Day Trips from Tbilisi: Where to Go for One or Two Days

Below are the options in order of how long they take, with an honest assessment of how long the day really is and whether it's worth it.

Quick answer

1. Mtskheta — half a day, minimal effort

Distance: 20 km, 30 minutes each way.

How: marshrutka from Didube metro station, Bolt or a driver.

Georgia's ancient capital and the country's spiritual centre. Two main sights:

Jvari — a sixth-century monastery on a hill above the confluence of the Mtkvari (Kura) and Aragvi rivers. This is the view people come for: two rivers of different colours meeting below, with the whole valley opening up around you. It's also where Lermontov set the opening of his poem Mtsyri.

Svetitskhoveli — an 11th-century cathedral in the town itself, one of Georgia's most important churches. According to tradition, the robe of Christ is kept here.

Mtskheta itself is small: a couple of streets with souvenir shops and cafés. Two or three hours is enough.

Tip: go in the morning — tour buses arrive by midday.

2. Kakheti — a full day, the main destination

Distance: 100–150 km, 2–2.5 hours to Sighnaghi.

How: a driver for the day or an organised tour. There are marshrutkas, but they won't get you to several places in one day.

Kakheti is Georgian wine: eight thousand years of winemaking, qvevri clay vessels, the Alazani Valley and the Caucasus range on the horizon.

A typical day includes:

Sighnaghi — the "city of love" on a hill, with a fortress wall, tiled roofs and a view over the whole Alazani Valley. A postcard spot, and deservedly so.

Bodbe Monastery — next to Sighnaghi, the burial place of St Nino, who brought Christianity to Georgia.

Telavi — the regional capital, with the Batonis Tsikhe fortress and a market.

Wineries — from large industrial producers to family marani cellars where wine is made in qvevri the traditional way. A tasting is usually part of the visit.

Best time: September–October, during rtveli, the grape harvest. Then it's not a tour, it's taking part.

If you want to understand what you're drinking, read our guide to Georgian wine before you go — qvevri, Saperavi, amber wines.

3. Kazbegi (Stepantsminda) — the most spectacular day

Distance: 150 km, about 3 hours each way.

How: a driver for the day, a marshrutka from Didube or an organised tour.

The Georgian Military Road runs north across the Caucasus range, and the road itself is half the point of the trip.

Along the way:

Ananuri — a fortress with churches above the turquoise Zhinvali Reservoir.

The Friendship Monument — a Soviet-era mosaic viewpoint on the pass (officially the Russia–Georgia Friendship Monument), looking down into the Devdoraki gorge.

Gudauri — a ski resort; paragliding in summer.

At the end are Stepantsminda and Gergeti Trinity Church at 2,170 metres, below the Kazbek glacier. It's about a two-hour hike up, or you can take a 4×4 from the village.

A fair warning: it's a long day — six hours on the road plus stops. And Kazbek is often in cloud, so there's no guarantee you'll see the mountain. Go on a clear day and set off as early as possible.

In winter, the road can close because of avalanches. Check the forecast and the status of the pass.

4. Uplistsikhe and Gori — history without the crowds

Distance: 80–100 km, about 1.5 hours.

How: a driver, or a marshrutka to Gori and a change.

Uplistsikhe is a cave city carved into the rock, around three thousand years old: streets, halls, pagan sanctuaries and traces of every era since. It's fascinating to explore, but there's almost no shade — bring water and a hat.

Gori is Stalin's birthplace, with a museum about which Georgians themselves have mixed feelings. As a historical artefact of Soviet memorial culture, it's interesting.

The two combine easily into one day, often on the way to Kutaisi or Batumi.

5. Borjomi — water and a park

Distance: 160 km, about 2.5 hours.

How: marshrutka from Didube, the train or a driver.

A spa town in a gorge, famous for its mineral water. In the central park you can try it straight from the spring — warm, salty and an acquired taste.

Also: a cable car, walks in the gorge and, if you go further, the Rabati fortress in Akhaltsikhe.

A relaxed option for anyone who wants greenery and cooler air in summer.

6. David Gareja — semi-desert

Distance: 70 km, about 2 hours on a not-great road.

How: a driver or an organised tour.

A complex of sixth-century cave monasteries on the border with Azerbaijan, in a semi-desert landscape completely unlike the rest of Georgia. Frescoes, cells carved into the rock and a view over endless steppe.

Check the current situation with access to the upper part of the complex — it depends on the border issue and changes from time to time.

When: in spring, when everything is in bloom, or in autumn. In summer it's scorching.

7. Short half-day escapes

Turtle Lake — the cable car from Vake Park, a walk, and the Open Air Museum of Ethnography nearby. See our guide to Tbilisi's cable cars.

The Tbilisi Sea — a reservoir on the edge of the city, with beaches and swimming in summer.

Martkopi and Saguramo — monasteries and forest not far from the city.

Kojori waterfalls — a short nature trip.

How to choose if you only have one day

You love food and wine — Kakheti.

You love mountains — Kazbegi, but only in clear weather.

Little energy or time — Mtskheta, half a day there and back.

You love archaeology — Uplistsikhe.

You're travelling with children — Mtskheta or the Tbilisi Sea: a short drive makes all the difference.

How to get there

A driver for the day is the best option for most destinations. You agree a fixed price for the route, including waiting at each stop. You can find one through your hotel or services like GoTrip. It costs more than a marshrutka, but saves several hours and takes care of the return journey.

Marshrutkas — almost everything leaves from Didube metro station. They're cheap, but timetables are loose and they're no good for a route with several stops. How the station works is explained in our guide to Didube bus station.

Organised tours make sense for Kazbegi and Kakheti, where the logistics are complicated.

Car hire — if you're planning several days of driving. Bear in mind the local driving style and the mountain roads: traffic rules in Georgia.

The train serves Borjomi and western Georgia.

And then — on to the coast

If heading to the sea after the mountains and the wine makes sense for your trip, Batumi isn't a day trip but the second half of your itinerary: about 4 hours by train since the route was sped up in August 2026. Details are in Tbilisi to Batumi, and what to do once you arrive is in our Batumi travel guide, which also covers day trips from Batumi — a completely different kind: fortresses, waterfalls and the sea.