Five days in Georgia works best if you base yourself in Tbilisi and add one night in the mountains. That gives you the three things most first visits are about: the capital's Old Town, the Kakheti wine country and Mt Kazbek, without changing hotels every night. Here is a realistic route with drive times.
Day by day
Day 1: Tbilisi Old Town
Start at Metekhi Church above the river, take the cable car from Rike Park up to Narikala fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue, then walk down to the domed sulphur baths of Abanotubani, Shardeni Street and Sioni Cathedral. Finish across the Bridge of Peace. It is 6–7 km on steep cobbles, so wear good shoes. An evening in a private sulphur-bath room is a good end to the day; book it ahead.
Day 2: Kakheti wine country
Drive east 1.5–2 hours to Bodbe convent, where St Nino is buried, and on to the walled hill town of Sighnaghi above the Alazani Valley. Taste at the Tsinandali estate (closed on Mondays) or a family cellar where wine is still made in buried clay qvevri, then drive back to Tbilisi, or stay the night in Sighnaghi for the sunset.
Day 3: Mtskheta and the Military Highway to Kazbegi
Leave early for Mtskheta, 30–40 minutes from Tbilisi: Jvari Monastery above the meeting of two rivers, and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral. Then north on the Georgian Military Highway past Ananuri fortress, Gudauri and the Jvari Pass (2,379 m) to Stepantsminda. Allow about 6 hours from Tbilisi with stops. Night in Stepantsminda.
Day 4: Gergeti Trinity Church, back to Tbilisi
Walk or drive up to Gergeti Trinity Church (2,170 m) at about 8:00, before the day-trip crowds arrive and while Kazbek (5,054 m) is usually clear. Add the Gveleti waterfall if you like, then drive back to Tbilisi by late afternoon, about 3–3.5 hours without stops.
Day 5: Uplistsikhe and Gori, or a slow last day
If your flight is late, drive 1.25–1.5 hours west to Uplistsikhe, a town cut into the rock above the Mtkvari, and the Stalin Museum in Gori, and be back in Tbilisi by mid-afternoon. Otherwise keep the day for Tbilisi's museums, markets and wine bars.
Drive times at a glance
- Tbilisi → Sighnaghi: about 110 km, 1.5–2 h
- Tbilisi → Stepantsminda (Kazbegi): 152 km, 3–3.5 h without stops
- Tbilisi → Uplistsikhe: about 100 km, 1.25–1.5 h
In winter
From December to April the Jvari Pass on the way to Kazbegi can close for a few hours or a day or two after heavy snow. In winter, swap days 3 and 4 for a night in Kakheti, or keep Kazbegi but leave it flexible and not on the last day before your flight. How winter closures work.
What doesn't fit into five days
- Svaneti (Mestia and Ushguli) is 8–10 hours from Tbilisi by road and needs at least three days of its own.
- Vardzia is 4–5 hours each way; since a rockfall in May 2026 about half of the cave monastery is closed.
- Kutaisi and the canyons of western Georgia need two days or more.
With a week, see our 7-day Georgia itinerary.
Why a private driver-guide
You can drive yourself, but the Military Highway is a mountain road shared with lorries heading to the Russian border, and nobody should drive after a day of tastings in Kakheti. With a driver-guide you stop where you want, don't look for parking in the Old Town, and have someone to explain what you're looking at.
Tours that follow this route
We don't sell one fixed 5-day package; we build the days around your dates. Close matches: Romantic Georgia for two, 4 days (Tbilisi, a night under Kazbek and a night in Sighnaghi), and Heart of Georgia, 5 days for history (Gori, Uplistsikhe, Kutaisi's Gelati monastery and Kakheti). Or combine day trips from Tbilisi with the 2-day Kazbegi trip, or plan your own route and we send you a price for your own car and driver-guide. Nothing to pay now.
