Borjomi, Rabati & Vardzia Day Trip from Tbilisi
Highlights
- Drink Borjomi mineral water at the spring in the park, where it comes out of the ground
- Rabati at Akhaltsikhe — a mosque, a church, a synagogue and a citadel inside one wall
- Vardzia's cave city: hundreds of chambers on thirteen tiers cut into the cliff
- The twelfth-century frescoes of the Church of the Dormition, at the heart of Vardzia
- The gorge road along the Mtkvari, past Khertvisi fortress at the river junction
- Small group, licensed guide, early hotel pickup — and an honest 13–14 hour day
Three places, one very long day, and about 450 kilometres of road. This is Georgia's south-west in a single push out of Tbilisi: the spa town of Borjomi, the rebuilt fortress above Akhaltsikhe, and the cave city of Vardzia hollowed out of a cliff over the Mtkvari. We leave before breakfast and come back after dark. There is no honest way to shorten it, and we would rather you knew that before you booked than discovered it at hour eleven.
Borjomi comes first, roughly two and a half hours west. Its central park runs up a wooded gorge where the mineral water surfaces on its own, and you can walk in and drink it straight from the spring pavilion — warm, salty, faintly sulphurous, nothing at all like the chilled green bottle sold across the Caucasus.
Then the road turns south to Akhaltsikhe, where Rabati covers a whole hillside. The 2012 restoration divides purists, but it put a mosque and minaret, an Orthodox church, a synagogue and a citadel keep back inside one set of walls — a fair summary of who has actually lived in this border province.
The last stretch follows the Mtkvari into a narrowing gorge, past the Khertvisi fortress at the river junction, and ends at Vardzia. Cut into the rock in the twelfth century under Queen Tamar, it is hundreds of chambers on thirteen tiers, linked by tunnels and narrow stone stairs, with the frescoed Church of the Dormition at its heart and the valley dropping away beneath your feet. You climb between the levels on your own feet, and it is worth every hour of the drive.
Day-by-day itinerary
•Tbilisi → Borjomi → Akhaltsikhe → Vardzia → Tbilisi
Pickup from your hotel at around 07:00 and west along the Mtkvari valley — some 155 km to Borjomi, where we walk up through the central park to the spring pavilion and taste the water at source. Fifty kilometres further south is Akhaltsikhe and about an hour and a half at Rabati fortress, with a lunch stop in town (not included). The final 60 km follow the river into the gorge, past Khertvisi, to Vardzia, where you have roughly an hour and a half in the cave complex: a shuttle minibus covers the road up from the ticket office, the tiers themselves are on foot. Then the long drive home with one break, reaching Tbilisi late in the evening.
Price includes
- Air-conditioned transport from Tbilisi and back — about 450 km over the day
- Licensed guide in English or Russian
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in central Tbilisi
- Fuel, parking and all vehicle costs
- Bottled water
Not included
- Borjomi park entry — a small fee collected at the gate, which differs for foreign visitors, Georgian citizens and Borjomi residents, with concessions for children, pensioners and people with disabilities; the cable car in the park is a separate ticket, and the warm sulphur pools are not in the park but about 2.5 km along a marked trail from it
- Rabati fortress upper citadel — 20 GEL for foreign visitors and 10 GEL for Georgian citizens and residents, with reduced rates for students and pupils, and for Georgian pensioners; the Samtskhe-Javakheti history museum on the grounds is run by the Georgian National Museum, charges its own separate admission and is closed on Mondays
- Vardzia entry — about 15 GEL, plus about 2 GEL for the shuttle minibus up to the caves
- Lunch and personal expenses — reckon on 25–40 GEL for a meal
- Tips for the guide and driver, and travel insurance
Dates and prices
| Date | Price | Availability | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 18, 2026 | from ≈ $92 | Seats availableRuns from 4 travellers Confirmed by Oct 11, 2026 | |
| Oct 25, 2026 | from ≈ $92 | Seats availableRuns from 4 travellers Confirmed by Oct 18, 2026 | |
| Nov 1, 2026 | from ≈ $92 | Seats availableRuns from 4 travellers Confirmed by Oct 25, 2026 | |
| Nov 8, 2026 | from ≈ $92 | Seats availableRuns from 4 travellers Confirmed by Nov 1, 2026 | |
| Nov 15, 2026 | from ≈ $92 | Seats availableRuns from 4 travellers Confirmed by Nov 8, 2026 | |
| Nov 22, 2026 | from ≈ $92 | Seats availableRuns from 4 travellers Confirmed by Nov 15, 2026 |
Final price depends on group size — 2–14 people.
A guaranteed date runs whatever the numbers. Other dates confirm once 4 travellers have booked — we tell you by the date shown, and if it doesn't fill you can move to another date, travel at the smaller-group price, or take a full refund.
Meeting point
Your hotel in central Tbilisi (pickup)
This one starts early: pickup is usually 07:00–07:30, and we confirm your exact time by WhatsApp the evening before. Arrange breakfast or bring it with you, because most hotel kitchens are not open yet. Plan on being back in Tbilisi around 21:00.
Frequently asked questions
How long is this day, honestly?
Thirteen to fourteen hours, door to door. Pickup is around 07:00 and you are usually back in Tbilisi near 21:00, having covered roughly 450 km with eight to nine of those hours in the vehicle. Borjomi, Akhaltsikhe and Vardzia sit along one road heading south-west, and no clever itinerary makes that road shorter. If a day that long is not for you, the same three places work comfortably over two days with a night in Borjomi or Akhaltsikhe — ask us and we will quote that instead.
How much walking and climbing is there at Vardzia?
A shuttle minibus runs from the ticket office up to the cave entrance, which saves you about a kilometre of uphill road; it costs around 2 GEL and you pay it there. Inside the complex you are on your own feet: narrow stone staircases, uneven rock paths, a few short tunnels and some open sections along the cliff edge as you move between the terraces. There are no ladders or ropes, but it is nowhere near level and there is not a handrail everywhere. Allow about an hour and a half. You can see a great deal from the lower terraces alone, and you are free to turn back whenever you like.
Are the entrance fees included?
No — you pay them at each gate, which is the normal arrangement for day trips here. Two of the three are published: 20 GEL for Rabati's upper citadel, or 10 GEL for Georgian citizens and residents, and 15 GEL at Vardzia plus the 2 GEL shuttle — about 37 GEL per person, or 27 with the Georgian rate at Rabati. Borjomi park collects a small entry fee at its gate as well, but publishes no tariff, so allow a little extra there rather than a figure we have invented. Bring lari in cash, since not every ticket office takes cards. The sites set these prices, not us.
Where do we eat?
Lunch is not included and is not tied to one place — we stop where the timing works, usually in Borjomi or in Akhaltsikhe near the fortress, and you order and pay for yourself. A proper Georgian meal runs about 25–40 GEL. Tell us about vegetarian or other dietary needs when you book and the guide will steer you to the right dishes; Georgian menus are unusually generous to people who do not eat meat.
Is it suitable for children, or for someone with limited mobility?
Children who travel well by car cope with it, though fourteen hours is a lot to ask of a small one, and the gorge road is winding enough to warrant something for motion sickness. It is not a good trip for anyone with limited mobility: the Vardzia tiers are stairs and uneven rock from start to finish and cannot be reached with a wheelchair or a pushchair. Borjomi park and the Rabati grounds are far gentler, so tell us when you book and we will shape the stops around what actually works for you.
What is the best time of year to do this?
Late spring and autumn. The gorge gets genuinely hot in July and August, and in winter the short daylight works against the route — Vardzia closes in the late afternoon from mid-November, which makes a 07:00 start very tight. Snow or ice on the road south can change the plan too; if that happens we will offer you another date or a refund rather than quietly drop Vardzia from the day.
Photos from this tour
The grey cliff face at Vardzia, honeycombed with cave openings across several terraces, with railed walkways and the arched stone bell tower to one side
Looking down through a gap in Rabati's stone battlements onto the fortress gardens, a white pavilion and a domed brick building, with Akhaltsikhe and green hills behind
An elevated view of the green glass-domed spring pavilion in Borjomi's park, ringed by paths and benches among autumn trees, with the rocky river below
A wooded river gorge in southern Georgia in autumn: orange and green ridges above a town on the valley floor, with cable-car wires crossing the frame
Final price depends on group size — 2–14 people.
Book this tour
Free cancellation up to 3 days before departure. Payment after confirmation.
Similar tours
Similar tours
Kazbegi Day Trip from Tbilisi
1 day · Easy
Kakheti Wine Country Day Trip
1 day · Easy
Svaneti 4-Day Mountain Tour
4 days · 3 nights · Moderate
Combine with a neighbouring country
More tours from Tbilisi
Other countries we run from the same city.
Guides
Guides for this destination
Georgia
Borjomi, Rabati and Vardzia Day Trip: One Day or Two?
A Borjomi, Rabati and Vardzia day trip from Tbilisi takes 13–14 hours. How the day runs, how hard Vardzia is, what you pay on top, and when to go.
Read the guide →
Georgia
Day Trips from Tbilisi, Georgia: All Six Compared (2026)
All six day trips from Tbilisi compared: hours on the road, which weekday each departs, and official entrance fees. The canyons run Saturdays only.
Read the guide →Georgia
When to Visit Georgia and How Much a Trip Costs
The best time to visit Georgia month by month, plus a full cost breakdown: flights from Greece, hotels, food, transport and a sample 5-day budget.
Read the guide →