BRITS have a brand new holiday destination to explore this year, thanks to direct flights linking several UK cities to a lesser-known European capital.
There hasn’t been a direct route flown between the UK and Georgia since 2020, when Air Georgian scrapped its flights.
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However, new routes jetting will now just between its capital Tbilisi and four locations, including London, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.
The flights come as part of package deals by Holiday Best, the UK’s newest holiday package operator.
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They promise to have the lowest deposit on the market at £25pp and are adding Tbilisi to their list of destinations, with flights operated by Turkish Airlines.
Tbilisi is a diverse city with a hybrid of influences melding to create a location that offers a truly unique city break experience.
The old town of the capital is full of historic architecture, with a wide range of restaurants serving the best of Georgian cuisine.
Although it’s not the most well-known, the country is said to have some of the most under-appreciated snacks in the world.
Uncornered Market explained: “Georgian food is arguably one of the world’s most underrated cuisines, featuring flavors from Greece and the Mediterranean, as well as influences from Turkey and Persia.”
Khinkali are Georgia’s answer to dumplings, with meat, vegetables and cheese stuffed into dough and then steamed or boiled.
Kebabs and lamb stews are also popular, while breads like Khachapuri – a Georgian cheese bread sometimes served with a fried egg on top – are among the most eaten foods in the country.
Meanwhile wine is also a staple of Georgian cuisine, with some considering Georgia the “cradle of wine”.
Despite its wine producing history, a bottle is still very cheap in Tbilisi, with the average cost around the £3.50 mark.
Inside the city, the hot springs are another of the main reasons to visit.
Places like the Tbilisi Balneological Resort are famous for having warm year-round outdoor bathing.
Culture Trip listed the site as the number one hot spring to visit in the whole of the country, with plenty of therapeutic treatments available to guests.
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- Uzbekistan – 70p
- China – 90p
- Madagascar – £1
- Vietnam – £1.02
- Ukraine – £1.06
- Belarus – £1.07
- Philippines – £1.25
- Colombia – £1.28
- Azerbaijan – £1.29
- Kazakhstan – £1.34
They wrote: “The modernised rehabilitation and healing complex of today features a panoply of treatments and therapies, along with more than 30 doctors and other medical professionals.”
Elsewhere, the outskirts are surrounded by the remote mountains of Svaneti, which Holiday Best claim to “rival the Alps in their beauty and hiking opportunities”.
Holiday Best is offering customers a range of four and five star hotels in Tbilisi as part of their package deals.
These include the 4* Tbilisi Times Boutique Hotel and the 5* Grand Tbilisi Metekhi Palace that has its own rooftop restaurant and bar.
The package holiday company is running a deal for 7 nights bed & breakfast at the Metekhi Palace, flying from London Stansted on September 7, 2024.
It includes 20kg baggage, as well as private transfers, for £925pp.
John Milburn, Chief Marketing Officer at Holiday Best, said: “We’re so excited to be adding this brand-new destination to our portfolio.
‘Tbilisi is an incredible city, with so much to see and do, and I’m looking forward to seeing our customers discover the magic of this place that we’ve long known is there.”
The holidays aren’t the only routes linking the UK to Tbilisi this year either, with Air Iveria launching new flights that will connect the city to London.
The new route will fly direct from London Gatwick to Tbilisi from May 13 this year, with three flights per week.
Georgia isn’t the only country getting new direct links to the UK this year.
Bulgaria
Holiday company Jet2 has confirmed that it will be increasing its summer capacity to Sozopol in Bulgaria, by adding hotels across the seaside town to its portfolio.
The airline already has direct flights from nine UK bases, including Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool John Lennon, London Stansted, Manchester and Newcastle International, to Burgas Airport in Bulgaria.
A range of three and four star hotels is set to go on sale with the tour operator, with several different board options to choose from.
Turkey
Tickets for a brand new airline are on sale already, with flights due to start later this month.
Previously called AnadoluJet, the revamped airline, known as Ajet, also has plans for other services to and from the UK, along with the route from the Istanbul to London Stansted.
Flights will take to the skies for the first time on March 31, with 95 aircraft set to fly to as many as 44 countries this summer.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Meanwhile, these UK airports are set to get brand new flights this year.
And this lesser known airline is getting brand new UK flights this year too.
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