We read hundreds of route plans from our guests every season, and most of them are a version of the same loop: Kakheti, Kazbegi, Kutaisi, Svaneti and the sea. Here it is, day by day, with realistic driving times.
Day by day
Day 1 — Tbilisi → Sighnaghi (110 km)
Pick up your car and drive to Kakheti. Bodbe Monastery, the walls of Sighnaghi and dinner with a view of the Caucasus.
Day 2 — Kakheti → Tbilisi (≈ 170 km)
Tsinandali, Telavi and Alaverdi, then back over the Gombori Pass. Night in Tbilisi.
Day 3 — Tbilisi → Mtskheta → Ananuri → Stepantsminda (≈ 170 km)
Jvari Monastery in the morning, then up the Georgian Military Highway past Gudauri and the Jvari Pass.
Day 4 — Kazbegi
Sunrise at Gergeti Trinity Church, the Gveleti Waterfall walk and the paved road towards Sno village.
Day 5 — Stepantsminda → Uplistsikhe → Kutaisi (≈ 330 km)
The longest day: back down the mountain, west on the highway with a stop at the Uplistsikhe cave town.
Day 6 — Kutaisi canyons
Okatse Canyon, Kinchkha Waterfall and Martvili Canyon, or the Prometheus Cave if it rains.
Day 7 — Kutaisi → Zugdidi → Mestia (≈ 235 km)
Up the Enguri gorge past the Enguri Dam into Svaneti.
Day 8 — Ushguli
A day trip to Europe's highest villages under Mount Shkhara. Leave Ushguli in daylight.
Day 9 — Mestia → Batumi (≈ 250 km)
Down to the coast. Evening on the Batumi boulevard.
Day 10 — Batumi → Tbilisi (≈ 370 km) or drop-off
Drive back on the highway with a beach stop in Ureki — or, if arranged in advance, leave the car in Batumi or at Kutaisi airport.
Svaneti option ($30, one time): this itinerary includes Mestia and Ushguli, so please add the option "Travel along the Mestia – Ushguli – Lentekhi route" when you book.
The right car for a 10-day loop
Mountain passes, long highway days and a full boot: an all-wheel-drive SUV is the right tool. All our cars come with unlimited mileage, which matters on a 1,700 km trip.
Only 7 days?
Skip Svaneti: Tbilisi → Kakheti (1 day) → Kazbegi (2 days) → Kutaisi (2 days) → Batumi (1 day) → Tbilisi.
Have 14 days?
Add a slower pace and the south: after Batumi, drive back to Khashuri and spend three days in Borjomi, Bakuriani and Vardzia, then return to Tbilisi via Paravani Lake. Or add Racha (Ambrolauri, Oni) between Kutaisi and Kazbegi.
Places that are not allowed with our cars, however tempting the map looks: Juta and Truso valleys, Goderdzi Pass, Sairme–Abastumani, Tusheti and Omalo, Shatili, Vashlovani, any off-road track, and the occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia). Our cars may not leave Georgia.
Before you go
- A national driving licence with at least 2 years of experience is enough in Georgia; an International Driving Permit is recommended but not required.
- A second driver can be added for $10.
- Send us your route when you book — we will check it and suggest the best car.