Georgia Travel Guide

Dear Travelers, I suggest you to visit old Tbilisi while visiting Georgia. Old Tbilisi is located in centre of the city. There are old historical and architectural monuments, like Narikala fortress of V century, Anchiskhati Church of VI century, Sioni and Metekhi Churches, Sulfuric baths, Botanical gardens, ethnographic museums, Peace bridge and...

The Sapore has nice cookies and turkish sweets live baklava, quite reasonable you pay per item not per wight, you sit down on a table and have it there with tea or coffee or take it out. Located next to Metro Station Marianishvili on Davit Aghmashenebeli Avenue 95.

To hike to the Gergeti Sameba Church you need proper hiking shoes, it can be quite slippery. If you use short cuts it will be about 3,6 km and 1 to 2 hours depending your condition. If you use the (dusty) road, 5,9 km you can use regular shoes. In case you have walking problems 4 wheel driven car, up to 7 passenger will charge 50 Lari, don't drive...

When i was in Kazbegi (offseason) this was the only place with more then one person inside, and it was really nice to sit in their garden in the afternoon sun, the minute the sun was down it went cold. Since i did read their food is far from beeing outstanding, I ordered one of their cheapest plates, beans, which turned out to be a substancial...

We read in the lonely planet that Stalin lived here. We found his house at Puskin street but the museum looked closed for a long time. It is a pity because I would have loved to take a look. It seems like Stalin lost his popularity. If you want to nknwo more about him, you can always visit Gori, his birthplace in georgia.

We took a minibus instead of a taxi to Batumi from the trainstation which is 5 km out of town. Bus number 20 or 31 will take you there for 0,50 GEL People will try to sell you a taxi, but this is much more expensive

I went twice for dinner to the Cafe Restaurant Old Borjomi. This was mainly because I found the dining options in the town a bit limited and in Old Borjomi were always people either eating or at least having a drink.The interior of the restaurant is designed in a dark wooden style; so is the furniture. The menu offers a selection of local...

As I really liked my guesthouse in Borjomi and was also a bit tired of changing accommodation on this trip, I even went on a day trip from Borjomi to Gori. The trip by minibus took about 75 Minutes and cost 5 GEL. The route is served only by a few daily minibuses. I left Borjomi at 10:45 h and returned from Gori with the last minibus at 16:15 h....

We had dinner and breakfast in this restaurant. Before our dinner was served, they brought us a small plate of nadughi (cheese with fresh mint) and crustini bread. Then we ate the most delicious chicken Caesar salad. My husband had veal medalions in wine sauce with mushrooms -- so tasty! I had a chicken roll stuffed with sweet peppers on a pillow...

I've been wanting to walk along Sighnaghi's ancient city walls since the first time I laid eyes on them. Today, I finally had the chance to go exploring, only to find that the scrub brush and trees grow so thickly along the walls that it is impossible to actually do so. But I did have a lovely walk anyway. I walked out of Hotel Kabadoni and walked...

This building was erected in 1957.The main corpus is a large palazzo in Stalinist Gothic style, begun in 1951 ostensibly as a local history museum, but clearly intended to become a memorial to Stalin, who died in 1953. It contains many items actually or allegedly owned by Stalin, including some of his office furniture, his personal effects and...

If you are in Gori, one of the best visits to make is to the Museum of Stalin.But do not forget to have a look at the patio, where the train that he used to travel around the Soviet Union is exposed.You are not allowed to enter inside of the train, only to have a look at it from a certain distance, unless you pay an extra fee.

Restaurant "Hunter" is located at 6 Stalin Avenue (It may have previously been named "Atrium"). From the stuffed animals in the front window to the skins and trophy heads on the walls inside, this restaurant screams the hunter motif. Despite what all the game might suggest, this a typical Georgian restaurant serving the standard menu of khinkali,...

Like many other former Soviet Republics, also Georgia is a country of cash, which means that credit cards are not as widely accepted as in Western Europe.The local currency of Georgia is the Georgian Lari (GEL), which exists in its current form since about 1995. The subunits of the Geogrian Laris are Tetri, so 1 Lari is divided into 100 Tetri. I...

Like all other former Soviet Republics, also Georgia is a rapidly developing country regarding tourism. So for an independent trip it makes sense to have a good guide book on hand.As the updated Bradt Guide Georgia was not yet available for my trip and I had read many bad reviews about the Lonely Planet guide for this region, I checked out the...

My plan was to send some postcards from Georgia, but already in Tbilisi I didn't see any letter boxes in the town and even post offices were hard to find. So when I came to Mtshketa I went to the small post office, which was marked on my city map.Although there was a signpost in front of the building directing towards the post office, there wasn't...

Svanuri's (and Georgian) not the easiest language to pronounce so i'm going to transliterate it to the best of my ability.Hello: kho-cha-la-dakhThank You: eh-wa-su-kha-riPlease: KHA-ah-maYes: aah-duNo: maa-maaGood Morning/Afternoon: kho-cha-la-dakhGood Evening: kho-cha-ley-tu-jahGood Night: kho-cha-letHow Much?: ma-zoo-ha-jesh?0: mang-wesh...

The Svans have their own potent firewater called "Chacha" (approx. 60% alcohol) made from fermented apples to fermented bread to fermented herbs.They toast 3 times. Each time for a divine entity. Can't remember who they are but one of them is definitely St. George, the patron saint of their country. On one of the toast, you're invited (and...

One can get to Mestia from Tbilisi and Zugdidi by a mini van. I never traveled by these means but would assume they exist. They all go via Zugdidi. The other road is from Lentechi Kutaisi but there is not regular transport going on there.

I was in Georgia at the end of April 2011 and planned to visite Vardzia. The monastery complex stands between 1500 and 1700 meters of elevation in southern Georgia. We went to several other places in the country and found that everywhere, there was a lot of snow remaining at 1200 meters. I got several advices that said that it might be possible to...

The minibus comes from Tbilisi, ,,Didube" station,every day at 10 o'clock.It arrives there at 3 o'clock and comes back to Tbilisi the other day,at 9:20.Price:15 lari. The bus is comfortable. Drivers name is Alex. phone: 899 74 99 73.

It is built on a cliff where two rivers join. From the 10th century. Inside you will only find cows and smell some of their products. No entrance, no other tourists. It's next to the road between Vardzia and Akhaltsikhe

The last time I went to Ananuri Fortress, there were of course a handful of street dogs looking for a handout, but there was one handsome dog that followed me around the fortress keeping a watchful eye on me. He looked a lot like the Caucasian Sheperd dogs I have heard about and he was friendly and frightening at the same time.

No matter what time of the year you go, you can always get great pictures of the Zhinvali Reservoir. The Zhinvali Reservoir was created in 1986 when the built the Zhinvali Dam. Originally the Zhinvali Dam was supposed to be much larger, which would have flooded the Ananuri Fortress. Luckily Georgian citizens protested the proposal to such an extent...

This is a beautiful, modern restaurant, built to look like a castle, and overlooking the Zhinvali Reservoir. It has at least four levels of dining areas, both indoors and out, plus a beautiful front yard with a waterfall and more eating areas on a scenic overlook deck and some little cabannas. The food was decent, the prices inexpensive, the...

I shared a taxi from Tbilisi to Davit Gareja with a couple of other travellers. It cost us a very reasonable 50 US dollars (85 lari or so at the latest rate) so less than 30 lari each. We were picked up from where we all stayed in Tbilisi, taken to DG in a reasonably sturdy 4WD Subaru, and guided round for a couple of hours or maybe a bit more,...

i used the services of Nana Kokiashvili (see my Sighnaghi page). Her husband took us from Sighnaghi to Davit Gareji, waited for over 2 hours, and then left us in T’bilisi, for the cost of 120 lari. I think it was reasonable, since:- the whole thing started at 9 in the morning and we jumped off in T’bilisi around 3 pm- we also had a 30 minutes stop...

For centuries David-Gareji has been a significant religious and cultural centre. Pilgrims of various nationalities used to visit it and Georgian kings and noblemen showed Gareji monasteries special attention because the legend said that one third of Jerusalem’s spiritual treasure was kept there. According to this legend, Davit travelled to...

Just so you know... the Uplistsikhe caves were carved out of a sandstone massif, which means there is a lot of sand around that gets whipped up if there is wind. If you wear contacts bring eye drops and contact solution, or glasses in case sand gets in your eyes. I've also heard that if it rains the stone and the wooden stairs that you walk on...

There are basically two ways to get to Uplistsikhe if you are driving there on your own. There is the E60/S1 highway to the north, and the Zahesi-Mtskheta-Kavtiskhevi-Gori road to the south. The E60/S1 highway is probably your most efficient route. From the E60/S1 highway, go south through Gori. Uplistsikhe is approximately 14 km from the center of...

Uplistsikhe comes from the words uplis (meaning ruler) and tsikhe (meaning fortress), so Uplistsikhe basically means "fortress of the ruler". It may have been lived in earlier than 1000 BC. The complex of Uplistsikhe covers a slope and the top of a sandstone massif at the edge of the Mtkvari river. It's hard to tell if caves naturally existed in...

It's not really Shatili. But this is between Shatili and Tbilisi . Khevsureti turn is on the way to Ananuri,but before it. Rough roads, but beautiful and exiting ! Sometimes dangerous, but still exiting ! You just need to pray that there will not be another car on your way :))) Well, it takes 3 hours drive from Tbilisi to the small village Roshka,...

Towers are just spectacular!!! Small village Shatili is only 150 km away from Tbilisi, but the roads are so rough, you must be a professional driver to get to the point safe. During the winter roads are closed . It is accessable only from first weeks of the May. It took us 6 hours to get there, but with the stops on the way. Place is...

Shatili was built in the VIII century. In this village-fortress dwelling houses and towers are situated on the stone. Nowadays there are small hotels in some of the towers.There is Mutso fortress in 12 km from Shatili. The tourists have an opportunity to see the both places at a day.Shatili is going to be included on World Heritage list.

If one expects to find restaurants in Bakuriani, stay in Tblisi. Meals are served in the hotels around the town. The only restaurant I found independent of hotels had inedible food. And if you are looking for nightlife, don't. Bakuriani is great for skiing, snowmobiling, and meeting very friendly people. That should be one's focus.

Children and adults can enjoy themselves, even those who are not so sportive can relax at the many apres-ski cafe's, take a ride on a snowscooter or horsecarriage. There are 2 small ski-lifts near to the town and 1 longer ski-lift that ends on a 2150m high summit. This skilift is very modern. Rental shops are all over the place, also right at the...

We ate in the spring of 2008 at this typical Georgian restaurant, which is situated on the main road in the city center, just across the road from the tourist information centre. I didn't see many restaurants in Bakuriani when we we were walking there. I assume many hotels will serve their clients homemade food if asked. Some hotelowners may serve...

The Prometheus Caves have been open to the public only since 2011, so you will not find them in most printed guidebooks. They are quite large with stalagmites, the tour is a 1,4 kilometre walk steps down and up, with a multicoloured light show and a bit of classic music in the background. Open from 10 am, 7 Lari entrance fee (a bit more for a short...

Bakers is a cafe with very good cakes (couldn't get a seat late afternoon), the coffee is not very strong but alright. It is in the main street of K'ut'aisi, Taman Mete street 15 opposite the Invigurose Flamingo restaurant.

When you come out of the airport you have first on the right the tourist information and then the airport bus counter, to anywhere in K'ut'aisi you pay 5 Lari, it is actualy not a bus but a 7 seat station car with enough space for luggage leaving when full. It is possible to pay with credit card (money changers have better rates in town, some are...