Georgia Itinerary: 7 Days, 10 Days and 2 Weeks from Tbilisi

Georgia is known for fitting high mountains, wine country, cave towns and a stretch of Black Sea coast into a country you can cross in a day's drive. Almost every trip starts in Tbilisi, and the hard part is choosing what to leave out. Here's how I'd route 7 days, 10 days and 2 weeks, with the nights per stop, the drive times and the version that works without a car.

How many days do you need in Georgia?

Give it 10 days if you can. Seven days is enough for Tbilisi and the two classic trips out of it, Kazbegi in the mountains and Kakheti in wine country. Ten days lets you cross the Rikoti Pass into the green, wetter west. Two weeks is what Svaneti needs, because the road up to Mestia eats most of a day in each direction.

The rule I give everyone: don't try to see the whole country. Kazbegi is north, Kakheti is east, Svaneti and Batumi are far west, and nothing connects them except roads back through Tbilisi or Kutaisi. A trip that changes bed every night spends half its daylight in a van.

7-day Georgia itinerary: Tbilisi, Kazbegi and Kakheti

This is the week I'd plan for a first trip. It keeps Tbilisi as the base, so you only pack your bag twice, and it gets you into the mountains and the wine country without a single 6-hour day on the road.

Days 1 to 3: Tbilisi and Mtskheta

Keep day 1 light. Walk the Old Town from Meidan, ride the cable car up to Narikala Fortress for 2.50 GEL, and finish with an hour in a private room at the sulfur baths to undo the flight. Day 2 is the rest of the center: Sololaki's old houses, Rustaveli Avenue, the Dry Bridge market and an evening at Fabrika. If you can spare a third day in Tbilisi, give it to the left bank and Sameba cathedral at sunset, and move everything below back a day.

Day 3 starts with Mtskheta, the old capital, 25 km north of the city. A van from Didube metro costs about 2 GEL, and a half day in Mtskheta covers Jvari Monastery on its hill, Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and Samtavro, all free. Go to Jvari first, before 10:00, and you're back in Tbilisi by about 14:00 with the afternoon free. If you've already seen enough churches, swap it for David Gareja, the cave monastery in the semi-desert about 2 hours southeast, which makes a full day.

Days 4 and 5: Kazbegi and the Military Highway

Day 4 runs 157 km up the Georgian Military Highway to Stepantsminda, the town everyone calls Kazbegi. Stop at Ananuri, the fortress and church above the Zhinvali Reservoir at the 75 km mark, then at the viewpoint above Gudauri, and cross the Jvari Pass at 2,379 m. The van from Didube costs 15 to 20 GEL but drives straight past every stop, so for this leg I'd book a driver, about 150 to 250 GEL per car. Of the ways from Tbilisi to Kazbegi, a driver is the only one that stops wherever you ask without costing a tour price.

Sleep in Stepantsminda, where guesthouse rooms start around 40 to 80 GEL, and you get Kazbek at first light without the coach groups. On day 5, be at Gergeti Trinity Church at 2,170 m before late morning, when the cloud usually builds over the mountain. A 4x4 up costs about 30 to 50 GEL per car return, and the walk up to Gergeti takes about 1.5 hours. Drive back to Tbilisi after lunch.

Days 6 and 7: Sighnaghi and Kakheti

Kakheti is Georgia's wine region, about 2 hours east of Tbilisi. Base yourself in Sighnaghi, the walled hill town over the Alazani Valley: walk the town walls, see the Pirosmani paintings in the museum (about 20 GEL, closed on Mondays) and drive 2 km out to Bodbe Monastery. A van from Samgori costs 10 to 15 GEL, but the last one back leaves at about 18:00, which is why I'd stay the night.

Spend day 7 on wine. Mix one big estate that takes walk-ins, with tastings from about 15 to 40 GEL, with one family cellar you've messaged 3 or 4 days ahead. The best wineries in Kakheti cluster in three corners of the valley, so pick the one around Sighnaghi or the one around Telavi and stay in it. Three wineries a day is the most I'd do, and someone has to drive back to Tbilisi.

10-day Georgia itinerary: Gori, Kutaisi and the west

Ten days is the length I'd pick if I could only pick one. Do the 7-day plan as written, then head west for three days. The west is greener and wetter than the east, with monasteries, caves and canyons around Kutaisi, Georgia's second city.

Day 8: Gori and Uplistsikhe on the way west

Gori is about 86 km west of Tbilisi, right on the road to Kutaisi. Be at the gate of Uplistsikhe, a cave town cut into the rock 15 km east of Gori, when it opens at 10:00: the ticket is 15 GEL and there's almost no shade. Then do the Stalin Museum in Gori (15 GEL, plus 5 GEL for his railway carriage) and drive on over the Rikoti Pass. Seen in that order, Gori and Uplistsikhe take about 4 hours, which leaves the afternoon for the drive.

Without a car, this day gets awkward, because no bus reaches the Uplistsikhe gate. I'd do Gori as a day trip from Tbilisi on day 3 instead of Mtskheta, and take the train straight to Kutaisi on day 8.

Days 9 and 10: Kutaisi

Kutaisi is a former royal capital with a small, walkable center. Bagrati Cathedral sits on the hill above the Rioni river, and Gelati Monastery, a UNESCO site, is a short drive out of town. Around them you have a choice: Sataplia and Prometheus caves, Motsameta monastery on its river bend, or the Martvili and Okatse canyons. Pick two for day 9; trying all of them turns the day into a car tour.

On day 10, ride back to Tbilisi. The trains from Rioni station take about 3.5 hours and cost 14 GEL in economy, and the marshrutka from Kutaisi bus station costs 20 GEL. The other option is flying home from Kutaisi airport. If your cheapest flight in or out uses Kutaisi, build the trip as a one-way line, and the airport bus between Kutaisi and Tbilisi (25 GEL, 3.5 to 4 hours) closes the gap at the other end.

The cave-town version: Borjomi and Vardzia

If you'd rather see a cave monastery than canyons, turn south instead of west on day 8. Borjomi, about 150 km from Tbilisi, is a spa town in a forested gorge with free mineral springs, a cable car and open-air sulfur pools at about 30°C. Sleep there, then drive on via Rabati Castle in Akhaltsikhe (15 GEL) to Vardzia, a 12th-century cave monastery cut 13 levels into a cliff, with a 15 GEL ticket and 2 to 3 hours on site. Night 9 is in Akhaltsikhe, and day 10 is the drive back to Tbilisi, under 4 hours.

This version really wants a car or a driver. By marshrutka, Vardzia only works with a night in Akhaltsikhe and an early start.

2-week Georgia itinerary: Svaneti and Batumi

Two weeks gives you the trip most people mean when they say they want to see Georgia: the east, the west, the high Caucasus and the sea. It works best from June to September, when the summer buses link Mestia directly with Batumi and Kutaisi.

Days 10 to 12: Svaneti

Svaneti is the high valley in the far northwest, with Mestia as its main town and stone defense towers above every village. From Kutaisi, take a marshrutka to Zugdidi (10 GEL, about 2 hours) and another up to Mestia (35 to 40 GEL, about 4 hours), or take the direct morning van. Spend day 11 on a hike or the Mestia history and ethnography museum, and day 12 on Ushguli, the UNESCO-listed cluster of tower villages. The road from Mestia to Ushguli has been sealed since 2024, so it's an easy day out.

If you're coming straight from Tbilisi, the Tbilisi to Mestia routes come down to two: a direct marshrutka from Samgori at 07:00 (50 GEL, 8 to 9 hours) or the 08:15 day train to Zugdidi and a van up from there. I'd still rather break the trip in Kutaisi.

Days 13 and 14: Batumi

In summer a direct bus leaves Mestia for Batumi at 08:00 and takes about 6 hours; book it a day or two ahead at the Mestia bus station. Batumi is Georgia's Black Sea resort, with an old town of 19th-century European-style buildings, a new town of glass towers and a long seaside boulevard. One evening and a morning are enough for me. On day 14, take the train back: Tbilisi to Batumi by train is about 5 hours 12 minutes and 35 GEL in second class, and it's the most comfortable long ride in the country.

Outside summer, I'd skip Batumi. Give its nights to Kutaisi or to the Borjomi and Vardzia loop, and fly home from Kutaisi.

Georgia road trip itinerary by car

A car makes the 10-day and 2-week plans easier, mostly because it lets you stop where the vans don't: Ananuri, Uplistsikhe, the wineries, the Rabati walls. Rental starts from about 80 GEL a day for a sedan and about 150 GEL for an SUV, with petrol at 3.2 to 3.5 GEL a liter, and renting a car in Georgia needs an international driving license on top of your own.

These are the main legs and how long each one takes:

The order matters more than the car. Do Kazbegi and Kakheti as two out-and-back loops from Tbilisi, then leave the city for good on the western loop: Gori, Borjomi, Vardzia, Kutaisi, and on to Svaneti or the coast. One-way rentals are possible, but dropping the car in another city costs extra, so ending in Kutaisi or Batumi and flying out is usually cheaper than driving back.

The road up to Mestia was rebuilt and is fine in a normal car, and so is the sealed road on to Ushguli. A 4x4 only earns its price for Tusheti or the dirt track up to Gergeti, and for that last one you can hire a jeep in Stepantsminda instead.

Georgia itinerary without a car

Every stop in this guide works on public transport except Vardzia as a day trip and Uplistsikhe without a taxi. Vans, called marshrutkas, leave Didube bus station for the north and west and Samgori for Kakheti. They go when they're full, take cash and don't stop for photos. Getting around Georgia by van is cheap and slow, and the train is the comfortable choice for the long legs west.

For the mountain days I'd pay for a driver even on a tight budget. Split between four people, a 150 to 250 GEL car to Kazbegi with stops costs close to the van fare each, and you see Ananuri instead of the back of the seat in front.

Which itinerary fits your season

Season decides the route more than trip length does. Spring and autumn are the best time to visit for the city and the wine country; summer is the only real season for the high mountains and the sea.

If you're coming in winter, check the Jvari Pass road the night before and again in the morning, and start back from Kazbegi by early afternoon. A snowed-in night in Stepantsminda is pleasant if you planned for it and expensive if you have a flight.

What a Georgia itinerary costs

Georgia is cheaper than most of Europe, though no longer as cheap as it was. For two people, a budget trip with guesthouses, vans and local restaurants runs about 250 to 350 GEL a day, and a comfortable one with nicer hotels and a few drivers about 400 to 600 GEL. A comfortable week for two comes to roughly 3,000 to 4,000 GEL before flights.

Two costs catch people out. Travel insurance has been mandatory for every visitor since 1 January 2026, with at least 30,000 GEL of medical cover for the whole stay, and you can't buy it at the airport, so sort your travel insurance for Georgia before you fly. And the villages run on cash: carry 50 to 100 GEL for guesthouses, vans and markets, because cards that work all over Tbilisi often don't in the mountains, and money in Georgia outside the cities means lari in your pocket.

Planning mistakes that wreck a Georgia trip

• Squeezing Kazbegi, Kakheti and Batumi into 5 days. Batumi is about 6 hours from Tbilisi each way, so it costs two travel days before you see any of it, and the three sit in three different directions.
• Changing beds every night. One-night stops work for Kazbegi, Sighnaghi and a town on the way somewhere, but never more than two in a row, or the trip turns into packing and unpacking.
• Planning a heavy first day. Flights into Tbilisi land at awkward hours, and the first day goes better as a short walk and a long dinner.
• Booking museum days for Monday. Almost every museum in Tbilisi closes on Mondays, and so does the one in Sighnaghi; use Mondays for the road or the mountains.
• Expecting to cross into Azerbaijan by land. The land border is still closed. Armenia is open, and adding Armenia to the route means a 5 to 6-hour marshrutka from Tbilisi to Yerevan.