Walk down Rustaveli Avenue and every second doorway sells the same five tours: Kazbegi, Kakheti, Mtskheta and Gori, Borjomi and Vardzia, Svaneti. They are popular because they are the best things in the country. They are also, every one of them, self-drive Georgia tours: a road trip you can drive yourself with a rental car from our fleet, at your own pace, leaving when you want, stopping where the minibus never stops, and usually for less money once there are two of you. Below are the five self-drive Georgia tours as we would drive them, with the car we would take.
1. Kazbegi and the Georgian Military Highway (1 day, or better 2)
The tour: minibus leaves Tbilisi at 9, stops at Zhinvali reservoir, Ananuri fortress, the Gudauri viewpoint and Stepantsminda, shuttle up to Gergeti Trinity church, lunch, back by 8 p.m. Self-drive: the same 155 km, but you leave at 7 and have Ananuri to yourself, you walk the Gudauri ski slopes in summer, you add the Truso valley or the Juta road if you have a 4x4, and you sleep in Stepantsminda to see Kazbek at sunrise instead of sitting in the evening traffic back to the city. Paved all the way to Gergeti now. Car: in summer any car, the Prius included; for Truso, Juta or any winter date a Duster, Forester or Pajero. Guide: Tbilisi to Kazbegi by car; car page: Gudauri and Kazbegi rental.
2. Kakheti wine tour (1 or 2 days)
The tour: Sighnaghi, Bodbe, two wineries with a tasting and a lunch, sometimes Telavi, back late. Self-drive: go out over the Gombori pass to Telavi, visit Tsinandali, Alaverdi cathedral and a family cellar in Kvareli, sleep in Telavi or at a winery guesthouse, and come back the next day through Sighnaghi and Bodbe on the southern road. Two days turns a tasting into a region. The only catch is the drink-driving limit of 0.03%: the driver tastes at the overnight stop, not at lunch, or you book our car with driver for the day and everyone drinks. Car: paved roads everywhere, so an economy car is ideal; we also hand cars over at the Telavi pickup point. Post: Kakheti wine region by car.
3. Mtskheta, Gori and Uplistsikhe (1 day)
The tour: Jvari monastery, Svetitskhoveli cathedral, the Stalin museum in Gori, the Uplistsikhe cave town, back by 6. Self-drive: exactly the same loop, 190 km, but start at Jvari at 9 before the coaches, skip the Stalin museum if it is not your thing and use the hour at the Uplistsikhe river beach, and add the Shio-Mgvime monastery in its canyon five minutes from Mtskheta, which no tour visits. Motorway for the long part. Car: any sedan; it is the perfect first-day drive for someone who has just collected a car in Tbilisi. Guide: Mtskheta, Gori and Uplistsikhe day trip.
4. Borjomi, Rabati and Vardzia (2 days)
The tour: a long single day, 500 km, with Borjomi park, Rabati castle and Vardzia squeezed in and five hours of driving each way. Self-drive: make it two days. Borjomi park and a walk in the national park on the first afternoon, night in Borjomi; Rabati and Vardzia on the second day with a proper three hours at the cave city and the Khertvisi fortress on the way; Bakuriani on the way back if you have a third morning. All paved; Bakuriani in winter is the only place a 4x4 earns its keep. Car: a Camry or the Prius in summer, a RAV4 for a ski weekend. Post: Borjomi, Bakuriani and Vardzia by car.
5. Svaneti: Mestia and Ushguli (3 days)
The tour: a long transfer from Tbilisi or Kutaisi to Mestia, a day trip to Ushguli in a hired local 4x4, a transfer back. Self-drive: collect the car at Kutaisi Airport (230 km from Mestia, paved via Zugdidi and the Enguri dam), sleep two nights in Mestia with the Hatsvali lift, the Chalaadi glacier walk and the Koruldi lakes track, and drive the Ushguli road yourself: 45 km of gravel and potholes that takes two hours and is the best drive in Georgia. From Ushguli, in dry summer weather, the road continues over the Zagar pass to Lentekhi and back to Kutaisi as a loop. Car: 4x4 only: Pajero, Land Cruiser Prado, 4Runner or Land Cruiser 200; a Duster manages Ushguli in summer. Post: Svaneti by car. Tusheti, the other great 4x4 destination, has its own guide and is a Land Cruiser road, not a Duster one.
The five self-drive Georgia tours at a glance
| Tour | Days | Distance from Tbilisi | Road | Our pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kazbegi | 1 to 2 | 310 km return | Paved; valleys gravel | Prius in summer, Duster or Pajero otherwise |
| Kakheti wine | 1 to 2 | 250 to 350 km loop | Paved | Economy sedan, or car with driver |
| Mtskheta, Gori, Uplistsikhe | 1 | 190 km loop | Motorway and paved | Any sedan |
| Borjomi and Vardzia | 2 | 450 km loop | Paved | Camry or RAV4 |
| Svaneti | 3 | 460 km each way (230 from Kutaisi) | Paved to Mestia, gravel to Ushguli | Pajero, Prado, 4Runner, LC200 |
Tour or own car: how to decide
A guided tour wins when you are alone, when you want the stories, and when wine is the point of the day. Self-drive Georgia tours win on timing (sunrise at Gergeti, Jvari without coaches), on the stops nobody schedules (the river beach at Uplistsikhe, the Zhinvali swim, the village feast you are invited to), and on cost for two or more people: our Prius is $35 a day, city-centre pickup in Tbilisi is free, and a second driver costs nothing. Fuel for a Kazbegi day is modest in a hybrid. The fees that do apply, an airport handover or a one-way drop, are fixed and listed on the prices page separately from the daily rate.
Want to chain two or three self-drive Georgia tours? Kazbegi then Kakheti, or Borjomi then Svaneti, with the car dropped in another city, is a common request. Message us on WhatsApp (+995 591 89 60 60) and we will plan a custom route with you: the right car for the roads, pickup and drop-off in different cities, and honest advice on driving times.
Before you drive any of them
Before any of these self-drive Georgia tours, read the travellers handbook for the rules, the parking and the camera fines, check the 4x4 list if your route has gravel, and tell us the plan at booking so the car we hand over matches the road. Pickup at Tbilisi Airport runs around the clock.