8 Days in Georgia: Tbilisi, Kazbegi, and the Oldest Wine on Earth

Georgia is what travelers say they want: dramatic mountains, an ancient food and wine culture, walkable capital, low prices, and genuine hospitality that hasn't been packaged for tourism yet. It sits at the crossroads of Europe and Asia in the Caucasus, and for US passport holders it's absurdly easy: entry is visa-free for stays up to a full year. Eight days gets you the capital, the high Caucasus, and the wine country where humans first fermented grapes.

Days 1-2: Tbilisi. Base yourself near the Old Town and walk it: wooden balconies leaning over cobbled lanes, the Narikala Fortress ridge, the Peace Bridge, and the domed sulfur baths of Abanotubani, where a private bath room with a scrub costs roughly what a cocktail does back home. Eat khinkali (soup dumplings you eat by hand, usually under a dollar each) and khachapuri adjaruli, the boat-shaped cheese bread with an egg on top. A full sit-down dinner with wine routinely lands around $10-15 per person.

Day 3: Mtskheta and the cave city. Half an hour from Tbilisi, Mtskheta is Georgia's ancient capital and spiritual heart; its cathedral complex is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Pair it with Uplistsikhe, a cave city carved into rock more than two and a half millennia ago. Day tours from Tbilisi are inexpensive; a shared taxi both ways is barely more.

Days 4-5: Kazbegi and the Gergeti Trinity Church. The Georgian Military Highway climbs north through the Caucasus to Stepantsminda (Kazbegi), about three hours by marshrutka (shared minibus) for a few dollars. The image you've seen is real: the 14th-century Gergeti Trinity Church on a 2,170-meter grassy ridge with 5,054-meter Mount Kazbek behind it. Hike up in 3-4 hours round trip through birch forest, or split a 4x4 with your group for roughly $25-50 total. Stay overnight; the light at dawn is the whole point.

Days 6-7: Kakheti wine country. Head east to Sighnaghi, a hilltop town of pastel houses looking across the Alazani Valley to the Caucasus wall. This is the cradle of wine: Georgians have made it for some 8,000 years in buried clay vessels called qvevri, a method UNESCO lists as intangible cultural heritage. Family wineries pour tastings for a few dollars, often with a supra (feast) attached. Try amber wine, made by fermenting white grapes on their skins; nowhere does it better.

Day 8: back through Tbilisi. Hit the Dry Bridge flea market for Soviet-era oddities, take the cable car up to Narikala for a last look, and eat one more round of khinkali before your flight.

What it costs. Georgia is one of the best-value destinations anywhere near Europe. Comfortable guesthouses run $25-45 a night, meals $5-15, intercity transport a few dollars, and most sights are free or nearly so. A realistic daily budget is $50-70 per person with private rooms and restaurant meals every day; backpackers do it on less.

When to go. May, June, and September are ideal: mountain trails open, valleys green, and the summer heat of Tbilisi (which is real in July and August) not yet or no longer in force. Kazbegi's high routes hold snow into late spring.

Good to know. English is common with younger Georgians and in tourism, less so with marshrutka drivers; the Georgian alphabet is beautiful and completely unfamiliar, so keep destinations written down. The currency is the lari. Tap water is generally fine in the mountains, and the toasting culture at a supra is an event: pace yourself, because the wine keeps coming.

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