The Sulfur Baths of Abanotubani: Prices, Bathhouses and Booking

Tbilisi is known for its sulfur baths. The city grew up around these hot springs, and the brick domes of Abanotubani still sit at the foot of Old Tbilisi. Here's what you need to know about the bathhouses, what a private room really costs in 2026, which one I'd book for your group, and the booking rules that catch first-timers.

Public bath or private room: which to book

Every bathhouse in Abanotubani sells one of two things. A private room comes with its own sulfur pool and is rented by the hour for your group. A public hall is a shared bath, split into men's and women's sections and paid per person.

For a first visit I'd book the private room every time. It's yours for the hour, couples and mixed groups go in together, and you decide whether to wear swimwear. Chreli Abano, the famous tiled one, has no public hall at all. The public halls are the budget choice, and you ask for them at the desk.

What a sulfur bath costs in 2026

Three bathhouses publish their full room list: Chreli Abano, King Erekle's Bath and Royal Bath. Here is every room, as of October 2026, priced per room for 1 hour.

What a room costs per person

The fee stays the same however many of you there are, up to the room's limit, so a full room is the cheapest way to soak:

Royal Bath is the cheapest way to put 4 people in a private room, and Chreli Abano is the cheapest for 2. Above 6 people you're choosing between King Erekle's Lux Apartment (7), Royal Bath's Room 2 (8), Chreli Abano's N11 (9) and its Royal Apartment (12).

Extras: kisa, towels and slippers

The room fee is only part of the bill. Chreli Abano charges separately for the kisa, massage, towels, sheets, slippers and bathrobes. Royal Bath prices every extra on its booking form, so a couple taking Room 5 for 2 hours with 2 scrubs, towels and slippers pays 340 GEL, or 170 GEL each.

The best bathhouses in Abanotubani

More than 60 bathhouses worked here in the Middle Ages, and fewer than a dozen still run. These are the ones I'd consider, with my pick for each kind of visit. Queen's Bath closed in February 2026, so it is off the list.

Chreli Abano (Orbeliani Baths): my pick for a first visit

Chreli Abano, the "colorful bath", is the blue-tiled building at the end of Abano Street and the one on every postcard of the district. It dates from the 17th century, shows the Persian influence of its time, and reopened restored in 2017. You'll also see it called the Orbeliani Baths.

It has 12 private rooms, from 130 GEL for 2 people to 600 GEL for 12. Room N4 is named for Alexandre Dumas and N5 for Pushkin, and both take up to 6 at 200 GEL. Book on Chreli Abano's website at least a day ahead, and bring cash for the kisa.

Why it's my pick: the building is the one you came to see, the price list is clear, and a couple gets in for 130 GEL.

Royal Bath: best value for groups

Royal Bath, at I. Grishashvili Street 1, is an 18th-century bathhouse that tradition ties to King Erekle II. Its 5 rooms cost 150 to 290 GEL an hour, and Room 2 is the largest at 180 square meters, with hot and cold pools and a sauna for up to 8.

It opens at 08:00, an hour before Chreli Abano, and prices every extra up front. Book through its room pages, by phone on +995 32 219 67 00 or on WhatsApp at +995 555 502200. My pick for 4 to 8 people: Room 5 holds 4 for 150 GEL, and Room 2 holds 8 for 290 GEL.

King Erekle's Bath: the backup when Chreli Abano is full

King Erekle's Bath is run by the same group as Chreli Abano and shares its hotline, hours and booking rules. It has a Junior room for up to 3 at 200 GEL, 3 Premium rooms for up to 5 at 250 GEL, and the Lux Apartment for up to 7 at 400 GEL. It is a different bathhouse from Royal Bath, though both trace themselves to the same king, so check the name on your confirmation.

Gulo's Thermal Spa: the late-night soak

Gulo's, at Grishashvili Street 3, is the only bath in the district still named after its owner, and it serves jam and tea. Rooms run about 150 to 300 GEL an hour, and it stays open until 03:00, later than anywhere else. Book on WhatsApp at +995 557 98 93 92, and ask for the room price, the kisa price and card payment in one message so you have it in writing.

Bath No. 5: the mosaics and the cheap public hall

Bath No. 5, at Gorgasali Street 3, is the one for colorful mosaics and a good kisa. Private rooms cost about 120 to 200 GEL, and its public hall is the cheapest soak in town at 6 to 10 GEL. The women's public hall has no pool, so women on a budget may prefer a small private room.

Kiev Sulfur Bath and Bohema: the cheaper rooms

Kiev Sulfur Bath stands on Kievi Street, outside Abanotubani, and opens 08:00 to 02:00 daily, with rooms at about 90 to 120 GEL. Bohema quotes about 70 to 200 GEL. Neither has the old town setting, so I'd only choose them on price. Call +995 577 382929 to book Kiev.

How to book a sulfur bath

Match the room's guest limit to your group, then book. Chreli Abano and King Erekle's Bath take online bookings up to the day before; on the day itself, phone the shared hotline on 0322 93 00 93 (staffed 09:00 to 22:00) or ask at the desk. Royal Bath books through each room page, with start times from 08:00 to 23:00, and by phone or WhatsApp. Gulo's books on WhatsApp only.

Read the refund rule before you pay at Chreli Abano. Cancel 1 to 2 business days ahead and you get 80% of an online payment back; cancel later and you can lose all of it, and payments made at reception are never refunded. Arrive on time, too: there is no refund for leaving early, and each room gets a 15-minute clean before the next group.

The kisa scrub: what it is and what it costs

The kisa is the traditional Georgian scrub. An attendant works over your skin with a coarse mitt and takes off a layer you didn't know you had, and you come out about as clean as you've ever been. It costs 15 GEL at Royal Bath and 20 GEL at Chreli Abano and King Erekle's Bath, and 10 to 30 GEL across the district.

Kisa and tips are cash only, even where the room goes on a card, so carry some lari in cash. At Chreli Abano you add the scrub after booking the room, and its massage menu starts at 100 GEL for 30 minutes.

I'd take the kisa on a first visit. It's the part of the ritual you can't get in a hotel bathtub, and it costs a fraction of the room.

What happens at a sulfur bath

You check in at the desk, buy a towel and slippers if your room doesn't include them, and go to your room. In a private room the door closes and the space is yours: a changing area, a pool of hot sulfur water, and in the larger rooms a cold pool, a sauna and a relaxation room.

Shower before you get in, the one piece of etiquette everyone keeps. Then lower yourself into the hot pool slowly. The water is hot and smells of eggs from the hydrogen sulfide, and the first few minutes are plenty. Most of the hour is a loop of hot pool, cold pool or cold shower, and back again, with a round in the sauna if your room has one.

If you booked a kisa, the attendant knocks at the agreed time and scrubs you down. Afterward, rest with something to drink. Chreli Abano has a food and drink menu and lets you bring snacks, except fish and seafood, and nothing in glass.

Do you have to be naked? Not in a private room, where it's your call. The public halls are split by sex and many locals bathe there without swimwear, but a swimsuit is fine. Wear an old one, since sulfur water can stain fabric, and dress a few minutes before your time is up.

What to bring to the sulfur baths

• Towels and slippers, or the money for them: Chreli Abano doesn't include them, and Royal Bath sells a towel for 2 GEL and slippers for 3 GEL.
• Cash in lari for the kisa and tips.
• Swimwear, only if you want it, and an old pair at that.
• Water to drink, because an hour in hot water is thirsty work.

Who the sulfur baths suit, and who should skip them

The springs under Abanotubani are sulfur-alkaline thermal water carrying calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium, plus the hydrogen sulfide you smell. Georgians have long credited the baths with easing joints, helping circulation and clearing skin. I go for a simpler reason: an hour in hot water is about the most relaxing thing you can do in Tbilisi.

Go if you are:

• A couple: a room for 2 at Chreli Abano costs 130 GEL for the hour.
• A group or a family: a full room costs about 33 to 38 GEL a head, and children are welcome in private rooms, which makes the baths one of the easier things to do in Tbilisi with kids.
• Footsore after a day on the hills: the baths sit at the bottom of the steep climb to the fortress ridge.

Skip it, or ask a doctor first, if you are:

• Pregnant: Chreli Abano and King Erekle's Bath both advise against bathing.
• Living with a heart condition or high blood pressure: both bathhouses advise against it too.
• Bothered by strong smells: the smell comes with the water, and a hotel spa in Tbilisi gives you a hot pool without it.

Best time to go to the sulfur baths

The baths are open all year and busiest in summer and early autumn, when the few private rooms fill up, so book ahead then. Evenings are the popular slot with visitors, and weekends are busier than weekdays.

My favorite time is the cold months. On winter evenings in Tbilisi, an hour in the water before dinner is the warmest thing you can do in the old town, and you walk out into the cold glowing.

How to get to Abanotubani

Abanotubani sits on the right bank of the Mtkvari River, under the fortress ridge, a short walk from Sololaki and Rike Park.

• By metro: Avlabari is the nearest station, on the opposite bank. Walk down past Metekhi Church and cross Metekhi Bridge to the domes. A ride costs 1 GEL on a Metromoney card.
• By cable car: the cable car from Rike Park runs up to the Narikala ridge for 2.5 GEL one way. From the top it's a short, steep walk down to the baths, which is how I'd do it if you want the views first.
• On foot: from Freedom Square or the Bridge of Peace, walk through the old town lanes to the domes.
• By taxi: order a car through a taxi app in Tbilisi and ask for Abano Street.

What to see around the baths

The baths sit at the start of a short loop up the gorge and the hill behind them, and I like to soak at the end of it rather than the start. In the district itself, the remains of its oldest bathhouse are on show in a small archaeological museum (3 GEL in cash, Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00), and the tunnel beneath the baths is free to walk through.

Leghvtakhevi waterfall: a path beside Chreli Abano follows the narrow gorge up to a small waterfall.

Juma Mosque: an 18th-century shrine with a 19th-century minaret, on the path toward the National Botanical Garden (4 GEL).

Narikala: Narikala fortress stands on the ridge right above the domes. It has been fenced off since late 2023, but it is still the backdrop to every photo of the baths.

Tabori Monastery: about 45 minutes on foot from Chreli Abano, and one of my favorite viewpoints in Tbilisi over the old town.

A short history of the Tbilisi baths

In the founding legend, the baths are the reason Tbilisi exists. King Vakhtang Gorgasali was hunting here around 455 AD when his falcon chased a pheasant into a hot spring, and both birds were boiled. Impressed by the water, he built a city on the spot. The name comes from "tbili", meaning warm, and the city went by Tiflis until 1936.

On the Silk Road the baths were where travelers, traders and locals met. Pushkin visited Chreli Abano in 1829 and wrote in "Journey to Arzrum" that he had never seen anything more magnificent than the Tbilisi baths, and Alexandre Dumas came in 1858 and stayed more than a month. Most bathhouses still standing date from the 17th and 18th centuries and were built under Persian influence, which is why the district looks the way it does.