Caucasus: end overland trip where I started without retracing my steps
I'm looking into a Caucasus trip visiting Turkey, Georgia and Armenia. A return flight from IST is far cheaper than a multi-city flight, so I'd like to get back to Istanbul without going over the same route I came in (through Georgia, which as I understand seems to be the only way to get to Armenia from Turkey)
Given local neighbour relations, what path can I take that includes all three but doesn't repeat any part of the journey ?
To return from Armenia, I see two equally unreliable options:
Getting an Azerbaijan transit visa and crossing Naxchivan, but the Armenia-Azerbaijan border is apparently closed, and I'm afraid an Armenian stamp in my passport could complicate this passage.The Armenia-Azerbaijan border is closed, so that settles this issue.- Getting an Iranian visa in Georgia then boarding the Tehran-Istanbul train. This is risky as Canadian-Iranian relations aren't super right now, I've heard of people being denied visas.
Best Answer
I would not dismiss flying entirely. It is not necessarily more expensive than overland travel and you will save a lot of time that you can spend elsewhere.
Travel overland from Istanbul to Georgia and then to Armenia. Travel back from Armenia to Tbilissi. Then fly back to Istanbul. For a departure in one week from now (1st of July 2015) the prices for a one-way ticket start at ~ 70 EUR. Unless you plan to hitchhike, overland travel won't be much cheaper. You can also consider a flight from Trabzon to Istanbul. Flying from Trabzon to Istanbul is even cheaper. For the same date as above, fares start at ~ 25 EUR.
The option of traveling back via Iran is interesting too. I would then arrange the visa before leaving from home. This way you are sure that you will be able to enter Iran. Or, in the worst case, you know that it will not work for sure. However, there is an additional point to consider. The train from Teheran to Istanbul only runs once a week. This is a kind of a bottleneck and requires good planning. Either, you have to split up the trip into several legs, for which you have more frequent trains, or you have to take a bus. On the other hand, you don't need to go down to Teheran. You can travel from Armenia to Tabriz (Iran) and proceed from there to Van (Turkey).
There are interesting possibilities. It is a matter of time and planning.
Pictures about "Caucasus: end overland trip where I started without retracing my steps"
Crossing The Caucasus | backpacking across Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan (short film)
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Enric Cruz López, Tatiana Syrikova, ROMAN ODINTSOV, Samson Katt