Romantic Georgia for Two — 4-Day Private Tour

Airport pickup at any hour; sightseeing if you land before 14:00.

1. Airport pickup and hotel check-in

2. 15:00

   Old Town walk and the cable car to Narikala

3. 18:00

   Private sulphur-bath room for 1 hour (included)

4. Dinner in the Old Town (not included)

5. Overnight: Tbilisi (boutique hotel, breakfast)

   • TbilisiDay 1: a walk through the Old Town, the cable car up to Narikala hill for the view (the fortress itself is closed for restoration; we confirm current access) and an hour in a private sulphur-bath room in Abanotubani. Night in a boutique hotel.

     Day 1: a walk through the Old Town, the cable car up to Narikala hill for the view (the fortress itself is closed for restoration; we confirm current access) and an hour in a private sulphur-bath room in Abanotubani. Night in a boutique hotel.

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

1. • MtskhetaDay 2: Jvari Monastery on the hill above the river confluence, then Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, the old capital (about 1.5 h in total).

     Day 2: Jvari Monastery on the hill above the river confluence, then Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, the old capital (about 1.5 h in total).

     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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2. 09:00

   Pickup at your hotel

3. 09:30

   Jvari Monastery and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral

4. 11:30

   Ananuri fortress

   • Ananuri FortressDay 2: a 45-minute stop at Ananuri, a fortress with two churches on the shore of the Zhinvali reservoir.

     Day 2: a 45-minute stop at Ananuri, a fortress with two churches on the shore of the Zhinvali reservoir.

     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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5. • KazbegiDay 2: a boutique hotel night in Stepantsminda, with Mt Kazbek (5,054 m) above the village.

     Day 2: a boutique hotel night in Stepantsminda, with Mt Kazbek (5,054 m) above the village.

     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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6. 13:00

   Lunch in Pasanauri (not included)

7. 16:00

   Check in at Stepantsminda

8. Gergeti Trinity at sunset (about 18:00 in late October, 19:45 in mid-April, 20:40 in late June)

   • Trinity Church GergetiGergeti Trinity Church (2,170 m) at sunset on day 2 and again at sunrise on day 3, before the day-trip crowds arrive; we drive you up both times.

     Gergeti Trinity Church (2,170 m) at sunset on day 2 and again at sunrise on day 3, before the day-trip crowds arrive; we drive you up both times.

     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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9. Overnight: Stepantsminda (boutique hotel, breakfast)

⚠ Long day: about 5–5.5 hours of driving (Stepantsminda–Tbilisi 3–3.5 h, Tbilisi–Sighnaghi 1.5–2 h).

1. Gergeti Trinity at sunrise (about 05:30 in June, about 08:00 in late November)

2. 09:00

   Breakfast and drive south; lunch on the way (not included)

3. 16:00

   Arrive in Sighnaghi and check in

   • SighnaghiDay 3: a wine tasting on Sighnaghi's 18th-century walls as the sun sets over the Alazani Valley, then a dinner for two. Night in a boutique hotel.

     Day 3: a wine tasting on Sighnaghi's 18th-century walls as the sun sets over the Alazani Valley, then a dinner for two. Night in a boutique hotel.

     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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4. Wine tasting on the walls about an hour before sunset (included)

5. Dinner for two after sunset (included)

6. Overnight: Sighnaghi (boutique hotel, breakfast)

Sighnaghi to Tbilisi airport is about 1.5 hours.

1. Slow breakfast

2. 10:00

   Bodbe convent

   • BodbeDay 4: Bodbe convent, burial place of St Nino, 2 km from Sighnaghi, in the quiet morning; then about 1.5 h to Tbilisi airport.

     Day 4: Bodbe convent, burial place of St Nino, 2 km from Sighnaghi, in the quiet morning; then about 1.5 h to Tbilisi airport.

     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. 11:30

   Drive to the airport

4. 13:00

   Drop-off at Tbilisi airport