[robimahanta]

Took advantage of the long May weekend for a quick driving getaway in Georgia. Fellow BHPian justwheels joined me for this one. We flew Air Arabia via Sharjah and landed in Tbilisi around noon. For anyone who thinks Indigo is spartan, a ride on Air Arabia will really redefine your understanding of low-cost flying

Air Arabia



At Tbilisi Airport, our self-drive Hyundai Tucson AWD was waiting for us in the parking lot. After a quick check-in at the hotel, we stepped out for a walk around central Tbilisi. Took the cable car from Rike Park to the Narikala Fortress, which offered fantastic panoramic views of the city. The Mother of Georgia statue looked absolutely stunning in the golden evening light. We strolled down past the Metekhi Church and ended the evening with live music, great food, and the buzz of the central square.

Tuscon at the airport





Panoramic views of Tbilisi







Mother of Georgia statue







Markets of central Tbilisi









City scenes at night



Clock Tower




Day 2: Into the Caucasus – The Military Highway Drive

We started early and headed north on the Georgian Military Highway. First stop: the Ananuri Fortress, which we reached just after it opened—had the place entirely to ourselves! Continued climbing into the mountains, stopping at the Gudauri Friendship Monument for those breathtaking views of snow-capped peaks.

Ananuri Fortress







Gudauri Friendship Monument with lovely murals





Awesome views all around







Perfect backdrop for a coffee



Drove all the way to Stepantsminda to visit the Gergeti Trinity Church, an absolute icon nestled amidst the high Caucasus. Lunch was in a cozy Kazbegi hotel—khachapuri and shkmeruli to refuel before the long drive back to Tbilisi. Encountered heavy traffic on the return but managed a late dinner followed by a night stroll to see the illuminated Holy Trinity Cathedral.

From Gergeti Trinity parking lot



Iconic church near Russian border





Interiors



Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi



City Scape at night

[robimahanta]

Day 3: Wine Country – Kakheti Region

Headed east towards Kakheti, Georgia’s wine haven. First stop was the Bodbe Monastery, followed by the charming hill town of Sighnaghi, known for its cobbled streets, fortress walls and views of the Alazani Valley. On the way to Telavi, we checked out the Monument of Peace in Nagzar.
In Telavi, we explored a few local vineyards—the Tsinandali Estate and Shumi Winery stood out for their history and hospitality. After a hearty lunch with more local fare, we took the scenic route back via Gombori Pass, back to Tbilisi

Bodbe Monastery







Historic town of Sighnaghi







Fortress Walls



Monument of Peace





Tsinandalli Estate



Old Cellars



Shumi Vineyard



Beautiful Cellar



Ancient wine making process (Georgia is where it all started 8000 years ago)



Bacchus in the background



Gomori Pass views





Day 4: Farewell

On our last morning, we made a short visit to the imposing Chronicles of Georgia monument—lesser-known but absolutely worth it for its sheer scale. Then, it was time to return the car and catch our flight back to Bangalore.

Chronicles of Georgia





Lovely lake views



Returning the car at the Tbilisi airport

[robimahanta]

Trip Stats:
• Total Distance Driven: ~650 km
• Car: Hyundai Tucson AWD – handled everything from city streets to snowy mountain roads effortlessly
• Highlights: Gergeti Trinity, Gombori Pass, Sighnaghi town, Ananuri Fortress, and of course, khachapuri at every stop


Some more scenic road photos from the drive



















Scape from Tbilisi



Peace Bridge





River that runs across Tbilisi



Georgians love their sculptures and statues













All the amazing food especially kachapuri, khinkali, shkmeruli















[/ATTACH]



Loved every bit of Georgia



All photos shot on phone (didn't carry camera as usual)




Cheers! Thanks for your time.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[NomadSK]

That's a lovely small country. Last month we had a 17-day long road trip in that beautiful country cocooned between Caucasus mountain villages and covered almost all of the nook & corner. It was almost end of the winter, but we encountered snow virtually all days. Don't want to hijack your thread but here are our few snaps of the gorgeous mountains and landscapes.

We didn't stay much in cities and tried to explore the country side and drive to Mestia/Ushguli was simply jaw dropping, read scary. Oh man I loved the place for having so many decent and well-behaved dogs and the first time to see a pink dog.

We had 2 grown up kids with us, who completed the skiing course at Guduari in 3 days, going from beginners to advanced level, they wanted to go for expert level too, not in front of my eyes. Spending whole day on top of mountains was a different experience all together and now they look forward to having a vacation where they can do skiing and hone their skills.

Only grouse, we observed people (locals) aren't that accommodating & smiling in general, may be everyone was tired by the fag end of the winter and was waiting for some sunny days.

[renjuraju]

Hi,

I am also planning to visit Georgia and go on a road trip. Just wanted to know which agency/car rental company did you use to rent the car? and what was the procedure like e.g Deposit, Insurance etc?

[Raghuwire]

Hi, wonderful post. Would want to know where you hired the car from and also, did you depart from Bangalore? as your location says BLR/GAU.

[vineetsynergy]

Fantastic travelogue Chief! (Trust a BHPian to photograph sights and scenery with their car haha)

Please do share the Car Rental details and hotel recommendations / review

Thanks!

[Zodak]

This thread couldn’t have come at a better time—amazing pictures! I’m planning a trip for the end of June and had a few questions, if you don’t mind:
1. What are the visa requirements and how long does it usually take to process?
2. Is Indian food easily available? (Our 5-year-old is quite a picky eater!)
3. Is it a good destination for families with young kids—safe, with fun things to do?

Would really appreciate any tips you can share!

[Ricks_3007]

Lovely pics and crisp informative write up ! Been to Georgia in 2017 for 5 days and can relate to every bit of what you have written. We had hired a full time taxi though but Amazing country. I hope you explored the Flea market as well for lovely paintings , artifacts .

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by renjuraju

Just wanted to know which agency/car rental company did you use to rent the car? and what was the procedure like e.g Deposit, Insurance etc?

Originally Posted by Raghuwire

Would want to know where you hired the car from and also, did you depart from Bangalore? as your location says BLR/GAU.

I got it from Sixt. Deposit depends many factors like duration, car etc. Even insurance they have multiple options. I departed from Bangalore

Originally Posted by Zodak

I’m planning a trip for the end of June and had a few questions, if you don’t mind:
1. What are the visa requirements and how long does it usually take to process?
2. Is Indian food easily available? (Our 5-year-old is quite a picky eater!)
3. Is it a good destination for families with young kids—safe, with fun things to do?

1. You don’t need a visa if you have a valid US, UK, Schengen visa. Otherwise you can apply online and visa takes around 4-5 days to come in your mail (not entirely sure as I had other valid visas)

2. Should be available as lot of Indians are there in Georgia. I didn’t try any so again not sure about specifics.

3. Not sure again, as I didn’t travel with kids.

[RonMasc'y]

Awesome blog. Loved the snaps and the way you narrated your trip. Kudos!

[NomadSK]

Here’s my 2 cents, if it helps;

Originally Posted by Zodak

2. Is Indian food easily available? (Our 5-year-old is quite a picky eater!)
3. Is it a good destination for families with young kids—safe, with fun things to do

For sure Indian food is available almost anywhere in most of the big cities, we even found an Indian restaurant far far away in the mountains when we were just few kilometers away from Russian border. So won’t be a problem, even got the veg food, when we needed it.

I don’t know what fun things would be done by kids there during summer months, but the 2 kids with us did lots of fun in the snow, from para gliding to snowmobiles to learning skiing. And yeah found the country pretty safe, we stayed far away from cities and not even once felt unsafe.

Originally Posted by renjuraju

Just wanted to know which agency/car rental company did you use to rent the car? and what was the procedure like e.g Deposit, Insurance etc?

Originally Posted by Raghuwire

Would want to know where you hired the car from

Originally Posted by vineetsynergy

Please do share the Car Rental details and hotel recommendations / review

We booked the rental car through localrent, link below. They have some beautiful cars and added advantage is they are pretty affordable as compared to big known rental brands. One can rent from convertible to SUV as per the requirement. We narrowed down our selection with full insurance and no deposit. We paid around 800$ for 16 days, which IMO is the best deal we could get. But beware this country is full of speed cams, mounted on electric poles, driving etiquettes aren’t that great, although way better than India. This is what we rented and it gobbled 6 of us with luggage easily.

Tip- try booking the recent model car, there are some pretty old ones, those are dirt cheap but I don’t think those are worth taking the risk.

localrent

[Raghuwire]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

Here’s my 2 cents, if it helps;

We booked the rental car through localrent, link below. They have some beautiful cars and added advantage is they are pretty affordable as compared to big known rental brands. One can rent from convertible to SUV as per the requirement. We narrowed down our selection with full insurance and no deposit. We paid around 800$ for 16 days, which IMO is the best deal we could get. But beware this country is full of speed cams, mounted on electric poles, driving etiquettes aren’t that great, although way better than India. This is what we rented and it gobbled 6 of us with luggage easily.

localrent

Just checked out the site. A lot of good options and looks very affordable. Thanks!

[justwheels]

Thanks @robimahanta for penning this one down. It was indeed a trip that can be summarized as : "plan it, fly it, drive it and be done with it".

Some great memories made and what a wonderful country experience it turned out to be. Be it the snow clad mountains just 20kms from the Moscow border, or the vast grasslands enroute the wine region, or the wonderful wine tasting at the Shumi Winery, all were just memorable experiences. Not to miss the walks around the Kura river and old town of Tbilisi.

@robimahanta has already shared the wonderful captures of the trip, so I will just top it up with a few of the many Russian trucks that we spotted while driving towards the Moscow border. These reminded of the Soviet glory and the wheels that drove the economy and the miltary, the famous Kamaz trucks, amongst others.

Enjoy a few from the trip (apologies for bad resolution pics as all were taken from Phone, on the fly, while on road). Processed in Sepia just to add some vintage drama.



















Some unique use of the old tractor. This was near the town of Sighnagi



Thanks,
Deb