A week is the length most first-time visitors choose for Georgia, and it is enough to see the east of the country properly: Tbilisi, the Kazbegi mountains, the Kakheti wine country, the rock-cut towns of Uplistsikhe and Vardzia, and Borjomi. Below is a realistic route by car with a driver-guide, with drive times and where to sleep.
How many days do you need in Georgia?
- 4–5 days: Tbilisi, Kakheti and Kazbegi. See our 5-day itinerary.
- 7–8 days: add Uplistsikhe, Borjomi and Vardzia, or the west around Kutaisi.
- 10–14 days: add the Black Sea at Batumi and, from June to September, Svaneti. See our 10-day itinerary.
Day by day
Day 1: Tbilisi
The Old Town on foot: Metekhi, the cable car to Narikala, the sulphur-bath domes of Abanotubani, Shardeni Street, Sioni Cathedral and the Bridge of Peace. The Georgian National Museum on Rustaveli Avenue is closed on Mondays.
Day 2: Mtskheta and the road to Kazbegi
Jvari Monastery and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta (30–40 minutes from Tbilisi), then north on the Georgian Military Highway past Ananuri fortress, Gudauri and the Jvari Pass (2,379 m) to Stepantsminda. Night in Stepantsminda.
Day 3: Gergeti, back to Tbilisi
Gergeti Trinity Church (2,170 m) at about 8:00, before the day-trippers, with Mt Kazbek (5,054 m) behind it. From June to October you can add a short hike in the Truso valley. Back in Tbilisi by late afternoon: 152 km, about 3–3.5 hours without stops.
Day 4: Kakheti
Bodbe convent, the walls of Sighnaghi above the Alazani Valley, and tastings at a family cellar that still makes wine in buried qvevri. Tsinandali's museum is closed on Mondays. Sleep in Sighnaghi if you want the sunset, or drive back to Tbilisi (1.5–2 hours).
Day 5: Uplistsikhe, Gori and Borjomi
West to Uplistsikhe, a town cut into the rock above the Mtkvari; go in the morning, as there is no shade. Then the Stalin Museum in Gori, and on to Borjomi, the spa town in the forest. Night in Borjomi.
Day 6: Vardzia, Khertvisi and Rabati
Be at Vardzia when it opens at 10:00. Since a rockfall on 27 May 2026 about half the cave monastery has been closed and visitors return the way they came, so check what is open before you go. Then Khertvisi fortress and Rabati castle in Akhaltsikhe, and the long drive back to Tbilisi (arriving around 20:00), or a night in Akhaltsikhe.
Day 7: Tbilisi at your own pace
Markets, museums, a cooking class or a private sulphur bath before you fly.
A western variant
If caves and canyons appeal more than Vardzia, replace days 5–6 with the west: Tbilisi to Kutaisi takes 3–3.5 hours on the new Rikoti highway. From Kutaisi you can see Gelati Monastery (UNESCO-listed; the main church is partly under scaffolding in 2026), the Prometheus cave and the Martvili canyon. Svaneti doesn't fit into a week that also includes Kazbegi: Mestia is 8–10 hours from Tbilisi by road.
In winter
From December to April the Jvari Pass can close for a few hours or a day or two after heavy snow, and the long Vardzia day is hard with short winter daylight. A winter week works well as Tbilisi, Kakheti (with a night in wine country), Mtskheta and Uplistsikhe, with Kazbegi on a flexible day. How winter closures work.
Why a private driver-guide
Georgia's roads are fine, but mountain driving, finding a way through Tbilisi's traffic, and tastings in Kakheti don't mix well with driving yourself. With your own driver-guide the route bends around you: start early at Gergeti, stay longer in Sighnaghi, skip a museum. It also costs less per person than many expect once there are three or four of you, because the car and guide are shared.
Tours that follow this route
Our Classic Georgia 8-day private tour covers this week (plus arrival and departure days): Tbilisi, Kakheti, Mtskheta, Gori and Uplistsikhe, Borjomi and Vardzia, and Kazbegi, with hotels, breakfasts and tastings. For the west, see Western Georgia in 6 days; for history at an easy pace, Heart of Georgia, 5 days. Or build your own week and we send a route and a price. Nothing to pay now.
