12-Day Ultimate Georgia Adventure Tour: Tbilisi, Kazbegi, Mestia, Kutaisi, Batumi

12 daysPrivate ToursAll year roundStarting from 1,375 per person
12-Day Ultimate Georgia Adventure Tour: Tbilisi, Kazbegi, Mestia, Kutaisi, Batumi

Overview

The big one — twelve days from the capital to the Black Sea, with the remote mountains of Svaneti in between. This private tour strings together nearly everything Georgia is known for: the high Caucasus at Kazbegi, the cave cities and monasteries of the centre and west, the tower villages of Svaneti, and the coast at Batumi.

You start in Tbilisi and head north to Kazbegi for the church at Gergeti, then work west through Gori and Uplistsikhe to Kutaisi, with its monasteries, the Prometheus Cave and Martvili Canyon. From there you climb into Svaneti for two nights in Mestia and a day out to Ushguli, before dropping to Batumi on the coast and taking the train back to the capital.

Svaneti is the heart of it — medieval stone towers under some of the highest peaks in the country, in a region that stayed cut off long enough to keep its own language and traditions. Getting there takes a long mountain drive, and it's worth every hour.

It's a full itinerary with some real driving days, but each leg lands somewhere genuinely different — and because it's private, the pace and the stops bend around you.

Itinerary

You'll be met at the airport and taken to your hotel. Check-in is from 14:00, so if you arrive earlier, we'll begin the city tour first and settle you in afterwards. Either way, 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. After the tour, you'll have free time until the evening. The day ends with a welcome dinner of Georgian food and local wine.

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. 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.

The morning goes up to Gergeti Trinity, the lone church at 2,170 metres with Mount Kazbek behind it — best in the early light. Later you'll walk out to the Gveleti waterfalls, an easy hike of about an hour and a half there and back through the valley, and stop at the Dariali gorge near the Russian border, a dramatic cut in the mountains. Back in Kazbegi for the night.

You leave the mountains and head back down towards the centre of the country. First is Gori and its Stalin Museum, in the town where he was born — a place that has stayed largely unchanged since Soviet times. Then Uplistsikhe, a town carved straight into the rock thousands of years ago, its halls and tunnels still climbing the hillside. You reach Tbilisi in the evening.

West today, to Kutaisi, one of Georgia's oldest cities. On the way in you'll visit two monasteries: Gelati, founded in the 12th century and on the UNESCO list, its churches lined with medieval mosaics and frescoes, and the smaller Motsameta, perched on a cliff above a river bend. You settle into Kutaisi for the night.

A day of caves and canyons around Kutaisi. You'll go underground at the Prometheus Cave, a long run of lit chambers, stalactites and underground rivers, then out to Martvili Canyon, a narrow gorge of green water where a short boat trip takes you through the middle of it. An easy, scenic day, back in Kutaisi for the night.

Today is the long climb into Svaneti, the remote highland region in Georgia's northwest. The drive from Kutaisi follows river valleys up into the mountains, the scenery growing wilder as you go. On the way you'll make a short stop at the Enguri Dam, one of the highest arch dams in the world, for the view over the reservoir and the gorge below. By evening you reach Mestia, the main town, with its medieval Svan towers standing against the peaks — a full day on the road, but it takes you somewhere few travellers reach.

A day out to Ushguli, a cluster of villages and one of the highest permanently inhabited places in Europe. The rough mountain road is half the experience, and at the top the stone towers stand under Mount Shkhara, Georgia's highest peak, with the little Lamaria church on the hillside above the village — a working chapel that has watched over Ushguli for centuries. Back in Mestia for the night.

A long drive today takes you from the mountains all the way to the sea. You come down out of Svaneti and cross to the Black Sea coast, reaching Batumi, Georgia's seaside city, in the evening — a complete change of scene after the highlands.

A relaxed day on the coast. You'll start north of the city at the Batumi Botanical Garden, a hillside of plants from all over the world spread across a green headland above the sea. Back in town, you'll take in Europe Square and the Italianate Piazza, then head down to the water for the moving Ali and Nino statue, two steel figures that slide through each other by the shore, and the Alphabetic Tower nearby, its tall helix wrapped in the letters of the Georgian alphabet. From there it's a stroll along the seafront Batumi Boulevard and a ride up on the Argo cable car for the view over the city and the coast. The evening is free.

Check out of your hotel by 12:00 p.m. At 16:00 you'll be transferred to Batumi Railway Station for the 16:50 train to Tbilisi — a scenic ride of about four hours across the country, arriving at 20:50. On arrival, you'll be transferred to your hotel for the night.

  • Check out of the hotel by 12:00 p.m.;
  • Transfer to Batumi Railway Station at 16:00;
  • Train from Batumi to Tbilisi (16:50–20:50);
  • Transfer to your hotel on arrival;
  • Overnight stay in Tbilisi.

Check out of your hotel by 12:00 p.m. When it's time, we'll transfer you to Tbilisi International Airport for your departure.

  • Hotel check-out by 12:00 p.m.;
  • Transfer to Tbilisi International Airport;
  • Departure.

Accommodation

City
Premium
Mid-Range
Classic
Tbilisi (3 nights)
Premium
Mid-Range
Classic
Kazbegi (2 nights)
Premium
Mid-Range
Classic
Kutaisi (2 nights)
Premium
Mid-Range
Classic
Mestia (2 nights)
Premium
Mid-Range
Classic
Batumi (2 nights)
Premium
Mid-Range
Classic

Pricing

Classic

Starting from1,375per person
1 Traveler€3,960
2 Travelers€2,095
3 Travelers€1,655
4 Travelers€1,375
Single Supplement€290
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Mid-Range

Starting from1,570per person
1 Traveler€4,295
2 Travelers€2,290
3 Travelers€1,850
4 Travelers€1,570
Single Supplement€425
Book Now

Premium

Starting from2,115per person
1 Traveler€5,345
2 Travelers€2,865
3 Travelers€2,395
4 Travelers€2,115
Single Supplement€795
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What's Included

  • Accommodation in double/twin rooms, with breakfast included;
  • Transfers as per the itinerary in a comfortable, air-conditioned vehicle, with an English-speaking guide driver;
  • Entrance fees as per itinerary;
  • Still water;
  • Wine tour and wine tasting on day 7;
  • Batumi-Tbilisi train tickets.

What's Not Included

  • Full board;
  • Additional hotel expenses;
  • Travel insurance.

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