TRAVEL BOOKLET WELCOME

Dear Delegates, welcome!

Congratulations on being selected for 2017! This guide will give you some information on Tbilisi and help you plan your travels. To avoid prob- lems and make sure your journey goes as smoothly as possible, we kindly ask you to take the time to read it carefully. GENERAL INFORMATION

Delegates are expected to arrive to Tbilisi no later than 17:00 CEST on Saturday, 11.11.2017. After going through the registration process, the rooms will be available according to the general standards, from noon.

However, please keep in mind that the Welcome Event begins at 18:00 CEST and we would very much like for you to be there - surely you don’t want to miss it!

The whole journey from Tbilisi International Airport to the accommodation venue will take 30 min- utes.

The Organising Team will happily meet you at the Tbilisi International Airport and provide you with the free bus ride to the hostel. However, keep in mind that the buses will have a certain schedule, thus, you might not be able to directly go to the hotel once arrived but wait a bit at the airport.

Additionally, members of the organising team will locate the stands at the and Inter- national Airports, two biggest cities in Georgia. However, you will have to take a bus to Tbilisi which will cost you additional 7 EUR. ARRIVALS

BY PLANE Should you decide to fly to Georgia, we would recommend booking tickets to Tbilisi Airport.

It is possible to fly to Kutaisi International Airport or Batumi International Airport, both of which are accessible by many low-cost airlines. However, you need to take an average of five-hour bus ride to Tbilisi at your own expense. Due to this reason, flying to a city other than Tbilisi should only be considered if necessary.

If you are flying from Germany, Poland, UK, Hungary, Lithuania, Cyprus, Greece or Italy, it might be lot cheaper to take a flight to Kutaisi with WizzAir and then take a bus to Tbilisi, which will be waiting right in front of the airport and costs 20 GEL (7 Euros).

If you decide to fly to either Batumi or Kutaisi, the member of the organising team will meet you and assist in your further travel arrangements.

The Journey from Batumi to Tbilisi will take 6 hours by bus.

The Journey from Kutaisi to Tbilisi will take 4 hours by bus. OTHER OPTIONS As Georgia is an Eastern European country, it is a challenge to reach it via different transport. There are trains from Azerbaijan coming to the Tbilisi Railway Station as well as minibuses and buses coming from Turkey, Greece, and Russia. DEPARTURES

Delegates can leave the Session anytime on Sunday, 19.11.2017.

As mentioned before, most of the airlines operate at night, thus you can book a morning flight back to your home city (after the farewell party).

If you need further advice for planning your journey and are not sure regarding the timing, please contact the Participants Support. The organising team will lead you to and help you at the depar- ture spot as well.

Make sure to calculate enough time between leaving the accommodation venue and your flight, in order to avoid any kind of problem. ACCOMODATION DETAILS

Fabrika Hostel Tbilisi Address: 8 Egnate Ninoshvili St, Tbilisi 0102 VISA INFORMATION

Valid passports are required for visitors of all nationalities. Georgia has a liberal visa regime.

Some participants may require a visa to travel to Georgia. You can find the information about visa requirements for individual countries here. EYP Georgia will provide Invitation Letters for visa ap- plications if needed. Citizens of most of EYP countries do not need visa to travel to Georgia, but we would recommend you to doube-check.

If this is the case, please contact the Participants’ Support. Visa processing can take some time, therefore we recommend you start the process as early as possible.

CURRENCY

The official currency in Georgia is the Georgian Lari, usually indicates as GEL. Lari is subdivided into 100 Tetri (coins). Credit cards are mostly accepted at the public places, however, due to the limited time of transfers, we highly recommend you to have some cash from the beginning to avoid time-wasting at the ATMs. You can exchange the money at the airport. One Lari equals 30 cents on average. EXCHANGE RATES* 1 EUR = 2.79 GEL 1 CZK = 0.11 GEL 1 AMD = 0.005 GEL 1 GBP = 3.12 GEL 1 BGN = 1.43 GEL 1 RUB = 0.04 GEL 1 USD = 2.38 GEL 1 HRK = 0.38 GEL 1 BAM = 1.43 GEL 1 CHF = 2.46 GEL 1 HUF = 0.01 GEL 1 BYN = 1.23 GEL 1 PLN = 0.66 GEL 1 RON = 0.61 GEL 1 ISK = 0.023 GEL 1 SEK = 0.29 GEL 1 ALL = 0.02 GEL 1 NOK = 0.30 GEL 1 DKK = 0.38 GEL 1 AZN = 1.40 GEL 1 RSD = 0.023 GEL 1 TRY = 0.67 GEL 1 UAH = 0.09 GEL 1 DKK = 0.38 GEL *European Commission’s official exchange rates, August, 2017 ELECTRICITY

Electrical current - 220 Volts, 50 Hz. EU standard plugs work throughout the city.

TYPE C EUROPEAN 2-PIN SUMMARY

We are looking forward to welcoming you in Georgia very soon. Please read through the travel information carefully in order to make your travel to the session as smooth as possible.

• You should book your travel to Tbilisi Airport (if arriving by plane), Tbilisi train station (if arriving by train) to ensure free and comfortable transfer to the accommodation. • Alternatively, you can also fly to Kutaisi Airport or Batumi Airport, however, there will be no ses- sion transfer from the cities as it takes 5 hours. • Please make sure to book your travel to Georgia but not within the country, as the session will take care of transportation. • As most of the flights to Tbilisi are operated early in the morning, we encourage you to book the ones arriving in the morning of 11th of November to avoid missing any activities. YOUT NEXT STEPS

Make sure your passport is valid for the entire time you are abroad. • Obtain a visa if necessary. • Book your tickets to Georgia, ideally with Tbilisi as the destination. • Fill out the travel form with all necessary documents such as the Consent form (for teachers and chaperones, for Delegates under 18 or Delegates over 18) and the Medical Emergency Sheet by the 30th of September. Initiated by:

The Schwarzkopf Foundation is the international umbrella organisation of the European Youth Parliament (EYP). EYP Georgia is a National Committee in the EYP network.