Georgia in 14 Days: the Grand Classic Plus Upper Adjara
The full fourteen-day crossing of Georgia -- Tbilisi to Kazbegi, the south, Imereti, Samegrelo and Svaneti to Batumi -- extended into the wine villages and alpine lakes above the coast.
- days
- 14
- Total distance
- 2040 km
- Total driving
- 39:30
- Recommended category
- Crossover / SUV
- Best season
- May–October
- Start point
- Tbilisi
This is the longest itinerary here: the country's own ten-day grand tour, plus four more days climbing out of Batumi into Upper Adjara -- the only extension in this set that continues past a route's own endpoint, confirmed adjacent (about 24 km) by the coordinates of Batumi's old town and the Makhuntseti waterfall.
The first ten days move through six regions in sequence: Mtskheta's Jvari and Svetitskhoveli, Ananuri fortress and Gergeti Trinity Church below Kazbek in the north, Uplistsikhe and Borjomi, Vardzia's cave monastery in the south, Kutaisi's Bagrati Cathedral, Martvili Canyon and the Dadiani Palace in the west, Mestia and Ushguli in Svaneti's high mountains, and finally Batumi's seafront.
Days 11-14 leave the coast for the Adjaristsqali valley: Makhuntseti's waterfall and stone bridge, the Chkhaveri and Tsolikouri wine cellars around Keda, the Soviet-era cable car and 13th-century Skhalta Monastery near Khulo, and -- on 4x4-only and gravel roads reachable in summer alone -- Green Lake near Goderdzi Pass and the alpine settlement of Beshumi at 1,830 metres.
Across all fourteen days this trip touches every road category in the data -- paved, mostly-paved, gravel and 4x4-only -- and both mainstream car classes; it is a summary of the whole road network, not just one corner of it.
Day-by-day plan
Day 2 — Tbilisi → Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) 360 km · 6:38
Overnight: Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) · Paved
Day 3 — Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) → Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) 120 km · 2:13
Overnight: Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) · Mostly paved
Day 4 — Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) → Borjomi 240 km · 4:26
Overnight: Borjomi · Paved
Day 6 — Borjomi → Kutaisi 120 km · 2:13
Overnight: Kutaisi · Paved
Day 7 — Kutaisi → Zugdidi 240 km · 4:25
Overnight: Zugdidi · Paved
Day 8 — Zugdidi → Mestia and the Svan Towers 120 km · 2:13
Overnight: Mestia and the Svan Towers · Paved
Day 9 — Mestia and the Svan Towers → Mestia and the Svan Towers 120 km · 2:13
Overnight: Mestia and the Svan Towers · Unpaved sections
Day 10 — Mestia and the Svan Towers → Batumi 120 km · 2:13
Overnight: Batumi · Paved
Day 11 — Batumi → keda 120 km · 2:50
Overnight: keda · Paved
Day 12 — keda → Khulo 120 km · 2:50
Overnight: Khulo · Mostly paved
Tips
- car_category is suv for the full trip; the last two days (Green Lake and Beshumi) are individually rated offroad, so the closing leg needs real ground clearance even if the SUV covers most of it.
- best_season is May-October for both component routes -- this is not a winter itinerary anywhere along its 2,040 km.
- Day 9 (Ushguli) is on gravel and days 13-14 are 4x4-only/gravel -- the three roughest days of the trip are not evenly spread, so budget slack around them rather than a fixed daily quota.
- 39h30 of driving over 14 days averages under 3 hours a day, but day 2 (Mtskheta to Kazbegi) is the single longest leg -- start it early.
- Batumi (end of day 10) is the natural resupply point before the Upper Adjara leg -- it's the last town on the route with full services before the mountain villages.
Pickup locations
Routes that need this car
- Grand Classic Georgia Tour 10 days · 1680 km
- Upper Adjara Wine and Villages 4 days · 360 km
