Don’t Miss These 5 Fun Tbilisi Day Trips in Georgia

Chances are if you’re travelling to Georgia, then you’re going to be visiting Tbilisi. The country’s capital is most travellers’ main stop and rightly so, given how much there is to see and do. But once you’ve spent a few days sightseeing around Tbilisi, it’s time to consider where else you can visit in Georgia. One way to go is to visit other big cities like Batumi and Kutaisi. The good news is that there are loads of interesting Tbilisi day trips that are possible, allowing you to see the sights of Georgia from the comfort of the capital.

From Tbilisi, you have so many options for day trips, each of them remarkably different. The best places to visit from Tbilisi highlight very different elements of what makes Georgia special, from its history, to its culture, religion and countryside. Now, I’ve only included the destinations that I’ve visited from Tbilisi, but rest assured there are many more day trips out there. I hope to add more to this list next time I visit. What’s also nice is that many of these destinations can be visited either on their own or combined together.

Kazbegi

Without doubt, one of the most popular places to visit from Tbilisi is Kazbegi, a town in the northern mountains of the country. With its epic mountain scenery and famous church, Kazbegi is a classic day tour from Tbilisi. Thanks to the dramatic mountains nearby signalling the border with Russia, Kazbegi both looks and feels incredibly remote.

The town is known both by the names Kazbegi and Stepantsminda, so don’t be confused if you hear them interchangeably. As nice as it is looking up at the Caucasus Mountains around you, the real focus of a Kazbegi visit is the Gergeti Trinity Church.

Sitting atop a steep hill between the town and an epic mountain range, the Gergeti Trinity Church boasts incredible scenery. Built back in the 14th century, this church was traditionally a haven for religious relics in times of crisis. Below the church there’s actually also a monastery, with monks that still live up here.

After admiring the church itself, you can turn your attention to the majestic landscapes around you. In one direction, the town sits below a distant mountain range. In the other, the summit of Mount Kazbegi looms right on the border. With these view around you, there’s no way this isn’t one of the best places to visit in Georgia.

Visiting Kazbegi

How Much Time to Allow? It depends on how you reach the church from Stepantsminda. Going up by 4 wheel drive, allow two hours. If you choose to hike up though, know that the hike is longer than one hour each way.

Getting There: Each day there are just a handful of marshrutkas that make the nearly three hour trip up to Stepantsminda. A much easier option is to visit there and other spots with a full day guided tour.

Mtskheta

You don’t have to travel far from Tbilisi to find interesting places in Georgia as Mtskheta proves. Just a short trip from Tbilisi to the north, Mtskheta is one of Georgia’s oldest cities and was even once ancient capital itself. With so much history to the city, it’s little wonder that the historical landmarks of Mtskheta were recognised by UNESCO with world heritage status.

Visiting Mtskheta the chief attraction there is the incredible Svetitskhoveli Cathedral right at its centre. The current Georgian Orthodox church dates from the 11th century, although the site’s history stretches back to the 4th century. If that weren’t enough to establish how important the cathedral is, it is also said that the robes of Christ are buried beneath the church.

While a walk through the market stalls around the outside of the walls is impressive enough, the best part of a visit is the chance to see inside this cathedral. Inside this hallowed building, the surviving frescoes and icons adorn several of the walls and date as far back as the 13th century.

Despite numerous threats like the elements, the passage of time and the Russian Empire, visitors can still marvel at these incredible frescoes today. As for the robes of Christ, they are said to be buried with a woman named Sidonia in the centre of the church.

The other major attraction of Mtskheta is the Jvari Monastery across the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers. Sitting on a hilltop that overlooks the city, this monastery started out as a 6th century church built on the site of a cross that was said to perform miracles.

No wonder, it soon became a common pilgrimage site and was fortified to protect it. Seeing it today, the monastery exterior bears several inscriptions and bas reliefs that have managed to survive intact.  And talking about Jvari Monastery, it’s hard not to mention the view it has of Mtskheta across the rivers.

Visiting Mtskheta

How Much Time to Allow? To see just the cathedral allow an hour, but you could spend up to half a day here if you take it easy.

Getting There: Mtskheta is really close to Tbilisi, with the city only 40 minutes away by marshrutka. This will be the preferred option as there is only one morning train between the two. To combine Mtskheta with other day trip destinations, it’s best to join a guided tour.

Ananuri Castle

Another picture-perfect sight you won’t want to miss is Ananuri Castle, easily one of the best day trips from Tbilisi. Sitting on the edge of the Zhinvali reservoir, this fortress once belonged to the Dukes of Aragvi. While excavations found parts of the castle that date back to the 13th century, most what you see there now is from the 17th century.

In fact, this fortress used to be much larger and only the the upper half of the castle still remains. The castle’s look is one that is very particular to Georgia, meaning you’re unlikely to have seen anything like it before.

Visiting Ananuri Castle, you’re able to head in and walk around the wildly uneven ground inside. Within the stronghold’s walls are several churches, the larger of which deserves the most attention. Inside the church, most of the frescoes were destroyed by fires over the years, but the iconostasis is quite something. So too is the large grapevine cross carved into the church’s facade.

The other thing to do while you’re here is see the castle’s viewpoints. While there is a terrace that overlooks the reservoir below, that’s not the best viewpoint. Instead, walk along the somewhat narrow stone walls and climb up the tight staircase inside the tallest tower. From here, you get a super view of the castle and the surrounding landscape beyond its walls.

Visiting Ananuri

How Much Time to Allow? You’d be hard pressed to find more than an hour’s worth of things to do here.

Getting There: You can hop aboard a marshrutka heading for Kazbegi and ask to get off at Ananuri, but there are no direct options available. Alternatively, you can visit here with a guided tour and see more of what Georgia has to offer along the way.

Gori

For a day trip with a difference, look no further than the city of Gori. While other attractions are focused on the country’s religion and ancient history, a visit to Gori focuses on one man – Stalin. One of the more easy day trips from Tbilisi, Gori is best known as the birthplace of Stalin, leader of the USSR for 30 years. Given that fact, it’s little surprise that they have a museum on the man.

Visiting the Joseph Stalin Museum, there’s two ways you can experience it. One way is to walk through on your own, looking at the various exhibits as you go. There is no information in English and all the photos and memorabilia of Stalin could begin to look like a shrine that honours this brutal leader. With that many statues and portraits, that’s normally a safe interpretation.

But you don’t get that impression if you go through the museum with one of their tour guides. Instead, you’re given a rather dispassionate and matter-of-fact account of Stalin’s life, warts and all. It’s easy to see this as a dark tourism attraction, but when the guide talks of the various people that Stalin had killed it seems far removed from praise. This seems like a place that is very much up to your own interpretation and bound to leave you with mixed feelings at best.

Outside the museum are a few other sights, including Stalin’s private train carriage that you can walk through. This heavily armoured carriage took Stalin to important events including the Yalta Conference in 1945. There’s also the humble hut in which Stalin was born, relocated into a pavilion out the front.

Elsewhere in Gori, there are a few other attractions around the city if you have time. The sight of the Gori Fortress, sitting on top of a hill, is kind of hard to miss. It’s possible to climb your way up there, passing several large warrior-like statues as you do. There is also the Great Patriotic War Museum, which focuses on the the Second World War, as well as the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia.

Visiting Gori

How Much Time to Allow? If your only interest is the Stalin Museum, allow an hour to an hour and a half. Exploring the rest of the city though could easily fill up half a day or more.

Getting There: Gori is only an hour away by train from Tbilisi with a limited number of departures. Marshrutkas will be more far more frequent, but will take a little longer. Another option is to go with a guided tour to see Gori and more.

Uplistsikhe

What’s nice about the best side trips from Tbilisi is that they’re always keeping you guessing. I mean, it’s unlikely you would expect the caves of Uplistsikhe after all the places so far on this list. This ancient cave town was inhabited as far back as the Bronze Age, but was left abandoned in around the 13th century. Yes, for thousands of years, homes were carved into these rock caves and people called Uplistsikhe home.

The town was even home to the Kings of Kartli when Tbilisi fell under Muslim rule in the 8th and 9th century. At its height of power, Uplistsikhe had a population of around 20,000 people. For a lot of its history though, the town acted as a large caravanserai, a stopping point for travelling merchants.

Once you pay the 7 GEL entrance fee, you can walk up across the rocky complex and explore. As you go, you’ll find rooms, halls and homes, with some that are now open-air and others underground. It really pays to have a guide here, as they’ll explain the history of the town and talk you through how people lived in a place like this.

You’ll also notice on top of several caves sits a simple stone basilica that has been there for over a thousand years. No matter where you are though at Uplistsikhe, you’ll enjoy the view of the surrounding plains and Mtkvari river.

Visiting Uplistsikhe

How Much Time to Allow? You shouldn’t need more than an hour to feel like you’ve seen this fascinating place.

Getting There: Regional trains and marshrutkas regularly run to the city of Gori which is quite nearby. From Gori though, you’ll likely need to hire a taxi to drive you and stick around. An easier option is to visit as part of a guided tour and let them handle the transport.

Tips for Tbilisi Day Trips

Again, this is an incomplete list of day trips from Tbilisi. There are plenty of things to do in Sighnaghi, as well as places like David Gareji, Vardzia and Rabati. They’re definitely at the top of my list for next time. Also worth repeating is that all of these places can be combined with at least one or more place. Tours to put Ananuri and Kazbegi together in one tour, while Mtskheta, Gori and Uplistsikhe are also joined.

Perhaps the biggest question for you if you choose to see these places with a tour is whether to book in advance or not. The biggest deciding factor for that is whether you want a private tour or small group tour. If you’re after a private guided tour, I suggest booking in advance. I doubt prices will vary much and those guides will be more in demand.

To do these day trips with a small group tour, it’s honestly better to wait. Once in Tbilisi, go book them in person with an agency in the city and it will certainly be cheaper. Finding room on a tour shouldn’t be an issue as Georgia is still an emerging destination.

The only thing that might cause issues is that not all tours are daily, so you may need work around a tour company’s schedule. For a small group tour recommendation, I was quite pleased with Holidays in Georgia who have several offices in Tbilisi.

Which Tbilisi day trips have you heard of before or had the pleasure of making yourself? Which of these side trips most appeals to you? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.