Georgia Mini Guide

Caleb and I LOVED Tbilisi so MUCH. The people were some of the most hospitable we’ve ever experienced, the prices were amazing and the FOOD?! Don’t even get us started on how food it is!

Did we mention that Georgia is considered the birthplace of wine? OH YES. The wine is cheap, amazing and you can visit the beautiful wine country right from Tbilsi!

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WHERE TO STAY:

There are tons of accommodation options in Tbilisi, and you can get something pretty nice and centrally located for a great price.

The Old Town and main tourist area in the city is also close together, so there is no need to rent a car – you can easily explore Tbilisi on foot and then do an organize tour to wine country (if you decided to do that which we think is a must!)

Below, I’ve linked to some places that are on our “wish list” for the future, as we weren’t crazy about where we ended up staying. We usually save money on hotels (since we’re never there!) so we can spend more on food, drinks, experiences etc! All of the below options are extremely well priced but we’ve organized them from cheapest to most expensive/bougie!

• Suliko Apartments
• Apartment Gomi
• Octava Boutique Hotel
• Alma Boutique Hotel
• Galaktioni 22
• About Sololaki
• Boutique Stay
• Sani Hotel (pretty!)
• STROFI Boutique Hotel (so trendy!)

WHAT TO DO

There is literally SO MUCH TO DO in Tbilisi. Below, we’ve linked to some great acttivies you should consider during your stay!

• We LOVED this 2-day wine tour from Eat This tours (we did the real wine harvest and WOW – so memorable!) They have many tours, and the company itself is AMAZING.
• Go on a day trip to Armenia!
• Day trip to some UNESCO sights
• Do a cooking class to make local food
• Do a food tour (our favorite thing!)
• Go off-roading in the mountains
• Go on a walking tour with wine + sweets!
• Go on an evening boat and wine tour

WHAT TO EAT

There are SO many amazing places, but here are 3 of our favs from Tbilisi:

Kneina

Friendly corner

Khinkali Collection

ROAD TRIP?

If you have more time, we 10/10 suggest that you rent a car and road trip around the country! We spent about 12 days and, while it was fast, we got to see a good chunk of the western and northern part of Georgia and we loved how diverse it was!

Here is the itinerary we did, with a few changes.

DAY 1: KAZEBGI – we suggest you pick up your car and drive to Kazbegi today. You will drive the Georgia Military highway. Be sure to stop at Zhinvali Reservoir, Ananuri Fortress, Gudauri Viewpoint and Jvari pass.

We stayed HERE and LOVED IT. The view was SO EPIC.

DAY 2 KAZBEGI – You can hike or drive up to the famous Gergeti Trinity church. Pro tip: GO EARLY as it gets busy. Spend the rest of the day hiking and exploring

DAY 3: CHOBARETI – This is going to be a LONG driving day but we thought it was worth it. We drove all day and then went to Chobareti Meskhetian House for dinner and a masterclass. It’s like going back in time. No English and this old stone house. You must reserve – we got our hotel to reserve for us. Then, drive close to Vardzia after for the night.

We stayed HERE and it was AMAZING. SO CUTE (I mean, look at it!) and awesome breakfast and hospitality.

DAY 4: VARDZIA AND KUTAISI – in the morning, go visit Vardzia cave village. It was super cool! PRO TIP: Pay 2 GEL each to take the bus to the top of the cave entrance. Allow yourself around 2 hours to explore, then drive to Kutaisi for the night. You could stop at Baia Winery on the way, which was the best wine we had all trip!

We stayed HERE and LOVED how spacious and centrally located it is!

DAY 5: KUTAISI – Spend the day exploring Kutaisi (OR you could nix this day as there isn’t a TON to do in Kutaisi, if you didn’t arrive too late last night)

DAY 6: MESTIA – Drive to Mestia and spend the day hiking (we recommend the Chalaadi glacier hike.) The town itself is so cute and looks like a Swiss village!

You MUST stay here. It’s 20 mins outside town but SO cute and the owner is so fun! You can do a Svan cooking class and we highly recommend. Super fun and good food….but it’s a lot of cheese and carbs!! FYI.

DAY 7: USHGULI – When we did our road trip, we actually spent the night in Ushguli and wish we hadn’t. Guest houses are VERY rural and rustic, and we had no heat and barely a shower. It wasn’t ideal. If you want the FULL experience, you could stay the night, but we recommend driving up early, spending the afternoon and evening, and going back to Mestia.

Roads can be bad, so drive carefully… especially because no one in Georgia drives sanely, so you need to be defensive!

DAY 8: ZUGDIDI – You COULD skip Zugdidi because the town itself is a little boring in our opinion. HOWEVER, we went here specifically to visit “Folk House” and it was the highlight of our trip!

The owner, Beso, is a Georgian-French cook who opens his home and will lead you in traditional Samegrelo (the region of Georgia, Zugdidi is in) food and then sing and play music for you while you eat. We could not communicate, but somehow we made do and had the best time.

ALso…SO MUCH FOOD. We had 15 full-size courses for 2 people and could barely make a dent. Come HUNGRY.

You MUST book in advance. We stayed HERE, which was one of our fav places of the whole trip (Gorgeous! English-speaking! AMAZING breakfast!) and she helped us book a dinner in advance!

DAY 9: BATUMI – This is known as the place to party in Georgia, so we almost didn’t go….but we were craving a city night. It has a lot of good options for food and good cocktail and wine bars.

We did not like where we stayed, so we don’t have a recommendation! We stayed at Hotel Phaliashvili, and it was very meh.

DAY 10: ADJARA MOUNTAINS – This is a BEAUTIFUL area to drive around the Machakhla National Park and it’s a big wine region!

We glamped at a vineyard, and it was the highlight of our trip. The owner, Ilia, spoke English and made amazing wine. We ended up having dinner with his family, which turned into a Supra and we had tons of delish food, amazing wine, and such great hospitality! Plus, the glamping was so cool! Just send a WhatsApp message to book!

DAY 11: DRIVE BACK TO TBILSI

DAY 12: FLY HOME