So we were hoping that the land border between Azerbaijan and Georgia would re-open in July 01 2023. However there has now been an announcement that the land border will remain closed until 02 October 2023! The apparent logic behind this move is that the country wishes to continue to minimise the risk from Covid19.
There has been a great deal of online chatter about the real reason for keeping the land border closed, when people can fly in as and when they like. Rumours are that Azerbaijan wishes to minimise the number of people fleeing conscription in Russia due to the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
There also continues to be much debate about whether the border will actually open in October this time around, as there have been many announcements and dates set in the past which haven’t been adhered to.
Worst comes to worst, should you just want to visit you can fly in to the country, however you cannot currently drive in. Turkmenistan is also now open, which may also help to sway opinion? Fingers crossed.
This is really annoying though, as it leaves you with only two options to travel across the world Eastwards from Europe – travelling through Iran, or travelling through Russia. For residents of many countries, travelling through Iran poses no real issues, however of those from the UK, the only way though is to book travel via a government listed tour guide – further adding to the cost! For those wishing to travel through Russia, visas are readily available, and not restricted in any way. Moral grounds may of course prevent you from travelling.
For us, we’ll now be travelling through Africa as part of our round-the-world trip! No great shakes here then 🙂