Gori – quick travel guide

Small city 1hr drive west of Tbilisi, with historical sights.

Georgia’s 5th populous city, but still only 50,000 population. This town is not particularly interesting whatsoever. People usually come here as part of the tour to see the Gori Fortress, Stalin Museum, and Uplistsikhe ancient cave city. I would recommend only the Stalin Museum and cave city. Gori Fortress only if you got extra time.

3-4 hours, or half day, should cover all of those. Or a day tour if you’re coming from Tbilisi.

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Georgia (country) – quick travel guide

Another Caucasus mountain country, with friendly people…unique language and alphabet, incredible food (no exaggeration), incredible wines, and lots of interesting foreigners from countries I don’t know well.

Generally, Georgia is known for their mountains, food, wine, and homes that looks incredibly old (and abandoned) from the outside but beautiful and super modern inside. As a foreigner, you’ll probably know just Tbilisi…which is a cool hip city with lots of charm, and things to do. As with mountain countries, all locals will insist that you visit a mountain place and so will I.

7-10 days would be enough to see Tbilisi (with a day trip outside), and at least one mountain town.

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Tbilisi – quick travel guide

Most vibrant city in the Caucasus region, a favorite hip spot for diehard expats.

Georgia is a mountainous country in the Caucasus region, right between southern Europe and the Middle East. Such a distinct culture (with their own cool-looking alphabet), amazing food and a really nice vibe.

Although Tbilisi itself is pretty flat. I do recommend you do at least a few day tours out of the city to get a feel for the amazing mountain terrain. Georgia is so much more than Tbilisi! I really enjoyed wandering around town with local friends and also meeting other foreigners. I met many Russians, Ukrainians and Kazakh people here.

Stay 3-5 days to visit the main sights, neighborhoods, food, and nearby daytrips. But you could also stay longer to soak in the vibe. It’s cheap here! You can get a huge apartment for very little, cheap food, cheap massages, etc.

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Kazbegi (Stepantsminda) – quick travel guide

One of Georgia’s many beautiful mountain towns.

Is it Kazbegi or Stepantsminda? Stepantsminda is the town, Kazbegi is the mountain. But people just call the whole area Kazbegi (its old name). It’s not just the mountains that are beautiful but also the ride on the way here (from Tbilisi).

The big question is should you stay here or just do a 1-day tour from Tbilisi. I will absolutely recommend staying here. It’s beautiful and you need to see the sunrise and sunset for the full experience. Also being able to go around and take your time to take in the views. Instead of being rushed to take photos and jump back on the bus.

Weekend stay would be perfect. 2 nights for sure. I usually stay 3 and could do even more.

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