Georgia & the Black Sea

Arrival in Tbilisi, meeting with the guide and transfer to the hotel. After a rest we discover the capital, a city layered along the Mtkvari where Persian, Byzantine and Russian influences meet.

We start at Metekhi Church and the statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali, take the cable car up to Narikala Fortress and the Mother of Georgia, and walk down to Abanotubani with its domed sulphur baths. Through the Old Town we reach Sioni Cathedral, Anchiskhati Basilica, the leaning clock tower of the Gabriadze puppet theatre and the glass Bridge of Peace, finishing on Rustaveli Avenue, the elegant main boulevard. Welcome dinner in a restaurant.

A day in Kakheti, the land of vineyards at the foot of the Greater Caucasus. First stop is Bodbe Monastery, set among cypresses and rose gardens, the burial place of St Nino, who brought Christianity to Georgia.

Next comes Sighnaghi, the hilltop “city of love”, enclosed by 4 km of 18th-century walls with 23 towers, with views across the Alazani valley to the snowy Caucasus. In the afternoon we visit a family winery, where wine still ferments in qvevri — clay jars buried in the ground, a tradition listed by UNESCO — and taste amber Rkatsiteli and red Saperavi with home-made bread and cheese. Return to Tbilisi for dinner.

We travel north along the Georgian Military Road, the historic route across the Greater Caucasus. Ananuri Fortress (17th century) stands above the turquoise Zhinvali reservoir, with two churches inside its walls. The road then climbs past Gudauri to the Friendship Monument, a colourful mosaic balcony above the Devil’s Valley.

In Stepantsminda we switch to 4x4 vehicles for the ride up to Gergeti Trinity Church (14th century) at 2,170 m, standing alone beneath the glaciers of Mount Kazbek (5,047 m) — the most famous view of Georgia. Time for lunch with khinkali in Stepantsminda (own expense), then return to Tbilisi for dinner.

After checking out we visit Mtskheta, the ancient capital: Jvari Monastery on the hill above the confluence of the Aragvi and Mtkvari, and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (UNESCO), where Georgian kings were crowned and buried.

We continue west to Uplistsikhe, a cave town carved into the sandstone from the 1st millennium BC, with halls, wine presses and a theatre. Crossing the Rikoti Pass into green Colchis we stop in Surami for nazuki, the sweet raisin bread baked in roadside clay ovens. Arrival in Kutaisi and dinner.

In the morning we descend into Prometheus Cave: 1.4 km through six illuminated halls of stalactites, petrified waterfalls and underground lakes, at a constant 14°C. Then Martvili Canyon, where walkways lead above turquoise pools and a boat takes us into the narrow gorge where the Dadiani princes once bathed.

After lunch (own expense) we drive about 2.5 hours to the Black Sea. Check-in in Batumi and an evening walk along the seaside boulevard. Dinner in a restaurant.

At 11:00 a one-hour boat trip on the Black Sea with the panorama of Batumi and the Adjara mountains. Afterwards we explore old Batumi: Europe Square with the statue of Medea holding the Golden Fleece, the colourful Piazza, the Alphabet Tower and the moving steel sculpture “Ali and Nino”, two lovers who meet and part every few minutes.

The afternoon is free for the beach. Optional extras: the Botanical Garden on the Green Cape, the Roman fortress of Gonio-Apsaros or the Argo cable car at sunset. Dinner in a restaurant.

A long scenic drive inland through Guria and Imereti brings us to Borjomi, the 19th-century spa of the Romanovs in a forested gorge of the Lesser Caucasus. We walk through the spa park along the river, taste the famous salty mineral water straight from the spring and see the elegant pavilions of the imperial era.

We continue to Tbilisi, arriving in the evening for a farewell dinner with Georgian dishes and wine.

Breakfast at the hotel (or a packed breakfast for early flights) and transfer to Tbilisi airport according to the flight schedule. End of the tour.