In short
The Georgia Highlights 7-Day Grand Tour is a private circular itinerary that begins and ends at Kutaisi International Airport, covering roughly 1,200 km and about 21 hours of driving over seven days. It links Imereti (Gelati Monastery and Prometheus Cave), Shida Kartli (the rock-cut town of Uplistsikhe), Mtskheta and Tbilisi, the Kakheti wine country around Sighnaghi, the Georgian Military Highway to Stepantsminda at 1,740 m, and Borjomi. You sleep one night in Kutaisi, three in Tbilisi, one in Stepantsminda and one in Borjomi, so there are only four hotel changes in a week. The longest drive is day six, Stepantsminda to Borjomi, at about 280 km and five hours; day three in Tbilisi is almost entirely on foot. It suits first-time visitors who want one continuous route rather than a set of unconnected day trips, and runs best from May to October, when the Jvari Pass at 2,379 m is reliably open.
What you'll see
- Gelati Monastery near Kutaisi, on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1994
- Uplistsikhe, a rock-cut town above the Mtkvari river near Gori, occupied for around 3,000 years
- Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, built in the 11th century, with sixth-century Jvari Monastery on the ridge above
- Sighnaghi's 4.5 km 18th-century wall with 23 towers, above the Alazani Valley
- Gergeti Trinity Church at 2,170 m, below Mount Kazbek (5,047 m)
Day by day
Day 1
Airport pickup and the monasteries above Kutaisi
Your driver meets the flight at Kutaisi International Airport and it is 14 km, about 25 minutes, to a Kutaisi hotel. The rest of the day is deliberately light after a flight: Gelati Monastery and Motsameta, both around 25 minutes out of town, and Prometheus Cave, roughly 40 minutes away, where the lit walking route runs about 1,400 m underground. Under two hours of driving all day.
Day 2
Kutaisi to Tbilisi via Uplistsikhe and Mtskheta
About 230 km east on the main highway, roughly 3 hours 15 minutes of pure driving, but plan on seven hours door to door with two stops. Uplistsikhe, the rock-cut town near Gori, takes an hour and involves uneven stone underfoot. Mtskheta, 20 km short of Tbilisi, adds Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and the Jvari Monastery on the ridge above the river confluence.
Day 3
Tbilisi on foot
The only day with almost no driving. Old Tbilisi, Narikala Fortress and the cable car, the Abanotubani sulphur bath district and the balconied streets of Sololaki are all walkable from one another. We drop you at a start point and collect you later, or leave the car parked. Expect cobbles and steep lanes; tell us if anyone has limited mobility and we shorten the walking.
Day 4
Kakheti day trip: Sighnaghi, Bodbe and a qvevri cellar
A round trip of roughly 230 km from Tbilisi, about four hours in the car. Sighnaghi sits on a ridge above the Alazani Valley inside an 18th-century wall with 23 towers. Bodbe Monastery, holding the tomb of St Nino, is 2 km away. One family marani for a qvevri tasting is enough for an afternoon; three cellars in a day is a wasted afternoon.
Day 5
Tbilisi to Stepantsminda on the Georgian Military Highway
About 155 km north, three hours of driving before stops. Ananuri fortress sits on the Zhinvali reservoir at roughly the halfway point. The road then climbs to Gudauri at 2,200 m, past the 1983 Friendship Monument, and crosses the Jvari Pass at 2,379 m before dropping to Stepantsminda at 1,740 m. Allow six hours door to door with photo stops.
Day 6
Gergeti in the morning, then the long drive to Borjomi
The heaviest driving day. A short 4x4 run, or a two to three hour hike, takes you to Gergeti Trinity Church at 2,170 m, then it is about 280 km and close to five hours south-west to Borjomi, bypassing Tbilisi via Mtskheta, Gori and Khashuri. We leave Stepantsminda by midday. If Kazbek is in cloud, Gergeti is still worth doing for the walk.
Day 7
Borjomi park, then back to Kutaisi Airport
A slow morning in Borjomi's central park, where the mineral water comes out of the ground warm and tastes strongly of iron, then 130 km and about 2 hours 30 minutes back to Kutaisi International Airport. For an afternoon or evening flight this works comfortably. For anything departing before 11:00 we skip the park and leave Borjomi at first light.
How much driving is there each day?
Roughly 1,200 km across the week, or about 21 hours in the car, and it is not evenly spread. Day three in Tbilisi involves almost none. Days two, four and six each run four to five hours, and day six from Stepantsminda to Borjomi is the one long haul at close to five. The remaining days sit under three hours. We break every ninety minutes or so, which is why elapsed times run longer than the driving figures.
If that reads as too much, the honest fix is to cut the Kakheti day and give it to Tbilisi, or to end the tour in Tbilisi rather than looping back west. Ending in Tbilisi removes the day six drive entirely, but it means departing from Tbilisi International instead of returning to KUT, so check what your return ticket actually allows before asking for it.
Can this itinerary run in winter?
Partly. Kutaisi, Tbilisi, Kakheti, Uplistsikhe and Borjomi are all fine from December to March and considerably quieter. The Georgian Military Highway is the weak point: the section between Gudauri and Kobi is closed by the road authority for avalanche control after heavy snow, sometimes for hours, occasionally for a day or more. A 23 km replacement road with a 9 km tunnel is under construction and due to complete in 2027.
Our winter version keeps days one to four unchanged, then replaces the Stepantsminda night with Gudauri or a second Tbilisi night, and we watch the road for the 48 hours before travel. If the pass is shut on the morning of day five we do not gamble on it — we run Gori, Ateni Sioni and a longer Mtskheta instead, and we tell you before you pack rather than at the barrier.
Where do you sleep, and how many hotel changes?
Six nights across four bases: one in Kutaisi, three in Tbilisi, one in Stepantsminda, one in Borjomi. Three nights in the same Tbilisi hotel is the point of the sequence — one unpack covers nearly half the trip, and the Kakheti day runs as a round trip rather than a relocation with luggage. We do not book accommodation for you, but we will tell you which part of Stepantsminda is worth being in.
Stepantsminda is the one place where the choice genuinely matters. Guesthouses are scattered across the town and the villages of Gergeti and Pansheti, some of them up steep unpaved lanes that turn awkward after rain. Send us the map pin once you have booked and we will tell you honestly whether the car reaches the door or whether you will be walking the last hundred metres with your bags.
Is seven days enough for a first visit to Georgia?
For one coherent loop, yes. It covers the capital, the wine region, the cave sites and the high Caucasus without a domestic flight or a wasted repositioning day. What it does not cover is Svaneti or Batumi — both sit in the opposite direction from the Military Highway and cannot be added without a ninth day or dropping Kakheti. Trying to fit everything into seven days is how a private tour becomes a series of bus days.
With ten days the natural additions are three nights in Mestia straight after Kutaisi, or two nights on the coast at Batumi. With five, drop Kazbegi rather than compressing it: a Stepantsminda round trip from Tbilisi in one day is about six hours of driving for two hours on the ground, and it is the part of this itinerary that suffers most from being rushed.
Frequently asked questions
Does the tour start and finish at Kutaisi Airport?
Yes. We meet your flight at KUT arrivals with a name sign and return you there on day seven. The loop is built around a return ticket into Kutaisi, so no domestic connection or one-way repositioning is needed.
How many hours a day will I be in the car?
Between almost none and five. Day three in Tbilisi is on foot; day six from Stepantsminda to Borjomi is about 280 km and five hours. The weekly total is roughly 1,200 km and 21 hours of driving.
Can we change the order or swap a destination?
Yes — it is a private car, not a coach with a fixed schedule. The most common swaps are Vardzia and Rabati Castle in place of the Kakheti day, or a Martvili and Okatse canyon day instead of the Tbilisi walking day.
What happens if the Jvari Pass closes while we are in Stepantsminda?
We wait and leave the moment it reopens. Closures are usually measured in hours. If one runs longer, we rebuild the remaining days around Mtskheta, Gori and Borjomi so that no night is spent sitting still.
Want this itinerary adjusted?
Every tour is private and built around your dates — tell us what matters most and we'll re-plan the days around it.
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