The short answer: a 10-day Georgia itinerary is enough to see both halves of the country: the capital, the wine country and the mountains of the east, the rock-cut towns of the south, and the green west down to the Black Sea at Batumi. The trick is to see the east from Tbilisi first, then travel west in one direction without doubling back, and to finish with a flight from Batumi or the evening train rather than a long drive. From June to September you can swap the south for Upper Svaneti; that version is further down.
How many days do you need in Georgia?
- 5 days: Tbilisi, Kakheti and Kazbegi. See our 5-day Georgia itinerary.
- 7 days: add Uplistsikhe, Borjomi and Vardzia. See our 7-day Georgia itinerary.
- 10 days: the east, the south and the west to Batumi, or the east, Svaneti and Batumi in summer. This plan.
- Two weeks: everything above, including Svaneti and Vardzia, at an easier pace. Our 14-day Georgia itinerary lays it out.
Georgia itinerary for 10 days, day by day
The main route has nine nights: three in Tbilisi, one each in Stepantsminda, Borjomi, Akhaltsikhe and Kutaisi, and two in Batumi, or one there and a last one in Tbilisi if you go back by train.
Day 1: Arrive in Tbilisi
Check in, and if you land in daylight, walk from the Bridge of Peace to the sulphur-bath domes of Abanotubani. Overnight: Tbilisi.
Day 2: Tbilisi and Mtskheta
The Old Town on foot and the cable car to Narikala in the morning; in the afternoon, Mtskheta, about 30 minutes away, for Jvari Monastery and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral. Overnight: Tbilisi.
Day 3: Kakheti wine day
Bodbe convent and the walls of Sighnaghi, lunch and a tasting at a family marani that still makes wine in qvevri, then the Tsinandali house-museum (closed on Mondays) and back over the Gombori Pass. About 280 km and 5 hours of driving. For the background, read our Kakheti wine guide. Overnight: Tbilisi.
Day 4: The Military Highway to Kazbegi
Ananuri fortress, lunch in Pasanauri, the Friendship Monument and the Jvari Pass (2,379 m) to Stepantsminda: 152 km, 3–3.5 hours of driving and 6–7 hours with stops. The 14th-century Gergeti Trinity Church (2,170 m) in the afternoon, with Mt Kazbek (5,054 m) behind it. Overnight: Stepantsminda.
Day 5: Uplistsikhe and Gori to Borjomi
Down the Military Highway to Uplistsikhe, the town cut into the rock above the Mtkvari, then lunch and the Stalin Museum in Gori, and about 1.5 hours on to Borjomi. About 290 km and 5–5.5 hours of driving. Overnight: Borjomi.
Day 6: Vardzia, Khertvisi and Rabati
The Central Park and mineral spring in Borjomi first, then about 2 hours to Vardzia. Since the rockfall of 27 May 2026 about half the cave monastery has been closed; the route ends shortly after the Church of the Dormition and you walk back the way you came. Allow 1.5–2 hours at the site, and read our guide to what is open at Vardzia before you go. Then Khertvisi fortress and Rabati Castle in Akhaltsikhe. About 3.5 hours of driving. Overnight: Akhaltsikhe.
Day 7: To Kutaisi and Gelati
About 200 km via Khashuri and the Rikoti highway, 3–3.5 hours. The shorter road over the Zekari pass is still partly unpaved, so drivers rarely take it. In the afternoon, Gelati Monastery, about 10 km from town, founded in 1106 and Kutaisi's only UNESCO World Heritage site; conservation work means parts of the main church are covered. Allow about an hour. Then Bagrati Cathedral and the central market in town. Overnight: Kutaisi.
Day 8: Prometheus cave and on to Batumi
The Prometheus cave in the morning, 30–40 minutes from Kutaisi: a show route of about 1.4 km, with a boat at the end when the water allows. It stays around 14 °C all year, so bring a light jacket. Our guide to the caves and canyons around Kutaisi has more. Then about 150 km and 2–2.5 hours to Batumi, and an evening on the seafront boulevard. Overnight: Batumi.
Day 9: Batumi and Gonio
Gonio fortress, about 15 km south of the city, and the Batumi Botanical Garden, 9 km to the north, then a free afternoon. The garden takes 2–3 hours on steep paths. See our guide to the garden and Gonio, and our Batumi and Adjara guide for more ideas. If you fly home from Tbilisi, take the evening train (about 5 hours) and sleep in Tbilisi. Overnight: Batumi or Tbilisi.
Day 10: Fly home
Batumi has its own international airport, and so does Kutaisi. Check flights from the west before you fix the route: ending there saves 5–6 hours on the road back to Tbilisi.
Drive times at a glance
Days 3 and 5 are the long ones, with about 5 hours of driving. Days 4, 6, 7 and 8 have 2–3.5 hours.
- Tbilisi → Kakheti → Tbilisi, about 280 km, 5 h
- Tbilisi → Stepantsminda, 152 km, 3–3.5 h without stops
- Stepantsminda → Uplistsikhe → Borjomi, about 290 km, 5–5.5 h
- Borjomi → Vardzia → Akhaltsikhe, about 3.5 h
- Akhaltsikhe → Kutaisi, about 200 km, 3–3.5 h
- Kutaisi → Batumi, about 150 km, 2–2.5 h
- Batumi → Tbilisi, about 5 h by train, 5–6 h by road
The summer version with Svaneti
From June to September you can drop Borjomi and Vardzia and add Upper Svaneti. The east stays the same, but Kazbegi comes before Kakheti so that you set off west from Tbilisi:
- Days 1–2: Tbilisi and Mtskheta.
- Days 3–4: Kazbegi overnight, back to Tbilisi after Gergeti in the morning.
- Day 5: Kakheti.
- Day 6: Uplistsikhe and Gori, then Kutaisi on the Rikoti highway, about 4 hours of driving. Gelati does not fit into this version.
- Day 7: the Martvili canyon (it opens at 10:00), the Dadiani Palace in Zugdidi, the Enguri dam and the road up to Mestia: about 240 km and 5.5–6 hours.
- Day 8: Ushguli, one of Europe's highest villages, about 45 km and 1.5–2 hours each way. Part of the road is unpaved, and we switch to a local 4x4 when it is wet. Back in Mestia for the Svaneti Museum (closed on Mondays).
- Day 9: Mestia to Batumi, about 265 km and 5.5–6 hours, down to Zugdidi and along the coast.
- Day 10: Gonio or the Botanical Garden, then fly home from Batumi.
This version means a lot of driving: four days of 4–6 hours in ten. Our Svaneti and Ushguli guide helps you decide whether it is worth it for you. Flights from Natakhtari, near Tbilisi, to Mestia take about 40 minutes but depend on the weather, so don't build a tight plan around them.
In winter
- Kazbegi: from December to March the Jvari Pass can close for hours, or 1–3 days, after heavy snow. Put Kazbegi early and keep a flexible day. See our guide to the Kazbegi road in winter.
- Vardzia: short daylight makes the long southern days harder; start early.
- Svaneti: the road to Mestia is open all year, but the Mestia–Ushguli road can close in heavy snow, and the Zagari pass from Ushguli to Lentekhi is shut.
- Batumi: quieter out of season, and the sea is too cold for swimming before June.
Mistakes that make ten days exhausting
- Doubling back. Ending in Kakheti or Kazbegi after Batumi means crossing the whole country again. See the east first.
- Tbilisi to Mestia in one go. It is about 460 km and 8–10 hours. Break it in Kutaisi.
- One night in Mestia. Ushguli is a day of its own; give Mestia two nights.
- The Zagari pass outside summer. The Ushguli–Lentekhi road runs only from roughly late May to mid-October.
- Driving back from Batumi on the last day. Fly from Batumi or Kutaisi, or take the evening train the day before. In summer the trains fill up, so book as soon as sales open.
- Mondays. Tsinandali's museum, the Svaneti Museum, the Dadiani Palace and the Georgian National Museum are closed.
- No insurance. Since 1 January 2026, travel health insurance with at least 30,000 GEL of cover is mandatory for visitors.
Ten days with us
Our Grand Tour of Georgia, 10 days follows the main route above day for day, with hotels, breakfasts, tastings and the evening train, or an ending in Batumi if you prefer to fly from there. With two weeks, Georgia in 14 days keeps Vardzia and adds Svaneti, with two nights in Mestia. With eight days, the Classic Georgia private tour covers the east and south without the coast. All are private, with your own car and English-speaking driver-guide for 1–8 travellers; see each tour page for the current price. Or plan your own ten days and we send a route and a price. Nothing to pay now.
Sources
- Wander-Lush, "How to Travel From Tbilisi to Kazbegi": wander-lush.org
- Wander-Lush, "How to get to Mestia from Tbilisi": wander-lush.org
- Wander-Lush, "Ushguli to Kutaisi via the Zagari pass": wander-lush.org
- Georgia Today, "Rockfall damages footpath at Vardzia near Secret Tunnel" (May 2026): georgiatoday.ge
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre, "Gelati Monastery": whc.unesco.org
- Agency of Protected Areas of Georgia, Prometheus Cave: apa.gov.ge
- Georgian Railway, timetables and tickets: tkt.ge
- US Embassy in Georgia, "Georgia to require insurance for all tourists starting 1/1/2026": ge.usembassy.gov
- Wander-Lush, "Vardzia Cave Monastery: A Complete Visitor's Guide for 2026": wander-lush.org
- Wikipedia, "Batumi Botanical Garden": en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Gonio Fortress": en.wikipedia.org
Last checked: September 2026. Mountain roads, the Vardzia route and train timetables change; we check them before every trip.
