Where to Go in Georgia This Summer: 9 Road Trips by Car

In summer Georgia breaks down into several logistical zones: cool mountains in the north and south, the sea in the west, vineyards in the east and cave canyons in the center. Each destination can be done in a single day by car or stretched over two or three with an overnight stay, and almost everywhere the road is more interesting than the final stop.

Georgian Military Highway: Gudauri, Ananuri, Truso, Stepantsminda

The classic summer route heading north, because after Tbilisi a different climate begins within just two hours. From the city to Stepantsminda it's about 155-160 km, and the drive takes 2.5-3 hours without stops, but with all the sights plan for a full day, or better an overnight stay in Stepantsminda or Gudauri.

The road is paved along its entire length and is considered one of the best in the country, but in summer it carries heavy traffic from tourist buses and minibuses, especially on weekends and around midday. It makes sense to leave Tbilisi early in the morning, by 8-9 o'clock, to get ahead of the main flow and catch the pass free of the clouds that usually cover the peaks after noon.

Along the way:

• Ananuri fortress on the shore of the Zhinvali Reservoir, 45 minutes from Tbilisi. Parking is free, entry to the fortress grounds is free too, and you can climb the tower in 10-15 minutes
• Gudauri at an altitude of 2200 m; in summer it's a base for trekking and paragliding, not just a ski resort. There's also a viewing platform by the Friendship of Nations monument with one of the best views of the gorge along the whole highway
• Jvari Pass (2379 m) with a view of Kazbek in clear weather, the highest point of the route
• Truso Valley with mineral springs and abandoned Svan towers, with a turn-off from the highway not far from Stepantsminda. The road into the valley itself is unpaved and gets torn up after rain, uncomfortable in places for a passenger car, but no problem for an SUV
• Gergeti Trinity Church at an altitude of 2170 m; the road to it is unpaved and rough, passable in summer in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. An option for those who don't want to drive up in their own car: hike up in 2-2.5 hours or take a local taxi from Stepantsminda

All the sights lie along a single highway, so the route is easy to put together in a day without extra detours. It's worth filling up in Tbilisi or Mtskheta: there are fuel stations on the highway itself, but not many, and prices are higher than in the city.

Kakheti: Signagi, Telavi, Tsinandali, Gremi

The east of the country, vineyards and low humidity even in the heat. From Tbilisi to Telavi it's about 150 km via the Gombori Pass, and to Signagi via Gurjaani a little over 100 km. The drive takes 2-2.5 hours one way depending on the destination; the route via the Gombori Pass is more scenic but has steep switchbacks, while the one through Gurjaani is flat and faster.

A logical order of sights if going in a single day:

• Signagi, a town on a hill with an 18th-century fortress wall and a view of the Alazani Valley, next to it the Bodbe Monastery, where Saint Nino is buried
• Telavi, the administrative center of Kakheti with the Batonis-Tsikhe fortress and the region's oldest plane-tree grove on the central square
• Tsinandali, the estate of Alexander Chavchavadze with an English-style park and a tasting room at the winery, where you can try wines of different years from the estate's own cellars
• Gremi fortress with the Archangels complex on a hill, the former capital of the Kakheti kingdom in the 16th century

It's 20-40 minutes of driving between sights, so the route is convenient to cover in one long day or to stretch over two with an overnight stay in Signagi or Telavi. Summer here coincides with the start of the grapes ripening, so many wineries along the way are open for short visits without a prior appointment, unlike the autumn harvest season, when some of them are closed to tourists.

Adjara: Batumi, Makhuntseti, Mtirala Mountain

The only destination on the list where you can swim in summer. From Tbilisi to Batumi it's 360-380 km, a drive of 5-6 hours on a good motorway via Kutaisi. The road is almost entirely two-lane, four-lane in places, with a 110 km/h limit, so the route is comfortably covered in one long stretch if you don't linger at stops.

Besides the beach, it's worth planning for:

• Makhuntseti Waterfall and Queen Tamar's bridge nearby, 25 km from Batumi toward the mountains, with a turn-off from the Batumi-Akhaltsikhe highway. There's a small market by the waterfall with local honey and churchkhela
• Mtirala National Park with humid subtropical forests; in summer it's 5-7 degrees cooler there than on the coast. Entry is paid, there are several routes of different lengths, from an hour-long walk to a full day with an overnight stay in the park
• Batumi Botanical Garden on Mtsvane Kontskhi cape; it's better to arrive at opening, before the midday heat. The grounds are large, stretched along the coast in terraces, and a full walk takes 2-3 hours

The drive is long, so this destination makes sense for 2-3 days rather than a one-day trip. If you want to break up the leg, a logical halfway stop is Kutaisi, where you can spend the night and reach the sea in the morning traveling light.

The South: Akhaltsikhe, Khertvisi Fortress, Lake Paravani

A less touristy destination, with few people even at the height of the season. From Tbilisi to Akhaltsikhe it's about 190 km, and the drive takes 3-3.5 hours. The highway passes through the Borjomi Gorge, so the first half of the way runs along the Mtkvari River in the shade of the forest, and after Borjomi it opens onto a high-mountain plateau.

Route sights:

• Rabati fortress in Akhaltsikhe itself, a restored complex with a mosque, synagogue and museum on the grounds, entry is paid
• Khertvisi fortress at the confluence of the Mtkvari and Paravani rivers, one of the oldest in the country, standing on a cliff and visible from the road several kilometers before the approach
• Lake Paravani, the largest freshwater lake in Georgia at an altitude of 2073 m; in summer it's cool there even on hot days, and in the evening the temperature can drop to +10°C
• If time allows, the cave city of Vardzia lies in the same direction, but that's already a separate full trip with its own route

The Javakheti plateau is open and windy, the roads are empty, and the distances between settlements are large, so the route is best planned with a fuel reserve: fuel stations after Akhaltsikhe are rare. Mobile coverage on the plateau is also unstable, which is worth keeping in mind if the route is built through a navigator.

Borjomi, Bakuriani, Abastumani: mountain coolness

A destination for those who want to escape the Tbilisi heat without a long drive. To Borjomi it's about 160 km, 2.5 hours, to Bakuriani 190 km, a little over 3 hours. Both points lie on the same road, so you can visit them one after another without backtracking.

What to see:

• Borjomi with its central park and mineral springs, where you can taste the water straight from the borehole, plus a cable car to a viewing platform above the town
• Bakuriani at an altitude of 1700 m; in summer it holds at +18 to +22°C while the asphalt melts in Tbilisi. In summer some of the lifts leading to hiking trails through the conifer forests operate here, not just the ski infrastructure
• Abastumani with its observatory and pine forests, a less-promoted destination than the previous two. In the evening the observatory sometimes admits visitors for telescope tours, but the groups are small and it's better to check in advance

All three points are connected by one road via the Akhaltsikhe highway, so the route comes together in a single loop without doubling back the same way. The destination works well both for a light one-day trip and for two or three days with an overnight stay in Bakuriani, if you want a proper break from the heat.

Racha-Lechkhumi: Ambrolauri and Lake Shaori

The region that fewest tourists reach, though the road has become noticeably better in recent years. From Tbilisi to Ambrolauri it's 250-280 km via Kutaisi, a drive of 4.5-5 hours. The last stretch after Kutaisi runs through a mountain serpentine with frequent turns, so the estimated time in the navigator is almost always understated.

Along the route:

• Ambrolauri, the center of the region and the birthplace of Khvanchkara wine, a small town with several family wineries you can drop into without an appointment
• Nikortsminda Cathedral from the 10th century with a carved facade, one of the best-preserved monuments of Georgian church architecture of that period
• Lake Shaori at an altitude of about 1180 m, quiet and almost without infrastructure; in summer you can swim there, though the water warms up little even in July
• The mineral springs of Racha, scattered along the gorge, some equipped for bathing, some remaining wild right by the roadside

Because of the distance and mountainous terrain, this destination is best planned for two days with an overnight stay in Ambrolauri, rather than trying to make it there and back in a day. Tourist infrastructure is still limited, so it's worth booking accommodation in advance, especially in July and August.

Imereti: Prometheus Cave, Martvili and Okatse canyons

A compact cluster of natural attractions around Kutaisi. From Tbilisi to Kutaisi it's about 230 km, 3.5 hours, and from there all the sights are within an hour's drive of one another, which makes this cluster one of the most convenient for a one-day round without an overnight stay.

• Prometheus Cave with an underground lake and a boat route, one of the largest developed karst complexes in the country; the tour takes about an hour including the boat part
• Martvili Canyon with turquoise water and a boat ride through the gorge; in summer it has one of the longest queues among all the region's sights, so it's worth arriving at opening or after 4:00 p.m.
• Okatse Canyon with a suspended trail over the precipice; the route runs along metal walkways fixed to the cliff, and the whole path takes 30-40 minutes
• Kutaisi, the country's second-largest city, with the Bagrati Cathedral on a hill and the Gelati Monastery 10 km from the center, where frescoes and the tomb of King David the Builder are preserved

All the sites are paid and run on fixed session schedules, especially the boats in Martvili, so in high season it's worth arriving at opening. Between Martvili and Okatse it's about 40 minutes of driving along a secondary road rather than the highway, so the navigator sometimes suggests a longer but paved route.

Guria and the coast: Shekvetili, Ureki

A less crowded coast than Batumi, and a reason in its own right to stop on the way south or back. From Tbilisi to Shekvetili it's about 330 km, 5 hours, and the highway coincides with the Batumi direction for almost its entire length.

• Shekvetili Dendrological Park with a collection of trees from all over the world and a lake inside the grounds, including sequoias and araucarias brought in back in Soviet times; a full walk takes about two hours
• Ureki with black magnetic sand, known among people who come for treatment; the beach is gently sloping and shallow, which makes it a convenient option for a holiday with children
• The beaches here are calmer than Batumi's, without a promenade and crowds, the infrastructure is more modest, but accommodation prices in summer are noticeably lower too

This destination is good to combine with a trip to Batumi as an intermediate stop, rather than going there separately: from Shekvetili to Batumi it's about another hour along the same highway, so the route is easy to extend into a single trip without an extra detour.

Svaneti: Mestia and Ushguli

The most distant destination on the list and the only one for which a single day is physically too little. From Tbilisi to Mestia it's 450-470 km, a drive of 8-9 hours; the last stretch from Zugdidi runs along a mountain serpentine with steep turns, where the estimated time in the navigator is almost always more optimistic than reality.

• Mestia, the administrative center of Upper Svaneti at an altitude of 1500 m, with towers and an ethnographic museum; around the village there are several viewpoints overlooking the glaciers, which you can reach by cable car or on foot in 1.5-2 hours
• Ushguli, one of the highest continuously inhabited settlements in Europe, another 2-2.5 hours from Mestia along an unpaved road that becomes noticeably harder after rain and washes out in places
• The road is open to any car from spring through autumn, but the stretch after Zugdidi is best driven in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, especially if you plan to reach Ushguli and not just Mestia

This destination is not for a one-day trip. A realistic minimum is three or four days with overnight stays in Mestia, otherwise most of the trip goes into the drive itself. It makes sense to break up part of the way with a stop in Kutaisi or Zugdidi, so as not to drive all 8-9 hours at once.

What's important to know before setting off

Most of the destinations listed are connected by a single road without loops, so planning the route in advance isn't difficult. For distant destinations like Svaneti or Racha a four-wheel-drive vehicle gives more confidence on unpaved and mountain sections, while for Kakheti or Borjomi an ordinary sedan is enough.

A rental car remains the most flexible way to cover several sights of one destination in a single trip, especially where there's no direct public transport between attractions, as in the case of the Truso Valley or Nikortsminda. Before the trip it's worth checking the weather forecast in the mountain part of the route: passes like Jvari or the roads to Ushguli can close due to bad weather even in summer.