Capital
Tbilisi
Population
~3.7 million
Area
69,700 km²
Language
Georgian
Currency
Lari (GEL)
Time zone
GMT+4
Visa
Free up to 1 year for ~95 countries
Georgia (Sakartvelo) is a country in the South Caucasus, between the Black Sea and the Caspian. This guide covers its 12 travel regions, the best time to go, how many days you need, what a trip costs and the entry rules for 2026.
Best time to visit
May–June and September–October. July–August for mountain treks, December–March for skiing.
How many days
7–10 days for Tbilisi and two or three regions. Five days is the minimum for Tbilisi plus one region.
What it costs with us
Private day tours from $78 per person. Multi-day private tours usually $120–$220 per person per day.
Entry rules
Visa-free for up to a year for about 95 countries. Health and accident insurance is mandatory since 2026.
01Where to go
Georgia region by region
We split Georgia into 12 travel regions. Most first trips combine Tbilisi with Kakheti (wine), Mtskheta-Mtianeti (Kazbegi and the Caucasus) and, with more time, Svaneti or Samtskhe-Javakheti (Vardzia). Each region below has its own guide and its own tours.
REPLACE THIS TEXT BLOCK with your existing Post Cards element (destination card layout, class gt-destination-card). Set it to exclude the Georgia post so the page no longer links to itself, and check that Adjara is included. Order: Tbilisi, Kakheti, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Kvemo Kartli, Shida Kartli, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Imereti, Samegrelo, Guria, Adjara, Svaneti, Racha-Lechkhumi.
02Plan by time
How many days do you need in Georgia?
Most first-time visitors need 7 to 10 days: enough for Tbilisi plus two or three regions. Five days covers Tbilisi and one region; two weeks adds the high Caucasus and the cave cities of the south. Below are our private tours by length, with prices per person that fall as your group grows.
Private car and guide Free cancellation up to 2 weeks ahead No booking fees We reply within 24 hours
1 day
Day trips from Tbilisi
Out after breakfast, back for dinner.
2–4 days
Short tours
One region, nights in guesthouses instead of long drives back.
6–8 days
One week
Two or three regions, or a proper mountain trek. A classic week: Tbilisi 3 nights, Kazbegi 1, Kakheti 2, with a day trip to Mtskheta.
10–12 days
The full picture
Mountains, wine country and cave cities in one trip. A classic route: Tbilisi, Kakheti and Kazbegi, then west to Kutaisi and Svaneti, and south to Borjomi and Vardzia.
- Svaneti and Vardzia, 10 Days $1,800
- Around Georgia, 12 Days $2,640
Or browse by style: Wine tours Trekking & adventure Tours from Kutaisi All private tours Custom itinerary
03Travel guide
Georgia in brief: a country that doesn’t fit any category
Georgia sits on the southern slopes of the Caucasus, bordered by Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and is about the size of Ireland. Peaks above 5,000 metres and a subtropical coast are a few hours’ drive apart. Medieval tower villages without paved roads share the country with a capital that stays up all night.
Georgians call their country Sakartvelo. They have their own language and their own alphabet, and they have been making wine in clay vessels for around 8,000 years. Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Ottomans and Russians all ruled here at some point; the language, the script, the wine and the recipes all survived.
What visitors remember most is the hospitality. A Georgian saying holds that a guest is a gift from God, and a long supra feast with a tamada leading the toasts is still how families celebrate.
It should have been absorbed a hundred times over. It just wasn’t.
04Did you know
10 things about Georgia that surprise people
- Wine here is older than the pyramids. Grape residue in clay jars from around 6000 BC was found south of Tbilisi, some 3,000 years before Egypt’s first pyramid. The qvevri method is still in daily use.
- The alphabet is Georgia’s own. It doesn’t derive from Greek, Latin or Cyrillic. Its three historic scripts, Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri and Mkhedruli, were added to UNESCO’s intangible heritage list in 2016.
- A guest is a gift from God. Strangers really do get invited in for a meal, and the supra feast, led by a toastmaster called the tamada, is taken seriously.
- One of the first Christian nations. Georgia adopted Christianity in the 4th century after the preaching of St Nino. Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta stands where the first church was built.
- More than 500 native grape varieties. Saperavi and Rkatsiteli are the famous ones; hundreds more grow in small family vineyards.
- A Georgian song is travelling through space. NASA put the folk song “Chakrulo” on the Voyager Golden Record in 1977. Georgian polyphony is UNESCO-listed.
- The Golden Fleece may have a real origin. Jason and the Argonauts sailed to Colchis in western Georgia. Svans once panned for gold with sheepskins that trapped the dust, a literal golden fleece.
- Tbilisi was built on hot springs. Legend says King Vakhtang Gorgasali found the sulphur springs while hunting in the 5th century. The name comes from tbili, “warm”, and the baths of Tbilisi still run.
- Cheese bread has its own economic index. The ISET Policy Institute’s Khachapuri Index tracks the cost of making Imeretian khachapuri as a gauge of food prices.
- Ushguli is among Europe’s highest villages. At about 2,100–2,200 metres under Mount Shkhara, its tower houses are part of the Upper Svaneti UNESCO site.
05At the table
Georgian food and wine
The food: a crash course
Walnuts, fresh herbs, garlic, pomegranate, cheese and bread, with every region cooking them its own way.
- Khachapuri: cheese bread in a dozen regional styles; the Adjarian boat with egg and butter is the photogenic one.
- Khinkali: soup dumplings eaten by hand. Hold the knot, bite, sip the broth, leave the knots on the plate.
- Pkhali: spinach, beet or cabbage pounded with walnuts and herbs.
- Mtsvadi: Georgian barbecue; in Kakheti it is grilled over vine cuttings.
- Churchkhela: walnuts dipped again and again in thickened grape juice.
- Also look for: kubdari (Svan meat pie), lobio (beans in a clay pot), badrijani (aubergine with walnut).
The wine: 8,000 years and counting
In the qvevri method, grapes ferment with their skins in large clay vessels buried in the cellar floor. White grapes made this way become amber wine: tannic, nutty and unlike any white you know. UNESCO listed the method in 2013.
| Grape | Colour | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Saperavi | Red | Deep, dark, tannic; ages well |
| Rkatsiteli | White | Crisp when modern, amber in qvevri |
| Mtsvane | White | Aromatic, often blended |
| Kisi, Khikhvi | White | Rare; outstanding in qvevri |
06Seasons
When to visit Georgia: season by season
The best time to visit Georgia is May–June or September–October, when cities are warm but not hot and most roads are open. The mountains run on their own calendar: high passes open around late June and close again in October, and ski season in Gudauri runs from about December to March.
| Season | Weather | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring (April–May) | 15–25 °C, some rain | Tbilisi, Kakheti, Mtskheta, the south; wildflowers | High passes still closed: Tusheti and upper Svaneti routes open from about late June |
| Summer (June–August) | 25–38 °C in cities, 15–25 °C in the mountains | Trekking (peak July–August), Tusheti, Black Sea beaches | Tbilisi and Kakheti are very hot; book mountain guesthouses early |
| Autumn (Sept–October) | 15–28 °C, golden light | Rtveli grape harvest, Tbilisi at its best, last mountain window | Rain in October; Tusheti road usually closes by early October |
| Winter (Nov–March) | 0–10 °C in cities, heavy snow in the mountains | Skiing in Gudauri and Bakuriani, quiet Tbilisi, lower prices | High mountain regions largely closed; short days |
07Before you go
Georgia travel tips: visas, insurance, money and transport
Getting there
International airports in Tbilisi, Kutaisi (low-cost hub) and Batumi. About 3.5–4.5 hours from central Europe.
Visa and entry
Citizens of about 95 countries, including the EU, UK, US, Canada and Australia, stay visa-free for up to a year. EU citizens can enter with a national ID card; others need a passport.
New in 2026
Travel insurance
Since 1 January 2026 every tourist must hold health and accident insurance covering the whole stay, with at least 30,000 GEL of cover, in English or Georgian. Official details.
Money
Georgian lari (GEL): about 2.6 GEL to the US dollar in November 2026. Cards work in cities; carry cash for villages, markets and guesthouses.
Getting around
Marshrutka minibuses link most towns and leave when full. Tbilisi has a two-line metro, Bolt works in cities, and mountain roads need a 4×4 with a local driver.
Trains
Georgian Railway runs Tbilisi–Batumi, Kutaisi and Zugdidi. Seats sell out in summer; we can book domestic train tickets for you for a small fee.
Safety
Violent crime against visitors is rare and Tbilisi is safe at night. The real risks are fast drivers and mountain roads. Abkhazia and South Ossetia cannot be entered from Georgia.
Language
Georgian, with its own 33-letter alphabet. Younger people often speak English, older people Russian. Gamarjoba (hello) and madloba (thank you) go a long way.
Phone and internet
SIM cards from Magti, Silknet or Cellfie at the airport, or an eSIM. Fast in cities; patchy or none in Tusheti and remote Svaneti.
Costs
Our private day tours start at $78 per person; multi-day private tours usually cost $120–$220 per person per day, depending on hotels and group size. A mountain guesthouse with dinner and breakfast is typically 60–120 GEL per person.
Plugs, driving, emergencies
Type C and F sockets at 220 V, as in most of Europe. Traffic drives on the right. Emergency number: 112.
Tipping
Many restaurants add a service charge to the bill; if they don’t, around 10% is appreciated. Tipping guides and drivers is welcome but never expected.
Plan before you arrive
REPLACE THIS TEXT BLOCK with your existing Post Cards element (guide card layout, class gt-guide-card), 4 posts: Georgian Cuisine (/georgian-cuisine/), When to Travel to Georgia (/when-to-travel-to-georgia/), Georgian Church Etiquette (/georgian-church-etiquette/), Why Georgia Has Stone Towers (/georgian-mountain-towers/).
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