Classic Georgia — 8-Day Private Tour

Airport pickup at any hour.

1. Airport pickup and hotel check-in

2. Evening Old Town walk if you land early

3. Overnight: Tbilisi (hotel, breakfast)

   • TbilisiDays 1–2: the Old Town on foot, the cable car to Narikala fortress and the domed sulphur baths of Abanotubani. Four nights in Tbilisi in total.

     Days 1–2: the Old Town on foot, the cable car to Narikala fortress and the domed sulphur baths of Abanotubani. Four nights in Tbilisi in total.

     Tbilisi, Georgia's capital, spreads along the Mtkvari river gorge between Narikala fortress and the Mtatsminda ridge. It is where most trips begin and end, and it deserves 2–3 days of its own. Walk the Old Town from the domed sulphur baths of Abanotubani up to Narikala, cross the Bridge of Peace, spend a morning with the gold of the Georgian National Museum and eat your way through the city's wine bars and khinkali houses. Every day trip in this area starts from here.

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A walking morning and a 30-minute drive in the afternoon.

1. 09:30

   Old Town walk: Metekhi, the cable car to Narikala, Abanotubani, Sioni and Shardeni Street

2. 13:00

   Lunch (not included)

3. 15:00

   Jvari Monastery and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta

   • MtskhetaDay 2 afternoon: Jvari Monastery above the river confluence and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in UNESCO-listed Mtskheta, 30 minutes from Tbilisi.

     Day 2 afternoon: Jvari Monastery above the river confluence and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in UNESCO-listed Mtskheta, 30 minutes from Tbilisi.

     Mtskheta, about 25 km (30 min) north of Tbilisi where the Aragvi meets the Mtkvari, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kartli (Iberia) and the place where Georgia adopted Christianity in the 4th century. Its churches are a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in the old town, Jvari Monastery on the hill opposite with the classic view over the river confluence, and the Samtavro convent. Allow half a day, or combine it with Gori and Uplistsikhe or a Mukhrani winery.

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4. 18:00

   Optional private sulphur-bath room (not included)

5. Overnight: Tbilisi (hotel, breakfast)

152 km, 3–3.5 hours of driving; 6–7 hours with stops.

1. 09:00

   Depart; Ananuri fortress

   • Ananuri FortressDay 3: Ananuri, a 17th-century fortress with two churches above the Zhinvali reservoir; about 45 minutes.

     Day 3: Ananuri, a 17th-century fortress with two churches above the Zhinvali reservoir; about 45 minutes.

     Ananuri is a 17th-century fortress of the Dukes of Aragvi above the turquoise Zhinvali reservoir, about 70 km (1–1.25 h) north of Tbilisi on the Georgian Military Highway. Inside its walls stand two churches, one with richly carved façades from 1689, and a square watchtower you can climb for a view down the reservoir. It is the usual first stop on the way to Kazbegi or Pasanauri, and 30–45 minutes is enough to see it.

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2. • Gudauri Ski ResortDay 3: the Friendship Monument viewpoint over the Devil's Valley near Gudauri, then the Jvari Pass (2,379 m).

     Day 3: the Friendship Monument viewpoint over the Devil's Valley near Gudauri, then the Jvari Pass (2,379 m).

     Gudauri is Georgia's largest ski resort, on the Georgian Military Highway about 120 km north of Tbilisi, just below the Jvari Pass. The resort village sits at about 2,200 m, and its lifts, including gondolas, run from about 1,990 m to 3,279 m, serving wide open pistes above the tree line and large freeride slopes. The ski season usually runs from late December to mid-April. In summer the same slopes are used for hiking and tandem paragliding, and Gudauri is a common stop on the way to Kazbegi.

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   • KazbegiNight 3 in Stepantsminda under Mt Kazbek (5,054 m), with dinner included.

     Night 3 in Stepantsminda under Mt Kazbek (5,054 m), with dinner included.

     Stepantsminda, still widely called Kazbegi, is the mountain town at about 1,740 m on the Georgian Military Highway, 152 km north of Tbilisi (3–3.5 h) and 15 km from the Russian border. Above it the 14th-century Gergeti Trinity Church stands at 2,170 m with Mount Kazbek (5,054 m) behind. It is the base for walks to Gergeti, the Gveleti waterfall and the Dariali gorge, and by 4x4 for the Truso and Juta valleys. Come as a long day trip, or stay a night or two to walk in the morning light.

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3. 12:30

   Lunch in Pasanauri (not included)

4. Friendship Monument and the Jvari Pass

5. 15:30

   Gergeti Trinity Church

   • Trinity Church GergetiDay 3 afternoon: Gergeti Trinity Church (14th century, 2,170 m), reached by local 4x4 up the steep road.

     Day 3 afternoon: Gergeti Trinity Church (14th century, 2,170 m), reached by local 4x4 up the steep road.

     Gergeti Trinity Church (Tsminda Sameba) stands alone on a grassy ridge at 2,170 m above Stepantsminda, about 152 km north of Tbilisi, with the glaciated cone of Mount Kazbek (5,054 m) behind it. The 14th-century church and its bell tower are a working Orthodox site and the classic view of the Georgian Caucasus. You reach it by car on the paved road from town or on foot in about 1–1.5 hours up through meadows, 430 m of climbing. Most people stay 45–60 minutes for the church, the views and the photos.

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6. Dinner (included)

7. Overnight: Stepantsminda (hotel, breakfast and dinner)

⚠ About 290 km and 5–5.5 hours of driving.

1. 08:00

   Optional Gveleti waterfall walk (May–October, about 1 h return)

2. 09:30

   Drive south down the Military Highway

3. 13:00

   Uplistsikhe rock-cut town

   • Uplistsikhe Cave TownDay 4: Uplistsikhe, a rock-cut town above the Mtkvari river, lived in from the early Iron Age to the Middle Ages; about 1.5 h on uneven rock.

     Day 4: Uplistsikhe, a rock-cut town above the Mtkvari river, lived in from the early Iron Age to the Middle Ages; about 1.5 h on uneven rock.

     Uplistsikhe is a rock-cut town on a sandstone ridge above the Mtkvari river, about 12–15 km east of Gori and 1.25–1.5 h west of Tbilisi. Over roughly 2,000 years people carved halls, houses, temples, wine presses and streets into the rock here. You walk up the ancient main street past the cave halls to the 9th–10th-century brick basilica on the summit, then leave through a tunnel toward the river. Most visitors spend 1–1.5 hours, often combined with Mtskheta and the Stalin Museum in Gori.

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4. 15:00

   Lunch in Gori (not included) and the Stalin Museum

   • Gori Stalin MuseumDay 4: the Stalin Museum in Gori, with his birth house and his armoured railway carriage; about 1.5 h.

     Day 4: the Stalin Museum in Gori, with his birth house and his armoured railway carriage; about 1.5 h.

     Gori, in Shida Kartli about 86 km west of Tbilisi, is the town where Joseph Stalin was born in 1878, and its Stalin Museum is the main reason travellers stop. The museum complex keeps the small house where he spent his first years under a marble pavilion, a Soviet-era exhibition that still presents him largely uncritically, and his green armoured railway carriage. Above the town stands the medieval Gori Fortress. Allow 1–1.5 hours for the museum and fortress, and combine it with Uplistsikhe cave town, 12 km away.

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5. 17:30

   Drive to Borjomi (about 1.5 h)

   • BorjomiNight 4 in Borjomi; next morning a walk in the 19th-century Central Park and a taste of the mineral spring.

     Night 4 in Borjomi; next morning a walk in the 19th-century Central Park and a taste of the mineral spring.

     Borjomi is a 19th-century spa town in a forested gorge of the Mtkvari river, about 160 km (2.5 h) west of Tbilisi, famous across the former Soviet Union for its salty, naturally carbonated mineral water. You can taste the warm water straight from the spring in the Central Park, ride the cable car above the town, bathe in the open-air sulphur pools higher up the valley, and walk into Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park from the visitor centre. It is the usual stop on the way to Vardzia and Bakuriani.

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6. Overnight: Borjomi (hotel, breakfast)

About 3.5 hours of driving.

1. 08:30

   Borjomi Central Park and the mineral spring

2. 09:15

   Drive to Vardzia (about 2 h)

   • VardziaDay 5: Vardzia, the 12th-century cave monastery of Queen Tamar, about 2 h on site. Part of the route has been closed since the May 2026 rockfall; we confirm current access.

     Day 5: Vardzia, the 12th-century cave monastery of Queen Tamar, about 2 h on site. Part of the route has been closed since the May 2026 rockfall; we confirm current access.

     Vardzia is a 12th-century cave monastery cut into the cliff of Erusheti mountain above the Mtkvari river in Samtskhe-Javakheti, about 60 km south of Akhaltsikhe and 4.5–5 h from Tbilisi. Hundreds of rock-cut rooms, stairways and tunnels open onto the gorge, and the Church of the Dormition holds original frescoes with a portrait of Queen Tamar. Since a rockfall on 27 May 2026 the visitor route ends shortly after the church, so about half of the complex is closed; we confirm current access before your trip.

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3. 11:15

   Vardzia (about 2 h on site)

4. 13:30

   Khertvisi fortress; lunch by the Mtkvari (not included)

   • Khertvisi FortressDay 5: Khertvisi fortress on its rock above the Mtkvari, a short stop on the way back from Vardzia.

     Day 5: Khertvisi fortress on its rock above the Mtkvari, a short stop on the way back from Vardzia.

     Khertvisi is a medieval fortress on a rocky spur where the Paravani river joins the Mtkvari, in Samtskhe-Javakheti, about 16 km before Vardzia. Its towers and curtain walls climb the ridge above the gorge, and it is one of the oldest fortifications in Georgia. Most travellers stop for 30–45 minutes on the way to the Vardzia cave monastery: walk up to the gate, look along the two river canyons and photograph the walls from the road bridge below.

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5. 16:00

   Rabati Castle, Akhaltsikhe

   • Akhaltsikhe (Rabati Castle)Day 5: Rabati Castle, the restored fortress with a mosque, church and museum inside its walls. Night 5 in Akhaltsikhe.

     Day 5: Rabati Castle, the restored fortress with a mosque, church and museum inside its walls. Night 5 in Akhaltsikhe.

     Akhaltsikhe is the main town of Samtskhe-Javakheti in south-west Georgia, about 205 km (3–3.5 h) from Tbilisi via Borjomi, and the usual stop on the way to Vardzia. Its landmark is Rabati Castle, a 7-hectare walled complex where a church, a mosque, a madrasa, a Jakeli palace, a bathhouse and a history museum stand side by side, restored in 2011–12. Most travellers spend an hour inside the walls; the old Jewish quarter and its synagogue lie just west of the castle.

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6. Overnight: Akhaltsikhe (hotel, breakfast)

Akhaltsikhe to Tbilisi about 210 km (3–3.5 h).

1. 10:00

   Drive back to Tbilisi

2. Free afternoon in the city

3. Overnight: Tbilisi (hotel, breakfast)

⚠ About 280 km and 5 hours of driving.

1. 09:00

   Depart Tbilisi

2. 11:00

   Bodbe convent and Sighnaghi's walls

   • SighnaghiDay 7: Sighnaghi's 18th-century walls above the Alazani Valley, then lunch and a tasting at a family marani.

     Day 7: Sighnaghi's 18th-century walls above the Alazani Valley, then lunch and a tasting at a family marani.

     Sighnaghi is a small walled town at about 790 m on a ridge above the Alazani Valley in Kakheti, about 113 km (2 h) east of Tbilisi. Its 18th-century defensive wall with towers looks across the vineyards to the Greater Caucasus. You walk a section of the wall, see Niko Pirosmani's paintings in the Sighnaghi Museum, taste qvevri wine in the town's cellars, and visit Bodbe convent, the burial place of St Nino, 2 km away. It works as a half-day stop or a relaxed overnight in wine country.

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   • BodbeDay 7: Bodbe convent, the burial place of St Nino, 2 km below Sighnaghi.

     Day 7: Bodbe convent, the burial place of St Nino, 2 km below Sighnaghi.

     Bodbe is a working convent 2 km from Sighnaghi in Kakheti, about 115 km (2 h) from Tbilisi, and the burial place of St Nino, who brought Christianity to Georgia in the 4th century. Her tomb lies in a small basilica first built between the 9th and 11th centuries, set among cypress trees and flower gardens with a wide view over the Alazani valley to the Caucasus. From the convent a long, steep path of steps leads down to St Nino's Spring, where pilgrims collect water and bathe.

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3. 13:00

   Lunch and tasting at a family marani (included)

4. 15:00

   Tsinandali house-museum, park and tasting

   • TsinandaliDay 7: the Chavchavadze family's Tsinandali estate: house-museum, landscaped park and a wine tasting.

     Day 7: the Chavchavadze family's Tsinandali estate: house-museum, landscaped park and a wine tasting.

     Tsinandali is the 19th-century country estate of Prince Alexander Chavchavadze, about 10 km south-east of Telavi in Kakheti, with a house museum, a large landscaped park and one of Georgia's oldest wineries. A visit takes 1.5–2 hours: tour the family house, walk the park under old plane trees and cedars, go down to the enoteca, whose collection starts in 1814, and taste the estate's wines. In early September the estate hosts the Tsinandali Festival of classical music.

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5. 16:30

   Back over the Gombori pass

6. 19:30

   Farewell dinner in Tbilisi (included)

7. Overnight: Tbilisi (hotel, breakfast and dinner)

Airport drop-off at any hour.

1. Transfer to Tbilisi airport