Georgia in seven days: the winding lanes and sulfur bathhouses of Tbilisi’s Old Town, the UNESCO-listed monasteries of Mtskheta and a cave city carved into a cliff, a drive up the Georgian Military Highway to a mountaintop church below Mount Kazbek, and two nights among the qvevri wine cellars of Kakheti — with real hotels, licensed operators, and 2026 prices for every stop.
Day 1
Arrive Tbilisi — Old Town & Narikala Fortress
Land in the Georgian capital and spend the afternoon in the winding lanes of the Old Town, from a hilltop fortress overlooking the Mtkvari River to the ornate sulfur bathhouses of Abanotubani.
🚕 Private Airport Transfer — Envoy Tours
~25 minutes · From $40 USD, private car for 2 (Tbilisi International Airport to Old Town)
A Tbilisi-based tour operator meets every arrival at Tbilisi International Airport (TBS) for the short drive into the Old Town.
Envoy Tours · +995 322 920 111 · envoytours.com
🏰 Narikala Fortress & Cable Car
~1.5 hours, self-guided · Cable car $1.50 USD/person one-way
A cable car from Rike Park climbs to the 4th-century fortress overlooking Tbilisi’s patchwork of pastel balconies, the Mtkvari River and the Kartlis Deda (Mother Georgia) statue on the ridge above.
♨️ Sulfur Bathhouse — Chreli-Abano, Abanotubani
~1 hour, private room · From $70 USD for 2
A domed, mosaic-tiled bathhouse fed by Tbilisi’s natural hot sulfur springs — the district that gave the city its name (“tbili” means warm).
Chreli-Abano · chreli-abano.business.site
🛎️ Overnight — Rooms Hotel Tbilisi
From $240–300 USD/night, for 2 people
A converted publishing house on Merab Kostava Street turned industrial-chic boutique hotel, with a candlelit courtyard bar that’s a Tbilisi institution in its own right.
Rooms Hotel Tbilisi · roomshotels.com/tbilisi
Day 2
Bridge of Peace, Dry Bridge Market & Food Tour
A slower day exploring Tbilisi’s modern landmarks and flea market by day, then a guided evening tasting through the city’s Georgian and Soviet-era food culture.
🌉 Bridge of Peace & Rike Park
~1 hour, self-guided · Free
A glass-and-steel pedestrian bridge arcing over the Mtkvari River, lit at night in shifting colors, connecting the Old Town to Rike Park’s riverside promenade.
🖼️ Dry Bridge Flea Market
~1.5 hours, self-guided · Free to browse
Soviet medals, hand-woven carpets, antique cameras and vintage Georgian ceramics laid out along the riverbank — one of the best spots in the city for a genuine souvenir.
🍽️ Tbilisi Food & Wine Walking Tour — Culinary Backstreets
~3.5 hours, guided · $110 USD/person
A small-group walk through Old Town cellar bakeries, khachapuri counters and natural-wine bars, tasting Georgian staples — khinkali, churchkhela, qvevri wine — with a local food writer as guide.
Culinary Backstreets · culinarybackstreets.com
🛎️ Overnight — Rooms Hotel Tbilisi
From $240–300 USD/night, for 2 people
Second night in the Old Town before the day trips begin.
Rooms Hotel Tbilisi · roomshotels.com/tbilisi
Day 3
Mtskheta Monasteries & Uplistsikhe Cave Town
A day trip to Georgia’s ancient former capital and a cliffside cave city carved more than 3,000 years ago.
🚗 Private Day Tour — Envoy Tours, Mtskheta & Uplistsikhe
~8 hours round-trip, private guide & driver · From $210 USD for 2
A licensed Tbilisi operator drives the loop northwest to Mtskheta and on to Uplistsikhe, with the guide narrating Georgia’s conversion to Christianity and the Silk Road history of the cave town along the way.
Envoy Tours · +995 322 920 111 · envoytours.com
⛪ Jvari Monastery & Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
~2 hours combined, guided · Included in tour, donations welcome
A 6th-century monastery on a clifftop above the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers, and the vast 11th-century cathedral below in Mtskheta said to hold Christ’s robe — both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
🏛️ Uplistsikhe Cave Town
~1.5 hours, self-guided within the tour · $6 USD/person entry
A Bronze Age cave city carved directly into a sandstone cliff above the Mtkvari River, once a major Silk Road stop, with rock-hewn halls, a pagan altar and a barrel-vaulted “theater” still visible.
🛎️ Overnight — Rooms Hotel Tbilisi
From $240–300 USD/night, for 2 people
Third night back in Tbilisi before heading into the mountains.
Rooms Hotel Tbilisi · roomshotels.com/tbilisi
Day 4
Georgian Military Highway to Kazbegi
The drive north on the historic Georgian Military Highway, over the Jvari Pass and into the shadow of Mount Kazbek, ending with a hike to a mountaintop church.
🚗 Private Tour — Envoy Tours, Georgian Military Highway
~3 hours each way, private guide & driver · From $230 USD for 2
The highway climbs past Ananuri Fortress on the Zhinvali Reservoir and over the Jvari (Cross) Pass at Gudauri before dropping into Kazbegi, with stops for photos at each.
Envoy Tours · +995 322 920 111 · envoytours.com
🚕 4×4 Jeep to the Gergeti Trinity Church Trailhead
~20 minutes each way · $40 USD, private jeep for 2
A shared taxi rank in Stepantsminda runs 4×4 vehicles up the steep unpaved track to Gergeti Trinity Church — the easiest way up, leaving the hike for the walk back down.
⛰️ Gergeti Trinity Church Hike
~1.5–2 hours downhill, self-guided · Free
A 14th-century church set alone on a ridge at 7,110 feet, with Mount Kazbek’s glacier rising behind it — one of Georgia’s most photographed sights, and just as striking on the walk back down to Stepantsminda.
🛎️ Overnight — Rooms Hotel Kazbegi
From $320–390 USD/night, for 2 people
A glass-walled hotel on a ridge above Stepantsminda with an unobstructed view of Gergeti Trinity Church and Mount Kazbek from nearly every room.
Rooms Hotel Kazbegi · roomshotels.com/kazbegi
Day 5
Kazbegi to the Kakheti Wine Region
A long, scenic drive back down the highway and east across Georgia to the walled hilltop town of Sighnaghi, gateway to the Kakheti wine region.
🚗 Private Transfer — Envoy Tours, Kazbegi to Sighnaghi
~5–6 hours · From $270 USD, private car for 2
The route retraces the Military Highway back through Tbilisi before turning east across the Alazani Valley toward Kakheti, Georgia’s oldest and largest wine region.
Envoy Tours · +995 322 920 111 · envoytours.com
🏘️ Sighnaghi Old Town Walk
~1.5 hours, self-guided · Free
A pastel-balconied hill town ringed by a 4-mile 18th-century defensive wall, with cobbled lanes overlooking the Alazani Valley and the snowcapped Caucasus in the distance.
🛎️ Overnight — Kabadoni Boutique Hotel, Sighnaghi
From $150–190 USD/night, for 2 people
A modern boutique hotel built into the hillside below Sighnaghi’s Old Town, with valley views and an on-site wine cellar.
Kabadoni Boutique Hotel · kabadoni.ge
Day 6
Bodbe, Telavi & Kakheti Wine Tastings
A full day through Kakheti’s wine country — a hilltop convent, the region’s market town, and qvevri wine cellars still making wine the way Georgians have for 8,000 years.
🍷 Kakheti Wine Tour — Eat This Tours
~9 hours, guided · $165 USD/person
A full-day small-group tour through Bodbe Monastery, Telavi and family-run wineries, tasting wine fermented in traditional buried qvevri clay vessels — the winemaking method recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.
Eat This Tours · +995 511 105 991 (WhatsApp) · eatthistours.com
⛪ Bodbe Monastery
~45 minutes, guided · Included in tour
A working convent just outside Sighnaghi and the burial site of St. Nino, who brought Christianity to Georgia in the 4th century, set in gardens above the Alazani Valley.
🏡 Telavi Market Town & Alaverdi Monastery
~2 hours, guided · Included in tour
Kakheti’s regional capital, with a 900-year-old plane tree in its main square, and the 11th-century Alaverdi Cathedral — one of Georgia’s tallest medieval churches, surrounded by its own vineyard.
🛎️ Overnight — Kabadoni Boutique Hotel, Sighnaghi
From $150–190 USD/night, for 2 people
Second night in Sighnaghi after a day of tastings.
Kabadoni Boutique Hotel · kabadoni.ge
Day 7
Departure
Closes the loop on a week that ran from Old Town sulfur baths to a mountaintop church to a qvevri wine cellar, in time for an international flight home.
🚕 Private Transfer — Envoy Tours, Sighnaghi to Tbilisi Airport
~2 hours · From $200 USD, private car for 2
A final drive back across the Alazani Valley to Tbilisi International Airport (TBS) — arrive at least 3 hours before an international departure.
Envoy Tours · +995 322 920 111 · envoytours.com
✈️ Departure — Tbilisi International Airport (TBS)
Self-guided
A week that ran from a sulfur-scented bathhouse in the Old Town to an hour beneath Mount Kazbek at Gergeti Trinity Church, closing out among the vines and clay wine cellars of Kakheti.
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