The question we get most from friends planning a first visit is not "what should we see" but "where should we actually sleep". The answer is a short list. Six towns carry nearly every first trip: Tbilisi, Stepantsminda under Mount Kazbek, Sighnaghi or Telavi in the Kakheti wine country, Kutaisi in the west, Mestia in Svaneti, and Batumi on the coast. A week uses the first three, ten days adds Kutaisi, two weeks adds Mestia and Batumi. This page is about choosing the base and the bed in each; the day-by-day routes are on our itinerary chooser, and the bigger towns have their own stay pages, which we link as we go.
Quick answer
Sleep three nights in Tbilisi (Sololaki, the Old Town or Vera; a good small hotel 126 to 140 GEL, about $48 to 54, with breakfast), two in Stepantsminda (a guesthouse 70 to 85 GEL, or Rooms Hotel Kazbegi from 703 GEL if the view is the holiday), one in Sighnaghi (a guesthouse with breakfast and a valley view, 60 to 77 GEL). With ten days add two nights in Kutaisi (73 to 160 GEL in the centre); with two weeks add three in Mestia (65 to 95 GEL in a guesthouse, 390 for the best hotel) and two in old Batumi (85 to 99 GEL). Every price is what Booking.com showed for one night, two adults, Saturday 17 to Sunday 18 October 2026, read on 9 October 2026.
- Bases
- 6
- Listings read
- 3,632
- Guesthouse double
- from 45 GEL
- Design hotel
- from 720 GEL
The six bases in one table
Nights are the split our 7-day, 10-day and 14-day itineraries use. The room range is the cheapest and the dearest of the rooms we name further down, for our October Saturday; it is a spread of real examples, not an average.
| Base and nights | Sleep in | Double, GEL |
|---|---|---|
| Tbilisi Nights, 7 / 10 / 14 days: 3 / 4 / 4 | Sololaki, the Old Town, Vera or Avlabari | 90-791 |
| Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) Nights, 7 / 10 / 14 days: 2 / 2 / 2 | The slope above the east bank, facing the mountain | 70-703 |
| Sighnaghi or Telavi (Kakheti) Nights, 7 / 10 / 14 days: 1 / 1 / 1 | Inside the Sighnaghi walls, or a Telavi guesthouse | 45-741 |
| Kutaisi Nights, 7 / 10 / 14 days: 0 / 2 / 1 | The centre, within a walk of the White Bridge | 45-200 |
| Mestia (Svaneti) Nights, 7 / 10 / 14 days: 0 / 0 / 3 | Any guesthouse under 1 km from the square | 50-480 |
| Batumi Nights, 7 / 10 / 14 days: 0 / 0 / 2 | The old town between the port and the boulevard | 85-130 |
Tbilisi: three nights, in a walkable neighbourhood
Tbilisi had 1,543 properties listed for our Saturday, the most of any town in Georgia by a distance, and the choice that matters is the neighbourhood rather than the hotel. Our Tbilisi stay guide walks through eight areas; the short version for a first trip is Sololaki (the 19th-century grid above Freedom Square, quiet at night, ten minutes on foot to the baths), the Old Town itself (the Kala district around the sulfur baths, the prettiest streets and the noisiest), Vera (cafes, the galleries and Rustaveli Avenue a few minutes away) and Avlabari (across the river by the Metekhi church, cheaper, a metro stop from everything). Marjanishvili, on the left bank, is the fifth answer for anyone who wants the newer restaurants.
Budget. Jako Hotel Old Tbilisi, 800 m from the centre in Mtatsminda and scored 7.8 from 208 reviews, had a twin with a shared bathroom for 81 GEL (about $31), down from 90, with free cancellation and payment at the property. ibis budget Tbilisi Center, 1.9 km out and scored 8.4 from 4,615 reviews, had a standard double for 145 GEL with free cancellation and payment on arrival, which is the safe chain answer. Diuma Hotel, 150 m from the centre in Sololaki with location 9.5 but an overall 7.5 from 1,447 reviews, had a budget twin with breakfast for 126 GEL, down from 221.
Mid-range, where we would book. MariaLuis Hotel in Avlabari, 1.1 km from the centre, scored 9.0 from 674 reviews with location 9.1: a 20 square metre double or twin with breakfast for 140 GEL (about $54), free cancellation until 16 October. King Tamar Hotel by Luxuria, 1.4 km out and scored 8.9 from 457 reviews, had a superior double with a balcony for 126 GEL with free cancellation. Old Metekhi by OldTown, 1 km out by the church with location 9.7, a standard king with breakfast for 196 GEL, down from 280, pay at the property. Boutique Fantasy, 200 m from the centre in Sololaki and scored 8.7 from 539 reviews, a standard twin for 174 GEL.
Top end. Stamba Hotel in Vera is the one hotel in the country we would tell you to spend on. We have stayed there: the former printing house on Kostava Street, a lobby that is half library, the best breakfast room in the city, and the galleries, bars and Rustaveli metro within five minutes. It scored 9.1 from 1,226 reviews with location 9.5, and for our Saturday its 50 square metre Terrace Room was 720 GEL (about $277), down from 961, with free cancellation until 14 October; the 52 square metre Aviator Signature Room was 791 GEL, down from 1,055. Radisson Blu Iveria, on Rose Revolution Square with location 9.3 and 2,222 reviews, had a superior room for 637 GEL.
Stepantsminda: two nights facing Mount Kazbek
Stepantsminda (the town everyone calls Kazbegi) is 152 km up the Military Highway from Tbilisi, three hours by van for 20 GEL or 210 GEL per car with a GoTrip driver, and you need two nights to see Gergeti Trinity Church in good light and get up one of the valleys. Booking.com listed 267 properties for our Saturday, almost all of them guesthouses and cottages within a kilometre of the square. The rule is the mountain: the rooms on the slope above the east bank, the hill where Rooms Hotel stands, face Kazbek across the valley; the rooms on the flat by the square and the bus station see it only in part. Our Kazbegi stay page maps the four parts of town and prices them in October and January.
Budget. North Kazbegi, 450 m from the centre and scored 9.3 from 370 reviews, had a budget twin for 85 GEL (about $33). Sunny Guesthouse, 450 m out and scored 8.8 from 256 reviews, a large double for 70 GEL with free cancellation and payment at the property. Guesthouse Elli and Cottages, scored 8.4 from 268 reviews, a deluxe double with an extra bed for 135 GEL.
Mid-range, where we would book. Hotel 717 Kazbegi, scored 9.5 from 413 reviews with value for money 9.6, had a double with mountain view for 139 GEL (about $53), 125 GEL on its non-flexible rate, with free cancellation until 18:00 on the day and payment at the property. Vache Hotel, 450 m from the centre and scored 9.4 from 547 reviews, had a family duplex room with a garden view for 180 GEL (about $69) with free cancellation and payment on arrival. Hotel Stancia Kazbegi in the centre, 300 m from the square and scored 9.2 from 685 reviews, a double with mountain view for 208 GEL. Kazbegi View, 700 m out and scored 8.7 from 458 reviews, a double with glacier view for 210 GEL, down from 280. The A-frame cabins are the newer fashion: Kuro Cottage, scored 9.8 from 48 reviews, had its one-bedroom chalet for 324 GEL.
Top end. Rooms Hotel Kazbegi, the converted Soviet sanatorium on the hill with the long terrace facing the mountain, is the hotel that put the town on the map, and we have stayed there and would again for a special night. Its cheapest room was from 703 GEL (about $270) when our Kazbegi page read it on 23 September 2026; for our October Saturday Booking.com's property page would not load, so the figure is that reading. Book it for one of the two nights and a guesthouse for the other if the budget is tight; non-guests come up for lunch and the view.
Kakheti: one night in Sighnaghi, or Telavi for the cellars
Kakheti is the wine region two hours east of Tbilisi, and the first-trip night there goes to Sighnaghi, the walled hill town above the Alazani valley, 15 GEL by van from the Samgori terminal or 191 GEL per car with a driver. It has 73 listings, nearly all family guesthouses with breakfast and a terrace facing the Caucasus, and it is the best-value night of the whole trip. Telavi, the region's working town an hour further north, is the better base for a second night or for anyone visiting the cellars around Tsinandali and Kvareli; it had 87 listings. Our where to stay in Kakheti page prices both towns and the wine estates area by area, the Kakheti guide covers the region and the Sighnaghi guide plans the night.
Sighnaghi, budget. Guest House Shota, 1.3 km from the centre with location 9.8 and scored 9.5 from 65 reviews, had a twin with an extra bed for 45 GEL (about $17). Guesthouse Door, 450 m out, a double with a balcony for 50 GEL. Nato and Lado, the guesthouse our itineraries use, scored 9.2 from 537 reviews with location 9.6, had its deluxe double for 60 GEL with free cancellation. Zurabashvili Guest House, scored 9.2 from 154 reviews, a queen room for 60 GEL.
Sighnaghi, where we would book. Three Gracia, 700 m from the centre and scored 8.8 from 594 reviews with location 9.7 and a breakfast guests rate exceptional: a 15 square metre king room with a mountain view for 77 GEL (about $30) with free cancellation until 14:00 on the day and payment at the property, 63 GEL for its cheapest room. 4 Rooms, 900 m out and scored 9.7 from 211 reviews, a double with mountain view for 100 GEL. Favourite, scored 9.2 from 609 reviews, a standard twin with breakfast for 100 GEL. Kabadoni Boutique Hotel, the town's long-standing upmarket choice with location 9.7, an attic double with breakfast for 404 GEL; BODBE Hotel, scored 9.2 from 1,093 reviews, a standard king with breakfast for 741 GEL.
Telavi. Hotel Classic, 350 m from the centre and scored 8.9 from 197 reviews, had a deluxe double for 60 GEL. Guest House Calma, 2.3 km out and scored 9.8 from 145 reviews, a standard double for 80 GEL with free cancellation and payment at the property. Kaya Telavi, scored 9.9 from 28 reviews, a deluxe double for 90 GEL. Holiday Inn Telavi, 800 m from the centre with location 9.6 and scored 9.0 from 439 reviews, a standard queen for 274 GEL with free cancellation. For the estate hotels we have stayed at ourselves, Lopota Lake Resort near Napareuli and Tsinandali Estate (a Radisson Collection hotel), both outside Telavi, neither property page would load for our date, so we do not quote a price here; they are the Kakheti answer for anyone who wants a pool and a cellar on site rather than a town, and the Kakheti guide carries the Telavi rooms.
Kutaisi: one or two nights in the centre
Kutaisi earns a night on a ten-day trip for Gelati, Prometheus Cave and the canyons, and it is the overnight before the vans to Mestia and the Wizz Air flights from the airport 24 km west. Booking.com listed 458 properties. Sleep in the centre, within a walk of the White Bridge and the Colchis fountain, and ignore anything by the airport unless your flight leaves before the first coach; our Kutaisi stay page compares the five areas with a room at every budget, the Kutaisi guide prices a whole stay and the airport page has the coach times.
Budget. Hotel VLADi, 400 m from the centre with location 9.8 and scored 8.7 from 520 reviews, had a deluxe double for 73 GEL (about $28) with free cancellation and payment on arrival, the best-value room we found in any town. Tsius Guest House, 1.8 km out, a twin for 45 GEL. Hotel Georgia, 300 m from the centre with location 9.7, a superior twin with city view for 84 GEL. Georgian Palace Hotel, scored 7.5 from 1,572 reviews, a small double for 66 GEL, down from 82.
Mid-range and up. Tsereteli Inn, 300 m out and scored 9.5 from 271 reviews with location 9.7, a deluxe apartment for 100 GEL. Hotel Commune 1889, 300 m from the centre and scored 9.0 from 98 reviews, a double for 160 GEL with free cancellation. City Star Kutaisi, 600 m out and scored 9.2 from 222 reviews, a deluxe suite with breakfast for 159 GEL. Boutique Hotel Tuta, scored 8.6 from 315 reviews, a triple for 180 GEL, down from 200. Nothing in Kutaisi costs what Tbilisi's top hotels cost; the dearest centre rooms we saw were around 200 GEL.
Mestia: three nights in a Svan guesthouse
Mestia is the town at the centre of Upper Svaneti, 236 km and six hours by van from Kutaisi (45 to 50 GEL) or 334 GEL per car with a driver, and the reason to go is the towers, Ushguli and the walks, each of which needs a day. Three nights is right. It had 285 listings for our Saturday, and the pattern is family guesthouses at 50 to 120 GEL with dinner on request, a handful of real hotels at 150 to 480 GEL, and chalets outside town for drivers. Our Mestia stay page compares five areas with a room at every budget, the Mestia guide has the town and the transport, and our Svaneti road trip prices the Ushguli rooms too.
Budget. Mestiatour Guest House, 200 m from the centre with location 9.5 and scored 8.2 from 336 reviews, had a twin with a shared bathroom for 50 GEL (about $19). Cottage Woodside, 400 m out and scored 9.3 from 88 reviews, a double or twin with shared bathroom for 65 GEL. Nadia Guesthouse, 700 m from the centre and scored 9.5 from 488 reviews, a double with a terrace and its own bathroom for 82 GEL (about $32) on its property page (the search card showed 75), with free cancellation and payment at the property, which is where we would book; its double with mountain view was 108 GEL. Shara Hotel and Daeli Hotel, both scored 8.4 and 7.9, doubles for 70 GEL. Guesthouse Shampriani, 1.5 km out and scored 9.8 from 244 reviews, a double with shared bathroom for 90 GEL.
Mid-range and up. Mestia Panorama, 500 m out and scored 9.7 from 379 reviews, a twin with shower for 95 GEL. Hotel Patriot, 350 m from the centre and scored 9.5 from 153 reviews, a deluxe double with breakfast for 149 GEL. Hotel Lamish, with location 9.8 and scored 9.6 from 380 reviews, an economy twin with breakfast for 180 GEL, down from 200. Hotel Ushba in Mestia, 600 m from the centre and scored 9.7 from 232 reviews with location 9.8, a deluxe double with balcony and breakfast for 390 GEL (about $150); Gistola Hotel, 1.3 km out and scored 9.8 from 225 reviews, a deluxe double with breakfast for 480 GEL. The hotels are good; the guesthouses are the reason people come back.
Batumi: two nights in the old town
Batumi closes a two-week trip because the train home to Tbilisi takes four hours for 36 GEL in second class and leaves in the morning and the afternoon. Booking.com listed 919 properties for our Saturday, and the whole decision is explained on our Batumi stay page: sleep in the old town between the port and the boulevard, not in the sea-view towers 2 to 4 km along the bay, which are cheap (king studios in Orbi City were 32 to 67 GEL after discounts for our date) and a taxi from everything.
The two rooms we would book, both read again today: Dzveli Batumi, 200 m from the beach with location 9.7 and scored 8.9 from 859 reviews, a double with breakfast for 99 GEL (about $38), free cancellation until 16 October and payment at the property, 129 GEL for a triple; Casa Neptun in Old Batumi, a four-minute walk from the beach with location 9.9 and scored 9.3 from 581 reviews, a studio for 85 GEL, 90 GEL with a balcony and 130 GEL for the 52 square metre two-bedroom apartment, all with free cancellation. Both were the same price as a day earlier, when the Batumi page read them. In July the old town roughly doubles and the towers triple; the Batumi page has the same rooms priced for July 2027.
Guesthouse, hotel or apartment
Outside Tbilisi and Batumi the honest answer is a guesthouse. In Stepantsminda, Sighnaghi and Mestia the family houses are the best rooms in town for the money, the breakfast is cooked rather than buffet, and the host is the person who knows which van leaves when and whether the pass is open. The trade is thinner walls, a shared bathroom at the cheapest ones (the listings say so; look for "private bathroom" in the room name), and no reception after dinner. In Tbilisi and Batumi an apartment makes sense for four nights or more: both cities have a deep Airbnb and Booking.com apartment market, Casa Neptun in Batumi is an example at 85 GEL, and a kitchen pays for itself at the markets. We would not book an apartment in the mountain towns: the guesthouse is the point.
The hosts in Sighnaghi, Stepantsminda and Mestia are families who have let rooms for years, and English runs out faster than the welcome. Learning a few Georgian phrases for travellers before you arrive, gamarjoba, madloba and the words for breakfast and water at least, is what makes the evening at the table the best part of the stay.
Three booking rules that hold in every town. First, filter for free cancellation and pay at the property: most Georgian guesthouses offer both, which lets you hold a mountain night and a wine night and swap them when the forecast comes in. Second, read the location score, not just the overall one; a 9.7 for location in Sighnaghi or old Batumi means you can walk, and a 7.5 in a tower means a taxi. Third, book the mountain towns a month ahead for July, August and the New Year week, and Sighnaghi a month ahead for Rtveli, the October harvest; for the rest of the year a week is plenty, and our Saturday in mid-October still had rooms in every town.
Getting between the bases
The bases are chosen so that the transport between them is simple, and the fares below are the ones our transport pages carry. Tbilisi to Stepantsminda: van from Didube, 20 GEL, three to three and a half hours, or a GoTrip driver at 210 GEL per car, which is the one leg where the driver is worth it because of the stops at Ananuri and the Jvari Pass. Tbilisi to Sighnaghi: van from Samgori, 15 GEL, two to two and a half hours, timetabled from 09:00. Tbilisi to Kutaisi: van from Didube, 25 GEL, four hours, or the driver at 244 GEL. Kutaisi to Mestia: one van a morning, 45 to 50 GEL, six hours, or a driver at 334 GEL. Mestia to Batumi runs via Zugdidi by van, or 440 GEL per car direct. Batumi to Tbilisi: the double-decker train, 36 GEL second class, four hours. Our trip planner strings these together for your dates and the getting around guide explains each mode.
Mistakes we see every week
- Booking one Tbilisi hotel for the whole trip and day-tripping. Kazbegi, Kakheti and Kutaisi are each three or more hours each way; a day trip sees the sight and misses the evening, which in Georgia is the point. Sleep where you visit.
- A sea-view tower in Batumi. Cheap, far from dinner, and the reason people say they did not like the city. The old town is 85 to 130 GEL.
- A Kazbegi room without the view. The rooms on the flat by the bus station cost the same as the rooms on the slope above them. Check the listing's map for the hill above the east bank, and budget a taxi up with luggage.
- One night in Mestia. The van takes six hours; the towers, Ushguli and a walk need a day each. Three nights or do not go.
- Sighnaghi as a day trip from Tbilisi. The coaches leave at four and the town is at its best from six, from a terrace, with a glass of the host's wine. It is 60 GEL to stay.
- Prepaying non-refundable rates in spring and autumn. Weather reroutes trips here. The guesthouses let you cancel for free; use it.
Frequently asked questions
Where should I stay in Georgia on a first trip?
How much does a hotel night cost in Georgia?
Is it better to stay in a guesthouse or a hotel in Georgia?
Which area of Tbilisi is best for a first visit?
How many nights do you need in Kazbegi and Mestia?
When should I book accommodation in Georgia?
Keep planning
Destinations
Where to Stay in Tbilisi: Best Areas Compared (2026)
Best area to stay in Tbilisi for a first visit, food, families or a month: eight areas compared with room prices read on Booking.com in October 2026.
15 min read
Guides
Georgia Itinerary 2026: 7, 10, 14 or 21 Days, Compared
Which Georgia itinerary fits your days: one week for Tbilisi, Kazbegi and Kakheti, ten with Kutaisi, two with Svaneti and Batumi, three with the south.
9 min read
Destinations
Where to Stay in Kazbegi: Rooms Hotel vs Guesthouses (2026)
Kazbegi rooms compared for 2026: Rooms Hotel, the hill above town, the centre by the bus station and Gergeti village, with prices read on Booking.com.
14 min read