Cheap, warm, and built around a feast nobody else has heard of.
Tbilisi is the cheapest capital in Europe (or Asia, depending on the day). The Georgian lari is local currency, cards work in restaurants and supermarkets, cash is needed in the bazaars and small bakeries. Pull GEL 300 to 500 per person from a Bank of Georgia or TBC ATM. Tipping is 10 percent at restaurants, optional elsewhere. Georgian wine (8,000 years of unbroken tradition) is cheap and excellent. The supra (feast) is the cultural unit, a long lunch with a tamada (toastmaster) running 15+ toasts; do not skip if you are invited. The marshrutka minibuses connect everywhere for less than €2.
Not the headlines. The spots Tbilisi locals reach for after the famous ones are done, and why each one is worth the detour.
A private room at Chreli Abano for an hour with the crew, €40 split four ways, the local hangover cure.
Soup dumplings, you hold them by the topknot, eat the topknot last, locals order in tens.
The working market by the train station, churchkhela (walnut-grape candy strings) and spices.
Natural Georgian wine by the glass, the host pours and explains, plates of cheese and walnuts.
Cave monastery on the Azerbaijan border, marshrutka or a private driver, completely empty most days.
May, June, September, October. Avoid July-August heat and the deep winter unless you are heading to Gudauri for skiing.
A proper sit-down dinner with wine for two is €20 to €30. A 1-bedroom Airbnb in Old Town is €30 a night. Taxis (Bolt) are €2 to €4 across the city. A bottle of decent natural wine is €5. Budget €60 to €80 per person per day for a comfortable trip; €30 to €40 for a frugal one.
Drink the Georgian, especially the qvevri (clay-amphora amber) wines from Kakheti. Saperavi reds and Rkatsiteli whites are the staples; Pheasants Tears, Schuchmann, and the smaller natural producers are exceptional. International wine is taxed and worse value.
Yes, low crime, very welcoming, English widely spoken in the centre. The political situation is volatile (protests in 2024), check the latest before booking. Russia border tensions do not affect tourists. Tap water is drinkable in the centre but bottled is the local habit.
Everyone votes, nobody argues, the itinerary builds itself. Free for the first trip.
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