The short answer: a private driver-guide in Georgia is priced per car and per day, not per person. Local providers commonly advertise a car with an English-speaking driver who also acts as your guide at about US$130–160 a day for a sedan (1–3 people) and US$150–180 for a minivan (3–6 people), with fuel and the driver's food included [1]. Entrance fees, lunch and tips are usually extra. Because the car is shared, the price per person drops quickly once there are three or four of you.
Driver-only or driver-guide?
There are two different products, and they are easy to confuse when you compare prices.
- Driver only. A transfer with stops, booked through an app or a taxi firm. The driver takes you from A to B and waits at the sights, but may speak little English and doesn't walk round with you. A car and driver from Tbilisi to Kazbegi starts at about 190 GEL per car on GoTrip [2]. Good value if you have read up and just want transport.
- Driver-guide. One person drives and guides: explains what you are looking at, walks round the monastery with you, orders lunch, and changes the plan when the weather turns. Local operators price a private guided Kazbegi day at roughly 450–700 GEL per group [3].
- Driver plus a separate guide. Some operators add a specialist guide on top of the driver for city walks, heritage-heavy days, hiking or birding. That costs more, but on a long day it means the driver can concentrate on the road.
How days are priced
The car, the driver's day and the fuel cost the same whether one person sits in the back or four. So a private day that costs 600 GEL is 600 GEL for a solo traveller, 300 GEL each for a couple and 150 GEL each for four. This is why private touring in Georgia costs less per person than many people expect for families and small groups, and why solo travellers often find a shared group tour cheaper.
Longer days cost more. A Kazbegi day is 10–12 hours with 152 km each way [2]; a Vardzia day from Tbilisi is 12–14 hours [3]. Multi-day tours also have to cover the driver's room and meals, and sometimes an empty drive back to base when a trip ends in Batumi or Kutaisi.
Car or minivan?
- Sedan: comfortable for 1–3 people on paved roads.
- Minivan: for about 4–6 people, or fewer with a lot of luggage. The difference is usually about US$20 a day [1].
- Local 4x4: needed only for a few legs, such as the Truso valley, the road into Juta, Tusheti or the track to Gergeti in snow. These are usually hired locally, per car, for that stretch.
What is usually included, and what isn't
Usually included
- The car, fuel, parking and the driver-guide's time.
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Tbilisi.
- Bottled water, on many tours.
Often not included (check each one)
- Entrance fees. Most churches and monasteries, including Gergeti Trinity, Jvari and Svetitskhoveli, are free. Museums and sites are not: Uplistsikhe is 15 GEL and the Stalin Museum in Gori 15 GEL for foreign adults [4]. Some operators include tickets, others list them as extras.
- The local 4x4 to Gergeti. In season a sealed road reaches Gergeti Trinity Church (2,170 m), and ordinary cars can drive up. Group tours often leave you to pay for a local 4x4 shuttle: recent quotes are 60 GEL per 6-seat van, 80 GEL per group of up to six, or 50–70 GEL per car return [2][5][6]. In snow the 4x4 is the only way up, and some winter days not even that.
- Tastings. A Kakheti day may include one tasting and charge for extra ones.
- Meals. Lunch is rarely included on day trips. In Stepantsminda, expect about 30–50 GEL per person.
- Tips. Optional. A common guideline in Tbilisi is 20–50 GEL a day for a driver or guide you were happy with [7].
- Insurance. Since 1 January 2026, travel health insurance with at least 30,000 GEL of cover is mandatory for visitors to Georgia. Your driver-guide can't sell you this; arrange it before you arrive.
How to choose
- Compare like with like. A cheap price that leaves out tickets, tastings and the 4x4 can end up close to one that includes them.
- Ask for the plan in writing. Pickup time, stops, realistic hours and the return time. Kazbegi and back in eight hours with every stop isn't realistic.
- Check the English. A friendly driver who can't explain Svetitskhoveli is still a transfer, not a guide. A short WhatsApp call before you book tells you a lot.
- Look for honesty about closures. A good provider tells you, without being asked, that part of Vardzia has been closed since the 27 May 2026 rockfall, that the Jvari Pass can close in winter, and that at David Gareja the Lavra is open but the Udabno monastery on the ridge is closed or unpredictable.
Questions to ask before you book
- Is the price for the whole car or per person? For how many people?
- Which entrance fees, tastings and meals are included?
- Is the Gergeti 4x4 (or any other 4x4 leg) included, or paid on the day?
- What car will we have, and does every seat have a working seatbelt? Do you have child seats?
- Does the driver-guide speak English well enough to explain the sites, or only to drive?
- Is the car insured for passengers?
- What happens if the road is closed or the weather is bad on the day?
- What do we pay now, what later, and how?
How we price our private tours
Every Geotour trip is private: your own car or minivan and an English-speaking driver-guide, for 1–8 travellers. The price covers the car and the driver-guide for the whole group, and the tour page lists exactly what is and isn't included, with fees in GEL. Prices change with the season and your group size, so see the tour page for the current price.
Three examples: our private Kazbegi and Gergeti day trip from Tbilisi drives you up to Gergeti Trinity Church in season, so there is no 4x4 to pay; the private Kakheti wine day trip includes two tastings; and the private Tbilisi Old Town walk is on foot, with the cable car included. For what a Kazbegi day looks like hour by hour, read Kazbegi day trip from Tbilisi: what to expect; for longer trips, see our 7-day Georgia itinerary.
Travelling with a driver-guide with us
Tell us your dates, how many of you there are and what you want to see, and we send a route and a price for your own car and driver-guide. You can also plan your own route. Nothing to pay now.
Sources
- Georgia Roadtrip, "Private driver in Georgia": georgia-roadtrip.com
- Wander-Lush, "How to Travel From Tbilisi to Kazbegi" (updated May 2026): wander-lush.org
- Sakhva Travel, Tbilisi tours guide (May 2026): sakhva-travel.com
- Sakhva Travel, Gori and Uplistsikhe guide (May 2026): sakhva-travel.com
- Budget Georgia, Gudauri–Kazbegi tour: budget-georgia.com
- Friendly.ge, Kazbegi full-day private tour: friendly.ge
- Tbilisi Expat, "Tipping in Georgia": tbilisi-expat.com
Last checked: September 2026. Market prices and entrance fees change; confirm them when you book.
