Single supplement: 480 USD
Location highlights from this tour
The 15-Day Caucasus Group Tour is a 14-night journey from Baku to Yerevan through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, for a small group of 2 to 12 adults. It runs on set departure dates, with an English-speaking guide in each country, and crosses two land borders on foot. Azerbaijan takes four nights, Georgia seven and Armenia three.
The route runs west from the Caspian coast to the foot of Mount Ararat. 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 free day in the capital. A second crossing, at Sadakhlo, brings you into Armenia for Haghpat, Lake Sevan and three nights in Yerevan, with day trips to Khor Virap, Garni, Geghard and Echmiadzin.
Both crossings are on foot with your own luggage, and a new guide and vehicle wait on the far side of each. Day 12, from Tbilisi to Yerevan, is the longest day of the tour. The price is fixed per person in a double or twin room and does not change with the size of the group.
Adults only · Group size: 2–12 travelers
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.
Today is a free day to enjoy Tbilisi at your own pace. You may choose to explore the Old Town further, visit museums, relax in the famous sulfur baths, or discover local cafés and restaurants.
There is no guided sightseeing or transfer today, and the places below are suggestions for your own time. Entrance fees, meals and any activities on this day are not included.
Recommended places to visit in Tbilisi during your free day:
Your second border crossing. Your Georgian guide and driver take you south from Tbilisi to the Sadakhlo crossing, where you again cross on foot — a short, well-marked walk between checkpoints. Queues and processing times vary here too, so allow extra time. On the Armenian side, at Bagratashen, your new guide and driver are waiting. First stop is Haghpat, a 10th-century monastery on a green plateau in the Lori hills and one of Armenia's UNESCO sites. After a stop for lunch, the road climbs to Lake Sevan, a vast alpine lake at nearly 1,900 metres, where the Sevanavank monastery sits on a headland above the blue water. From there it's on to Yerevan for the first of three nights.
A full day to Armenia's three most famous sights. You start south at Khor Virap, a monastery set right below Mount Ararat with the finest views of the mountain in the country — the place where Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned before Armenia adopted Christianity. Then east to Garni, a 1st-century Greco-Roman temple standing above a river gorge — the only colonnaded pagan temple of its kind in the region — with a walk down to the Symphony of Stones, a wall of natural basalt columns in the canyon below. After a stop for lunch you visit nearby Geghard, a UNESCO-listed monastery partly hewn straight into the rock. Back to Yerevan for the night.
Today pairs Armenia's spiritual heart with its capital. You'll drive out to Echmiadzin, the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, home to a cathedral founded in the 4th century — one of the oldest in the world and a UNESCO site — and stop at the ruins of Zvartnots, a 7th-century cathedral whose great ring of columns stands open to the sky, also on the UNESCO list. Back in Yerevan, the city tour takes in Republic Square, the Cascade with its view to Mount Ararat, the Opera House and the Matenadaran manuscript museum. The day ends with a farewell dinner of Armenian food and local wine in Yerevan.
Check out of your hotel by 12:00 p.m. When it's time, we'll transfer you to Zvartnots International Airport for your departure.
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.
A comfortable 4-star hotel in the heart of Yerevan, just steps from Republic Square. Yerevan Place combines modern rooms with an exceptionally central location, along with a restaurant and bar, a gym and useful guest services — a convenient mid-range choice for exploring the Armenian capital on foot.
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.
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.
8 days / Starting from 1,040 USDA private 8-day route from Yerevan to Echmiadzin, Garni and Geghard, then south to Khor Virap, Areni, Noravank and Tatev with a night in Goris, north via Lake Sevan to a night in Dilijan, and a free day in Yerevan before you fly home.