A guide to visiting Georgia: what to do, and what to avoid

Georgia 2024 part 1: my seventh visit to Georgia

Once a hidden gem, now a popular tourist destination: the Republic of Georgia in the Caucasus mountains is mentioned in many travel blogs. And for a good reason, since Georgia has a lot to offer for such a small country. I visited seven times between 2014 and 2024, hiking in mountains along ancient ruins in Svaneti, tasting local wines in Kakheti and enjoying Tbilisi’s nightlife. The country is exotic for first time visitors, with its own unique alphabet and incredible cuisine. When I asked a Georgian whether this was Europe or Asia, he replied it was simply Georgia.

Not surprisingly, becoming more popular with tourists has its downside. The blogs mentioning the famous Georgian hospitality are outdated if you ask me (more on this below), though I still love the country. Do you think about visiting Georgia too? Here I give my advice on Georgia, summarised in four things to do and four things to avoid when visiting Georgia.

What to do

Go back into history

Georgia is full of history, and a great place to start is the capital Tbilisi. Its old town is a network of alleys leading towards an old fortress. A short bus trip from Tbilisi is Mtskheta, one of the oldest Georgian cities and former capital. Signaghi in the East of Georgia is beautiful, a walled town on a hilltop in the wine-region of Kakheti.

There are three famous ancient cave complexes in Georgia, too: the cave cities Vardzia and Uplistsikhe and the Davit-Gareja cave monasteries. Vardzia is my favourite: a large complex beautifully located inside a cliff overlooking a valley, with some well-preserved chambers. I visited Vardzia coming from the nice spa town Borjomi, and recommend visiting the Rabati Fortress in Akhaltsikhe on the way (read here how I visited both places from Borjomi). Davit-Gareja is on the Azerbaijani border in a barren desert landscape, best to be visited by tour from Tbilisi. Uplistsikhe can be reached by taxi from Gori, a mostly dull town known for the house that Stalin grew up in.

I think the best place to see Georgia’s Soviet heritage is Tskaltubo, a bus-ride away from Kutaisi. This once popular spa town for the Soviet elite is now mostly a ghost-town. For the more adventurous travellers I recommend wandering around the abandoned Soviet hotels and sanatoriums.

Go outdoors

There are plenty of hiking opportunities scattered around the country, ranging from short walks to multi-day trekking. The most accessible place to enjoy the mountains is Kazbegi, near the 5047 meter high Mount Kazbek, which can even be done as a daytrip from Tbilisi. A popular short walk or drive is towards the Trinity Church with great views of the surrounding mountains. The downside is that other hiking trails around Kazbegi are further away and require a taxi, rental car or a tour. And in my experience, Kazbegi became very touristy and therefore not very friendly to visitors.

I found the towns Borjomi in the Lesser Caucasus and Lagodheki in Kakheti far more welcoming. Both towns have access to hiking trails and bus connections with Tbilisi. But my favourite destination is Svaneti, a sparsely populated region high up in the mountains. It is famous for its hundreds of ancient defence towers, some of them over 1000 years old. A good base to explore Svaneti is the village of Mestia, reachable by bus from Zugdidi and with plenty of hiking possibilities.

Try Georgian wine and food

Georgia is known as the country where wine came from, and you can easily find wine tastings in Tbilisi and Signaghi. Another thing I like about Georgia is the food. Georgian cuisine is unique, but can be compared with Turkish and Iranian cuisine. If you don’t know it yet, there is a lot to try: Khinkali dumplings filled with meat, cheese, mushrooms or potato, the cheese-bread Kachapuri that is sold everywhere, Chanakhi lamb stew, Lobio bean stew and much more. The cuisine is diverse, and many places here have their own local dish.

Explore Georgia on your own

There are many backpackers in Georgia, and for a good reason. Independent travel is easy as most popular destinations can be reached by bus (usually minivans). This includes the hiking destinations mentioned above. Some train services require a reservation, but it’s common to just show up at buses instead of reserving in advance. For remote destinations you can join a tour last minute by contacting one of the many local tour agencies, or hire a driver via GoTrip (read here how I used this in Imereti and Racha). Finding places to stay is easy: there is a wide range of hotels, hostels and homestays. I usually booked a place to stay a couple of days before I arrived. But when I didn’t, I always found somewhere to stay overnight, even during high season in summer.

What to avoid

Don’t pick the wrong season

The cities in Georgia are worth visiting any time of year. But summer is the best time for hiking in the mountains and therefore my favourite season. Mountain towns, even the touristy ones, can be hard to reach in winter. In December I got snowed in for two nights on the road from Vladikavkaz to Tbilisi, and this is a major road. Despite being the most rainy time of year, I visited Georgia in spring twice. I enjoyed the milder temperatures in the valleys and still managed to hike, though certain hikes weren’t possible due to closed mountain roads, wide rivers and snow at high altitudes.

Don’t expect a warm welcome everywhere

Many blogs, guidebooks and TV-shows mentioned the great Georgian hospitality, which might give travellers the expectation they’ll be warmly welcomed everywhere. More recently I met several travellers who felt disappointed about the attitude towards foreign tourists. Though I still met friendly Georgians in 2024, it was not comparable to the hospitality I experienced during my first visits in 2014 and 2015. I first noticed growing indifference, and sometimes rudeness, in 2017 and 2018. This was especially the case in touristy places like Kazbegi and Signaghi, which makes me think that the growing number of tourists might have caused annoyance among some of the locals.

Don’t assume everyone speaks English, or Russian

The majority of Georgians do not speak English. The most common language is Georgian, and many Georgians speak Russian as a second language. If you don’t know Georgian or Russian I advise to get an app to translate or try to find locals who speak English. Despite tensions with Russia people were still happy to speak Russian with me. I’m not a native speaker though (I’m Dutch), so I don’t know how locals react to Russian visitors nowadays. Like in many other countries it’s wise to first ask if someone speaks English or Russian, even if you already think they do.

Don’t only visit the cities

The three largest cities in Georgia are Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi. In Kutaisi I met a couple who only visited these cities, and they seemed a bit underwhelmed. As mentioned above, Tbilisi is interesting. But I think Batumi is only worth visiting for the sea and nightlife. Despite being one of the oldest Georgian cities, I think Kutaisi has few interesting sights. Kutaisi is still a good place as a stopover, but not interesting enough as a destination on its own. I recommend using the cities as a base to explore the region. And as mentioned above, there is enough to explore.

Further reading

In part 2 I write about my last journey around Georgia, starting with the capital Tbilisi.

CaucasusArjan MookOctober 11, 2024