A week in Georgia (the country): what to do beyond Tbilisi

Most people fly into Tbilisi, spend three days photographing crumbling Soviet architecture and getting drunk in wine bars on Shardeni Street, then leave. Fair enough—Tbilisi's genuinely worth that time. But if you've got a week, staying only in the capital is like going to Scotland and never leaving Edinburgh. Georgia's real appeal is outside the city, and it's cheap enough that skipping the regions feels like a waste.

I spent seven days here last autumn on a budget of around £500 total (accommodation, food, transport, activities), and I've come back twice since. Here's what actually matters beyond the capital.

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Getting around without a car

This is the first real decision. Georgia's public transport is patchy outside Tbilisi, and marshrutkas (shared minibuses) are the backbone of regional travel. They're cheap—£1 to £3 for most journeys—but they leave when full, not on a timetable. Expect to wait 20 minutes to an hour. They're also genuinely chaotic, but in a straightforward way: you just turn up, pay cash, sit in whatever's left, and go.

The alternative is hiring a driver or renting a car. A hired driver costs around £30-40 per day through your hotel or Airbnb host. Car rental runs £15-25 daily through international sites, though you'll need an International Driving Permit. I've done both. The marshrutka route is slower but more interesting—you meet locals, the costs are barely noticeable, and you're not stressed about mountain roads.

There's also a train from Tbilisi to Batumi (the beach town in the southwest), which is relaxing and costs about £3-8 depending on class. It takes 5-6 hours. Skip the overnight sleeper train unless you enjoy sleeping upright next to someone's chicken.

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Kazbegi: mountains and monasteries

This is the obvious move, and it's obvious for good reason. Kazbegi is a small village in the north, about 160km from Tbilisi, nestled under Mount Kazbek (5,033m). The journey takes 2.5-3 hours by marshrutka from the Ortachala station in Tbilisi (£2-3).

Stay in the village itself, not in Stepantsminda (the larger town 20 minutes down the valley). Airbnb guesthouses run £20-35 per night. The village is small enough to walk around in an afternoon, which means you're not paying for taxis constantly.

Tsminda Sameba Monastery sits on a hilltop overlooking everything. It's a 45-minute walk uphill from the village, or you can hire a jeep for £15-20. The monastery itself is stunning in an austere, functional way—grey stone, tiny windows, a bell tower that's been there since the 1400s. The real point is the view: you can see the whole valley and Mount Kazbek rising behind it.

The waterfall hike to Gveleti is where everyone goes, and it's fine but overrated. 90 minutes each way, pretty enough, packed with tourists. If you've got time, the hike to Shatili (an old defensive village) is better—it's longer (4-5 hours) but you'll see far fewer people and the landscape is more varied.

Eat at Rooms Hotel on the main road. The khachapuri (cheese bread) is genuinely exceptional, and a meal costs £4-6.

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Kvareli and the wine region

Kvareli is in eastern Georgia, about 90km from Tbilisi, and it's where the real wine happens. Not tourist wine—actual Georgian wine, made by families who've been doing this for centuries.

Get there by marshrutka (£2-3, 2.5 hours) from Ortachala. Once you're there, you need a driver or to book tours in advance. A local driver costs £25-30 for the day and will take you to family-run wineries that don't have websites. This is better than the official wine tours, which cost £40-60 and spend time at commercialised places on the main road.

Alaverdi Monastery is on the way, and it's worth a stop—a working monastery with an enormous bell tower, built in the 6th century, set in farmland. No entrance fee, though donations are appreciated.

Georgian wine is weird if you've only drunk European wine. They ferment white wine with the skins, which makes it orange and tannic. It's an acquired taste, but it's cheap—a bottle at source costs £2-4. Drink it sceptically the first time. You'll either like it or you won't, but most people find it grows on them after the second bottle.

Stay in Kvareli itself or in Sighnaghi, a prettier village 30 minutes away with guesthouses at £15-25 per night. Sighnaghi has a defensive wall and genuinely nice views, but it's more touristy and the restaurants charge accordingly (£6-10 for mains instead of £3-4).

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Batumi: beaches and thermal baths

Batumi is Georgia's only real beach town, on the Black Sea coast. The beaches themselves are nothing special—pebbles, murky water, crowded in summer—but the town has character and the thermal baths are legitimately good value.

Marshrutka from Tbilisi takes about 5 hours (£4-6). The train is better if timings work: around 5-6 hours, costs £3-8, and you don't have to sit in minibus traffic. Check marshrutka.ge for schedules, though it's not always accurate.

Stay in central Batumi, around the seaside boulevard. Guesthouses run £15-25 per night. The botanical gardens are worth an hour if the weather's decent (£1 entry), but the beach itself is fine to walk along and not worth paying to "access" properly.

The thermal baths (sardinaia) are in a small building off Pushkin Street. They're public baths with individual cubicles, and the water comes from natural hot springs. It costs about £3-4 for a cubicle. It's not fancy—Soviet-era plumbing, basic tiles—but it's hot, it works, and locals use it. This is better than paying £20 for a tourist "spa experience."

Eat at street stalls and small family restaurants away from the boulevard. You can get proper food—khachapuri, khinkali (dumplings), grilled meat—for £2-4.

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Honest assessments

Skip Sighnaghi's defensive wall walk unless you love looking at old stones. Skip commercial wine tours in favour of driver-arranged visits. The Vardzia cave monastery (south of Batumi) is historically significant but it's remote and the trek isn't worth it unless you're deeply into medieval history.

Georgia's real strength is that it's cheap, accessible, and doesn't feel like it's been packaged for backpackers yet. Use that while it lasts.

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