Tbilisi Airport to the City Center: Bus 337, Bolt, Taxis and Transfers

Tbilisi International Airport sits about 17 km southeast of the center, and a lot of flights land in the middle of the night. Here's what you need to know about getting into town: bus 337, Bolt, the official taxi booth and prebooked transfers, what each one costs in 2026, which I'd pick for your landing time, and the cash and SIM basics to sort before you walk out of arrivals.

Tbilisi Airport to the city center at a glance

There are 4 ways into town and no metro. The nearest stations, Varketili and Isani, are a drive away from the terminal, so the choice is between the bus, an app taxi, the taxi booth and a driver you book ahead. Here's how they compare on the numbers that matter at the arrivals door.

The drive itself is short. At normal traffic a car reaches Freedom Square in 25 to 30 minutes, and the bus takes about twice that because it stops all the way in. If your ticket says Kutaisi instead, the main airport for Wizz Air and FlyArystan, you're 247 km west, and the Kutaisi Airport to Tbilisi airport bus takes 3.5 to 4 hours for 25 GEL.

Which ride to pick for your landing time

The right answer depends mostly on the clock and on how many of you there are. This is the rule I'd follow:

Why 10 pm and not 11 pm? Passport control and the baggage belt take a while on a busy night, and the last 337 leaves around 11 pm. If your plane lands after 10, I wouldn't bet the first night on catching it.

For a couple, Bolt beats the bus on almost everything except price, and the gap is 12 to 17 GEL each. For a group of 4 with suitcases, a transfer car costs only a few lari more each than a shared Bolt, and the driver is already waiting with your name on a sign.

Bus 337: the cheapest way into Tbilisi

Bus 337 is the only public transport between the airport and the city. The stop is in front of the departures hall: walk out of arrivals, turn right and follow the terminal along to departures. It runs from about 7 am to 11 pm with no night service, every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 18 to 23 minutes at weekends. The ride to the center takes around 60 minutes, more in rush hour.

You pay by tapping a card on the reader by the door. A Metromoney transit card charges 1 GEL, and it's the same card you'll tap for getting around Tbilisi by metro and bus. A foreign contactless bank card works too and can charge up to 1.50 GEL. Either way, a connecting bus or minibus within 90 minutes of that first tap costs nothing more, which helps if your hotel is off the 337 route.

I like the 337 more than its reputation suggests. For 1 GEL you get an hour-long first look at the city, from the Soviet blocks of the east side to the old center. What I wouldn't do is ride it with 2 big cases at 6 pm on a weekday, when it fills with commuters.

Where to get off bus 337

Its stops include Avlabari, Rustaveli Avenue, Freedom Square and the Marjanishvili area, and the line ends at Station Square, by the central railway station. These are the stops I'd use for each part of town:

Old Tbilisi is the one area where I'd think twice about the bus. The lanes around Abanotubani are hilly and uneven, hard work with a rolling case, and the walk from the Avlabari stop crosses the river and then climbs. With heavy luggage, Bolt to the door costs 25 to 35 GEL and saves the sweat.

Sololaki and Vera are both a short uphill walk from their stops. Fabrika is the easy one: the hostel and its courtyard bars sit a short flat walk from the Marjanishvili stops. If you're staying out in Saburtalo, ride to the terminus, where Station Square is the only place the two metro lines meet, and switch to line 2.

Bolt from Tbilisi Airport

Bolt is the ride-hailing app most people in Tbilisi use, with the most cars and the lowest fares, and it works at the airport around the clock. Order the car from arrivals and meet it in the pickup zone outside, shared with the other app taxis. The fare to the center is about 25 to 35 GEL at normal times, higher late at night or in the rain, and the price you see before booking is the price you pay.

Yandex Go is the alternative and usually costs a little more at busy times. Uber doesn't operate in Georgia at all, so don't waste time looking for it. Pay by card in the app or in cash to the driver; I keep the card linked so there's no fumbling for change after a flight.

The one check that matters is the plate. Bolt shows the car's plate and model, and you match them before you load your bags. Taxis in Tbilisi are safe, and an app ride with the plate checked is about as low-risk as a ride gets. Buckle up, because Georgian driving is fast.

Once you're settled, the same app costs 3 to 8 GEL for most rides across the center, which makes taxis in Tbilisi cheap enough to use every day.

Airport taxis: the official booth and the drivers to ignore

The official taxi desk is inside the terminal. It runs on 2 zones: 60 GEL to Avlabari and anywhere closer, 80 GEL for anywhere beyond, which covers most of the center. You pay at the booth, and a staff member walks you out to the car. The cars carry no card terminals, so settle it inside.

It's fixed-price and simple, but it's 2 to 3 times what Bolt charges for the same ride. I'd only use it if my phone had no data and the Wi-Fi wasn't working.

The drivers waiting at the exit are a different story. They're unlicensed, they stand by the arrivals doors, and they offer rides for 40 to 100 GEL. The lines are always similar: Bolt "isn't working" tonight, or the center is a long way out. Neither is true. Some go further and claim to be the Bolt driver you just ordered.

A polite "no, thanks" and walking on to the pickup zone is all it takes.

Private airport transfers

A prebooked transfer costs from about 53 GEL for the car, fixed when you book online. The driver waits in arrivals with a sign carrying your name, and you pay him in cash at the end.

On price alone it loses to Bolt for 1 or 2 people. Where it wins:

• Landing at 3 am on a first trip. Nothing to work out with tired eyes and an unfamiliar app. Someone is standing there.
• Groups of 4 or more. 53 GEL split 4 ways is about 13 GEL each, a few lari more than a shared Bolt, with room for everyone's bags.
• Kids and big luggage. The car is booked for your group and bags, so nobody spends the first hour of the trip squeezed into a Bolt sedan.
• Going straight on out of the city. A driver who takes you to the hotel can usually take you further, which matters if your first night is outside Tbilisi.

It's the wrong pick if you're traveling light and alone, or if your flight times are unreliable and you'd rather book when you land.

Before you leave the airport: cash, SIM and Wi-Fi

Sort 3 things in the arrivals hall and the first day gets easier: lari, data and a way to pay for the ride.

Cash. Several ATMs stand on the right as you exit arrivals, with more in departures a minute's walk away. Look for TBC Bank (light blue) and Bank of Georgia (orange). Airport machines charge a 2 to 3 GEL fee, and some also give euros or US dollars. The payment kiosks just after customs don't dispense cash, so don't queue at those. When an ATM offers to convert the withdrawal into your home currency, decline and take it in GEL.

Exchange. Skip the airport exchange desk. Its rate is 10 to 15% worse than the city, where exchange offices on Rustaveli Avenue, Kote Abkhazi Street and around Freedom Square beat even the banks. I take 50 to 100 GEL from the ATM and change any foreign cash in town; money in Georgia works mostly on cards, with cash for bakeries, markets and marshrutkas.

SIM. Magti, Silknet and Cellfie all have desks in arrivals. Magti's stand is open 24 hours, needs only your passport and takes about 5 minutes; the tourist package is 20 GEL for 15 GB over 30 days. Its coverage in the mountains is the best of the 3 if Kazbegi or Svaneti is on your list. An eSIM bought before you fly is fine for a short city stay; for anything longer, or for the mountains, I'd get a Georgian SIM card from Magti.

Wi-Fi. The airport Wi-Fi is free with no login, which is enough to order a Bolt even without a local SIM.

Landing late at night or early in the morning

Public transport stops around 11 pm. The bus is done, and the metro closes at midnight and reopens at 6 am, though it doesn't reach the airport anyway. After dark your options are Bolt, the taxi booth or a transfer you booked ahead, and all 3 run all night.

The bigger problem at 3 am is the bed. Standard check-in is in the afternoon, which leaves you on a lobby sofa for most of the day. Book the room from the night before so it's yours on arrival, or message the hotel and ask about 24-hour check-in before you pay.

If your flight lands after midnight and leaves again the next day, the ibis Tbilisi Airport is about a 10-minute walk from the terminal and opened in 2024; the other hotels near Tbilisi Airport are all a short drive. Sleeping in the departures hall is allowed if you'd rather wait for an early flight there.

Going straight on to other cities from the airport

Long-distance trains, buses and marshrutkas all leave from the city, so every onward trip starts in town. Bus 337 helps here, because its last stop is Station Square, right next to the central railway station.

• Batumi: trains leave from the central station, and the fast Stadler trains are the most reliable way to the coast. Tickets sell out, so book the Tbilisi to Batumi train before you land.
• Kazbegi, Mtskheta and Kakheti: marshrutkas leave from Didube bus station. From Station Square, it's a few stops on metro line 1 to Didube. For a single day in the mountains, a Kazbegi day trip with pickup in town is the easier option.

If your first night is outside Tbilisi, a private transfer straight from arrivals saves the bus, the metro and the marshrutka, and it's the one case where I'd book it even for 2 people.

Getting back to Tbilisi Airport for your flight

The same options work in reverse. Bus 337 runs from Station Square through the center to the airport and drops you in front of departures; give it a full hour plus traffic, and remember the last one goes around 11 pm. Bolt is 25 to 35 GEL from the center and takes 25 to 30 minutes. For an early morning flight, Bolt is the easy answer, since the bus doesn't start until about 7 am.

Spend your last lari before you get there. The airport exchange rates are poor in both directions, and Georgian lari is hard to change once you leave the country. If you bought a Metromoney card, hand it in at a metro station window with the receipt and you get the 2 GEL deposit back along with any balance.