
• Dinner at Naartaa, a traditional Abkhazian restaurant specializing in shashlik and wine
• Bowling at a local nightclub.
• Overnight in Private hotel

Saturday 25th April – Sukhum

• Drive to New Athos.
• Visit beautiful New Athos monastery built in the 1880s by Tsar Alexander III of Russia
• Visit to the wonderfully quaint and beautiful Psyrtskha Train Station and a small Soviet hydro electric station hidden in the cliffs.
• We jump on the New Athos cave metro to visit one of the largest and most spectacular caves in the world!
• Continue to an amazing lake Ritsa with stops in Iupshara canyon bound by massive limestone cliffs
• See beautiful Lake Ritsa, home of one of Stalin’s favorite dachas
• Late lunch in a traditional Abkhaz house restaurants for a choice of fresh lake trout, smoked meet and cheese
• Return to Sukhum for dinner and a few sundowners overlooking the Black Sea.
• Overnight in Sukhum.

Sunday 26th April– Sukhum

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Visit the burned out Abkhaz parliament for some urban exploration.
• Stroll through the old, half abandoned military sanatorium and botanical garden full of Lenin mosaics, old cinemas
• Hit the beach before a night out in Sukhum, coupled with traditional food and drinks on the promenade.
• Depart towards the border with a stop at “Istochnik”, a hot spring resort for a chance to get a water massage and a relaxing swim in many pools
• Stop to see the “flaming” spring
• Cross into Georgia proper and board an overnight train to Tbilisi.

Monday 27th April 

• Early morning arrival in Tbilisi.
• End of tour.

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