10 Best Day Trips from Tbilisi: Vans, Drivers, Tours (2026)

The city itself is covered in our things to do in Tbilisi guide. This page is about leaving it for the day and getting back for dinner, and the honest version is that four of the ten are better as overnights. Every marshrutka fare is from our Didube and marshrutka guides, surveyed in late September 2026; every driver price is GoTrip's cheapest fixed price per car, one way, read on 4 October 2026; every tour price was read on GetYourGuide the same day. Conversions use the National Bank of Georgia rate published for 3 October 2026, 2.60 GEL to the dollar.

Mtskheta van

2 GEL

Kazbegi van

20 GEL

Driver, Kazbegi

210 GEL

Day tours

from $13

The ten in one table

Distances and times are GoTrip's route figures for a car; vans take longer. The yard is where the marshrutka leaves from in Tbilisi: Didube (metro Didube) for the north and west, Navtlughi at Samgori metro for Kakheti.

Van, driver or tour

Three ways to do any of these, and our best tours from Tbilisi page prices all three per person for the six most-taken trips and says which earn the tour. The marshrutka is the cheap one: 2 to 25 GEL a seat, cash to the driver, leaves when full, no stops on the way, and you come back on whatever van has a seat. Fine for Mtskheta, Kazbegi and Sighnaghi, where the destination is the point. A fixed-price driver on GoTrip is the flexible one: the price per car is shown before you book, stops are included, the driver waits, and from two people up it costs about what two van seats and a taxi to the site would. We use it ourselves and the prices in this guide are its cheapest cars on 4 October 2026, the same figures as on 22 September on every route. A group tour is the easy one: pickup in the centre, a guide, a fixed circuit, 10 to 12 hours, $13 to 39 a person, and about 30 minutes at the church or the viewpoint. We plan our own days, so we cannot vouch for any operator; compare pickup time, group size, how long you get at each stop and the cancellation terms.

The tours below are one listing per trip, the busiest or best-rated on GetYourGuide for each. Two things changed between our September and October reads: the Kakheti listing now advertises seven tastings instead of nine, and every review count went up. Not one price moved.

1. Mtskheta

If you do one trip, do this one. Mtskheta was Georgia's capital before Tbilisi and is where the kingdom adopted Christianity in the fourth century; the two churches are the reason it is a World Heritage site. Svetitskhoveli, the 11th-century cathedral, stands in the middle of the small town, free to enter, austere inside, with the graves of Georgian kings under the floor. Jvari, the sixth-century church on the hill across the river, is the older and the one in every photograph, with the view over the meeting of the Mtkvari and the Aragvi. Cover your hair and knees at both; loan scarves and wrap skirts are at the door, and the church etiquette guide has the rest.

Getting there. Vans leave Didube every 20 to 30 minutes from 08:00, 2 GEL, 25 to 35 minutes, and drop you in the town centre a short walk from the cathedral. Jvari is a taxi ride from the town, not a walk, and no van goes up: about 15 GEL one way from the square or 30 GEL up and back with a wait, agreed before you get in. A GoTrip driver is 81 GEL per car and will wait at Jvari; the half-day tours are from $13. Go early: by midday in summer the coach groups fill Jvari's small car park.

Time needed. Half a day. Back in Tbilisi for a late lunch, or carry on north, since Mtskheta is on the way to Ananuri and Kazbegi.

2. Kazbegi (Stepantsminda) and the Military Highway

The Georgian Military Highway runs 152 km from Tbilisi to Stepantsminda, the town everyone still calls Kazbegi, and the drive is half the trip: the Aragvi valley, Ananuri above the Jinvali reservoir, the ski resort of Gudauri, the Jvari Pass at 2,379 m with the Soviet friendship monument, and then the town under a 5,054 m volcano with Gergeti Trinity Church on its shoulder at 2,170 m. Walk up to the church (about 7 km return, an hour and a quarter up) or ride a 4x4, 20 GEL a seat on the tours and per car with private drivers. Our Kazbegi guide and Military Highway guide have the stops and the walks.

Getting there. Vans from Didube are 20 GEL a person, eleven departures a day in the autumn timetable (08:00, 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:30, 15:30, 17:00, 18:00 and 19:00) and fewer in winter, 3 to 3.5 hours; some drivers add 5 GEL for a big bag. Mercedes minivans from a desk inside Didube are about 50 GEL a seat, shared taxis 40 to 60. A GoTrip driver is 210 GEL per car with the Ananuri stop included, and the day tours are from $25 with about 30 minutes at the church. In winter the Gudauri to Kobi stretch shuts for hours or days when avalanche risk is high, and you head back by 14:30 so you are off the pass in daylight.

Doing Stepantsminda in a day. The arithmetic is tight but it works. Take the 08:00 or 09:00 van, which fill first on Saturdays and in July and August, so be at the Kazbegi desk in the main part of Didube half an hour early; you are in the town square by 11:30 or 12:30. From there the church is either the walk, about 7 km return with an hour and a quarter up, or a 4x4 from the square, 20 GEL a seat on the tours and a per-car price with the private drivers. Allow two hours at the top and an hour for a late lunch in town, then find a van back on the square for the same 20 GEL; they leave when full and the flow thins after the tour coaches go, so do not wait for the last one. The tour does the same loop with less thinking, Ananuri and the Gudauri viewpoint included, at the cost of a fixed 30 minutes at the church. A driver at 210 GEL each way is the version where you choose the stops and the time at the top. The three are timed hour by hour in our Kazbegi day trip guide.

3. Sighnaghi and the Kakheti cellars

Kakheti is the wine region, and the qvevri method of fermenting in buried clay is on UNESCO's intangible heritage list. Sighnaghi is the hilltop town with the wall, the terracotta roofs and the view across the Alazani valley to the Caucasus; it takes an hour to walk, and Bodbe convent, where St Nino is buried, is a short ride out of town and free. The tastings are the point: family cellars charge 20 to 80 GEL or nothing if you buy a bottle, the commercial wineries 20 to 55 GEL for a tour and tasting (Kindzmarauli from about 20, Khareba and Tsinandali 35). The Kakheti road trip and wineries guide name the cellars.

Getting there. Vans to Sighnaghi leave the Navtlughi yard at Samgori metro, not Didube, 15 GEL, 2 to 2.5 hours, with a thinner timetable than the northern routes; Telavi vans are 12 to 15 GEL. A GoTrip driver is 191 GEL per car to Sighnaghi and 141 to Telavi. If the day is about the cellars, take the tour (from $19 with nine tastings) or the driver: nobody should be at the wheel after a Kakheti lunch, and rental cars do not solve that. We compare the tour, a driver, the van and a rental car per person in our Kakheti wine day trip guide.

Time needed. A full day for the town plus two cellars; Sighnaghi alone is a half day. Better as an overnight if you want the second cellar and the sunset from the wall: guesthouse doubles were 60 to 85 GEL on Booking.com in September.

4. David Gareja

A sixth-century cave monastery on a semi-desert ridge on the Azerbaijan border, and the one trip that looks like nowhere else in Georgia: dry steppe, striped hills, no shade. The Lavra, the lower monastery, is open in daylight with no ticket. The Udabno monastery on the ridge, with the famous frescoes, has been closed since the 2019 border dispute and border guards turn walkers back, so the ridge walk in older guides is off. The other half of the trip is the Rainbow Hills near Udabno village. Our David Gareja guide has the 2026 situation in detail.

Getting there. No marshrutka. The Gareji Line bus runs from Tbilisi at 10:45 daily in season for 40 GEL return; a GoTrip driver is 164 GEL per car to Udabno, and you agree a wait-and-return because there are no taxis out there; the day tours are from $21 for seven hours with the Rainbow Hills included. The road is paved via Udabno. Spring and autumn are the seasons; in summer there is no shade on the site at all, so go early and carry water.

5. Ananuri

The fortress of the Aragvi dukes on the Jinvali reservoir that everyone photographs from the Kazbegi road. Two churches inside the walls, the carved facade of the Assumption church, the fire-blackened interior from 1739, and the reservoir below turning from green to turquoise with the light. Entry is free; the only charge is 3 GEL for the main car park, and there are no posted hours. Forty-five minutes is enough, which is why it is usually a stop rather than a trip, but on its own it makes a good half day with lunch above the water. The Ananuri guide covers the walks and the reservoir.

Getting there. Any Gudauri or Kazbegi van from Didube passes the gate (Gudauri is 15 GEL, Kazbegi 20; ask for Ananuri and pay the driver), about an hour. Getting back means flagging a returning van on the highway, which is often full, so a GoTrip driver at 129 GEL per car is the relaxed version, and the Kazbegi driver at 210 GEL includes the stop.

6. Uplistsikhe

A cave town cut into a sandstone ridge above the Mtkvari, settled from the end of the second millennium BC and a proper city on the trade roads before Christianity, with streets, halls, a wine cellar and a tenth-century basilica built on top. Smaller than Vardzia but ninety minutes from Tbilisi rather than four hours, and better in the late afternoon light. Adult entry is 15 GEL, an audio guide 15, a private guide 45; hours are seasonal, 10:00 to 19:00 from 16 April to 30 September, to 18:00 in October and to 17:00 from November to mid-April. Most people pair it with Gori and its Stalin Museum (15 GEL), 15 km away. Our Uplistsikhe guide has the layout and the hours by month.

Getting there. A van to Gori from Didube is 5 to 7 GEL and 1 to 1.5 hours, then the local bus for 2 GEL or a taxi at about 30 to 40 GEL return for the last 15 km. A GoTrip driver is 143 GEL per car direct, and the Mtskheta, Gori and Uplistsikhe tours are from $13 to 24.

7. Borjomi

The spa town whose mineral water is on every table in the former Soviet Union. The central park runs up a forested gorge with the warm springs, walking paths, a 5 GEL ticket at the gate (free before 09:00), and the source itself where you can drink the water warm and fizzy for nothing; the open-air sulphur pools 3 km up the gorge are 15 GEL. Trails lead on into Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, one of the largest protected areas in the Caucasus. Our Borjomi guide has the park, the pools and the walks.

Getting there. Vans from Didube are 15 GEL, 2 to 2.5 hours, hourly from 08:00 to 19:00 from the Nige desk. The local train is the scenic and slow way: 1 to 2 GEL, 06:35 from Tbilisi, into Borjomi-Parki by the park gate at 10:22 after 17 stops, back at 16:30, basic seats, tickets at the station only. A GoTrip driver is 213 GEL per car and does the road in about 2 hours 15, with a stop at Gori or Uplistsikhe on the way if you ask.

Time needed. A long full day by van; the train timetable makes it an overnight in practice. Borjomi guesthouses were 40 to 80 GEL a night on Booking.com in September, and Rabati fortress in Akhaltsikhe (20 GEL) is the natural second day.

8. Chiatura and Katskhi Pillar

A manganese mining town in a gorge, once served by Soviet cable cars strung across it. The old network was shut for safety and replaced in September 2021 by four French-built gondola lines that run daily 08:00 to 22:00 for 50 tetri a ride; one original line, the Sashevardno cable car of 1966, was restored and reopened at the end of 2024 and is free, 10:00 to 18:00. The town is working-class, half empty and unlike anything else you will see in Georgia. Katskhi Pillar, a limestone column with a chapel on top, is a few kilometres out on the Zestaponi road; nobody has climbed it since 2012, the monastery complex at the base is open 09:00 to 20:00, and the view of the pillar from the path is the reason to come. The off the beaten path guide has the full Chiatura section.

Getting there. Vans from Didube leave roughly hourly from 07:00 to 19:00 for about 20 GEL, about 2.5 hours. Nothing public goes to Katskhi: take a taxi from Chiatura, or book a GoTrip driver (225 GEL per car from Tbilisi) and ask to stop at the pillar on the way. A long full day; leave early. The full plan, with the Kutaisi-based version most people should do instead, is in our Chiatura and Katskhi Pillar guide.

9. Bolnisi and Dmanisi

The archaeology trip, and the emptiest. At Dmanisi, under a medieval fortress about 90 km southwest of Tbilisi, excavations since 1991 have produced hominin skulls dated to 1.8 million years ago, the oldest human remains found outside Africa. Bolnisi Sioni, on the way, was completed in 478 to 493 and is the oldest surviving church in Georgia; its inscriptions are among the oldest examples of the Georgian alphabet, and the cross carved here gave the flag its shape. Bolnisi town was the German colony of Katharinenfeld in the 19th century and some of the Swabian houses survive.

Getting there. This is the one trip on the list we cannot give you a verified van fare or opening hours for, so treat it as a driver day: GoTrip's cheapest fixed price on 4 October 2026 was 128 GEL per car to Bolnisi (65 km, 1 hour 18) and 145 GEL to Dmanisi (104 km, 2 hours 03), so book the Dmanisi route, ask for a stop at Bolnisi Sioni and a wait at each, and check the Dmanisi site's season before you go, because the excavation area is not always open to visitors.

10. Kutaisi, a day trip only on paper

Georgia's second city is 231 km away, and the things people go for, Gelati monastery, Bagrati cathedral, Prometheus Cave (40 GEL plus 30 for the boat, 10:00 to 17:00) and the Martvili and Okatse canyons, are day trips from Kutaisi, not from Tbilisi. Gelati has been reported open at weekends only during its rehabilitation works, which decides which day you go. Our Kutaisi guide has the lot.

Getting there. Vans from Didube are 25 GEL and 4 to 4.5 hours. There is no longer a direct train to Kutaisi's own station: the double-deckers run to Kutaisi Airport (34 GEL, 2 hours 35) and a shuttle covers the last stretch. A GoTrip driver is 244 GEL per car, about 3 hours 17. Do the arithmetic: seven hours of transit for a day trip. Stay a night, or two, as the 10-day itinerary does, and give the canyons their own day.

Day trips from Tbilisi by train

Two, and only two. Georgia's railway runs west from Tbilisi along the Mtkvari, so nothing on it goes to Kazbegi, Kakheti, David Gareja or Uplistsikhe; those are van or driver days whatever the older forum threads say. The two that work are at opposite ends of the comfort scale, and both are in our trains guide with the fares and classes.

What a day trip costs

For one person the van wins everywhere it goes. For two the driver costs about what two van seats plus a taxi at the far end would, and gives you the stops and the timing. For four the driver is cheaper than four tour seats on every route here, and the budget calculator prices a week of each against the same beds and meals.

If you only have three days

Kazbegi for the mountains and the road, as an overnight. Mtskheta for the half day that explains the country. Kakheti for the cellars and the lunch, by tour or driver so nobody has to stay sober. Everything else on the list is a bonus, and the two that surprise people most are Chiatura, for being nothing like the rest of Georgia, and Uplistsikhe in the late afternoon.

Keep planning

Destinations

Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) Guide 2026: Gergeti, Hikes, Stays

Stepantsminda, or Kazbegi, at 1,740 m: the 20 GEL van or 210 GEL driver from Tbilisi, the Gergeti hike, Truso and Juta, guesthouses from 72 GEL, winter rules.

15 min read

Food & Wine

Kakheti Wine Day Trip from Tbilisi: Tour, Driver or Van?

A Kakheti wine day from Tbilisi four ways: group tours from $19, a fixed-price GoTrip driver from 141 GEL, the 15 GEL Samgori van or a rental car, costed per person.

13 min read

Practical Info

Getting Around Georgia: Trains, Marshrutkas, Bolt, Cars

How to get around Georgia in 2026: Tbilisi metro and buses for 1 GEL, marshrutka fares from Didube, the 4-hour Batumi train, Bolt, rental cars and hired drivers.

17 min read