The 11-Day Caucasus Group Tour: Azerbaijan and Georgia is a 10-night journey from Baku to Tbilisi, for a small group of 2 to 12 travelers. It runs on set departure dates, with an English-speaking guide in each country, and crosses one land border on foot. Azerbaijan takes four nights and Georgia six.
The route runs west from the Caspian coast into the Georgian Caucasus. Baku takes the first three nights, with its walled Old City and the fire sites of Gobustan and the Absheron peninsula, then Sheki after a day through Shamakhi. You cross into Georgia at Lagodekhi and spend two nights in Telavi, in Kakheti's wine country, before Tbilisi, a night in Kazbegi under Mount Kazbek, the cave town of Uplistsikhe and a full day in the capital.
The crossing is on foot with your own luggage, and a new guide and vehicle wait on the Georgian side. The tour starts together with the 15-day Caucasus group tour and shares its first ten days; the price is fixed per person in a double or twin room and does not change with the size of the group.
Group size: 2–12 travelers
Three scheduled 2027 tours on one coordinated calendar: the full 15-day route, or one of its two 11-day sections.
Location highlights from this tour
The tour starts in Icherisheher, Baku's walled Old City and a UNESCO site, with its narrow lanes, the Maiden Tower rising above the rooftops, and the Shirvanshahs' Palace, the seat of the region's medieval rulers. From there you drive out to the Heydar Aliyev Center, a flowing white building by the architect Zaha Hadid that has become one of Baku's best-known modern landmarks, before returning to walk the newer part of the city — Fountains Square, the seafront Baku Boulevard along the Caspian, and the view up to the three glass Flame Towers that have come to define the skyline. The day ends with a dinner of Azerbaijani food in the Old City.
A day of the strange and the ancient south of the city. Gobustan National Park, a UNESCO site, holds thousands of rock carvings going back some 40,000 years, scratched onto a hillside of bare stone; nearby, a short 4WD ride out onto open ground brings you to the mud volcanoes, small cones that bubble and hiss with cold grey mud rather than lava. In the afternoon you visit Ateshgah, a walled fire temple built around a natural gas flame that has drawn Zoroastrian, Hindu and Sikh pilgrims for centuries, and Yanar Dag, a hillside where gas seeping from the rock has burned continuously for decades. Back to Baku for the night.
West today, into the foothills of the Greater Caucasus. On the way you'll stop in Shamakhi, once the capital of a medieval khanate, for the Juma Mosque, before continuing to Sheki, a town of caravanserais and craftsmen tucked into the hills. In Sheki you visit the Khan's Palace, a small 18th-century summer residence with stained-glass windows and painted walls that took no nails to build, added to the UNESCO list in 2019, and the old stone caravanserai that once sheltered Silk Road traders.
This morning you leave Azerbaijan, but not before a stop at Sheki Bazaar, a lively local market filled with fresh produce, spices, traditional sweets and everyday local life. From there it's a short drive from Sheki to the Balakan–Lagodekhi crossing, the main land border between Azerbaijan and Georgia in this part of the country. The crossing itself is on foot: you'll clear Azerbaijani exit control, walk through the neutral zone — a paved stretch of around 300 metres, entirely manageable with wheeled suitcases, though there's no porter service, so you carry your own bags — and then clear Georgian entry control on the other side. Allow extra time for the crossing: queues and processing times vary. Your Georgian guide and driver will be waiting just past the checkpoint. From there you continue into Kakheti to a local winery for lunch and a tasting of the local wine, before settling into Telavi, the heart of the wine region, for the first of two nights.
The day starts with a walk through Telavi — the old town, the giant 900-year-old plane tree, and the Batonistsikhe castle, the former royal residence of the kings of Kakheti. Then out to the Tsinandali estate, the 19th-century home and gardens of Prince Alexander Chavchavadze, before a stop at a local winery for lunch and a tasting, with the chance to get hands-on with a qvevri — the buried clay vessel Georgians have fermented wine in for millennia. Back to Telavi for the night.
You leave Telavi and drive to Sighnaghi, the small walled “City of Love” with its cobbled streets and long views over the Alazani valley, then on to Bodbe, a hilltop convent nearby and the burial place of St. Nino, who brought Christianity to Georgia. From there it's a straightforward drive to Tbilisi for the evening.
North today, up the old Georgian Military Highway into the Caucasus. First stop is Mtskheta, Georgia's spiritual heart — the great Svetitskhoveli cathedral in the town, and Jvari monastery on the hill above it, both UNESCO sites. Then a pause at Ananuri, a fortress standing over the turquoise Jinvali reservoir, with a stop for lunch along the way. Further up you'll stop where the black and white Aragvi rivers meet, their two colours running side by side before they blend into one, and again at the Gudauri Panorama for the wide view back down the valley. From there the road climbs to Kazbegi, a small town under the snows of Mount Kazbek where the air changes completely.
Your morning is the big one — up to Gergeti Trinity, the lone church at 2,170 metres with Mount Kazbek behind it, one of Georgia's great views and best in the early light. You then leave the mountains and head south, stopping at Uplistsikhe, a town carved into the rock that goes back to the Iron Age, its halls and tunnels still climbing the hillside, before continuing to Tbilisi.
The tour starts at Holy Trinity Cathedral — Sameba — one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world, rising above the city. From there you'll visit the clifftop Metekhi church, perched above the river, then ride the cable car up to the Narikala fortress for the view over the whole of Tbilisi. Walking down from the fortress, you'll pass through Abanotubani, the district of brick-domed sulfur bathhouses the city was built on and named after, then wander the Old Town lanes to the leaning clock tower of the Rezo Gabriadze theatre. The day ends with a dinner of Georgian food and local wine.
A colorful and contemporary hotel right on Tbilisi's main Rustaveli Avenue. Ibis Styles Tbilisi Center offers reliable international-standard comfort with a playful design, complimentary breakfast, and an unbeatable central location for exploring the capital.
A comfortable mid-range hotel in the heart of Stepantsminda with warm hospitality and mountain views. Northgate Hotel provides a cozy retreat after a day of Caucasus adventures, with a welcoming restaurant serving hearty Georgian cuisine and well-appointed rooms.
Choose your departure and the number of travelers. We reply by email with availability and the next steps; sending a request does not commit you to a booking yet.
Local team in TbilisiRead our reviews on Tripadvisor
11 daysAn 11-day small-group tour from Tbilisi to Yerevan — Kakheti wine country, Kazbegi, Tbilisi, then Haghpat, Lake Sevan, Yerevan and the sights around Mount Ararat. Set 2027 departures for 2–12 travelers, ending together with the 15-day Caucasus group tour.
10 days / Starting from 1,450 USDA private 10-day route across Georgia and Armenia — Kazbegi, Kakheti wine country, a guided border crossing, then Yerevan, Lake Sevan and the view of Mount Ararat.
14 days / Starting from 2,285 USDA private 14-day route across Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia — Baku's Old City and fire temples, Sheki's Khan's Palace, Kakheti wine country, Tbilisi and Kazbegi, then Lake Sevan, Yerevan and the sights around Mount Ararat.