The cradle of wine, monasteries clinging to cliffs and the snowy peaks of the Caucasus: Georgia mixes Europe and Asia in a small, cheap and surprisingly hospitable country.
Georgia — the Caucasus country, not the US state — is one of those destinations still flying under the radar that wins over anyone who takes the chance. It is the cradle of wine, with 8,000 years of winemaking tradition, it has superb food and legendary hospitality, and on top of that it is one of the cheapest and easiest countries to visit: most nationalities enter without a visa and can stay up to a year. It blends the European and the Asian, the Orthodox and the Caucasian, in a small territory running from the Black Sea to snowy summits.
It divides into very different regions close to one another: Tbilisi, the capital, with its old town of wooden balconies and fashionable districts; Kakheti to the east, the wine region; the High Caucasus to the north, with mountain villages like Kazbegi, Mestia and Ushguli, the highest permanently inhabited settlement in Europe; the subtropical Black Sea coast with Batumi; and cave cities and monasteries like Uplistsikhe and David Gareja. Everything connects within a few hours by marshrutka or train.
The best of Georgia is the feeling of discovering something ahead of the crowd: spectacular mountain landscapes, warm people who invite you to their table, excellent food and wine, and prices that would be unthinkable in Europe. What surprises is the generosity of its entry policy — up to 365 days without a visa — and how little you need to live well.
The local currency is the lari (GEL). Cash is still very useful in villages, markets and marshrutkas — the shared minivans — though in Tbilisi, Batumi and the larger cities you can pay by card without trouble. There are ATMs everywhere; it is better to withdraw lari in the country than to carry dollars or euros, and always keep small notes to hand.
Full converter for GEL →Most international flights arrive in Tbilisi (TBS) or Kutaisi (KUT), the latter heavily used by European low-cost airlines; Batumi (BUS) adds options in summer. From outside Europe you usually connect through Istanbul, Doha or a European city. Inside the country, marshrutkas connect almost every town cheaply, there are comfortable trains between Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi and Zugdidi, and in the mountains cable cars and 4x4s cover the stretches the asphalt does not.
Georgia can be enjoyed almost year-round, but it changes a great deal by area. Spring (April to June) and autumn (September to October) are ideal for the cities, the wine valleys and the lower Caucasus: mild weather, green or golden landscapes and fewer people. Autumn adds the rtveli, the grape harvest in Kakheti, a festival worth experiencing if you like wine.
Summer (July and August) is the only good window for the high mountains: that is when the roads and treks of Svaneti, Tusheti and Kazbegi open, although Tbilisi and the Batumi coast can be quite hot and humid. Winter (December to March) is cold, with skiing at Gudauri and Bakuriani and a snowy, charming Tbilisi, but with many mountain passes closed. In short: for the mountains, summer; for everything else, spring or autumn.
Georgian food is one of the great surprises of the trip and on its own justifies going. The essentials are khachapuri (cheese-filled bread; the adjaruli, boat-shaped with an egg on top, is the most famous), khinkali (juicy meat dumplings eaten by hand without piercing the broth), lobio (bean stew), pkhali (vegetable and walnut bites) and mtsvadi (grilled meat skewers). It is all washed down with Georgian wine, the amber (orange) wine, or chacha, a very strong home-made spirit.
As a reference, verified July 2026: a khachapuri costs USD 2 to 5, a plate of khinkali (5-7 pieces) about USD 3 to 5, and a generous meal with wine at a restaurant runs USD 8 to 15 per person. Eating in Georgia is cheap and generous; the supra, the traditional banquet, with its tamada or toastmaster, is a cultural experience in itself. A 10% tip is usually already included in the bill as 'service'.
Georgia is a very safe country for travellers: ordinary crime is low, you can walk comfortably at night in Tbilisi and people are extremely hospitable. The important exception is the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, occupied and outside the Georgian government's control: you should not attempt to enter them from Georgia and should keep away from their demarcation lines. Otherwise the scams are minor — the occasional taxi driver inflating the price, so agree beforehand or use the Bolt app. Check current official advisories given the regional situation.
On health, no vaccinations are required and tap water is drinkable across most of the country, including Tbilisi, though in rural areas bottled is better. One key point for 2026: since 1 January, Georgia requires tourists to hold health and accident insurance with minimum cover of 30,000 GEL, around USD 11,000, so travel insurance has gone from advisable to compulsory; arrange it before you leave. The single emergency number is 112. In the mountains, watch for altitude sickness and changeable weather.
Georgia is one of the best value-for-money destinations in the world. As a reference, verified July 2026: a backpacker manages on about USD 25 to 40 a day, a mid-range trip runs USD 50 to 80 a day, and a comfortable one from USD 100. A hostel dorm bed in Tbilisi costs USD 8 to 15 a night, and a simple double room or family guesthouse starts around USD 20 to 35, often with a home-made breakfast.
Day to day: a marshrutka ride between cities costs USD 3 to 8, the Tbilisi metro under 40 cents, a khachapuri USD 2 to 5, and a wine tasting in Kakheti with food from USD 10 to 20. What buys you one day in Western Europe buys three or four in Georgia. These are reference figures and vary with the season and the lari exchange rate.
The language is Georgian, with its own beautiful and, at first sight, indecipherable alphabet; Russian is still widely understood and English is growing among younger people and in tourism. English gets you by in Tbilisi and Batumi; in villages, gestures and good humour. Georgia is an Orthodox and traditional country but a very hospitable one: on entering churches, women usually cover their heads and everyone covers legs and shoulders; there are scarves at the door. Hospitality is sacred: you will be offered food and wine, and toasting, guided by the tamada, is a whole ritual.
Practically: the sockets are type C and F, European, at 220 V, so a European adapter is enough while North American devices may need a converter. Connectivity is very good and cheap: buy a local SIM (Magti, Silknet or Cellfie) at the airport for a few dollars, or an eSIM. Two pieces of advice from having been there: download the Bolt app for taxis, which stops the price being inflated; and do not be afraid of the marshrutkas, the cheapest and most authentic way to travel, though they go full and leave when they fill up. And accept at least one toast: refusing wine can be taken as a slight.
Georgia is one of those countries that stood at the crossroads of every route and paid a very high price for it, but it also built up an identity so dense that it outlived Persians, Mongols, Ottomans, Russians and Soviets without losing its own alphabet, its language or its faith. Here, on the strip of land between the Greater Caucasus and the Black Sea, the Greeks placed the Colchis of the Golden Fleece; an entire kingdom was Christianised in the 4th century thanks to a woman, Saint Nino; and a queen, Tamar, ruled an empire stretching from sea to sea in the 12th century. According to archaeology, it is also the place where wine was born: more than eight thousand years ago, grapes were already being fermented in buried clay jars.
But Georgia's history also carries some very harsh chapters: centuries split between the Persian and Ottoman empires, annexation by Tsarist Russia, the brief independence of 1918 crushed by the Red Army, the weight of being Stalin's birthplace, the fratricidal wars of the 1990s and the 2008 war with Russia that left two territories occupied. This is that long, rugged story, told with real names, dates and figures, all the way to the Georgia of today: the Georgia of wine that is winning over the world again, of tourism discovering its mountains, and of a society looking firmly towards Europe.
Read the full history of Georgia →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.
