Georgia is a fascinating country in Central Asia. Neighbour to Turkey, Armenia, Aserbaidschan and Russia, the country is rich in history. And conflict. Today, 20% of the Georgian territory is still occupied by the Russians and Georgians will do everything to constantly remind you of that. Additionally, Georgians are so welcoming and the hospitality we experienced is incredible. We got drunk with Georgians in Tiflis, had a morning coffee with a Georgian lady in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. And even though often considered as Russians, we always felt incredibly welcomed. So here comes the perfect low budget 1 week travel itinerary Georgia:
We arrived in Tiflis by plane at 11 pm in the evening, coming from Baku, Aserbaidschan.
Day 1: Tiflis
The next morning we slept in and decided to take 2 days to explore the city. I think it’s doable in one, but more fun and relaxed in two!
Day 1 we mainly walked around the old town – we are staying in the area around the freedom square in an airbnb, even though I can also recommend around Fabrika Hostel/more north west of the city.
Sights to see:
- Mother of Georgia!
- We went down from there with the cable car for less than 1 euro, so recommendable too!
- Cathedral de La santisima (cover your knees and shoulders!)
- When you go down from the cathedral in the direction of the peace bridge, there is a tunnel somewhere that describes the conflicted relation of Russia and Georgia, super interesting.
- Peace bridge
- Trinity church
- Freedom square
Food: Places to eat
- We bake u take – simple Georgian bakery, cheap and good!
- Cafe littera – more expensive but beautiful to sit in their garden
- Bazari Orberliani – cool food court
- Mapshalia– A MUST! Georgian food at a super super cheap price, many locals and a cool vibe! We ended up drinking with a group of local Georgian men, not understanding a word of each other, but having the time of our lives!! You have to go, also it’s so good!
- Georgian Bread house – great bakery
- Shemomechama– good for traditional Georgian dumplings
Day 2: Tiflis
Day 2 we decided to explore a different part of the story – after getting amazing cinnamon rolls in the Bazari Oberliani and a coffee at Coffeester directly next to it, we walked in the direction of the Stampa Hotel (worth to go inside and check it out, it’s beautiful). Then we crossed the River and went to the Fabrika Hostel – it has a cool outdoor area, in which you can hang out an drink a beer.
The way is the destination in the case of tbsili, as wandering around is the best way to explore it!
Day 3: Kazbegi
Time to go to Kazbegi! We decided to do 1 overnight stay, at this is the easiest way to do the Route! In the morning we took a Bolt from our Airbnb to Didube Bus Terminal. From there, take the Matrushka (not the mini van, as this is double the price!!) (matrushka is supposed to cost 15 Lari). The bus goes approximately hourly in the morning from 8 am, but ofc leaves earlier if filled up already, so do consider that!
The drive is about 3 hours, depends on the speed of the driver haha, we took 2& a half! Driving through the mountains I saw many constructions, interestingly mostly from the Chinese building companies, proving the investments China is making in Georgia.
We immediately dropped our stuff in the hotel and started walking up to the Kazbegi monastery: Church of Trinidad de Guergueti! It’s a walk about 70-100 minutes up, depending on the fitness. The best way to walk is walking to Gergeti cafe (they have cheap, not necessarily good) coffee and talking the left path up. It’s the most chill and flat with the nicest views for sure! Up on the church we spent about 30 minutes and climbed back down, not missing out on the famous google view.
Kazbegi Good Food is supposed to be really good for local Georgian food.
Day 4: Gori
Day 4 and back down from Kazbegi – I do think it’s possible to make it with the Matrushka in a day trip to Kazbegi, however, it’s way more relaxed to go and stay overnight.
We took the Matrushka at 10 am back – in the morning it also leaves every hour back to Tiflis, because after that we decided to go to Gori. Gori is not a big city, however, it is the birth city of Stalin and there is a museum about him.
Its 10 Lari entry for students and 15 normally and it’s definitely worth a visit, even though Stalin might be perceived as quite glorified in the museum.
Besides that, I can recommend walking up the little old castle in Gori, views are amazing: Castle de Gori.
For simple dinner I can recommend going to Smile Shaurma, the shawarma and burgers and also fries are SUPER good and very very cheap!!!
Day 5: Tbsili Beach
Back to Tbsili, as we decided to do a couple of calm beach days –
And we straight went to tbsili beach club – entry is about 35 Lari, but it’s a cool lake club with several swimming pools and good to enjoy a nice beach day!
Day 6: Tiflis
We just decided to chill around Tbsili for another day – there are, however many options and as we decided to got to Armenia already the next day, we eventually cut our Georgia trip short:
If, however, you want to spend more time in Georgia, I can recommend several other destinations, all reachable by Mashrutka:
Other things to do/recommendations:
- Kakheti – the wine Region of Georgia and great for wine tastings – a day trip is possible, otherwise I can recommend an overnight stay.
- Svaneti: the mountain region of Georgia is only accessible since around 2019, and is its own region: people from there have successfully defended themselves from the Russians and other invaders and it’s super original – also reachable by Mashrutka.
- Kutaisi – the oldest city of Georgia
- Batrumi – the sea region and good for a couple beach days
Georgia budget and other remarks:
As mentioned, we decided to already move towards Armenia – curious about the country and ready to explore Eriwan. Georgia is a beautiful country with many opportunities and different climate zones, for us it was easily possible to live on a daily budget of 30-40€ staying in hotels and airbnbs. Georgians were super friendly and open, but I have to be honest and still had Azerbaiyán in the back of my head – the country just fascinated me too much.
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