5 Days in Tbilisi & Kakheti: The Perfect Georgia City Break Itinerary

Looking for a European city break that's affordable, packed with exceptional food and wine, and still feels refreshingly authentic? Tbilisi might just surprise you.

This was a special trip for us. Having lived in the South Caucasus, I'd visited Georgia several times before, but this was the first time three of my sisters had experienced Tbilisi and Kakheti.

Planning this itinerary gave me the chance to revisit old favourites while discovering a few new places together. Over five days we combined the highlights of Georgia's capital with family-run wineries, mountain scenery and unforgettable hospitality in Kakheti.

Itinerary Overview

We designed this itinerary using knowledge from my previous visits while living in the region. We booked our 'out of town' tours with Ranina Tours, who we've also used before, and found them professional, friendly and flexible.

We also pre-booked several activities because honestly we didn't want to waste time looking for things last minute once we arrived.

Morning – Settle Into Your Tbilisi Hotel

Flights to Tbilisi can be a little unsociable. Ours left London Heathrow at 9.30pm, arriving at 5.00am the following morning.

We suggest leaving your first morning flexible so you can catch up on a little sleep, before exploring.

Afternoon – Walking Tour, Peace Bridge & Dinner in Old Town

City walking tour – the Tbilisi Guru Walk we took is free. Just tip at the end based on how much you enjoyed your experience.

Ours started at the Rustaveli Metro Station which you can walk to from town (it's a good 30 minutes though) or take the very reliable and safe metro.

We strolled at a relaxed pace as a small group (7 of us), listening to stories about the city and country's history, politics, and culture, ending our trip at the sulphur bath district. The route is mostly flat over 2.5 hours with a bathroom/refreshment break mid-way.

If you prefer a private guided tour, we recommend checking out those available on Viator or Get Your Guide.

Evening – Authentic Georgian Dining Experience

As we walked over the Peace Bridge and headed in the direction of our hotel we saw a tiny wine 'house' right off the street advertising a small terrace overlooking the city. They served only their own homemade wines, and like the best of friends, our glasses were filled to the brim. None of this measuring business to report!

Dinner: Depending on where you choose to stay, we suggest eating near the old town on your first night. We stumbled across Garden Hotel Restaurant earlier that day and decided to return for dinner. Inside, it felt like being in a well-loved living room, reminding me of the parador experiences in Havana.

An unexpected treat during dinner was a pianist who arrived and entertained us on the family piano. Back at our hotel, we soaked in stunning views of the city below us from our balconies. The city felt peaceful and relaxing as church domes, Ferris wheel lights and a mini looking Eiffel Tower filled the dark clear sky.

Morning – Ancient Monastery & UNESCO Cathedral

After a short drive through the ever-growing modern suburbs of the city, our first stop was at the tiny Jvari Monastery. So cute, it's perched right on top of a hill, and dates back to the 6th century. The views on a clear day from here and over the river are endless.

It's a 5-minute drive down the hill to the ancient capital Mtskheta and its UNESCO heritage cathedral. Also, it's one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in history, and thus on every tour of Georgia itinerary.

Visiting the old capital and its Svetitshkhoveli Cathedral helped us to understand how the country has fought to hold onto its spirit through many years of attack and rule by others.

Our guide Irakli, and driver Gia were great company during our day trips, and without them, it would not have been the same.

Lunch: Merebashvili Winery, Kaspi

Our first wine tasting stop was delightful, and as we were welcomed by the owner (3rd generation), we knew it was going to be a fun couple of hours here.

Family-owned Merebashvili Winery is small, traditional and a lovely introduction to learning how Qvevri (Amber) wines are made in small batches. Lunch here felt less like eating in a restaurant and more like joining a family gathering.

The owner sat with us sharing his family stories, wine-making tales and the time flew by. By the way you can also stay here, so check it out if you are travelling independently.

FYI – If you work with Ranina Tours, they can customize your winery visits to suit your preferences.

Afternoon: Guided Walk of Uplistsikhe

After lunch, we continued on our drive for around 30 minutes on our way to a hike around the fascinating medieval Uplistsikhe Cave City.

No one really knows the story of how it came to be. But the visible remains today give quite a few clues as to who lived here, and how they survived in such conditions. It's lovely to see that it has been well cared for over the years.

Yes, it may be caves but our guide explained which were royal rooms, the pharmacy, water systems, storage systems and a more recently added simple church.

There is good parking and bathroom facilities. If you're coming independently the ticket office process looks quite daunting, but many Georgians speak good English and are very helpful. Plan to spend around an hour at the Caves.

Dinner: Tbilisi Old Town

After a full day, we kicked back on Tsaze, the rooftop terrace restaurant within our hotel, enjoying night views of the city over a glass of wine and fruit & cheese board.

This is a beautiful town and should be on everyone's list to visit when in Georgia. The location alone is stunning with endless views over to the snow capped mountains. The unique walled city is lined with terraced cafes offering stunning views over the valley floor. This was another perfect spot for wine ice-cream :)

We had seen traditional clay ovens in Tbilisi and also when I lived in Baku, but actually cooking bread in one was a whole new experience. Firstly, they're super hot so you have to somehow press the sticky dough onto the burning hot wall without it falling off. The dough sticks to the side and cooks through in this position – we just about conquered it!

As the first batch of bread was baking, we went into their kitchen and got a demonstration of how to shape and fill dough to make the famous Khachapuri bread. A dollop (ie. a lot) of white cheese goes into the middle and then you gather the dough around before flattening it to transfer into a pan to bake.

Sitting down to eat our freshly baked loaves, along with another hearty lunch full of fresh ingredients and of course wine, was delightful. We could have happily spent the whole afternoon with these kind, new friends.

Afternoon – Experience A Soviet Era Cave Winery

However, it was on to a different experience – to the 1960s Soviet purpose-built Khareba Wine Cave. If you haven't guessed already, this is another reason why you need a driver and tour guide!

It was actually quite refreshing to go into the cave as the heat of the day can be quite intense in June. Do take the short tour as it brings the history and journey of the place to life and George, our winery guide, was full of fun and interesting stories.

He stayed with us during the tasting and explained their range of wines – it was quite a comparison to the small family-owned operations.

Evening – Rural Winery Hotel & Rooftop Dining

We spent the night at a remote hotel – Burki Palace – built less than 2 years ago, and positioned in the middle of a vineyard. The views over to the snow peaks of the Caucasus Mountains were spectacular and beyond the rows of grapes, were cattle and sheep happily grazing in the early evening sunshine.

The hotel has a very relaxing pool area so what better way to wind down after a full day than with a gin and tonic by the water. We ate dinner on the rooftop terrace, met the owner, who was very friendly and happened to love Scotland, so we exchanged a few good stories before the end of the evening.

It is possible to stay in Tbilisi and do day trips to all the places on our itinerary. However, we encourage you to stay a night in Kakheti to avoid lots of time in the car and to experience rural Georgia.

Morning – Telavi Farmer's Market & Tsinandali Palace

An hour at the regional Telavi market and you'll understand why their fresh local ingredients form the heart of every meal you're eating!

Stalls are packed with a rainbow of produce, seasonal fruits and vegetables, along with pickled items, jams, spices and pretty much everything you might need in the kitchen to cook with.

We stopped at a small spice stall where the owner kindly explained (with the help of Irakli our guide) how different spice blends could be used in salads, fish dishes and much more. As we sisters all enjoy cooking, it was an easy sale, and we loaded up with several varieties. They are well packaged up for travel back home, although some can be potent so double plastic bag them for protection in your suitcase.

As we walked towards the back of the market, I was reminded of an Azerbaijani Georgian lady I met back in 2024 when I previously visited. She was wonderfully patient, smiling, as I tried to recall my Azeri words to chat with her.

Unbelievably, as we walked along I was sure I recognised her again. I pulled out my phone to see if I could find a photo of us from before and then showed it to her. She was bemused, then excited and thrilled, laughing that she was younger then.

We chatted, she beckoned her fellow stall owners over and we all had a good giggle together. This was one of those travel memories that will stay with me and reminded me how meaningful it can be to engage with people as we meet them – even if we don't speak much of the same language.

Lunch – A Fourth-Generation Family Cheese Farm

After the market, we headed to a nearby family run cheese farm, where the owner had laid out another mouth watering spread for lunch.

Tsivis Cheese, no surprise, was the main act, and we sampled string cheeses, soft cheese, an endless plate of hard cheese and even coconut cheesecake desserts.

As we sat at the large table, under a shady canopy, we shared stories from our Scottish farm, sharing how our Mum made cheese from our one milking cow. Great memories old and new.

Afternoon – Tsinandali Palace and ZaZa Qvevri Studio

To stretch our legs after more indulging, we headed to visit the Tsinandali summer residence of the Chavchavadze family. The house itself is quite interesting, and the tours (in English) are helpful to get an appreciation of the family and their lives here.

Within the grounds, there are some fascinating sights, including a wine cellar which we were able to ask a lady to show us. Here lay bottles of wine dating back to 1841, covered in cobwebs and fiercely protected – it was really astonishing to see them close up. No drinking here!

But onwards we went to Zaza's Qvevri making studio. These are the huge traditional clay vessels where wine is stored underground to ferment and they are highly sought after in Georgia and now around the world. ZaZa is the artisan who creates around 6 of these pots a year from clay he and his wife collect from nearby suitable river sites. It's a true labour of love as he creates, shapes, fires and transports these vessels.

Afterwards, we were treated to wine tasting of his own production along with his home made Cha Cha (the national drink and a bit like brandy). The walnuts we were offered here were sweet and addictive – we cleared the plate in record time.

Tummies full, we returned to Tbilisi and spent an evening downtown in the heart of the city, enjoying yet another glass of wine or two.

Morning – Gondola Ride & Sulphur Thermal Baths

Rike Park is easy to spot if you find the attached balloon that rises up from here into the Tbilisi sky numerous times a day. This is where to come to jump onto the 2-minute Gondola ride up to the Mother of Georgia monument.

You can walk up (or down) but taking the short ride to Narikala Fortress gives you a unique rooftop view of the old city, so we say take it. It opens at 10am, and you need to have a Tbilisi travel card with tickets loaded onto it to take the ride.

Just go to the ticket kiosk up the steps to the right, and you can buy the plastic travel card and get it loaded for as many tickets as you need, avoiding everyone having to buy their own travel card.

At the top, it's a short walk up to the gigantic 20-metre statue (Kartli's Deda) erected on top of Sololaki Hill back in 1958. It was updated to its current aluminium frame in the early 1960s.

Note: Narikala Fortress was undergoing major renovations when we visited, but we were still able to walk up very close via the botanical gardens to peek at the work underway.

After this, we returned down on the gondola and made our way to the ancient thermal baths area for our 1-hour hamman and massages. We booked a private bath area, which was lovely for us girls, with space to dip into the sulphur pool, plunge cold bath and the masseur joined us using a table within the room for our massage, each lasting 15 minutes.

We certainly felt refreshed afterwards and it's a must-do in our opinion when in Tbilisi.

Afternoon – Botanical Gardens & City Golf Cart Tour

Before leaving this part of town, we took a short walk behind the bath houses, walking along a river bed to the natural Tbilisi waterfall. The botanical gardens are pleasant to meander through if you have an interest in plants – a centrepiece is the Japanese garden within it.

This was also the time to indulge in another Georgian treat – wine ice cream. Whether soft serve in a cone, or in a cafe in a glass dish with wine swimming around the vanilla ice cream, it's a must to try. Don't say we didn't warn you though – it's hard to only have one during a trip here – it's everywhere!

After some final souvenir shopping, we hopped onto one of the golf carts touting for business and took a bit of a wild ride through the central city streets, music blaring, with our driver happily singing along.

Evening – Dinner at Restaurant Baoma, Old Tbilisi

Before dinner, we enjoyed a few glasses of wine at Nino Meris, whom we also met. Her story is inspiring, starting her business during Covid, but still here and growing in reputation. Do stop by when you're in Tbilisi – her wines are delicious!

Dinner was a return to Restaurant Baoma – we actually ate here twice because the hosts and staff were so welcoming – and the rooftop terrace was very relaxing. On our last night we were sitting next to a group of girls here. They were celebrating a birthday and invited us to join in dancing and singing – we were twice their age, but they didn't seem to care at all!

Essential Travel Tips Before You Go

Getting to Georgia

Tbilisi is in the Caucasus region, tucked in next to Turkey, with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia as neighbours. The main airport is Tbilisi (the capital city), although Wizz Air also fly into Kutaisi, a smaller hub in the south west of the country.

It is also possible to cross overland from Azerbaijan into Georgia, but currently you can't return overland (by road or train). We always fly between Tbilisi and Baku because it's much quicker.

While we were in Georgia this time, we took a trip into neighbouring Armenia (by road). With UK passports we don't need visas so it makes it quite easy to add in a couple of days or even a day trip just to get a taste of life in the northern part of the country.

Where We Stayed in Tbilisi

After around 10 visits to Tbilisi, I've stayed in several different parts of the city, from international business hotels to small boutique properties in the Old Town. For this sisters' trip, we wanted somewhere affordable with character, but each of the hotels below suited a different style of visit.

Hotel 21 (This Trip) – Best for Value & Views: We chose Hotel 21 for this itinerary because it was in a part of the Old Town I hadn't stayed in before. It offered excellent value, lovely views across the city and an authentic feel, while still being within walking distance of Tbilisi's main sights. The uphill walk back each evening is worth it for the location and scenery.

Kisi Hotel – Best for a Traditional Old Town Stay: On an earlier visit, I stayed at Kisi Hotel and loved its central Old Town location and traditional Georgian character. It's a great choice if you want to immerse yourself in the historic centre and enjoy city views from rooms with large private balconies.

Shota Rustaveli Boutique Hotel – Best for Boutique Comfort: I've also stayed at Shota Rustaveli Boutique Hotel, which is ideal if you prefer a stylish boutique hotel in a very central location. It serves one of my favourite breakfasts in Tbilisi and makes a comfortable base for exploring both the Old Town and Rustaveli Avenue.

Tbilisi Marriott – Best for Business or Luxury: When I travelled to Tbilisi for work, the Marriott at Freedom Square was my regular choice. If you're visiting on business or simply prefer the facilities and consistency of a larger international hotel, it's hard to beat its location.

Where We Stayed in Kakheti

We've stayed in two different properties in the Kakheti wine region over our visits to Georgia. For this trip with my sisters, we chose Burki Palace, but we'd happily return to either depending on the style of trip we were planning.

Burki Palace (This Trip): Surrounded by vineyards with wonderful Caucasus Mountain views. Modern property with a swimming pool and rooftop restaurant. Ideal for relaxing after a full day of sightseeing and wine tasting. We chose it because it suited the slower pace we wanted for this itinerary.

Lost Ridge Inn (Previous Visit): Smaller, family-run atmosphere. Beautiful valley views. Great if you want a more rural, boutique experience. We loved it on a previous trip and wouldn't hesitate to stay again, but be aware it's a little out of town.

Tips for Getting Around Tbilisi

The old town part of the city is actually compact and sits on both banks of the Kura River that flows through it. Overall though it's growing fast and now it's around 35km from end to end – we heard it was about the same size as Berlin. You'll see modern high-rise buildings if you drive through the suburbs on day trips, and new tram lines are also being built.

Overall, it's very easy to find your way around the old city with its iconic monuments to help you reference where you're at. We did pick up Google Maps at times, but honestly after a few jaunts around, we had our main routes mapped out in our heads.

This is a hilly city and so be prepared for a good workout if your hotel is a little out of the centre. Pavements (sidewalks) can be rough so wear good walking shoes.

If you need help with getting around, don't be afraid to use the metro. Buy a Tbilisi travel card and load it up so you can come and go without searching for cash.

There is a Tbilisi Hop On – Hop Off Sightseeing Bus or smaller golf carts (seats 6) which will take you around central areas in around 30–40 minutes.

FAQs

When is the best time to visit Tbilisi, Georgia?

Visit Tbilisi in late May & June for warmer days with sunshine. Although it can rain at any time, it tends not to last, but in the mountains, the weather can be windy, cloudy and cool.

Is Tbilisi safe for tourists?

Tbilisi welcomes tourists and overall it is a safe city to visit as a foreigner. Pay attention to any protests planned (usually around the parliament area) and avoid any affected area for the period of these gatherings (typically evening time).

Is Tbilisi, Georgia expensive to visit?

Tbilisi is a very affordable capital city to spend time in. There are luxury hotels like The Biltmore if your budget is unlimited but for most of us, a range of 3–4 star hotels offer great value for money. Pick one with breakfast included!

Where is the wine region in Georgia?

You can taste wines in Tbilisi of course but to experience the historic wineries of Georgia, head to the Kakheti Region, which is a couple of hours' drive from the city. You can either book a day trip or stay overnight in pretty Sighnaghi.

Tips To Plan Your Tbilisi City Break

Georgia has become one of those places I never tire of returning to, and after this trip, I think it may have won over my sisters too. If you're looking for an affordable city break filled with history, outstanding food, family-run wineries and genuine warmth, Tbilisi and Kakheti deserve a place on your travel list.

If you have any questions while planning your own trip, feel free to leave us a comment – we're always happy to help.