The short answer: for a Georgia itinerary of 4 days, base yourself in Tbilisi and spend one night away, in Stepantsminda under Mt Kazbek. That gives you the Old Town, Mtskheta, the Georgian Military Highway and Gergeti Trinity Church, plus a wine day in Kakheti. You change hotels only twice, and no day has more than about 5 hours in the car. Here is the route, with drive times, where to sleep and a winter version.
Before you start: which four days?
This plan assumes four full days on the ground. If you land in the evening and fly out early, you really have three; then see our 3-day itinerary. With a fifth day, the 5-day route adds Uplistsikhe and Gori.
Sort out insurance before you fly. Since 1 January 2026 every tourist must have health and accident insurance with at least 30,000 GEL of cover for the whole stay, and passport control can ask for proof. Our Tbilisi airport guide has the details.
Georgia itinerary for 4 days: the plan day by day
Day 1: Tbilisi Old Town
Start at Metekhi Church above the Mtkvari and take the cable car from Rike Park up to Narikala fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue. Walk down past the Leghvtakhevi waterfall to the brick domes of the Abanotubani sulphur baths, then on to Sioni Cathedral, Anchiskhati Basilica, the Gabriadze clock tower, Shardeni Street and the Bridge of Peace. It is 5–6 km on steep cobbles, so wear shoes with grip. End the day in a private sulphur-bath room (book it ahead) and a long Georgian dinner.
The walk takes about 5 hours with a coffee stop. In July and August, start at 09:00, before the heat. Bath rooms are rented by the hour and priced per room, not per person, roughly 130–300 GEL an hour at the well-known bathhouses in 2026. Arrive about 20 minutes early to pay and collect towels, because the hour starts at your booked time. Our guide to the Tbilisi sulphur baths explains how the rooms work.
Overnight: Tbilisi.
Day 2: Mtskheta and the Military Highway to Kazbegi
Leave at about 09:00 for Mtskheta, 30–40 minutes away: Jvari Monastery on its hill above the meeting of two rivers, and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in the old town below. Then north on the Georgian Military Highway: Ananuri fortress above the Zhinvali reservoir, khinkali for lunch in Pasanauri, the Friendship Monument viewpoint near Gudauri and the Jvari Pass (2,379 m). Tbilisi to Stepantsminda is 152 km, 3–3.5 hours without stops, 6–7 hours with them. In the evening, drive or walk up to Gergeti Trinity Church (2,170 m) as the day-trippers leave. Night in Stepantsminda.
Allow about 30 minutes at Jvari, 45–60 at Svetitskhoveli, 30–45 at Ananuri and 20 at the Friendship Monument. Cover shoulders and knees in the churches; women also cover their hair, and wraps are usually available at the door. Our guide to the Military Highway stops describes each one.
After that many hours on the road, driving up to Gergeti is the easier choice. A sealed road climbs from town to a car park just below the church, and outside winter ordinary cars can use it. On foot it is about 7 km there and back with roughly 430 m of climbing: 60–75 minutes up for a fit walker, about 90 minutes down, 3.5–4 hours in all with time at the top. Many people drive up and walk down; the Gergeti hike guide has the trail.
Overnight: Stepantsminda, at about 1,740 m. Gergeti is often about 10 °C cooler than Tbilisi, so bring a warm layer even in summer.
Day 3: Gergeti at dawn, back to Tbilisi
Mornings are when Mt Kazbek (5,054 m) is most often clear. From May to October, add a short walk: the Gveleti waterfall is about an hour there and back, or you can spend the morning in the Truso valley with a local 4x4. Drive back to Tbilisi (3–3.5 hours) for a free late afternoon: the Dry Bridge market, a museum, or a wine bar in Sololaki.
For the church at sunrise, go back up before breakfast. The sun comes up around 05:30 in June and 06:40 in mid-September, and if you walk you need a head torch. In summer, clouds often build around Kazbek by late morning.
Truso is a nearly flat walk of about 3 hours there and back, to the travertine springs and the Abano mineral lake. Border police check passports at the valley entrance, so carry yours. It uses up the free afternoon: leave Stepantsminda around 15:00 and you are at your Tbilisi hotel between about 17:30 and 19:00. The highway is also the road to Upper Lars, the border crossing with Russia, and lorry queues can add 1–3 hours on the way back.
Overnight: Tbilisi.
Day 4: Kakheti wine country
East over the Gombori Pass or along the Sagarejo road, 1.5–2 hours, to Bodbe convent, where St Nino is buried, and the walled hill town of Sighnaghi above the Alazani valley. Taste at a family cellar that makes wine in qvevri, the buried clay jars on UNESCO's intangible heritage list since 2013, and be back in Tbilisi for dinner or your flight. If you would rather keep the last day short, swap Kakheti for a half day in Mtskheta and Château Mukhrani and see Mtskheta's churches properly.
Bodbe is 2 km from Sighnaghi and is quieter early, before the midday groups. Entry to the convent and the town walls is free, and the church dress code from day 2 applies. The stones on the walls are uneven, with no railings in places. Our Sighnaghi and Bodbe guide has more.
This plan leaves out the Tsinandali house-museum. With Tsinandali, the Kakheti day grows to 10–10.5 hours and about 280 km of driving, which is too tight for an evening flight. Château Mukhrani is about 45 km from Tbilisi, with a palace and cellar tour and a tasting, and our Mtskheta and Château Mukhrani half day takes 5.5–6 hours, as a morning or an afternoon. It also leaves time for Samtavro convent, a few minutes' walk from the cathedral, as our Mtskheta guide explains.
Drive times at a glance
- Tbilisi airport to the centre is about 17 km, 25–30 minutes
- Tbilisi to Mtskheta takes 30–40 minutes
- Tbilisi to Stepantsminda is 152 km, 3–3.5 h without stops
- Tbilisi to Sighnaghi is about 110 km, 1.5–2 h
Where to sleep
Tbilisi on nights 1 and 3, Stepantsminda on night 2. The couples' version below adds Sighnaghi.
- Tbilisi. The Old Town, Sololaki and Vera are the most convenient areas for walking, and Rustaveli Avenue also works. The hills are steep, so if walking is hard for you, ask for a hotel on a flat street and use taxis.
- Stepantsminda. For one night the town centre is the practical choice: it is flat, with restaurants, small supermarkets and ATMs. Gergeti village, across the river, is about half an hour closer to the church on foot, and many family guesthouses there cook dinner, but its steep lanes are hard with big suitcases or in snow. The hillside above town has the view of the church with Kazbek behind it, and a car helps. Ask for a room facing Kazbek, and from July to September book ahead. In winter, check that the room is heated.
- Sighnaghi. The old town has family guesthouses and small hotels. Ask for a room with a terrace over the Alazani Valley, and expect full weekends in September and October.
Swapping the order
Three good reasons to change the days around:
- Weather. Kazbegi needs a clear day. If the forecast for day 2 is poor, go to Kakheti first and the mountains later.
- Mondays. The Georgian National Museum and Tsinandali's museum close on Mondays. Kazbegi and family cellars don't mind.
- Weekend traffic. Friday and Sunday evenings are slow near Tbilisi. On a Friday-to-Monday trip this plan brings you down from Kazbegi on the Sunday, so set off early that day.
The romantic version
For couples there is a lovely variant with a second night away: Tbilisi and a private bath on day 1, Mtskheta and Kazbegi on day 2, sunrise at Gergeti and then south to Sighnaghi for sunset and dinner on day 3, and Bodbe on the way to the airport on day 4. It means more time in the car on day 3 (about 5–5.5 hours), but you wake up in the mountains once and in wine country once. Our Romantic Georgia for two, 4 days follows exactly this plan.
In winter
From December to April the Jvari Pass can close for a few hours, or 1–3 days, after heavy snow, and the road up to Gergeti needs a 4x4 when it's snowy. Put Kazbegi early in the trip, never the day before your flight, and have a Plan B: Mtskheta, Uplistsikhe and Gori, or a second wine day, all unaffected by snow on the pass.
Ananuri, Pasanauri and Gudauri, on the Tbilisi side of the pass, usually stay reachable. Kakheti works all winter; if the Gombori Pass is icy, drivers take the lower road via Sagarejo. From December to March our Romantic Georgia tour swaps the mountain night for a wine-spa night in Kakheti. Our guide to the Kazbegi road in winter explains how closures work and how to check the road.
What doesn't fit into four days
- Svaneti: Mestia is 8–10 hours from Tbilisi by road.
- Vardzia: 4–5 hours each way, and part of the site has been closed since the 27 May 2026 rockfall.
- Kutaisi, the canyons and Batumi: the west needs its own trip.
- David Gareja: possible instead of Sighnaghi as a long day; the Lavra is open, the Udabno monastery above it closed or unpredictable.
Why a driver-guide for a short trip
On a long weekend, time is what you are short of. A driver-guide picks you up at the hotel, knows where to stop on the Military Highway, handles the 4x4 up to Gergeti in bad weather and drives home after the tasting. With three or four of you sharing the car, it also costs less per person than most people expect.
Tours for a four-day trip
The Romantic Georgia for two, 4 days is our ready-made long weekend: Tbilisi, a night in Stepantsminda and a night in Sighnaghi, with a private bath, a tasting and a dinner for two. For a mountain-first plan, the 2-day Kazbegi trip covers days 2–3 with a Truso or Juta walk in summer, and the Tbilisi City Explorer walk covers day 1. For day 4, the Kakheti wine day trip adds Tsinandali, with two tastings included. All are private, with your own car and English-speaking driver-guide; see each tour page for the current price. If you can stay a day longer, look at the Georgia Highlights tour over 5 days. Or plan your own four days and we send you a route and a price. Nothing to pay now.
Sources
- Wander-Lush, "How to Travel From Tbilisi to Kazbegi": wander-lush.org
- UNESCO, "Ancient Georgian traditional Qvevri wine-making method": ich.unesco.org
- Wander-Lush, "Georgian Military Highway road trip": wander-lush.org
- Wander-Lush, "Kazbegi to Gergeti Trinity Church hike guide" (updated March 2026): wander-lush.org
- Wander-Lush, "Where to Stay in Kazbegi": wander-lush.org
- Wikipedia, "Stepantsminda": en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Bodbe Monastery": en.wikipedia.org
- Wander-Lush, "Tbilisi sulfur baths" guide and Gulo's Thermal Spa review (updated 18 February 2026): wander-lush.org
- US Embassy in Georgia, "Georgia to require insurance for all tourists starting 1/1/2026": ge.usembassy.gov
Last checked: September 2026. Winter closures of the Jvari Pass vary from year to year; check the road the day before.
