Georgia›From Akhaltsikhe & Vardzia›Mestia (Svaneti)
Akhaltsikhe & Vardzia to Mestia (Svaneti) by bus or road
About 445 km. The private car is fastest at 8.5 h; the bus is cheapest, from ₹1,800 per person.
Mestia (Svaneti) to Akhaltsikhe & VardziaFastest
Private car
Car with driver / taxi via the Rikoti Pass, the Enguri gorge, per vehicle
8.5 h door to door
Cheapest
Bus
Two marshrutkas, change at Kutaisi
from ₹1,800 per person
Best value
Bus
Two marshrutkas, change at Kutaisi
cheapest at mid fares among options within 1.5× the fastest time (or 1 h more on a short ride)
Every option, compared
Door-to-door times (flights include the time at the airports). Fares are typical ranges from the cheapest seat to the premium one.
| Mode | Service | Time | Fare | Runs | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bus | Two marshrutkas, change at Kutaisi | 10.5 h | ₹1,800per person | Daily | Rome2Rio ↗ |
| Private car | Car with driver / taxi via the Rikoti Pass, the Enguri gorge, per vehicle | 8.5 h | ₹14,780–₹27,430per car (up to 4) | Daily | Rome2Rio ↗ |
- Bus, Two marshrutkas, change at Kutaisi: No direct marshrutka: change at Kutaisi (allow an hour for each change; in Tbilisi often a taxi between stations). Marshrutkas leave when full, pay the driver in cash (lari); the last ones go mid-afternoon on long routes.
Booking links open the route on the country's transport booking site for trains, buses, boats and transfers, and a flight search for flights, dated about two weeks out; change the date there.
What it costs your group, one way
Fares × people; a private car is priced per car, one car per four people.
| Option | 2 people | 4 people |
|---|---|---|
| Bus · Two marshrutkas, change at Kutaisi | ₹3,600 | ₹7,200 |
| Private car · Car with driver / taxi via the Rikoti Pass, the Enguri gorge, per vehicle | ₹14,780–₹27,430 | ₹14,780–₹27,430 |
Once you’re in Mestia (Svaneti)
- Best time: June – September
- Typical stay: 3 days
- November: Mixed month: November is outside the recommended season (June – September). Nothing in our data flags November as a problem, but it isn't the season the place is best in.
Related
Plan Akhaltsikhe & Vardzia and Mestia (Svaneti)
A day-by-day plan with this journey, the stays and the rest priced in.