The short answer: with three days, base yourself in Tbilisi and don't change hotels. Spend one day walking the Old Town, one day driving the Georgian Military Highway to Kazbegi and Gergeti Trinity Church, and one day in Kakheti's wine country, or in Mtskheta if you fly out that evening. In winter, swap Kazbegi for Mtskheta, Uplistsikhe and Gori when the mountain road is closed. Here is the plan, with realistic hours.
Day 1: Tbilisi on foot
Start at Metekhi Church above the Mtkvari, take the cable car from Rike Park up to Narikala fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue, then walk down past the Leghvtakhevi waterfall to the brick domes of the Abanotubani sulphur baths. Carry on to Sioni Cathedral, the Anchiskhati Basilica and the Gabriadze clock tower, and finish across the Bridge of Peace and on Rustaveli Avenue. It is about 5–6 km on foot, with steep, polished cobbles in places.
End the day in a private sulphur-bath room, booked by the hour, or with dinner and a glass of Georgian wine. If you land early on day 1, this is also the day to recover from the flight: nothing on it needs an early start.
Our private Tbilisi city walk covers this route in about five hours, from 10:00, with a coffee stop.
Day 2: Kazbegi and Gergeti Trinity
This is the long day, and the one most visitors remember. The Military Highway runs north past the Zhinvali reservoir and Ananuri fortress (about 70 km from Tbilisi), climbs past Gudauri and the Friendship Monument viewpoint, and crosses the Jvari Pass (2,379 m) to Stepantsminda. From there you drive, or walk in 1–1.5 hours, up to Gergeti Trinity Church (2,170 m), with Mt Kazbek (5,054 m) behind it on a clear day.
- Distance: 152 km and 3–3.5 hours each way without stops.
- Length of the day: 11–12 hours door to door.
- Traffic: the road is also the route to Upper Lars, the border crossing with Russia; lorry queues and weekend evening traffic can add 1–3 hours on the way back.
- Clothes: Gergeti is often about 10 °C cooler than Tbilisi.
Why day 2 and not day 3? If the weather is bad on the day, you can swap days 2 and 3 and still see the mountains. Never put Kazbegi on the day of your flight home. Our private Kazbegi and Gergeti day trip leaves at 08:30 and stops at Ananuri, the Friendship Monument and, from May to October when time allows, the Gveleti waterfall.
Day 3, option A: Kakheti wine country
East over the Gombori pass to Bodbe convent, where St Nino is buried, and the walled town of Sighnaghi above the Alazani Valley, then the Tsinandali house-museum and a family cellar that still makes wine in qvevri, the clay jars on UNESCO's Intangible Heritage list since 2013. The day takes 10–10.5 hours, with about 280 km of driving.
Our private Kakheti wine day trip includes two tastings; the driver doesn't drink. It suits couples and wine lovers, and it is an easier day in the car than Kazbegi.
Day 3, option B: Mtskheta, if you fly out that evening
If your flight leaves on the evening of day 3, a full day in Kakheti is too tight. Mtskheta, Georgia's old capital, is 25 km and about 30 minutes from Tbilisi: Jvari Monastery on its hilltop above the meeting of two rivers, then Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in the old town. Add a cellar tour and tasting at Château Mukhrani and you have a 5.5–6 hour half day, back in time for the airport. Our Mtskheta and Château Mukhrani private half day runs as a morning or an afternoon.
The winter swap
From December to April the Jvari Pass can close for hours, or for 1–3 days, after heavy snow. Two ways to plan around it:
- Keep Kazbegi flexible. Put it on day 2 and check the road the evening before; if it is closed, swap it with day 3.
- Go west instead. Mtskheta, the rock-cut town of Uplistsikhe and the Stalin Museum in Gori make a 9–9.5 hour day that doesn't depend on mountain passes. We run it as a private day trip too.
Kakheti works all winter. If the Gombori pass is icy, drivers take the lower road via Sagarejo. Winter days are short, so start early.
A long-weekend version
Arriving on a Friday and leaving on a Monday? A simple order:
- Friday evening: arrive, check in, and take a short evening walk from the Bridge of Peace to Abanotubani.
- Saturday: Kazbegi. Saturday is a better mountain day than Sunday, when the return traffic into Tbilisi is heavier.
- Sunday: the Tbilisi walk in the morning, with the Dry Bridge flea market, which is busiest at weekends; Mtskheta in the afternoon.
- Monday: fly home, or fit Kakheti in if your flight is in the evening and you don't mind a full day.
One catch: the Georgian National Museum on Rustaveli Avenue is closed on Mondays, so see it on Saturday or Sunday if it matters to you.
What doesn't fit into three days
- Vardzia is 4.5–5 hours each way from Tbilisi, and part of it has been closed since the 27 May 2026 rockfall.
- Svaneti is 8–10 hours by road from Tbilisi.
- Batumi and the Black Sea are 5–6 hours away.
- Tusheti is reached only over the Abano Pass by 4x4, and needs at least three nights on its own.
With five days you can add a second region without rushing; see our 5-day Georgia itinerary. And if you are choosing between day trips, day trips from Tbilisi compared covers hours, season and who each one suits.
Three days with us
All of this can be done as private day trips from one Tbilisi hotel: the Tbilisi city walk, the Kazbegi and Gergeti day trip and the Kakheti wine day, each with your own car and English-speaking driver-guide for 1–8 travellers. See each tour page for the current price, or send us your dates and flight times and we put the three days together in the right order. Nothing to pay now.
Sources
- Wander-Lush, "How to Travel From Tbilisi to Kazbegi": wander-lush.org
- Wander-Lush, "Day trips from Tbilisi": wander-lush.org
- UNESCO, Ancient Georgian traditional qvevri wine-making method (2013): ich.unesco.org
- Red Fedora Diary, "Visiting Vardzia Cave Town": redfedoradiary.com
Last checked: September 2026. Winter closures on the Jvari Pass change day by day; we check the road before every Kazbegi trip.
