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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 1 — Tbilisi → Tbilisi 120 km · 2:13

Overnight: Tbilisi · Paved

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 5 — Borjomi → Borjomi 120 km · 2:13

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

Day 13 — Khulo → Green Lake (Goderdzi) 60 km · 1:25

Overnight: Khulo · 4x4 only

Day 14 — Khulo → Beshumi 60 km · 1:25

Overnight: Beshumi · Unpaved sections

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

Car Rental in Tbilisi

Routes that need this car