The best day trips from Tbilisi

Mtskheta and Jvari, half a day next door

Mtskheta was Georgia's capital before Tbilisi, and its churches have been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1994. Jvari Monastery, built in 590 to 605, stands on a hill above the meeting of the Aragvi and Mtkvari rivers. Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, built in 1010 to 1029, is in the old town below. Samtavro convent is five minutes from it on foot.

All three are free. Cover your shoulders and knees, and women cover their hair. Scarves are lent at the gates. If you have an extra hour, add Shio-Mgvime, a cliff monastery 11 km to the west. More in our guide to Mtskheta.

• Distance. 25 km, 30 to 40 minutes by car, up to an hour in rush hour.
• Time to plan. Half a day, about 4 hours with Jvari.
• Best season. All year.
• Marshrutka. From Didube every 20 to 30 minutes from 8:00, 2 GEL, 25 to 35 minutes. It stops in town, and no bus goes up to Jvari.
• By car. Jvari and the town in one go, as on our Mtskheta half-day tour.
• Tip. Tour buses come between about 10:00 and 13:00. Arrive earlier or after 15:00.

Tour

Kazbegi and the Georgian Military Road

1 day≈ 11 hfrom $300from €270from ₾785

Kazbegi, Ananuri and Zhinvali on the Military Road

The most popular day trip from Tbilisi follows the Georgian Military Road. It passes the turquoise Zhinvali reservoir and Ananuri fortress, climbs through Gudauri and crosses the Jvari Pass at 2,379 m. It ends in Stepantsminda, which everyone calls Kazbegi, at about 1,740 m. Above the town, Gergeti Trinity Church stands in front of Mount Kazbek.

A paved road of about 6 km leads up to Gergeti, or you walk up in 1 to 1.5 hours. The church grounds are open from 9:00 to 17:00. Our guides Tbilisi to Kazbegi and things to do in Kazbegi cover every stop.

Short on time? Drive only the first hour of the road. Ananuri is a fortress of the Aragvi dukes with two castles, two 17th-century churches and a square tower you climb by steep, dark stairs. Entry is free. The Zhinvali reservoir below supplies Tbilisi's drinking water. It has no lifeguards and the water is cold all year. Twenty minutes further north, Pasanauri is known for its khinkali and makes a good lunch stop.

• Distance. Ananuri is 67 km away, about an hour. Stepantsminda is about 150 km away, about 3 hours without stops.
• Time to plan. Half a day for Ananuri and Zhinvali with lunch. A full day of 10 to 12 hours for Kazbegi. Our Georgian Military Road tour takes about 11 hours door to door.
• Best season. Late May to October, and in October the birches along the road turn yellow. From late November to mid-April the Gudauri to Kobi section closes whenever the avalanche risk is high, sometimes for days. Ananuri lies below that section and is easy to reach in winter.
• Marshrutka. Eleven vans a day leave Didube for Stepantsminda between 8:00 and 19:00, 20 GEL, 3 to 3.5 hours. They do not stop at the sights. They pass Ananuri, but you pay the full fare, and getting back means flagging down a van on the highway.
• By car. You stop wherever you like. To stay the night in Kazbegi, book the Tbilisi to Kazbegi transfer.
• Tip. Kazbek is clearest in the morning and often in cloud by the afternoon, so leave Tbilisi by 8:00. In winter, start back from Stepantsminda by 14:30.

Sighnaghi, Bodbe and the Kakheti wineries

Kakheti, east of Tbilisi, is Georgia's main wine region. Sighnaghi sits on a ridge above the Alazani valley, inside an 18th-century town wall you can walk along in places. Bodbe convent, where St Nino is buried, lies 2 km below the town. It is open from 10:00 to 18:00 and free. A path leads down to St Nino's spring, about an hour there and back.

The day usually centres on a long lunch at a family cellar, with wine made in qvevri clay jars. The big estates such as Tsinandali lie in the valley, about an hour from Sighnaghi, and no bus goes to them. More in our guides to Kakheti wine and Sighnaghi.

• Distance. Sighnaghi is about 110 km away, 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours by car. Telavi is about 95 km over the Gombori Pass.
• Time to plan. A full day. Our Kakheti wine day takes about 10 hours.
• Best season. All year. The rtveli grape harvest runs through September and October. Late April and May are green and quiet, and July and August are hot.
• Marshrutka. From the Navtlughi terminal at Samgori metro, not Didube, about every two hours from 9:00, 15 GEL, 2 to 2.5 hours. The valley wineries need a car.
• By car. The driver takes you from cellar to cellar, so everyone can taste. For a night in Kakheti, book the Tbilisi to Kakheti transfer.
• Tip. Carry cash. Family cellars, guesthouses and street stalls often take nothing else.

Uplistsikhe cave town and Gori

Uplistsikhe is a town cut into the rock above the Mtkvari, about 10 km east of Gori. People lived here from the end of the 2nd millennium BC, and the town emptied after the Mongol raids of the 14th century. You walk through halls carved into the cliff, past a 6th-century rock-cut basilica, up to a 9th to 10th-century church on the top.

In 2026 a ticket cost 15 GEL and the audio guide another 15 GEL. The site opens every day at 10:00. It closes at 19:00 from mid-April to September, at 18:00 in October and at 17:00 from November to mid-April. In Gori, the Stalin Museum (15 GEL) and the free hilltop fortress fill the rest of the day. More in our Uplistsikhe and Gori guide.

• Distance. Gori is 86 km away, about 1 hour 15 minutes by car. Uplistsikhe is about 1.5 hours from Tbilisi.
• Time to plan. 1.5 to 2 hours in the caves and about 7 hours for the day, as on our Uplistsikhe and Gori tour.
• Best season. Spring and autumn. In summer there is almost no shade, so come at opening time or in the last two hours.
• Marshrutka. To Gori from Didube every 15 to 20 minutes, 5 to 7 GEL, 1 to 1.5 hours. From Gori, take the local bus (2 GEL) or a taxi (30 to 40 GEL there and back with waiting).
• By car. Gori, the caves and Mtskheta on the way back fit into one day without changing transport.
• Tip. Wear shoes with grip. The rock is slippery, and the ridge is windy.

Borjomi, the spa town in a pine gorge

Borjomi became a spa town in the days of the Russian Empire, and its mineral water is famous well beyond Georgia. In the Central Park the Ekaterina spring pours warm, salty water for free. A cable car climbs to the plateau above, and open-air sulphur pools at 30 to 32 °C lie 3 km up the gorge.

In 2026 the park cost 5 GEL and was free before 9:00. The cable car cost 15 GEL one way and the pools 15 GEL. The Romanov palace in nearby Likani is closed for restoration. With an early start you can add Bakuriani, 30 km further up, see our Borjomi and Bakuriani guide.

• Distance. About 160 km, 2 hours 15 minutes to 2.5 hours by car.
• Time to plan. A full day. Our Borjomi and Bakuriani tour runs from 9:00 to about 19:00.
• Best season. All year. October has the autumn colours, and in winter Bakuriani has snow.
• Marshrutka. From Didube about every hour from 8:00 to 19:00, 15 GEL, 2 to 2.5 hours. A slow local train leaves Tbilisi early in the morning and takes almost 4 hours.
• By car. Gori and Uplistsikhe are on the way. To stay the night, book the Tbilisi to Borjomi transfer.
• Tip. Bring a swimsuit and towel for the pools. Drink the spring water on the spot, since it goes flat within hours.

David Gareja on the Azerbaijan border

David Gareja is a cave monastery in the semi-desert south-east of Tbilisi. St David, one of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers, founded it in the 6th century. The lower monastery, the Lavra, is still home to monks, with cells and chapels cut into the rock. It is open in daylight and free.

The upper monastery, Udabno, and its frescoes sit on the ridge where the Georgia-Azerbaijan border has never been fully agreed. Since a dispute in 2019, Georgian border guards have turned back anyone on the ridge path, and in 2026 it was still closed. Plan for the Lavra only and keep away from the border posts.

On the way, the striped Rainbow Hills around the village of Udabno make a good short walk in dry weather. After rain the ground turns to deep mud.

• Distance. About 100 to 110 km through Sagarejo and Udabno, about 2 hours. The road is paved except for a short gravel stretch near Udabno. Skip the shorter dirt track through Rustavi.
• Time to plan. 60 to 90 minutes at the Lavra and about 7 hours for the day.
• Best season. April and May, then September and October. Summer is very hot with no shade, and vipers live in the steppe.
• Marshrutka. None goes to the monastery. A summer shuttle has run from central Tbilisi in past years, but reports disagree on whether it ran in 2026.
• By car. The easy way. We have no tour page for it yet, so ask for a fixed price on our contact page.
• Tip. Bring plenty of water. Men need long trousers, and women cover their hair, shoulders and knees.

Dashbashi canyon and the Diamond Bridge

Dashbashi is a canyon of the Khrami river near Tsalka, south-west of Tbilisi. Across it hangs the Diamond Bridge, a 240 m glass bridge with a diamond-shaped café in the middle. From the bridge you see a waterfall, and a 15 to 20-minute trail leads to a second one.

The bridge is a private, paid attraction. In 2026 foreign visitors paid 79 GEL, which covers the bridge, the viewpoints and the trails. The swing and the cable bike over the canyon cost extra. Some visitors in 2026 found parts of the trail closed, so ask at the gate.

The canyon lies at about 1,100 to 1,450 m, so it is cooler and windier than Tbilisi. Bring a jacket even in summer.

• Distance. About 100 km, roughly 2 hours by car through Tetritskaro. The last stretch is all bends.
• Time to plan. 3 to 4 hours on site and 7 to 8 hours for the day.
• Best season. April to June, when the waterfalls are full. September and October are quieter. In July and August expect queues at weekends.
• Marshrutka. Nothing goes to the canyon. Vans to Tsalka leave from Ortachala station, and from there you need a taxi.
• By car. The easy way, and we quote a fixed price on request.
• Tip. Come on a weekday morning, before the tour groups, and carry cash in lari.

Vardzia is a long day and Martvili is too far

Vardzia is a cave monastery cut into a cliff above the Mtkvari, built in the second half of the 12th century under Giorgi III and Queen Tamar. The caves run for about 500 m along the rock, up to 19 levels high. The Church of the Dormition keeps frescoes from 1184 to 1186, with portraits of Giorgi III and Tamar.

After a rockfall on 27 May 2026, the route ends just past the Church of the Dormition, and the rest of the complex and the usual exit tunnel are closed. In late September 2026 repairs were due to start, and no reopening date had been set. A ticket cost 15 GEL in 2026. The site opens at 10:00 and closes at 19:00 from May to September, earlier the rest of the year.

Vardzia is about 270 km away through Borjomi and Akhaltsikhe, about 4.5 hours each way. That makes a 12 to 13-hour day, so leave Tbilisi by 7:00. Khertvisi fortress is on the way, and Rabati castle in Akhaltsikhe fits on the way back. A night in Akhaltsikhe or Borjomi makes it much easier. Details in our Vardzia guide.

Martvili canyon is about 280 km from Tbilisi, 4 to 4.5 hours each way. That is too far for a day trip. Base yourself in Kutaisi instead, 47 km and about an hour from the canyon, and read our Martvili and Okatse guide. Kutaisi has its own airport, see our Kutaisi Airport transfer.

• Vardzia by marshrutka. A direct van leaves Didube every other day at 10:10, 22 GEL, 4 to 4.5 hours. Otherwise go to Akhaltsikhe (15 GEL, 3 to 3.5 hours) and change. Neither works as a day trip.
• Vardzia season. May and June, then September to early October. From mid-November to February it closes at 17:00.
• Vardzia tip. Be at the gate at 10:00, before the groups arrive, and wear proper shoes.

Two trips in one day

Some trips lie on the same road and fit into one day by car. Others go in opposite directions, and Kazbegi with Kakheti never works.

With a car and driver you set the order of the stops and can change it on the way. The price is fixed per car, not per person, child seats are free, and you pay the driver after the trip. Book a tour or transfer on the site or in our Telegram bot. For David Gareja, Dashbashi or Vardzia, write to us and we quote a fixed price.

• Mtskheta and Ananuri. The Military Road starts at Mtskheta, and Ananuri is 47 km further, about an hour. 6 to 7 hours in all.
• Mtskheta with Uplistsikhe and Gori. Gori is about an hour from Mtskheta. Our Uplistsikhe tour with this stop takes about 9 hours.
• Mtskheta and Kazbegi. Best from mid-May to mid-August, when the sun sets after 20:00 in Tbilisi. Plan about 12 hours and see Jvari on the way back.
• Uplistsikhe and Borjomi. Gori is on the way, about 80 km before Borjomi. A long day of about 11 hours.
• David Gareja and Sighnaghi. The road between them runs through Sagarejo and takes about 2 hours. About 330 km and 11 to 12 hours in all, best in spring or autumn.
• Vardzia with Khertvisi and Rabati. Only with a 7:00 start. Adding Borjomi makes it two days.

Choosing the season

Every trip in this guide works in May, June, September and October. In the other months, choose by the weather.

• Spring, April and May. The steppe at David Gareja is green and the Dashbashi waterfalls are full. High valleys near Kazbegi, such as Juta and Truso, stay under snow until about June.
• Summer, June to August. In late June the sun sets around 20:40 in Tbilisi, so long trips such as Kazbegi and Vardzia are easiest. Kazbegi, Borjomi and Dashbashi are cooler than the city. Uplistsikhe and David Gareja have no shade, so start early.
• Autumn, September and October. Kakheti harvests its grapes, and the birches turn yellow along the Military Road. For many visitors this is the best time of all.
• Winter, November to March. In late December the sun sets around 17:30, so plan shorter days. Mtskheta, Kakheti, Uplistsikhe and Borjomi work all winter. The Jvari Pass closes when the avalanche risk is high, see Kazbegi in winter.
• Month by month weather is in our guide to the best time to visit Georgia.