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

Based on my five visits between 2014 and 2022

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 good reason, since Georgia has a lot to offer for such a small country. I visited five times between 2014 and 2022, 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 downsides. The blogs mentioning the famous Georgian hospitality, even claiming Georgia is the best destination in the world, are outdated if you ask me (more on this below). Though I still love the country: I have already booked my next visit. Do you think about visiting Georgia too? Here I will 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 one: 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. Because of its remoteness I went here on an organised day trip 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. 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 (I write more on Tskaltubo here). Tskaltubo is a bus-ride away from Kutaisi or a four-six hours train- or bus-ride from Tbilisi.

Go outdoors

There are plenty of hiking opportunities scattered around the country ranging from short walks to multi-day trekking. 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, a long bus-ride from Kutaisi or Tbilisi. The most accessible place to enjoy nature is Kazbegi, also known as Stepantsminda, near the 5047 metre high mount Kazbek. A popular short walk is the path to the Trinity Church with great views of the surrounding mountains. I managed to do this in one day from Tbilisi by bus, though I preferred my second visit when I stayed in a local guesthouse and wasn’t rushed.

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 khachapuri that is sold everywhere, chanakhi lamb stew, lobio bean stew and much more.

Explore Georgia on your own

There are many backpackers in Georgia. Independent travel is doable as most popular destinations can be reached by bus (usually minivans). This includes the popular mountain villages Mestia and Kazbegi. It’s common to just show up at buses instead of reserving tickets. The exception might be trains or international buses, though I always managed to get a ticket on the same day or the next day. For remote destinations you can usually join a tour last minute by contacting one of the many local tour agencies. There is a wide range of hotels, hostels and homestays. I often 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 the 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. 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 (read my story here). When I visited in May it was still too cold for hiking in the highest mountains, and quite chilly and rainy in the hills around Borjomi.

Don’t expect a warm welcome everywhere

Many blogs, guidebooks and TV-shows mention the great Georgian hospitality, which might give travellers the expectation they’ll be warmly welcomed everywhere. In 2022 I met several travellers who felt disappointed about the attitude towards foreign tourists. Though I still met friendly Georgians in 2022, it was not comparable to the hospitality I experienced during my first visits in 2014 and 2015. I first noticed growing indifference, and occasionally rudeness, in 2017 and 2018. This was especially the case in touristy places like Tbilisi, Signaghi and Kazbegi, which makes me think that the growing number of tourists might have annoyed 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 you 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. During my last visit 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 beach. Despite being one of the oldest Georgian cities, I think Kutaisi has few interesting sights. Kutaisi is still a good place for a stopover, but not interesting enough as a destination on its own. I recommend using the cities as a base to explore Georgia’s regions. And as mentioned above, there is enough to explore.

Further reading

Read here about my last journey around Georgia, visiting the capital Tbilisi, the Soviet ghost town Tskaltubo, the ancient cave city Vardzia and more.

Georgia 2022 part 1

CaucasusArjan MookDecember 11, 2022