Georgia in 10 days: Tbilisi, Kazbegi, Kakheti, Kutaisi and Batumi

Ten days takes Georgia coast to mountain: Tbilisi and the Caucasus, the Kakheti vineyards, Stalin's home town, the cave monasteries and canyons around Kutaisi, and three nights on the Black Sea at Batumi. One country, one road, no flights.

Caucasus
10 days
≈ AED 3,650 / person
East to west across the whole country, finishing on the Black Sea

Researched & checked by Nitesh Parasher Last verified 29 October 2026

Before you go

Georgia is small enough that ten days crosses all of it. The five-day route is Tbilisi and the mountains; the seven-day adds the cave cities. Ten days reaches the Black Sea, and the western half of the country is a different place from the eastern one — greener, wetter, with its own alphabet-era churches and a subtropical coast.

Tbilisi for three nights. Kazbegi for the Caucasus. Kakheti for the wine, which is an eight-thousand-year-old archaeological claim rather than a marketing one. Gori for Stalin’s birthplace and the cave town at Uplistsikhe. Kutaisi for the canyons and Gelati. Batumi for the sea.

Figure GEL 2,565 (≈ AED 3,632) per person. May, June, September and October.

Prefer it arranged? The closest package we sell is the 7-day Georgia Explorer, which runs Tbilisi to Batumi with hotels, a driver-guide and transfers included. This ten-day itinerary is free to follow yourself and adds Kutaisi and a longer coast.

Before you go: the admin

Entry

Georgia admits citizens of 95 countries visa-free for a year — among the most generous policies anywhere, and it includes the GCC.
Indian passport holders need an e-visa, or enter visa-free holding a valid multiple-entry visa or residence permit from the UAE, US, UK, EU, Japan and several others. For a UAE resident this is usually the simplest border in the region.

Getting around

A hired driver for the whole route is roughly US$90–130 a day including fuel, and on a ten-day east-to-west run it is the thing that makes the itinerary possible.
Marshrutkas connect every town for a few dollars and will not stop at Ananuri, Gudauri or Uplistsikhe, which is most of why you take those roads.
The Tbilisi–Batumi train is a comfortable five hours and a good way to do that leg if you would rather not drive it.
Bolt in Tbilisi and Batumi, very cheap.
The Georgian Military Highway to Kazbegi is the drive of the trip. It is also the road to Russia, so expect lorry queues near the border.

Money

Lari. Cards in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi; cash in villages, churches and for mountain 4x4s.

Altitude and weather

Gergeti is at 2,170m and 10–15°C colder than Tbilisi. Carry a warm layer in any month.
The Jvari Pass closes in heavy snow, sometimes for days, between November and April.

Day by day

Day 1 — Tbilisi old town

14:00 — The Old Town: carved wooden balconies, and the Abanotubani sulphur baths under their brick domes.
16:00 — Narikala fortress, by cable car from Rike Park, and walk down the ridge past the Mother Georgia statue.
18:00 — A private sulphur bath for an hour at Chreli Abano or Bathhouse No.5 — booked by the room, not the person, and the scrub is worth paying for.
20:30 — Khinkali and khachapuri on the first night. Grip the knot, bite, drink the broth, leave the knot — the knot is a handle, not food, and leaving a pile of them is how you count.

Day 2 — The museums and the markets

10:00 — The National Museum, for the Soviet occupation hall and the prehistoric goldwork.
13:00 — Dry Bridge Market for Soviet junk — medals, cameras, porcelain — and Dezerter Bazaar for food.
16:00 — The Chronicle of Georgia: sixteen enormous black pillars on a hill above the city, carved with the national history, built in the 1980s and almost empty.
20:00 — Fabrika in Marjanishvili, a Soviet sewing factory turned courtyard.

Day 3 — Mtskheta, and north to Kazbegi

09:00 — Jvari Monastery, sixth century, on the hill above the confluence of two rivers you can see meeting.
10:30 — Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, the old capital, where the robe of Christ is said to be buried.
13:00 — Ananuri fortress on the Zhinvali reservoir.
15:30 — The Gudauri viewpoint, a Soviet mosaic arc on the edge of a gorge — 1983, and still startling.
17:30 — Stepantsminda. Stay the night here for the dawn.

Day 4 — Gergeti, and east

07:00 — Gergeti Trinity Church at 2,170m — 4x4 from the square, or a 90-minute walk, which is the better arrival.
Mount Kazbek is 5,054m and visible perhaps half the time. Mornings are better, which is the whole reason you slept up here.
11:00 — Back down the highway.
16:00 — East into Kakheti, about three hours in total.

Day 5 — Sighnaghi and the wine

09:00 — Sighnaghi, the walled hill town above the Alazani valley with the Caucasus across it. Walk part of the 4km wall.
11:00 — Bodbe Monastery below it, where St Nino is buried.
14:00 — A family winery — Pheasant’s Tears in Sighnaghi, or small producers around Telavi. Qvevri wine is fermented underground in clay, skins included, and the practice is UNESCO-listed.
The rtveli harvest in late September and early October is the best time to be here, and families will often let you join it.

Day 6 — Telavi, and the churches

09:00 — Tsinandali estate for the aristocratic version — a European-style house, a garden, and the first Georgian winery to bottle.
13:00 — Gremi and Nekresi if you want churches rather than cellars; Nekresi involves a steep shuttle up through forest.
17:00 — Back towards the highway, or a second night in Telavi.

Day 7 — Gori and Uplistsikhe

09:00 — West along the highway.
11:00 — Uplistsikhe, a town carved into rock above the Mtkvari, occupied from the first millennium BC and abandoned after the Mongols: halls, a theatre, a bakery and wine cellars, all cut into stone.
14:00 — Gori and the Stalin Museum, which is extraordinary and largely unreconstructed: a reverent 1950s hagiography with a small modern room of corrections bolted on. His birth house is preserved under a Greek temple canopy outside, and his armoured railway carriage stands beside it.
17:00 — On to Kutaisi, two hours.

Day 8 — Kutaisi and the canyons

09:00 — Gelati Monastery, UNESCO-listed, founded 1106 by David the Builder, with the best medieval mosaics and frescoes in the country.
11:00 — Bagrati Cathedral above the city.
13:00 — Martvili Canyon by inflatable boat through a green gorge — the best hour in western Georgia.
16:00 — Prometheus Cave, which includes a short underground boat ride.
Or Okatse Canyon and its cantilevered walkway if you have the time for a third.
Kutaisi is the old capital of Colchis — where Jason went for the fleece — and the market is the best in the country.

Day 9 — West to Batumi

10:00 — Two hours to the Black Sea.
14:00 — The old town behind the casinos, which is Ottoman and quiet and nothing like the seafront.
17:00 — Batumi Boulevard, seven kilometres of seafront, and the Alphabetic Tower celebrating the Georgian script.
19:00 — The Ali and Nino moving sculpture, two figures that pass through each other every evening over about ten minutes.

Day 10 — The garden, and out

09:00 — The Botanical Garden north of the city on a headland above the sea, genuinely one of the best in the region — give it two hours and walk down to the beach at the end.
The beach is pebble, not sand, and the sea is warm from June to September.
Fly home from Batumi or Kutaisi, or take the train back to Tbilisi, which is five hours and comfortable.

Costs and practicalities

Best time to visit

May, June, September and October.

May–June — green, wildflowers on the passes, mountains clear. The coast is warming but the sea is not yet swimmable.
September–October — the rtveli harvest in Kakheti, warm days, and the Black Sea still swimmable into late September. The best overall.
July–August — 35°C in Tbilisi and Kakheti, which is uncomfortable, and Batumi is at its busiest. The mountains are perfect.
November–April — Tbilisi grey and cheap, the Jvari Pass closing in snow, and Batumi shut. Gudauri is a serious ski resort from December to March, which is a different trip.

Travel tips

Check the Jvari Pass between November and April before setting out.
A warm layer in any month for Gergeti.
Stay the night in Stepantsminda rather than doing Kazbegi as a day return — the mountain is clearer in the morning.
Agree the driver’s route, stops and price in advance, in writing.
The Tbilisi–Batumi train is a comfortable alternative to the drive west.
Buy wine at the winery, not the airport.
Georgian toasting is structured and led by a tamada — follow rather than improvise.
Shoulders and knees at churches, and a headscarf for women at the stricter ones.

What this trip actually costs

Two people, 9 nights, mid-range comfort, international flights excluded:

Item	Cost
Driver and transport across the country	GEL 1,890 (≈ AED 2,676)
Hotels and guesthouses, 9 nights	GEL 1,620 (≈ AED 2,294)
Food and drink, 10 days	GEL 1,080 (≈ AED 1,529)
Wine tastings, monasteries, caves and canyons	GEL 400 (≈ AED 566)
Airport transfers and city taxis	GEL 140 (≈ AED 198)
Total for two	GEL 5,130 (≈ AED 7,263)

Roughly GEL 2,565 (≈ AED 3,632) per person for ten days — Georgia remains the cheapest proper trip within three hours of the Gulf.
The driver is the line people query and the one that makes an east-to-west route work. Marshrutkas cost a tenth and skip the stops.
Food and wine are very cheap. Two people eat and drink well for US$40 a day.
Hotel picks here are chosen on location, not on commission — always check prices and recent reviews before booking.

What to pack

A warm layer and windproof for Gergeti, whatever the month.
Walking shoes with grip for the Gergeti path and the canyons.
Swimwear for Batumi and the sulphur baths.
A scarf for monasteries.
Sun protection — the mountain sun burns through cloud.
Cash in lari for villages and 4x4s.
A Type C/F adapter, 220V.

FAQ

Is ten days too long for Georgia? No — it is the first length that reaches the Black Sea without rushing. Below ten days the western half gets cut, which is where Gelati, the canyons and Batumi are.

Do I need a driver for the whole trip? It is the easiest way. The alternative is marshrutkas between towns and local taxis for the sights, which costs far less and loses you the roadside stops that make the Military Highway and the Gori leg worth driving.

Is Batumi worth three nights? Two is usually enough unless you want the sea. It is a casino and seafront city with a good botanical garden, not a cultural stop.

When is the wine harvest? Rtveli runs late September into early October in Kakheti, and it is the single best week to be in Georgia.

Can I combine this with Armenia or Azerbaijan? Yes, and the Caucasus route on this site does exactly that — but not inside ten days alongside Batumi.

Prices and entry rules change, and what you need depends on your passport; last checked 29 October 2026, so confirm with the embassy or your airline before booking.