Is Georgia Worth Visiting? [2024]
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View from the Russian-Georgian Friendship Monument, otherwise known as Gudauri View Point in Georgia
The country of Georgia is one of the travel world’s best kept secrets. Featuring jaw dropping mountainous landscapes, relaxing beaches and intricate architecture, this budget-friendly destination continues to deliver intrigue, year after year.
Bridge of Peace, Tbilisi
But you’d be forgiven if you find yourself asking – Is Georgia Worth Visiting? This small nation hasn’t quite cracked mainstream tourism yet, and is still considered an ‘off the beaten track’ destination.
Add in some less-than-stellar events that have happened in the past (e.g. the 2008 Russian-Georgian War), the average tourist’s perception of Georgia might not be the greatest.
Chronicle of Georgia, seen from a drone
Read this short guide to find out if you should book that trip to Georgia or not.
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Where to stay in Georgia?
For first time visitors in Georgia, I would recommend you base yourself out of the capital - Tbilisi. The coastal city of Batumi is also a great base.
Budget: Moosica Hotel
Tbilisi is full of quality budget accommodations, and Moosica Hotel is one of the best reviewed out of all of them. This place is a budget digital nomad’s dream, as it has open spaces perfect for working, and it's location is super central.
You can take a closer look at Moosica Hotel by clicking here.
Mid-Range: Grand Hotel Mimino
This is where I stayed for my stay in Tbilisi, and it was one of the best hotels I’ve stayed in for that price range. The service here was so friendly, and the location is pretty much as good as it gets. There’s also a lovely rooftop terrace with a nice view.
You can take a closer look at Grand Hotel Mimino by clicking here.
Luxury: Pullman Tbilisi Axis Towers
A luxury hotel in Tbilisi is most likely still more affordable than a hostel in Switzerland! This hotel has it all - swimming pool, stunning views, and a swanky bar.
You can take a closer look at Pullman Tbilisi Axis Towers by clicking here.
What Did We Love About Georgia?
Amazing Day Trips from Tbilisi - Our Handpicked Choices
One of the best things about basing yourself out of Tbilisi is that there are so many opportunities to go on worthwhile day trips. You could even combine some of these destinations in one tour, for an extremely affordable price. In fact, you could even visit neighbouring Armenia on a day trip from Tbilisi and visit a different country altogether!
Georgian mountains visible from Gudauri View Point
Adventuring to on one of these day trips is a brilliant ideas if you have an extra few days. The best part? These tours are ridiculously affordable for what you end up getting! 😱
1. Kakheti Local Wine Experience
Kakheti is not only famous for being the birthplace of Georgia’s best wine, but it’s also well-known for its beautiful scenery, churches and cultural streets. This is a relaxing day trip out of Tbilisi that you won’t want to miss this day trip!
2. Rainbow Mountain and David Gareja Day Trip
Peru has a Rainbow Mountain, and so does Georgia! A short hike will take you to Rainbow Mountain, a vividly coloured mineral-rich sedimentary rock perfect for taking pictures. Next, you’ll visit the historic David Gareji Lavra monastery complex - a monastery complex partly built on rocks. It has to be seen to be believed. You can check out this tour here.
3. Highlights of Armenia Day Trip
Looking to visit another country but short on time? This 1-Day Tour of Armenia from Tbilisi is perfect for you. On this tour, you’ll visit some of Armenia’s best monasteries, including Akhtala Monastery Fortress and the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Haghpat Monastery Complex. A delicious homemade lunch is also included.
4. Our Best Pick: Kazbegi, Gudauri & Zhinvali Guided Group Tour from Tbilisi - MUST DO! ✨
We did this affordable Kazbegi, Gudauri & Zhinvali Guided Group Tour from Tbilisi and it was simply one of the most memorable days of our travel careers. An absolute must do! 😍
On this tour, you’ll get to see not one, not two, but three world-class sites - the first being the mountainous region of Kazbegi, where you’ll see the iconic Gergeti Trinity Church - also known as ‘that church on the hill’. You’ll also visit the stunning Gudauri area, known as Georgia’s most visited ski resort. This is where you’ll see interesting Russia-Georgia Friendship Monument. The Ananuri Fortress is also on the itinerary list, as well as the picturesque blue waters of the Zhinvali Reserve.
Friendly People
Juma Mosque, Tbilisi
Georgians do have a bit of a reputation for being friendly, and we can confirm that this is true. Most locals were more than happy to help us and treated us really, really well.
Perfect view of Tbilisi Old Town
From our tour guides, hotel receptionists, shopkeepers and other locals – the vast majority of our experiences with Georgians were overwhelmingly positive.
Gorgeous Scenery
We were blown away by the amazing scenery in Georgia. Georgia is absolutely georg-ious! (Okay, maybe that pun didn’t work the way I had planned in my head).
Jinvali Water Reservoir in Georgia
View of Tbilisi from Narikala Fortress
But seriously, check out sights such as Tsminda Sameba Cathedral, Narikala Fortress, Mother of Georgia Statue, Bridge of Peace, Rezo Gabriadze Marionette Theatre, Sioni Cathedral, Chronicle of Georgia and Tbilisi Sea and you’ll understand why I love Tbilisi (Georgia’s capital city) so much.
Gergeti Trinity Church, Kazbegi
Beyond Tbilisi, visit the Jvari Monastery, Jinvali Water Reservoir, Ananuri Fortified Castle Ensemble, Russian Georgian Friendship Monument (Gudauri View Point), and my absolute favourite attraction in Georgia, the Gergeti Trinity Church. These were some of the most amazing places I’ve ever visited.
Chronicle of Georgia, with Tbilisi Sea in the background
Based on the beautiful scenery alone in the country, we fell in love with Georgia very quickly.
Delicious Food
We were addicted to Georgian khinkali!
The Georgian cuisine is a unique one, as it borrows from both European and Asian influences. Prior to this trip, we hadn’t ever tried Georgian food before. After this trip – we were hooked!
Almost all the food we ate in Georgia was great, but if we had to recommend two Georgian dishes, try the khachapuri and khinkali. You should be able to find these in most Georgian restaurants.
Georgian dish of khinkali
Khachapuri is a bread dish with cheese inside, mixed with eggs and other ingredients. It’s absolutely delicious. Khinkali is a dumpling dish with meat (usually beef or pork) with soup inside. It reminded me of the Chinese dish, xiaolongbao, but bigger and with a slightly firmer texture.
Value For Money
We were gobsmacked with how affordable traveling around Georgia was. We rarely spent over 15 Australian Dollars (around 30 Georgian Lari) on any meal – even in fancier, well-rated places.
Chronicle of Georgia, Tbilisi
In terms of transport and getting around - there’s no Uber in Georgia, but we recommend that you download the Yandex Taxi app, which basically works the same. The rides are incredibly cheap here, and you’ll save more money than if you hailed cabs off the street. One of the days, we spent about 5AUD (10 Georgian Lari) on a 30-minute car ride and couldn’t believe how cheap our fare was!
The Café Scene
Interior of Fabrika – a famous Tbilisi café and hangout spot
The café scene is well and truly alive in Tbilisi. Just walking around the Old Town, you’ll get to see lots of well-decorated café’s offering aesthetic, Instagram-worthy food.
Inside Café Leila – such a cool design!
Two examples of this are Café Leila, an intricately decorated vegetarian restaurant, and Fabrika, an established staple in the hipster café scene.
Outside Fabrika
Not only do these cafés look great, more often than not, they also serve great food at a very reasonable price.
Safety
Happy days at Gergeti Trinity Church!
Prior to coming to Georgia, we were warned by several people that the country wasn’t that safe. We’re glad to report that we didn’t find this at all to be the case.
Of course, like in any city, you always have to take precautions and be careful. However, walking around Tbilisi (even at night), we didn’t feel unsafe at all. Families were walking around, shopping malls were busy and overall, we didn’t notice anything sketchy or dodgy about Georgia whatsoever.
Tbilisi – An Underrated Gem
Narikala Fortress, Tbilisi
The mountainous capital city of Tbilisi is a must see when visiting Georgia. It’s got so much charm and a treasure trove of attractions. Tbilisi has this young, hip, vibe, but it also has an old-school, ancient atmosphere about it that we loved.
You could explore Tbilisi for over a week, but the best way to get the most out of the city in a relatively short amount of time is to join a guided walking tour, where a local guide will take you through the best spots in town and explain each place’s significance.
👉 This extremely affordable Group Walking Tour of Tbilisi takes you through important sites such as Narikala Fortress, Monument of Vakhtang Gorgasali, The Bridge of Peace and more.
We fell in love with the capital, Tbilisi
National Botanical Garden of Georgia, Tbilisi
You could easily spend 3-4 days in Tbilisi checking out the attractions, hanging out at cafés and restaurants, or just walking around.
View of Mtskheta from Jvari Monastery
What Didn’t We Love About Georgia?
To be honest, there wasn’t much that we didn’t love about Georgia. The only thing I can think of is that Ralph caught food poisoning midway throughout the trip, but recovered within 2 days of taking medication – so it wasn’t really a big deal. I also don’t think that’s a common occurrence, rather we just got unlucky with some of the food we ate.
Mother of Georgia Statue
We visited during the month of July, and the weather was scorching. To avoid this, we would recommend that you visit in the months of May, June, September or October for milder weather. However, any time apart from July and August are excellent months to visit.
Tsminda Sameba Cathedral
Tbilisi Sea
In saying that, the weather didn’t deter us from enjoying our time – so if July and August are your only options to visit, I would definitely still recommend visiting Georgia during these months.
Final Verdict – Is Georgia Worth Visiting?
Is Georgia Worth Visiting?
I’ve written many of these short guides before, and I think this is the easiest one to answer yet. Georgia is absolutely worth visiting. In fact, it’s one of my favourite countries of all time. The combination of friendly people, delicious food and mind-blowing scenery make me excited to come back very soon.
Ananuri Fortress
Don’t put off visiting Georgia! Visit soon, before the secret is out and everyone starts to visit.
Have you visited Georgia before? Let me know in the comments below!
Check out my photos of my trip to Georgia on Instagram!
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With so many stunning monasteries to choose from, you could be asking yourself – which are actually worth visiting? Read this short guide to find out.