u/IndividualCitron7773

Hi everyone! Just wanted to share a recap of my (31F) 10-day solo trip to Georgia (the country) in late May (procrastination is real but better late than never). I had previously asked the sub for recommendations and it was pretty helpful. It was my first time going to Georgia, I flew into Tbilisi and flew out of Batumi. I didn't rent a car as I don’t feel comfortable driving alone, so I relied mostly on public transport.

Day 1-4: Tbilisi

Took a Bolt from the airport to my hotel, very straightforward and quick to get a ride, just put on your headphones once you are out of immigration and ignore the calls from the taxi drivers.
I booked a guest house near the Opera Theatre, but in hindsight, I would have booked a hotel around Lado Asatiani St in Old Tbilisi area as I was there almost every night, as that area had the most interesting bars and restaurants.
Tbilisi is also very hilly and my guest house was a good 10 mins walk up a slope, so I was thankful I had a taxi going there.
I was also there just before Georgia’s independence day, so chanced upon a road closure closer to the date around the independence square.
Booked 2 different day tours from Tbilisi
- Sighnaghi and wine tasting day tour: I had terrible weather for most of the day in Sighnaghi and I saw nothing from the city walls walk, only fog. The weather only cleared up towards the end and it was gorgeous! Wish we had better weather to appreciate the region. The wines were really nice, and the tour was generous with the portions.
- Mtskheta, Gori, and Uplistsikhe day tour: Mtskheta was cute but kinda underwhelming to me as it was just 3 different churches/monasteries, and I’m not a religious person. Gori was just the Stalin Museum - interesting to me but I won’t go out of my way for it. Uplistsikhe is super cool, my favourite part of the tour.
- Overall, I was not very impressed by the quality of day tours in Tbilisi as both tours were a mix of both English and Russian. So depending on the ratio of English vs Russian speakers on that day, it can either be a good or bad experience. My first tour had mostly English speakers so the guide spoke more English, but my 2nd tour only had 2 English speakers including me, so the guide spoke mostly Russian. It seemed to be unavoidable as most tours I looked at online had this format. I don’t understand why the companies don’t just work together to separate the languages, as it gets really annoying for the minority. Difficult to avoid unless you book a private tour.
Highlights in Tbilisi city:
- Botanical Garden (paid entrance): was a nice walk but the garden itself was super confusing with very little signs. I got lost multiple times and had to re-route. It connects to the Mother of Georgia statue so you can do both together. The Narikala Fortress was closed when I was there.
- Free walking tour around Old Tbilisi: fantastic tour, the guide really provides valuable information on things I wouldn’t have spotted myself
- Free walking tour around Fabrika: Fabrika itself was kinda meh but the walking tour around the building and area is really interesting!
Food and drinks:
- Litteria - gorgeous, open-air restaurant in a historic building (Writers' House). It’s a little expensive but the food and atmosphere are 100% worth it. Highly recommend to walk around the building too as it’s beautifully preserved/restored. Some parts are under the David Sarajishvili House-Museum and the Museum of Repressed Writers and those are paid-entry only.
- Racha - a restaurant that felt really authentic and not so touristy! I loved it so much I went there twice. The owners are a little grumpy and they will insist it’s cash-only despite having those credit card machines - but it’s fine, the food is delicious and affordable so it makes up for it. I highly recommend the meat skewers, especially the chicken.
- Cocktail bars I enjoyed: Snobs, 41 Gradus (they don’t have a proper menu so they will make sth based on what you like), Old Tom Bar
The meh:
- Sulfur baths - everyone said it was a must do, so I booked a small room at Cherli Abano. Split the room with another female traveller I met online. It was way too stuffy for both of us and I could only do a maximum of 15 mins combined in the bath. I love Japanese onsens and Chinese bathhouses so this is not my first time experiencing a hot bath, but somehow the small room and the water temperature was just too much for me. I felt that it would have been much better if it were outdoors. The room was not cheap either at 130 GEL. the area around the baths is pretty nice and there is also a ‘hidden’ waterfall 5 mins walk from the main area
- Georgian National Museum: Most of the captions were not very informative, and a lot of information was only in Georgian/Russian only so I didn’t understand a lot of it. I was looking forward to the USSR history bit but it felt quite unwhelming bc of the general lack of info. The exhibit on the 2nd floor on children’s play was the most interesting gallery for me. I thought I would spend 2-3 hrs in the museum but cleared it in 1.5 hrs.

Day 5-7: Kazbegi

Booked a day tour to Kazbegi as I wanted to stop at the sights along the way. I told the guide that I won’t be returning with them - they were totally fine with that. There were also 2 other people on my tour doing the same thing.
The weather gradually gets colder as it gets closer to Kazbegi, so make sure you have layers ready to put on.
The Russian-Georgian Friendship Monument was insanely windy and cold, but what fantastic views of the snow-capped mountains, even on a greyish day.
The Gergreti church had also really nice views! It was surprisingly less cold and windy than the Monument.
Kazbegi is not a town for early risers, as I wanted a coffee before going for my hike, and no cafes were open. Only the supermarket with a coffee machine was open, and the staff took around 30 mins to clean the machine at 8.30am.
Juta Valley, Day 6
- Transport: Met up with 2 solo travellers from my tour to do Juta Valley - there is no public transport during end-May, so we had to book a private taxi to secure our ride to and fro. We got a contact from one of the solo travellers’ hotel, and it was 150 GEL for the round trip, but I think we overpaid a little - more later. You can fix a time with the driver to pick you up, and make sure you get his number. Towards the end we were running late so we messaged the driver about 2 hrs in advance and he was still nagging us to hurry up at the end so that was unpleasant.
- Juta Valley was so breathtakingly beautiful, it was my first time seeing snow-capped mountains up so close.
- The snow had not fully melted when we were there, so in some parts we were walking through a thick layer of snow. We made it to the artificial lake and some parts around there were almost up to my knees. I brought 1 hiking stick and it was really useful for navigating the snow.
- Not sure it happened, but when we were going back, we had to cross the stream twice and it was so scary because the chance of slipping was real. We saw other travellers crossing the stream barefoot, and how even because the water was freezing cold. The weather also changed really quick there - we saw grey skies, blue skies, and even a brief rain shower throughout our hike.
- The Four Seasons hotel cafe was open, and we had a coffee/tea before the hike, and beers after the hike.
Truso Valley, Day 7
- One of the solo travellers from our group left, so the two of us hung out the area outside the supermarket around 8.30am-9am to see if we could catch any travellers willing to split the ride with us - highly recommend fellow solo travellers to do this if you come in a period where there is no public transport.
- We managed to group up with a pair also going to Truso and also negotiated the price down to 120 GEL, same arrangement where he will come and pick us up at a set time. We were also running late as one of the pair got really tired towards the end, and again, we notified the driver well in advance so he can come a little later, but he was similarly unhappy and wanted to charge us extra by not giving us back the change! Luckily we were able to give him the exact amount after digging out our wallets.
- Truso Valley was a very pleasant and relatively flat hike compared to Juta, but the distance is a little longer. The views are still amazing, but there is zero shade/shelter so sun protection is crucial. We walked until the abandoned fortress and turned back there, as further up is the restricted military zone. There is only 1 rest stop for this hike, a little cafe in the church just before the abandoned fortress, ran by nuns, and it’s pay as you wish.
Kazbegi was my favourite stop/city of the whole trip, and I wish I had more time there to do more hikes! The ride up and down the Georgian Military Highway is an experience in itself - see all these huge trucks driving on a highway literally inches away from a sharp drop.
For both hikes, make sure to bring your own snacks and lunch, as both hikes had very limited food options. There is only 1 supermarket in town and that's where I bought most of my hiking food and snacks. There was also a khapapuri open early 5 mins walk from the supermarket that made a nice lunch.

Day 8-9: Kutaisi

Took the marshrutka to Tbilisi (sit on the right for best views going down), to change to a marshrutka to Kutaisi as that was the only way beside private transport. The marshrutka to Tbilisi fills up fast, so get there early - I got there 15mins before the 9am depature and it was already full! Had to wait for the next one at 10am.
The marshrutka dropped me off at the Didube Bus Station that was huge and felt so confusing. It took me a while to find the marshrutka to Kutaisi - make sure to fend off other drivers convincing you to take their van/car to Kutaisi, some of them even told me the marshrutka to Kutaisi wasn’t running that day.
The marshrutka dropped me off at the bus station, which is a bit out of the city centre - took another Bolt to my hotel in the city centre
Walked around the city centre and to the Bagrati Cathedral for some sunset views.
Day 9: booked a day tour to the Canyons and Caves, but the weather that day was terrible and because of the heavy rain and water flow, we couldn’t do the boat ride at Martvili Canyon. The weather did give it a very mysterious, misty vibe though.
- Similar misty vibes at Okatse Canyon because of the weather. Still very cool though, especially the suspended metal walkway.
- Prometheus Cave was also a super interesting experience! Very amazed at the formations that are thousands of years old. There is a boat ride at the end but again, couldn’t take it due to the weather.
- Our guide also had a bonus stop at the abandoned sanatoriums - super interesting, if I had more time in Kutaisi I would totally love a half-day tour just for the abandoned sanatoriums. There is also one sanatorium that has been restored and is fully functioning, would love a visit
- Lunch was at a small cafeteria inside a supermarket that the tour guide dropped us off at, but I think I had some of the best food of my entire trip. You can choose the dishes you want from a display - I had a rich tomato and beef stew, walnut paste stuffed in peppers and eggplants, and a cornbread fried in sunflower oil - SO GOOD dipped into the beef stew.
I also really like this cafe called Sanimusho, near my hotel. They had a display full of cold salads to choose from, and they can even heat it up for you! Pair 2-3 salads with a warm toasty bread, and that’s a perfect meal for me. Went there twice because there are so much different salads to try.

Day 10: Batumi

Took the marshrutka to Batumi - it was the worst marshrutka so far. I read horror stories of dangerous driving and drivers/passengers smoking and so far there wasn’t any, except on the Batumi marshrutka where both the drivers and passengers were smoking at the front seat with the windows down. No dangerous driving thankfully, but the smoke still wafted to rest of the van. Not sure why but I read the ride was supposed to be 2 hrs but it became 3hrs+.
There isn’t much to do at Batumi, as the last day of my trip, I took things easy - I ate lunch, took a stroll along the waterfront and saw the famous Ali and Nino statues - much smaller than what Instagram shows
I did some souvenir shopping at the Old Batumi streets - very adorable vibes! And met another solo traveller for drinks at around Old Batumi.

Overall:

I enjoyed Georgia SO MUCH! The food, the culture, the history, THE NATURE - all amazing.
the wine is on another level - the sweet wines are AMAZING. I didn't go to any wine bars as it was more affordable to just buy a bottle and drink in my hotel room. Wished Georgian wines are more accessible from my country, but they mostly only export to Europe/Russia.
I’m usually someone that can’t go without Chinese/East Asian/Southeast Asian food (I’m Chinese) for 1 week but I didn’t miss Asian food AT ALL
My favourite Georgian food has to be the skewers/bbq, and the simple but almight cucumber and tomato salad with walnut paste - I think I had the salad at least every other day.
I’m a bit sad that I didn’t have time for Svaneti, but for the period I was there, the snow hasn’t melted enough for hiking anyway - for another trip!
Georgia feels very solo travel friendly. Things are pretty affordable in Georgia - food (although a lot of food is in big portions and are meant to be shared, like khinkali is usually minimum 6 per flavour), transport, admissions to places. A lot join-in tours for solo travellers. I also felt pretty safe as a solo female traveller.
Not sure if I'm just unlucky, but both times in my hotel in Tbilisi and Batumi, a large group of people were talking/shouting very loudly just below my window past midnight and I was so annoyed as I couldn't fall asleep at all. Had to ask them to quiet down both times.

Feel free to ask me any questions about stuff I didn't cover here!

edit: It was actually a 10 day trip as I flew out early on day 11.

Trip report: 11 days in Georgia (Sakartvelo)