Travelling in the Caucasus with children: what works, what tires them out and what to put in the suitcase

Two things happen with children in the Caucasus before anything else: first, in any restaurant, marshrutka or house someone picks them up, gives them bread or pinches their cheek, because in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan children belong to everyone; and second, half an hour after arriving they are already eating khachapuri and asking for more. With that settled, the rest is organisation: distances that are not big but feel long, mountains that need legs and a summer heat that bites in the cities. This is a guide to what works, by age and by place, and to what you should bring.

What works

Tbilisi

The cable car from Rike to Narikala, two minutes in a glass cabin over the river, which they want to repeat; the funicular to Mtatsminda, with the amusement park on top, the Ferris wheel and the views; Rike park, with fountains and slides, at the foot of the Bridge of Peace; the zoo, small; and the open-air ethnographic museum by Turtle Lake, a village of houses from every region of Georgia that you can go into one by one. The sulphur baths, in a private room, for children over six or seven who are not put off by the smell.

Caves, trains and boats

Prometheus cave, near Kutaisi, with a kilometre of walkway, coloured lights and a boat at the end, is the most successful outing with children in Georgia; Sataplia, next door, with dinosaur footprints and a glass walkway over the forest. The narrow-gauge train from Borjomi to Bakuriani, two and a half hours through forest, stopping at villages; the Tatev cable car in Armenia, twelve minutes over the gorge; and the Martvili canyon boat along the green river.

Sevan and water

Lake Sevan, an hour and a half from Yerevan, is Armenia's beach: pebbles, cold but swimmable water in July and August, pedalos, boats, grilled fish at the shacks on the shore and, up the two hundred steps of the peninsula, the Sevanavank monastery, a goal of the right size. In Georgia, Batumi, with the boulevard, the Ferris wheel, the dolphins and the beach, and the Makhuntseti waterfalls for getting wet.

Mountains, in moderation

The short walks of Lagodekhi and Dilijan, an hour or two through forest to a waterfall or a lake, work from five or six years old; the climb to Gergeti, by car up to the church and down on foot, from eight; Svaneti and Ushguli, with towers to climb and horses, for those who already walk three hours without complaint. And always with a prize at the end: the waterfall, the lake, the ice cream.

The practical side

Transport: a car with driver or a hire car, with child seats you have to ask for expressly, because marshrutkas with no timetable and your knees in the back of the person in front drive anyone to despair; the train, where there is one, is what they like most. Lodging: village guesthouses, with a garden, animals and a hostess who cooks what they ask for, better than hotels; in the cities, apartments with a kitchen. Food: khachapuri, khinkali, lavash with cheese, mtsvadi, rice, soup, market fruit and ice cream on every corner; there is no food problem with children anywhere. First-aid kit: what you have at home plus anti-diarrhoeals, rehydration salts, something for car sickness on the bends and strong sunscreen, because in the mountains the sun is fierce; city pharmacies have everything, village ones little. Bottled water in the cities, tap water in the mountains. And nappies, formula and baby food in the supermarkets of the capitals, not in the villages.

How to arrange the days

One thing in the morning, a nap or a pool at midday in summer, another thing in the afternoon, and no more than three hours of driving at a stretch; at least two nights in each place, so as not to keep packing and unpacking; and a rule that in the Caucasus keeps itself: eat late and slowly, with the children running between the tables, as the local ones do.

Frequently asked questions