Georgia is a dream destination for many overlanders. It’s also called the pearl of the Caucasus. And the long journey there is definitely worth it. Breathtaking landscapes, hospitable people, good wine, an exciting and complex history and much more, Georgia has it all to offer. With the Explore Georgia Overland Guide, Olivia and Victor deliver the right off-road travel guide for Georgia.
And right up front, the Explore Georgia Overland Guide is much more than a travel guide. Just holding the heavy landscape-format book in my hands and leafing through the first pages, I’m immediately thrilled. Thrilled all over again, just as I was by their first book, the Explore Kyrgyzstan Adventure Guide.
The Explore Georgia Overland Guide too is both practical and beautifully designed
At the heart of the Explore Georgia Overland Guide are 24 dream routes through Georgia. And these aren’t limited to the breathtaking pass and mountain roads in the Caucasus. In the book you’ll find great routes spread across the whole country. There really are a lot of exciting corners among them. I can confirm that from my own experience.
For easier orientation, the route descriptions are assigned to individual regions. Each description begins with a map for a better overview and an assessment of the difficulty and drivability, along with details of the route length and elevation profile. Start and end points are marked as GPS coordinates. These even come with QR codes, so you can transfer them into your navigation app easily and without typos. The route descriptions and the photos that go with them really make you want to set off and explore this wonderful region.
At the end of the book you’ll find additional information on trip preparation. This includes, for example, an overview of entry requirements, things worth knowing about getting there and rental vehicles, gear, the documents you need and navigation, plus the climate, geology, nature, culture and much more. On top of that there’s plenty of other useful information, for instance on making yourself understood, important phone numbers, helpful apps, books worth reading and other sources.
Much more than just an off-road travel guide for Georgia
The Explore Georgia Overland Guide is aimed at 4×4 and panel-van travellers, motorcyclists and cyclists. With the 24 routes, the authors almost tell a story about Georgia. You learn a lot about the country and its people, and so the book is worth it even if a trip there isn’t exactly on the cards right now.
Besides things worth knowing for the trip and trip preparation, you’ll also learn quite a bit about the various outdoor activities this region is practically made for.
As a supplement to the book there’s also a map and the GPS routes to download. With a scale of 1:1,000,000, the map is less suited to navigation; it serves for orientation and an overview of the routes described in the book, contains pointers to some places worth seeing in Georgia as well as a small travel vocabulary like the one found in the book.
On YouTube there’s also a nice short film about the journey behind the making of the book:
Verdict on the Explore Georgia Overland Guide
This guide from OunTravela too offers, besides the well-described, great routes, an enormous wealth of useful information on trip preparation and the trip itself.
The book is relatively heavy and so, depending on your means of transport, only of limited use for taking along on the tour. For motorcyclists or cyclists in particular, whom the authors are also addressing, it’s come out rather heavy. But for that there’s the map and the GPS routes to download, as already mentioned.
The Explore Georgia Overland Guide gets a clear recommendation to buy from me for anyone planning a Georgia trip. Otherwise too, this off-road travel guide for Georgia is good reading for leafing through and dreaming.
The book is published in English and French.
Price: 34.90 euros incl. VAT
Pages: 384
Publisher: OunTravela
Language: English (also available in French)
ISBN: ISBN 978-491618-09-4
ORDER NOW: You can order the Explore Georgia Overland Guide on Amazon. You’ll also find the Explore Kyrgyzstan Adventure Guide there.
The authors, Olivia Casari and Victor Michaud, have always loved to travel. Together they founded the OunTravela project to share their passion for travel and off-road travel. Various travel guides have grown out of it. Besides the Explore Georgia Overland Guide presented here, there are similar books on Ladakh and Kyrgyzstan. You’ll find more about the two of them and the makers behind the books here.
More tips for preparing a trip to Georgia
If you’re interested in a trip to Georgia, then maybe take a look at the travel report Auf Entdeckungsreise in Georgien here in the magazine. Enjoy the read!