Three 28-year-old guys travelled through Georgia for 8 days, visiting Tbilisi, Gori, Kazbegi and Kakheti.
We were honestly quite disappointed by the famous Georgian hospitality that seems to be mentioned every time Georgia comes up.
We experienced mostly quiet, frustrated-looking drivers who rolled their eyes at us, unhelpful people, and generally rather poor service.
Overall, we got the feeling that many Georgians simply didn’t want us there, especially in the service industry, which seemed strange. Most of the time when we asked people for help, they seemed to act as if we were an inconvenience.
One of the managers at our last hotel even repeatedly asked us for cigarettes, simply saying, “Give me a cigarette.” He did this four times, which we found quite rude.
We also went for a wine tasting at a winery, but the atmosphere was quite unpleasant. Everyone seemed to be looking at us strangely, and the whole experience felt very rushed — once again, giving us the impression that they just wanted us to leave as quickly as possible.
The most hospitable and friendly people we met were either other tourists who took an interest in us, or dogs that followed us all the way home after our walks.
That being said, we still had an amazing trip, with beautiful mountains, incredible nature and some great experiences.
Maybe we were simply unlucky, or perhaps Georgian hospitality is a little overhyped.