I had the idea to visit Georgia a few years back but didn’t get a chance to go there. When my friend Melanie messaged me to see if I was interested, I jumped at the chance. Our last trip was several years ago, to Slovenia and we were due for another trip together. This made our 21st trip together!
We hired a driver for the trip to make it easy to visit all over the country. Our driver suggested places to visit, but I also modified the plan based on my research. I’ve always enjoyed trip planning so I also booked all the hotels myself.
Day 1 – Tbilisi
The driver picked me up from the airport and drove me to #12 Boutique Hotel. I arrived in the afternoon and took some time to catch up with Mel before we headed off to explore the city. We walked around the old town, visited the Peace Bridge, and took the aerial tramway to visit the Mother of Georgia statue. After enjoying the view of the city at night, we walked around Narikala Fortress and down to the old town for dinner.
For dinner, Mel and I shared a pkhali board and shoti. I finished up my dinner with some trout with pomegranate sauce.
The 12 Boutique Hotel was comfortable but our twin room felt like it was in a basement. We had a tiny window to the street level, so it felt like we were staying in a cave. The hotel provided free water but there was no kettle in the room. Breakfast was a plentiful buffet, with the option of ordering eggs, and served in the (actual) basement.
Day 2 – Kutaisi
We left early for Kutaisi on day 2. Our first stop was at Jvari Monastery, a 6th-century Georgian Orthodox monastery. Our driver had the foresight to bring binoculars, to help us appreciate the surrounding area. Then we stopped in Gori, famous for the Stalin Museum, which was created there after the second world war. We continued on to Uplistsikhe, an abandoned cave town along the River Mtkvari.
After checking into Hotel Paradise, we walked around the city and stopped for a delicious snack of khachapuri (bread with egg and cheese) and chvishtari (cornmeal with cheese). After our snack, we met our driver again and went to visit Bagrati cathedral, an 11th century church.
Hotel Paradise was clean. We stayed in a twin room with AC, a fridge and a kettle. It is close to the river. Breakfast cost extra. We got it the first day, and it was plentiful, too much food, and delivered to our table. We got breakfast sandwiches and coffee to go from Dunkin Donuts the next day.
Day 3 – Kutaisi
We spent a second day in Kutaisi. Our driver recommended Sataplia cave to see dinosaur prints. A visit to that cave hadn’t been on our radar but he spoke so highly of the place that we agreed to stop. We saw some dinosaur prints and visited a cave. I don’t find caves to be particularly interesting and we’d planned to go to Okatse and Martvili so I wish we’d skipped the cave. It wasn’t really possible to explore the area at your own pace. It’s a guided tour, after which it’s possible to enjoy the reserve at your own pace.
We went to visit Okatse waterfall afterward. We didn’t have enough time to walk through the canyon because we wanted to take a boat ride in Martvili canyon. Martvili canyon is beautiful, with green water and sun-dappled trees, a fairytale. The only negative part was how busy the water was. We were bumped by other canoes and bumped them in return. I can imagine another scenario with a peaceful ride and a stop for a picnic 😀
Day 4 – Mestia
We left Kutaisi early for the long drive to Mestia. Along the way, we stopped at Enguri Dam. It’s an impressive construction. According to the posters at the view site, there are many plans to continue developing the space to make it more interesting and exciting for visitors.
When we were hungry, we looked for somewhere to have lunch. We found it difficult to find a spot but then saw a beautiful location beside a stream. Restaurant Nodashi has a very limited menu, and I could only order salad and khachapuri. I ordered a cucumber and tomato salad and cheese khachapuri. Melanie’s meat khachapuri came and I got my salad. It took a very long time before I got my cheese khachapuri, after two reminders and lots of gesturing and words in Georgian from the server. Unfortunately, when it came, it was undercooked, and I could only stomach a small amount before surreptitiously throwing the rest of it away.
We arrived in Nino Ratiani’s Guesthouse in the afternoon and spent some time relaxing in our room and on our balcony. Then we walked through the town and to the mineral springs. Along the way, we stopped for a few minutes beside the fast-moving Enguri River.
We stayed in a twin room in Nino Ratiani’s Guesthouse. There was no fan or AC, but it was cool in the mornings and evenings with the window open. It was hard to get a cross breeze, however. The guesthouse offered breakfast and dinner for an extra fee. We had dinner the first night and enjoyed a good spread of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. There was a nice carrot salad, some beans, pizza, rice, and several other dishes served buffet style. Breakfast included eggs, fruit, khachapuri, porridge, and several other items including cake.
Day 5 – Mestia
The main activity on this day was a trip to Ushguli, a UNESCO World Heritage designated area composed of 4 tower villages. Along the way, we stopped to visit the Love Tower, where we paid 1 lari to enter and climb the numerous levels. This was a good chance to see what the inside of a tower looks like. Ushguli is a very isolated area, and very few people live there, about 80 families according to my Georgia guidebook. It took about 2.5 hours each way to get there. Once there, we spent a few hours walking around the villages and to the church. Then we had lunch before heading back to Mestia.
Once in Mestia, we relaxed for a while before going to visit the Mestia Ethnographic museum. The museum is rather small, and tells the history of the Svaneti region and the Svan people.
Day 6 – Zugdidi
In the morning, we drove to Chalaadi glacier to hike to its moraine. It was a relatively easy hike. For most of it, the trail followed the river. Then at some point, we needed to walk/climb over rocks. We went to the moraine but didn’t go any further. There was no snow where we stopped.
From Chalaadi glacier, we drove to Churubumu reserve. The last few kilometers were a slow drive on an unpaved road. We planned to spend the night in Zugdidi but weren’t so interested in visiting the museum there. I’d seen beautiful pictures of a mossy reserve, but when we got there, the whole area was dry. Sharamburu is not developed, and we never did find the waterfall there. Also, the bridge to go into the reserve had holes in many of the planks. I found it scary to cross over and stepped gingerly for each crossing.
In Zugdidi, we stayed at the River S hotel. It’s a relatively new hotel with 13 rooms. We didn’t see anyone else during our stay there. The hotel was clean and comfortable, with a good breakfast spread. The AC worked well. My only complaint is the lack of a shower curtain or any way of protecting the toilet area from the spray of the shower.
We had one of our best dining experiences at Diaroni in Zugdidi. t’s a large restaurant with sitting areas over 3 floors. We went through the whole restaurant before we finally chose a table in the first section we’d visited. Once we sat down, we had many questions about the drinks before ordering. The waiter seemed entertained by us and made a joke about our decision-making. When we tried to order khinkali, he suggested we try a local, flat version instead. I couldn’t find it on the menu, so I asked him what else is there on the hidden menu. He suggested we each have two dumplings, but I told him we only needed one each as we’d order a feast of food. After we completed our order, he realized that we were prudent to only order one each.
I had a delicious vegetarian version of chakapuli, a stew made of vegetables with a little spice, with shoti. The dumpling was fine but nothing special, and the other dish (I’m not sure what it’s called) was like sour yogurt. I don’t remember what Melanie ordered, but I know that we left the restaurant satisfied, having both enjoyed our meal.
Day 7 – Signaghi
On the way to Signaghi, we stopped to visit Svetitskhoveli Cathedral. Our driver had pointed it out when we previously stopped at Jvari. Then we stopped in Surami for nazuki, a sweet Georgian bread with cinnamon and raisins. We stopped and bought two from the numerous stalls beside the road. Later, we stopped again for some shoti, fresh from the clay stove and ate it with local cheese. Then we continued on to Kabadoni Hotel in Sighnaghi.
Kabadoni bills itself as a 4 star hotel. They welcomed us with churchkela and wine. Melanie had the wine and I had the churchkela. This was going to be a relaxing visit so we looked into getting esthetic treatments. Both Mel and I made appointments for the next day. Then we walked through the town and made a reservation at the Peasant’s Tears restaurant for the next day. On our way back, Melanie convinced me to ride the zip line. I watched a couple of people and thought it looked like fun. When it was my turn, I wasn’t at all worried. Apparently, I did something wrong because I stopped about 3m from the end of the cable. They were about to send me a stick to tow me in when I started to move my body to and fro to get enough motion to get to the end of the zip line. It was kind of hilarious, but also embarrassing.
Day 8 – Sighnaghi
The next day, I was working, but we had several hours to sight-see together before Mel went on a wine tour. In the morning, we went horseback riding. I’ve been on a horse a few times, but I’m not a rider. I was put on an “automatic” horse. It was really calm and resisted any attempts from me to make it move any faster. Although Mel knows how to ride, she was given a similar horse.
On the way back to town, we stopped at Bodbe Saint Ninos Monastery. It turns out that we had ridden past the monastery on our horse ride. I had to admit that I was quite churched-out by then. They all looked very similar to me and I understand that they are of religious and spiritual importance to many people, but for me, it was just sightseeing.
That evening, we had our best meal during the trip. We ordered a feast of vegetables! We had green beans with eggs, beetroot greens with yogurt, cheese spread, and roasted mushrooms. especially liked the cheese spread and the crispy roasted mushrooms with garlic.
Kabadoni is a rather uneven hotel. The hotel was pretty, with lovely views of the surrounding area. It was clean with toiletries of good quality. However, the lady who checked us in never cracked a smile. Someone tried to enter the room while I was in there working, even though the do not disturb sign was on the door. The breakfast buffet was well-stocked, and it was possible to order eggs, pancakes, and other items from the breakfast menu. It was a bit difficult to get table service, though. It was difficult to get someone at the spa to schedule our appointments, and they referred us back to reception, who asked us to call the spa. We finally got it sorted out, and then my massage was canceled 15 minutes before it was scheduled due to transportation trouble. They tried to reschedule it during my pedicure. The staff needs some additional training, perhaps a stay at another 4-star hotel, like the much cheaper Museum Hotel in Tbilisi.
Day 9 – Tbilisi
We wanted to be in Tbilisi on a Saturday to go to the Dry Market. We stayed at the Museum Hotel, which was a 10 minutes walk from the market. From there, we walked to the Dry Market and took a look at the wares. I enjoyed seeing the local wares, magnets, paintings, electronics, ceramics, cables, silverware, knives, and lots of odds and ends sold from the back of vans.
After some downtime at the hotel, we walked around the city some more and then went out for dinner.
The Museum Hotel is beautiful. The staff was welcoming, and the AC worked very well. Breakfast was an impressive spread in a room with beautiful green, velvet-covered furniture. The mirrored ceiling made the space look spacious.
Day 10 – Kazbeghi
After breakfast, we took off to Kazbeghi. We stopped to look at the beautiful Zhinvali reservoir along the way. There was a sign for trdelnik, a local Czech cinnamon bun, which was unexpected, but the stall was closed. Then we stopped at the Georgia-Russia friendship monument. The views of the Caucasus mountains were incredible as we drove along the military highway.
We stayed at the Oishe Boutique Hotel. We had a twin room with a little balcony. Furthermore, we could order dinner if we wanted to, but decided to go to the Rooms Hotel for dinner. But first, we hiked up to the Gergeti Church. Wow, what an uphill hike. I did not enjoy this walk. My fear of heights kicked in, and the view of the water below did nothing to reassure me. Also, some areas were quite steep and pebbly. When we got to the top of the mountain where the church is, it started to rain. There was no way I would walk back down that path in the rain. I was happy for the excuse to call the driver to pick us up. I had been dreading the walk down the whole way up. The road from the church to town was paved and quiet, and it only took 10 minutes for the driver to travel each way!
Kazbeghi is a rather sleepy town but it has gorgeous views of Mt. Kazbek and other mountains in the area. In the morning, we woke up early to walk for a view of the mountain without cloud cover. When we got back to the hotel, we were just in time for breakfast. It was a typical Georgian breakfast spread with khachapuri, jam, bread, cake, eggs, potatoes, cheese, and yogurt.
Day 11 – Tbilisi
We drove to Makhuntseti waterfall after breakfast. It was about 45 minutes to the waterfall, and it was beautiful. We had to climb over some rocks and I had to curb my fear of heights again, but it was worth it. Then as we drove back to Tbilisi, we stopped at the sulfur rocks, and then at Ananuri castle. I’m really happy that we took the time to go to Kazbeghi rather than just staying in Tbilisi. It had some of the most beautiful views of the trip. For our last night, we stayed at C* Hotel. We got a good price on the rooms, so we each got our own room. That way, I wouldn’t wake up Melanie when I left for the airport at 4am.
The hotel was clean with a young staff. Everyone was friendly and welcoming. There was a kettle in the room, and great AC. Upstairs, there was a common space where you could sit to hang out. We bought lunch from the grocery store and enjoyed it up there. For our last night, we had one last Georgian meal. I had lobio and shoti. Then we went to Abanotubani and got the scrub treatment. After experiencing hamaams in Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, and Jordan, it was disappointing. The scrub wasn’t very vigorous, but the sauna was very hot. I enjoyed sitting in the cold water as well; it wasn’t very cold, actually.
Beautiful Georgia
Again and again, the beauty of Georgia struck me. I savored the greens of the trees, the diverse colors of the mountains, the beautiful houses with their verandas. Everywhere, there was lots of running water. I’m happy that I got to see so much of the country.
Georgia still seems to be developing, and the place is not (yet) overrun by tourists. I got the impression that many people stay close to Tbilisi. Perhaps Batumi is also popular but we intentionally avoided that area, well known for its nightlife and casinos.
Some of the travel was slow and bumpy, with poor roads. A 4-wheel drive would have made for a better overall experience, but a regular vehicle was good enough for all our trips except to Ushguli.
If I had to do it again, I might leave out Okatse waterfall and Ushguli. Perhaps it was the time of our visit but the waterfall was quite thin at the time we visited, more of a wisp really. Ushguli, the highest place in Europe (is Georgia in Europe?) was different and interesting, but the road was quite bad to get there, with sheer drops as the car clung to the road on the edge of the mountain. There was no real reason for us to stop in Zugdidi. We mostly did it to break up the long drive to Sighnaghi.
Food in Georgia
Georgian food uses a lot of dairy, particularly cheese. As a (mostly) vegetarian, I ate a lot of khachapuri. Sometimes, that was the only option that I had in a restaurant. That, walnut dip, eggplant dip, and cucumber and tomato salad. Anthony Bourdain has many good things to say about Georgian food, but I think you may need to eat meat to appreciate the range. Personally, I don’t like too-cheesy bread and am lactose intolerant, so I found the abundance of cheese overwhelming.
Things to Consider if Planning a Trip
- Some roads are in terrible conditions and also windy/scary to drive
- Georgian is unlike any other language I’ve come across.
- Once you go outside of Tbilisi, know that few people will speak/understand English.
- If hiring a driver, clearly agree in writing where you will visit (cities and sites)
- Georgia feels like a developing country
- You don’t need to see everything. Take enough time to savour your visit.
- It’s hard to find vegan food. Georgians love dairy.
This trip took place from June 7 – 18, 2019, and the details in this post were accurate from that time.
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