Explore Georgia

Tbilisi, the awesome capital of Georgia and one of my favorite cities, is getting more and more popular with each year. I’ve been visiting Tbilisi frequently for the past 8 years – the number of tourists increased, a lot and Tbilisi tourism is developing rapidly. And I do get it, the city is amazing, with so much to offer that everyone should find something interesting. If you are planning to visit Georgia I put together a small Tbilisi guide with numerous Tbilisi travel tips that will hopefully make your trip smoother. first things first – Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, is located in the Caucasus region. The country has borders with Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia and it used to be part of the Soviet Union. The local currency in Georgia is lari (GEL). At the time of writing this article (March 2019), 1 GEL was approximately $0,38 and €0,33. I assume Georgian lari isn’t readily available all over the world, but you don’t need to worry about it. There are numerous ATMs all over Tbilisi so you can get your money without problems. Just be careful as some ATMs charge the commission – i.e., ProCredit Bank on Liberty Square. My number one tip for everyone is to start using Revolut bank card to save money when traveling. You get the card by mail within a few days and you can use it all over the world. You top up the card in the app on the phone, where you can also have accounts in different currencies and exchange money between them, for no extra fee and at very favorable rates. Everything is super easy and fast, you only need an internet connection to manage your accounts in the app. Revolut supports over 140 currencies and offers free withdrawal from ATMs all over the world. In the first 6 months I’ve used Revolut card in 12 countries, including Georgia, in 3 continents and had no issues at all. And I saved a lot of money in the exchange rates! Click here to learn more about the service and order your own Revolut card! If you want to exchange money the easiest will be US dollars, Euro or Russian rubles. There are numerous exchange points all over the city (I know by heart at least 3 at Kote Afkhazi street – the main road in Old Tbilisi that connects Liberty Square with Metekhi Bridge), and you will easily spot them. The rates are more or less similar to all of them, the majority of these points also don’t take the commission. You can also pay by card with most of the cafes, restaurants, shops and other places. There are numerous way how to get to Tbilisi: plane, train, bus, marshrutka – you name it. If you arrive from abroad, you will most likely fly to Georgia, either to Tbilisi or Kutaisi airport. To get from Tbilisi airport to the city center, you need to take bus no 37. It runs 24/7 from the airport to the central train station via Avlabari metro station, Liberty Square and Rustaveli. The ticket costs 0,50 lari (~ $0,20 / €0,17) and can be bought onboard – you need to place the travel card on top of the grey ticket machine and collect the printed ticket (if you don’t have it you can ask fellow passengers to do it for you and give them money, it’s also possible to throw the coins to the machine directly). You can check the schedule of the buses here. Alternatively, if you already have the internet data or if the airport wifi works well, you might take Yandex Taxi – a local version of Uber, popular in many post-USSR countries. Everything works just like with Uber, you only need to download the app before the trip, and you’re free to go. The big advantage of Yandex Taxi is that you can pay by cash, whereas in Uber it’s not always possible. From the Liberty Square, the Yandex Taxi should cost just under 20 lari. If you arrive in Georgia with low-cost airlines, you will most likely land at Kutaisi International Airport. That’s actually how I most often reach Georgia, and there are no issues with getting to Tbilisi from there.