Georgia 7 Day Itinerary

A sulfur bath in Tbilisi’s Abanotubani district smells like rotten eggs for the first five minutes and then you stop noticing, which is roughly how most visitors’ relationship with Georgia goes: a little bewildering, then completely absorbing. Seven days is enough to string together the capital, the mountains, the wine country, and the Black Sea coast without feeling like you’re just collecting photos.

Day 1: Tbilisi

Land at Tbilisi International Airport and skip the taxi touts quoting 50 to 70 lari at the curb. Open Bolt or Yandex Go inside the terminal, where a ride into the center runs 15 to 25 lari and takes about twenty minutes; the 0.50 lari bus 37 to Liberty Square works too if you’re not in a hurry and travel light. Drop bags, then head into the Old Town on foot. Rustaveli Avenue is the wide boulevard for orientation and people-watching, but the real texture is in the crooked lanes below Narikala, where balconies lean toward each other over the street. Order khinkali at a no-frills place rather than a tourist-menu spot; you’ll pay 1 to 1.5 lari per dumpling and the difference in filling quality is obvious. In the evening, cross the Bridge of Peace, whose glass-and-steel canopy lights up after dark in a wave pattern that looks better from the Metekhi side than up close, then ride the cable car from Rike Park up to Narikala Fortress for the skyline view over the Kura river bend. The cable car costs about 2.5 lari one way on the same Metro card used for buses.

Day 2: Tbilisi

This is the day to see how compressed Georgia’s religious history is: the Jumah Mosque, Sioni Cathedral, and the Great Synagogue all sit within a ten-minute walk of each other in Old Tbilisi, a legacy of a city that has hosted Georgian Orthodox, Muslim, Armenian, and Jewish communities side by side for centuries. Climb or funicular up to Mtatsminda for the Pantheon of Writers and Public Figures, where several of Georgia’s most important poets and artists are buried, then come back down to the National Museum of Georgia on Rustaveli for the Archaeological Treasury, which holds pre-Christian gold work that rivals anything in a major European collection. Finish at a sulfur bathhouse in Abanotubani; a private room runs roughly 50 to 100 lari per hour depending on the house, and Chreli Abano’s tiled exterior is worth seeing even if you bathe elsewhere. Skip the bath if you’re short on time before Kazbegi tomorrow; it’s better enjoyed unrushed.

Day 3: Kazbegi (Stepantsminda)

Marshrutkas to Stepantsminda leave from Didube station for around 10 lari and take three to four hours along the Georgian Military Highway, with a stop at Ananuri Fortress on the way, a 17th-century complex sitting right on the turquoise Zhinvali reservoir. Once in Kazbegi, most travelers hire a 4x4 up to Gergeti Trinity Church rather than hike, and that’s the right call unless you’re already acclimatized: a seat costs about 25 lari per person, or 70 to 100 lari for the whole vehicle, versus a 1 to 1.5 hour uphill walk through Gergeti village. Entry to the 14th-century church itself is free, and the payoff is Mount Kazbek looming at 5,047 meters right behind it, weather permitting; the peak is shrouded in cloud more often than travel photos suggest, so don’t schedule this for your only clear day if you can help it.

Day 4: Kakheti Region

Head south into Kakheti, Georgia’s wine heartland and arguably the more interesting day-drive than Kazbegi if you care about food and wine over scenery alone. Sighnaghi, the walled hill town nicknamed the City of Love for its 24-hour wedding registry, is worth an hour of wandering its cobbled streets and city walls before lunch. The real destination is a family winery using qvevri, the buried clay amphorae UNESCO recognized as intangible cultural heritage; a tasting with a home-cooked supra spread typically runs 30 to 60 lari per person and beats any restaurant meal in the region. Book ahead in high season since the good small producers only seat a handful of groups a day.

Day 5: Batumi

From Kakheti it’s a long transfer to Batumi on the Black Sea, so an early departure matters. Once you arrive, check in and start with the Batumi Botanical Garden, a subtropical rather than alpine collection spread across a dramatic clifftop, with foreign visitor entry at 20 lari (locals pay less). There’s little food inside the gardens themselves, so eat beforehand or bring snacks; the cafes clustered at the entrance are fine for a quick bite. In the evening, walk the Boulevard, Batumi’s seafront promenade lined with quirky sculptures including the moving Ali and Nino statue, and grab dinner at one of the seafood spots in the Old Town rather than the pricier boulevard-front restaurants, which trade on view over quality.

Day 6: Batumi

The Colchis civilization, tied to the Golden Fleece myth, is more a historical reference point than a physical site in modern Batumi, so don’t expect ruins downtown; the tangible history is a short drive south at Gonio Fortress, a Roman-era fort with walls dating back roughly two thousand years, reputedly the burial place of the apostle Matthias. Pair it with the Catholic Church of St. Mary’s back in town, a neo-Gothic landmark from the early 20th century. Spend the afternoon on one of Batumi’s pebble beaches, which are perfectly pleasant but not sand, or book a short Black Sea boat trip out of the old port for a different view of the skyline’s odd mix of Soviet blocks and glassy new towers.

Day 7: Departure

Use the morning for last-minute shopping or a final coffee in Batumi before heading to Batumi International Airport. If your flight is from Tbilisi instead, note the transfer back is four to five hours by car or train, so build in a buffer; don’t schedule a tight connection on the same day.

Practical notes

Georgia’s currency is the lari (GEL), and card payments are widely accepted in cities, though small Kakheti wineries and rural guesthouses often want cash. Citizens of the US, UK, EU, and many other countries get visa-free entry for up to one year, not the 360 days sometimes quoted, though this varies by nationality and can change, so check your specific country before booking flights. English is patchy outside Tbilisi and Batumi; downloading an offline Georgian-English translation app is more useful here than in most of Europe. Marshrutkas are the backbone of intercity travel and are startlingly cheap, but they leave when full rather than on a fixed schedule and drivers are not shy about overtaking on blind mountain curves, so this is not the itinerary segment for anyone prone to carsickness. A private driver costs more but gives you control over photo stops along the Military Highway, which is reason enough for many travelers to splurge on at least one leg of the trip.