Gudauri Ski Day from Tbilisi

Yes, with one honest caveat: we provide the day, not the teaching. Gudauri's lower slopes are wide and gentle, which is a kind place to start, and the resort has ski schools where you can book a lesson on arrival and pay the school directly — our guide will walk you to the desk. We do not employ instructors and we do not teach. Many first-timers simply rent a set, use the beginner lifts and work it out. And if you decide not to ski at all once you see the mountain, that is fine too: the price is the same either way.

This is the real risk of a winter day up there, so here is the policy in plain terms. Heavy snow and avalanche hazard close the Georgian Military Highway above Gudauri at short notice — the Gudauri–Kobi stretch and the approach to the Jvari Pass are the usual spots — and there is no alternative road. High wind also shuts the lifts on its own. We check the Roads Department bulletin and the resort's lift status every morning before departure. If the road is closed, or the lifts are not running, we cancel before we leave Tbilisi and you choose another date or a full refund, with no deduction. If a closure comes down while we are already in Gudauri, the guide stays with the group until the road reopens; if it stays shut into the night, we help you find a room up there, but those costs are not in the tour price.

Warm waterproof layers, a jacket and trousers you do not mind getting wet, gloves, a hat, and goggles or sunglasses. High-factor sun cream matters more than people expect — above 2,000 metres the sun comes off the snow as well as out of the sky, and it burns on overcast days. Bring your own gloves and goggles if you have them: the rental shops stock skis, boards, boots and helmets, but the small items are less reliable. Bring GEL in cash as well as a card, for the pass, the rental deposit and lunch. And pack something warm for the drive itself — the vehicle is heated, the roadside stops are not.

Gudauri's lifts generally run from December to April, and the snow is most dependable from mid-January to early March. The exact opening depends on how much snow has fallen, so the resort announces it each autumn — the date for the coming winter is not out yet, and we will not guess at one. Ask us and we will tell you what the resort has actually confirmed. We do not sell this day outside the lift season; in summer and autumn the same road makes a far better Kazbegi trip.

For the 2025/26 season the resort charged 70 GEL for an adult day lift pass and 35 GEL for children aged 6 to 12, with under-6s free. Ski or snowboard rental and a helmet are extra, but the rental shops are independent businesses and publish no common tariff, so ask at the counter rather than budget against a figure we would have invented. None of that money comes to us, we do not mark it up, and the resort and the rental shops can change prices between seasons — treat the pass prices as last season's and check at the window on the day. A non-skier who stays on foot spends nothing beyond food and drinks.

Roughly five to six, which is what makes an early start worth it. The drive is two and a half to three hours each way on a clear winter morning and longer when the ploughs are still working, so we leave Tbilisi before seven and regroup in Gudauri in the mid-afternoon. That timing is deliberate: it gets us back over the pass in daylight, which is the right call on that road in winter. If you want more than one day of skiing, tell us and we will quote the transfer with a night in Gudauri instead.