Vardzia Cave Monastery & Borjomi — Private Day Trip from Tbilisi

A 13.5–14 hour day with 8–10 hours of driving and a rest stop about every 2 hours. Best for travellers who cannot add a night; otherwise take the 2-day version.

1. 07:00

   Pickup at your Tbilisi hotel

2. 09:3030 min

   Borjomi Central Park (about 160 km, 2.5 h from Tbilisi)

   • BorjomiA 30-minute stop in Borjomi Central Park to taste the warm, salty mineral water at its source (ticket included).

     A 30-minute stop in Borjomi Central Park to taste the warm, salty mineral water at its source (ticket included).

     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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3. 11:0045 min

   Rabati Castle, Akhaltsikhe

   • Akhaltsikhe (Rabati Castle)45 minutes at Rabati Castle in Akhaltsikhe, where a church, a mosque, a madrasa and the Jakeli palace stand inside one set of walls, rebuilt in 2011–12 (ticket included).

     45 minutes at Rabati Castle in Akhaltsikhe, where a church, a mosque, a madrasa and the Jakeli palace stand inside one set of walls, rebuilt in 2011–12 (ticket included).

     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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4. 12:451 h 45 min

   Vardzia on the shortened route (about 60 km, 1 h from Akhaltsikhe)

   • VardziaAbout 1 hour 45 minutes at Vardzia (ticket and shuttle included). Since the May 2026 rockfall the route ends after the Church of the Dormition; expect many steps and low tunnels.

     About 1 hour 45 minutes at Vardzia (ticket and shuttle included). Since the May 2026 rockfall the route ends after the Church of the Dormition; expect many steps and low tunnels.

     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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5. 14:3045 min

   Late lunch by the Mtkvari (not included)

6. 15:30

   Khertvisi fortress photo stop

   • Khertvisi FortressA 15-minute photo stop at Khertvisi fortress, first mentioned in the 10th century, above the meeting of the Mtkvari and Paravani rivers.

     A 15-minute photo stop at Khertvisi fortress, first mentioned in the 10th century, above the meeting of the Mtkvari and Paravani rivers.

     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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7. 15:45

   Drive back via Akhaltsikhe and Borjomi

8. 20:3030 min

   Back at your hotel