New Year 2027 in Tbilisi and Georgia

Which days are public holidays over New Year 2027?

1 and 2 January 2027, a Friday and a Saturday, are public holidays, as are Christmas on Thursday 7 January and Epiphany on Tuesday 19 January. Holidays that fall at a weekend are not moved, so 2 January brings no extra day off, and 31 December is a normal working day.

New Year follows the ordinary calendar. The Georgian Orthodox Church keeps the old Julian calendar, 13 days behind, so Christmas falls on 7 January and 25 December is an ordinary working day.

In recent years the government has also given state employees a few extra days off in early January, such as 5 and 6 January in 2026, announced in late December. No decision for January 2027 had been made by 19 October 2026, and private employers decide for themselves.

• 1 and 2 January, New Year. Public holidays, and 2 January is Bedoba, the day of fortune.
• 7 January, Christmas. A public holiday, with the Alilo processions in the afternoon.
• 13 to 14 January, Old New Year. Many families lay the table again, but these are working days.
• 19 January, Epiphany (Natlisgheba). A public holiday, when churches bless water and many families burn their chichilaki.

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Where to celebrate New Year's Eve in Tbilisi?

Tbilisi's main free celebration is the city's New Year village, with the main tree, a Christmas market, food stalls, an ice rink and a big concert on New Year's Eve. In 2025/26 it stood on First Republic Square, at the end of Rustaveli Avenue by Rustaveli metro, from 12 December to 14 January. It was first due to close on 7 January and was kept open a week longer. The two winters before, the village was on Orbeliani Square. Lights also go up along Rustaveli Avenue, on Orbeliani Square and in Dedaena Park.

The 2026/27 venue and dates had not been announced by 19 October 2026. In 2025 City Hall set out its plans in November and early December and lit the tree on 12 December, so expect news in November.

The other choice is a New Year's Eve dinner. Restaurants, hotels and bars hold evenings with a set menu, a show or live music, and a DJ after midnight. Menus usually come out in mid-December and the good tables go early. By 24 December 2025 several popular Tbilisi restaurants were already sold out.

Are there fireworks in Tbilisi on New Year's Eve?

Yes, but they are mostly private, fired from balconies and yards all over the city rather than at one big show. They start at dark, build up to midnight and fade over the next hour or two. Narikala and Mtatsminda are the best places to watch, and on New Year's night 2025/26 the Rike-Narikala cable car ran from 22:00 to 3:00. Whether the city adds an official display varies from year to year, so check local news on 31 December.

Is public transport free on New Year's night?

Yes, in recent years Tbilisi's metro and city buses have been free on New Year's night and run until 3:00. On the night of 31 December 2025 the metro ran until 3:00 on 1 January and the buses ran until the same time instead of stopping at 23:00, both free of charge. The Rike-Narikala cable car ran from 22:00 to 3:00.

On Christmas night, 6 to 7 January 2026, the metro also ran free until 3:00. The 2026/27 hours are usually announced in the last days of December, and there was no announcement by 19 October 2026.

The streets around the celebration close to cars. On New Year's night 2025/26 Rustaveli Avenue, First Republic Square and the streets around Rustaveli metro were closed from 20:00 on 31 December to 8:00 on 1 January, so the metro is the easiest way in and out.

Can you get a taxi on New Year's night?

Yes, but expect to wait. Around midnight Bolt and Yandex Go cars are scarce and app prices jump, and on the evening of 31 December traffic can stand still for hours. For short trips the free metro or a walk is often quicker.

Book ahead anything you cannot miss, such as an airport pickup on 30 or 31 December or a ride to the mountains on 31 December. An app taxi from Tbilisi Airport to the centre is usually 25 to 35 GEL in 2026 and more at night, and drivers who approach you at the arrivals exit often ask 40 to 70 GEL. More in our guide to getting from Tbilisi Airport to the city.

How much does New Year in Georgia cost?

A New Year's Eve dinner with a show in a Tbilisi restaurant cost mostly 270 to 480 GEL a person on 31 December 2025, about $100 to $180. The cheapest was 120 GEL and the dearest, at a five-star hotel, 708 GEL. Those are the prices of about 20 programmes on a list published on 24 December 2025, usually with food, drinks and music included. Several venues let children under 5 or 6 in free and charged half price up to 12.

Hotels cost far more on New Year's Eve than on other December nights. A Tbilisi agency's guide of May 2026, based on past seasons, puts a 4-star hotel in Tbilisi at about 300 to 450 GEL for that night against 150 to 200 GEL on an ordinary December night, a 3-star at 160 to 220 GEL against 70 to 100 GEL, and a hotel in Gudauri at 350 to 600 GEL against 150 to 250 GEL. Prices for 2026/27 had not been published by 19 October 2026.

The street celebration, the concert and the New Year's night metro are free. Book rooms in Gudauri, Bakuriani and central Tbilisi in October or November, as they sell out first.

Tbilisi, Batumi or a ski resort for New Year?

Tbilisi has the biggest celebration, Batumi is the mildest, and Gudauri or Bakuriani suit skiers, though not every slope may be open by 1 January. Kakheti's resort hotels are the quiet choice.

Batumi is milder, around 10 °C by day, though it often rains, and the seafront palms are hung with lights. In 2025 the main tree was lit on Europe Square on 22 December, with a New Year village of food stalls and concerts around it, a gala concert on New Year's Eve and a Christmas concert on 7 January to close the season. No official Batumi fireworks for 2026/27 had been announced by October 2026. Our Tbilisi to Batumi transfer covers the 370 km in about 5 hours 30 minutes, and since August 2026 the train takes about 4 hours. Every option is in our Tbilisi to Batumi guide.

Gudauri is 120 km from Tbilisi, 2 to 2.5 hours, and Bakuriani about 190 km, about 3 hours. Both are at their busiest over New Year, with parties in hotels and restaurants, but the ski season usually starts only in late December. In 2025/26 the Gudauri lifts opened on 27 December. In Bakuriani, Kokhta opened on 20 December, and Didveli and Mitarbi followed a few days later, with pistes opening in phases. The 2026/27 season opens on 20 December 2026 at both resorts (announced 9 October 2026). See our guides to Gudauri, Bakuriani and Georgia's ski resorts.

Some resort hotels in Kakheti sell New Year packages, for example two nights from 31 December with a festive dinner and live music. Telavi and Sighnaghi are about 1 hour 45 minutes from Tbilisi. In snow, drivers avoid the Gombori Pass and take the Kakheti highway.

What is open on 1 and 2 January?

Most restaurants, cafés and bars open on 1 and 2 January, many with shorter hours, while banks and government offices are closed and small neighbourhood shops often close for several days. On 31 December supermarkets close earlier, and in the evening traffic can stand still for hours.

The Georgian National Museum and its branches close on public holidays and on Mondays. In January 2027 that means 1, 2, 4 and 7 January, so plan museums for 3, 5 or 6 January and check museum.ge first.

The sulphur baths in Abanotubani are open on 1 January, a good way to spend a quiet first day of the year. See our guide to Tbilisi's sulphur baths.

Tbilisi is around 7 to 8 °C by day and around 0 °C at night. Snow falls on a few days a month and rarely stays. More about the city in our guide to Tbilisi in winter.

When is Georgian Christmas?

Georgian Christmas is on 7 January, because the Georgian Orthodox Church keeps the Julian calendar. On Christmas Eve, the night of 6 to 7 January, many families put a lit candle in the window. Services go on through the night in every working church, Sameba Cathedral in Tbilisi and Svetitskhoveli in Mtskheta included, and each church sets its own times. Anyone may come in. Cover your shoulders and knees, women cover their hair, and expect a crowd.

On 7 January comes Alilo. In villages, groups once went from house to house singing carols and collecting gifts for the poor. In Tbilisi it is now a big church procession with crosses, icons and hymns. In 2026 it left First Republic Square at 14:00 and walked along Rustaveli Avenue to Sameba Cathedral. People fill its carts with sweets and gifts for orphanages and care homes. Traffic in the centre stops while it passes, and other towns hold their own processions.

A week later, on 13 to 14 January, many families lay the table again for Old New Year, though these are working days. The holidays end with Epiphany on 19 January, when churches bless water.

What are the Georgian New Year traditions?

The best known is the chichilaki, the Georgian New Year tree, a dried hazel or walnut branch shaved into fine white curls said to look like the beard of St Basil. It is most common in western Georgia but found all over the country. It stays in the house over the holidays and is burned at Epiphany, on 19 January or the evening before, to leave the old year's troubles behind.

The mekvle is the first guest to cross the threshold in the new year. The mekvle comes with sweets and is believed to bring the luck of the whole year, so families hope for a cheerful, lucky person. On 2 January, Bedoba, how you spend the day is how the year will go, so people keep it easy and pleasant. Children wait for Tovlis Babua, Georgia's Santa Claus, who wears a white nabadi cloak and a chokha.

What do Georgians eat at New Year?

The centrepiece of the Georgian New Year table is turkey satsivi in walnut sauce. Most families see in the New Year at home, at a long supra, with khachapuri, mchadi corn bread, meat, fish, vegetables, churchkhela, dried fruit and wine. It ends with gozinaki, walnuts set in honey and made especially for New Year. More dishes in our guide to Georgian food.

Where to go on a day trip between 1 and 7 January?

The usual day trips between New Year and Christmas are Mtskheta, Kakheti and, when the Jvari Pass is open, Kazbegi. Days are short, so set off in the morning.

• Mtskheta, 20 km. Jvari Monastery and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in half a day. On Christmas night and on 7 January the churches are packed. See the Mtskheta half-day tour and our Mtskheta guide.
• Kakheti, about 110 km to Sighnaghi. The town walls, Bodbe Monastery and a family winery with qvevri wine and a long lunch. The Kakheti wine day takes about 10 hours, and over the holidays the driver calls the wineries ahead. More in our Kakheti wine guide.
• Kazbegi, 155 km, if the road over the Jvari Pass (2,379 m) is open. It closes when the avalanche risk is high, sometimes for days. In winter the Kazbegi tour runs in the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, and after heavy snow the date can move by a day. See Kazbegi in winter.

How to book a transfer for 31 December or the ski resorts?

Book it together with your flights. Cars with drivers book out early for 30 and 31 December and for Gudauri and Bakuriani in the New Year week, just like flights and rooms. Since 1 January 2026 foreign visitors also need health and accident insurance for the whole stay, with at least 30,000 GEL of cover. See our guide to Georgia's entry rules.

If you land on 30 or 31 December, book the Tbilisi Airport transfer. The driver follows your flight and meets you in the arrivals hall with a name sign, and the first 60 minutes of waiting are free. The centre is about 25 minutes away, longer on the evening of 31 December.

For New Year in the mountains, book the Tbilisi to Gudauri transfer or a car to Bakuriani early. In winter our cars run on winter tyres and carry snow chains, and skis go in the boot. For snowy roads we recommend the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, and a group of up to seven fits the Mercedes-Benz V-Class. If the authorities close the road on the day, we wait, move the ride or cancel it free of charge. The price is fixed per car, and the terms for New Year dates come with the confirmation.

From 1 to 7 January we run the Kakheti wine day, the Mtskheta half day and, when the pass is open, the Kazbegi tour. Each starts at your hotel in Tbilisi. Book on the site or in our Telegram bot. It takes about two minutes.