Routes

Ready-made road trips around Georgia: a day-by-day plan, a budget guideline, key stops, and a map. The country is compact but mountainous - a car opens up what’s hard to reach by public transport: passes, the wine villages of Kakheti, the canyons of Imereti, and the road to Svaneti.

How to choose a direction. East - wine-country Kakheti with the Alazani Valley and monasteries; north - the Georgian Military Road to Kazbegi and the Gergeti church; south - mineral-water Borjomi and the cave town of Vardzia; west - Imereti with its emerald canyons and caves; to the sea - the Tbilisi → Batumi corridor. And to see it all in one trip, there’s the “Grand Tour of Georgia,” roughly two weeks long.

Season and preparation. The best time for most routes is from late spring to autumn. In winter the mountain sections (the Georgian Military Road, the pass to Vardzia, the road to Svaneti) are harder, and passes are sometimes closed because of snow - check road conditions before setting off. For the high mountains and dirt roads, take an SUV. The mileage, days, and budget in the cards are guidelines, not exact measurements: it all depends on the number of stops, the season, and accommodation.