10 Day Self-Launched Authentic Georgia: Tbilisi, Svaneti & the Black Sea

Start with a free walking tour from Freedom Square (tip-based, ~£5) to orient yourself, then repeat the operator's route at your own pace: Sameba (Holy Trinity) Cathedral, Metekhi Church above the river, the aerial cable car up to Narikala Fortress (₾2.5 / ~£0.75 with a Metromoney card), and down through Old Tbilisi, the mosque, Legvtakhevi Fig Ravine and its waterfall. Finish at the Ottoman-era sulfur bathhouses (private room ~₾60 / £18, or just admire the domes). Evening: soak up Rustaveli Avenue's architecture and grab khinkali in the old town — 10 dumplings for about £4.

🚌Metro from airport ₾0.5 (~£0.15); everything on foot plus cable car

🛏Old town hostel dorm (Fabrika or Envoy area), £12–18/night

• →Free walking tour of Old Tbilisi (tip-based)
• →Sameba Cathedral, Metekhi Church, Sioni & Anchiskhati basilicas
• →Narikala cable car and fortress
• →Legvtakhevi waterfall and Abanotubani sulfur baths

Take an early marshrutka or shared taxi from Didube bus station to Gori (~1.5 hrs, ₾5 / £1.50), see the Joseph Stalin House-Museum (₾15) and continue 15 min to Uplistsikhe cave town (₾10 entry; marshrutka or taxi ~₾15 return). Then head west: Gori–Kutaisi marshrutka ~2.5 hrs (₾12). If time allows, stop at Ubisa Monastery en route or visit Bagrati Cathedral next morning. Evening stroll in Kutaisi's central square and park — the fountain is lit after dark.

🚌Marshrutka/shared taxi: Tbilisi–Gori ₾5, Gori–Kutaisi ₾12

🛏Kutaisi guesthouse or hostel private room, £14–20

• →Joseph Stalin House-Museum, Gori
• →Uplistsikhe cave town
• →Ubisa Monastery (optional stop)
• →Bagrati Cathedral viewpoint

Hire a shared taxi for the day (₾120–150 total, split 3–4 ways, or join a Kutaisi day-tour via GetYourGuide ~£30) to reach Martvili Canyon for the short boat trip on the Abasha river (₾20) and the Sataplia Nature Reserve with its dinosaur footprints (₾12). In the late afternoon take the marshrutka from Kutaisi to Mestia (leaves ~10:00 and 14:00, ~4.5 hrs, ₾25) — or better, arrange the canyon trip to drop you at the bus. Arrive in Mestia's stone-tower village and eat dinner at your guesthouse (Svan khachapuri is mandatory).

🚌Shared taxi for canyons; marshrutka Kutaisi–Mestia ₾25 (~4.5 hrs)

🛏Mestia guesthouse, half-board, £18–25

• →Martvili Canyon boat trip
• →Sataplia Nature Reserve & dinosaur footprints
• →Arrive Mestia, Svaneti stone towers

Join a shared 4x4 excursion to Ushguli (₾60–80 per person when split between 4; guesthouses and the tourist info office in Mestia arrange these). The road is rough and takes ~2.5 hrs each way — expect stops at Ipari and Kala villages and small frescoed churches in Upper Svaneti (Lamaria chapel in Ushguli). Lunch in Ushguli, then back to Mestia for dinner. Book the driver the evening before and confirm whether you're also doing the Chalaadi trek tomorrow so you can move your base if needed.

🚌Shared 4x4 Mestia–Ushguli return, ₾60–80 pp

🛏Mestia guesthouse, half-board, £18–25

• →Ushguli village and Lamaria chapel
• →Frescoed churches of Ipari and Kala
• →Shkhara glacier viewpoint

Short taxi or marshrutka to the trailhead at the hydroelectric station (₾15 each way, or walk 3 km from town), then a well-marked 2–3 hr round-trip hike up to the Chalaadi Glacier tongue beneath Mount Chatini. Free, no guide needed — pack water, snacks and a rain layer. Afternoon: the Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography (₾10) if you skipped it, plus the Margiani family tower house. Optional: Hatsvali cable car up to Zuruldi ridge (₾25 return) if the weather is clear.

🚌Shared taxi to trailhead ₾15 each way; optional Hatsvali cable car ₾25

🛏Mestia guesthouse, half-board, £18–25

• →Chalaadi Glacier hike (~8 km round trip)
• →Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography
• →Margiani tower house
• →Optional Hatsvali cable car to Zuruldi

Morning marshrutka Mestia–Zugdidi (₾20, ~3 hrs), where the Dadiani Palace Museum (₾10) houses one of Napoleon's death masks. Continue by marshrutka to Batumi (₾12, ~2.5 hrs) or, if you prefer comfort, the Zugdidi–Batumi train. This is a long travel day — the operator's own guests complained about exactly this, so treat it as a transit day. Evening walk on Batumi Boulevard and dinner at a Black Sea fish restaurant (grilled red mullet ~£8).

🚌Marshrutka Mestia–Zugdidi ₾20; marshrutka/train Zugdidi–Batumi ₾12

🛏Batumi hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, £14–22

• →Dadiani Palace Museum, Zugdidi
• →Batumi Boulevard evening walk

Morning marshrutka or taxi south to Gonio Fortress, 15 km away (bus ₾2, entry ₾10), then the Borjgalo Ethnographical Museum (₾5) on the way back. Afternoon self-guided walking loop of the city: Piazza Square, the Alphabet Tower, Europe Square, and the moving Ali and Nino kinetic sculpture at the waterfront (free, best at sunset). Batumi has superb street food — try adjarian khachapuri boat-shaped bread for ~£5.

🚌Local minibus to Gonio ₾2 each way; rest on foot

🛏Batumi hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, £14–22

• →Gonio Fortress
• →Borjgalo Ethnographical Museum
• →Batumi Piazza, Alphabet Tower, Ali & Nino sculpture
• →Batumi Boulevard and beaches

Take the coastal minibus or train toward Poti/Shekvetili for the Dendrological Park and the Georgia in Miniatures park (combined entry ~₾20), with a swim at the black-sand beach. Then continue to Kutaisi by marshrutka or electric train (~1.5 hrs, ₾8–12). Late afternoon: Vani archaeological museum (₾8) with its famous bronze figurines, and a wander through Kutaisi's centre — the Colchis Fountain and reconstructed Bagrati Cathedral.

🚌Minibus/train along the coast ₾8–12; Vani by marshrutka ₾3

🛏Kutaisi hostel or guesthouse, £14–20

• →Shekvetili Dendrological Park
• →Georgia in Miniatures
• →Vani Archaeological Museum
• →Colchis Fountain and Kutaisi centre

Morning train or marshrutka Kutaisi–Tbilisi (₾20–25, ~4 hrs — the daytime Stadler train is comfortable and bookable online). Drop bags and take marshrutka #150 or a taxi (₾20) to Mtskheta, 25 min from Tbilisi: Jvari Monastery clifftop viewpoint, Svetitskhoveli Cathedral with its sacred robe relic, and the Church of Antioch. Back to Tbilisi for a farewell supra dinner — a table of khinkali, lobio and a bottle of Saperavi should run ~£15 per person.

🚌Georgian Railway Kutaisi–Tbilisi ₾20–25; marshrutka to Mtskheta ₾2

🛏Tbilisi hostel dorm, £12–18

• →Jvari Monastery
• →Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, Mtskheta
• →Church of Antioch
• →Farewell dinner in Tbilisi

Last morning: the Golden Treasury of the Georgian National Museum (₾20) with the Colchian goldwork and the Soviet occupation exhibit, then a coffee on Rustaveli Avenue and a wander past the Georgian Parliament, Drama Theatre and Opera House. Airport bus #337 from Freedom Square or the metro to the airport is under £1 — allow 1.5 hrs before your flight.

🚌Airport bus #337 ₾1.5 (~£0.45)

🛏None (departure day)

• →Golden Treasury, Georgian National Museum
• →Rustaveli Avenue architecture walk