There are no more direct flights to Georgia. Find out all the ways to get to Georgia easily and cheaply from Moscow and other cities of Russia. I am talking about routes through Vladikavkaz, Baku, Gyumri and Europe. Airplanes, trains, buses. You just have to choose the best option!
From 8 July 2019 RF President banned all flights of Russian and Georgian airlines to Russia. That is, there is no more direct message. Getting to Georgia has become more difficult, but there are still cheap and interesting ways. I'll tell you all about the pros, cons, and cost of each option. Choose what you like best!
Attention: in case of a pandemic, most of the ways described below to get to Georgia became irrelevant... In the first section, I talked about the conditions for entering Georgia this year and the ways to get there that are relevant at the beginning of June 2021.
Currency exchange rate: 1 Georgian lari (GEL) ≈ 23 RUB.
Entering Georgia during a pandemic
Perhaps one of the happiest news of 2021 for Russians: beloved Georgia opens its borders to tourists from March 1. True, as always, there are limitations:
- Negative covid test or vaccination is needed.
- Georgia has opened free entry to the country by land since June 1, 2021. However, Russia still prohibits its citizens from traveling by land to other countries for tourist purposes (you can get treatment, study, visit relatives, etc.). So now you can only enter Georgia from Turkey or Armenia. Azerbaijan is still closed for Russians.
- However, Russians can leave Georgia for Russia through the Upper Lars border checkpoint, as this will be the return of citizens home. This will save money and time, because you do not have to fly through third countries.
- There are no direct flights between Russia and Georgia since 2019, so you need to fly through a third country. Until recently, it was possible through Belarus or Turkey, but due to political problems, these options have disappeared.
conclusions... The easiest and at the same time inexpensive way to get to Georgia in the near future is to buy tickets for a flight to the Armenian city of Gyumri, which is only 50 km from Georgia, and then take a minibus or other transport to Georgia. Tickets to Gyumri from Moscow and St. Petersburg cost only 5,000 rubles one way. And the easiest way to return to Russia is through the Upper Lars border point.
Personal experience of a trip to Georgia in 2021... In a couple of days we will fly to Georgia from Turkey (yes, we are naughty and decided to visit everything closed by our beloved government). We will travel in Georgia for 10 days. We plan to get home through the "Upper Lars". Follow the trip and find out the latest information in our VKontakte group.
On my car
The best option is to get to Georgia and see the whole country. The Caucasus is beauty. I have traveled in my car to all the republics of the North Caucasus and not just once, but in the near future I will definitely go to Georgia by car.
disadvantages: During the season, queues form at the Verkhniy Lars checkpoint, and in winter the road may be closed due to snowfalls.
Rent a Car. If it is too long and difficult to cut to Georgia in your car, then rent it on the spot. This is the best way to travel! I recommend Myrentacar.com - a reliable and convenient service, a large selection of cars, the cost of renting a car from $ 23 per day. There is a Russian-speaking support service. Read also our tips: how to rent a car in Georgia →
Simple and fast
An option without problems and complicated schemes is to fly to Georgia from Russia on flights with transfers.
Enter the required dates in the search engine "Moscow-Tbilisi", "St. Petersburg-Batumi" or any other route you need. Search will show you the best flight options for price and duration. Please note if luggage is included in the ticket price.
Prices for tickets to Tbilisi and back:
From Moscow and St. Petersburg - from 12,500, but more often from 15,000 rubles. Flights via Riga (airBaltic), Minsk (Belavia), Istanbul (Atlas Global) and other options. Find tickets >>
From Yekaterinburg - from 23,000 rubles (Air Astana with long connections in Nur-Sultan). Others have a / c even more expensive. Find tickets >>
From Kazan - from 23,000 rubles. For example, on Turkish Airlines flights via Istanbul. Find tickets >>
The total cost: from 12 500 rub.
disadvantages: price and transfers.
Grandfather's method: through Vladikavkaz
The cheapest way to get to Georgia! Let's follow in the footsteps of Lermontov and other travelers of past eras. Well, almost!
We are flying or taking a train to the strategically located Vladikavkaz. Then we get to Georgia by land by buses, minibuses or hitchhiking.
Air prices:
- From Moscow - from 4500 rubles, sometimes cheaper. Utair, Pobeda, S7 and others are flying. Find tickets >>
- There are cheap tickets to Vladikavkaz from Rostov-on-Don, Sochi, Kazan, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and other cities. Find tickets >>
Check also the prices for tickets from your city to Mineralnye Vody - it is nearby, from there you can also get to Georgia through Vladikavkaz. View >>
Train prices. You can also get to Vladikavkaz by train, but it is more expensive than a flight. Let me remind you that trains do not go to Georgia from Russia. The cost of railway tickets to Vladikavkaz one way:
- From Moscow: from 2900 rubles. (reserved seat) and from 3600 rubles. (compartment). Drive 36 hours.
- From St. Petersburg: from 3700 rubles. (reserved seat) and from 4500 rubles. Drive for 2 days.
How to get to Georgia from Vladikavkaz... Arriving in the capital of North Ossetia, we take a bus to the bus station. There you will find buses and many private traders who are ready to take you to Georgia. There are four options:
- Simple and straightforward... Bus / minibus in Tbilisi for 1000-2000 rubles. Bus tickets >>
- Interesting... A minibus or a ride for 400-500 rubles to Stepantsminda, a city in the north of Georgia, 11 km from the border with the Russian Federation. Here begins the Georgian Military Road, next to Mount Kazbek, mineral water springs, resorts, glaciers, paragliding, etc. The minibus to Tbilisi costs 10 lari.
- Economy... At the city bus station, take a bus to the Verkhniy Lars checkpoint for 40 rubles. Crossing the border on foot is prohibited, so ask for cars where there is free space. Someone will refuse, someone will ask for money, and someone will take it for free. Ask for a ride to Stepantsminda, and then, as described above.
- Hiking and private traders... A seat in a ride costs 200-500 rubles. Be careful - there are enough scammers on this route: you can be cheated for money or transferred from car to car to the border, at the border, after the border. Choose BlaBlaCar riders with good ratings and reviews.
I advise you to stay in Ossetia to see Dargavs and other cities of the dead. You can go to the Karmadon Gorge to the place of the death of Sergei Bodrov Jr. and his film crew. These places are impressive.
The total cost: from 5500 rub.
Disadvantages:
- private drivers are reckless on the road,
- there are queues at the checkpoint, and large ones,
- in case of snowfall or mudflows, the pass is closed - you can get stuck for several days.
Through Baku
We are flying to the capital of Azerbaijan: there are many flights from Russian cities, and the tickets are inexpensive. From there we get to Georgia by train. On the way we see the wonderful city of Baku - one day is enough, I did so when I flew to Istanbul via Azerbaijan.
Prices for flights from Moscow:
- round trip - from 10,500 rubles
- one way - from 5300 rubles.
The cost of one-way tickets for the train to Georgia (Tbilisi) from Baku:
- 860 RUB - reserved seat,
- 1260 RUB - compartment,
- 2140 - SV (two-seater coupes).
The journey takes 12 hours. Very convenient train schedule: sat down in the evening, arrived in Georgia in the morning.
Buy tickets here: Azerbaijan Railway website - a convenient site in Russian.
The total cost: from 12200 rub.
disadvantages: not.
Through Armenia
Flights from Moscow to Gyumri near Pobeda are cheap:
- from 2000 rubles one way,
- from 4000 - both.
It is twice as expensive to fly to Yerevan, but getting from Gyumri to Georgia is even more convenient.
From Gyumri to Akhaltsikhe, a small town in the south of Georgia, there are minibuses for ≈500 rubles. The journey takes about 4 hours.There is something to see in Akhaltsikhe: the city is home to the Rabat fortress, and nearby are the cave monasteries of Vardzia and Borjomi. Tbilisi, Batumi or Kobuleti can be reached in a few hours.
The total cost: from 5000 rub.
disadvantages:
- somewhat tedious due to the large number of connections of different vehicles,
- Cheap flights to Gyumri are possible only from Moscow, from St. Petersburg, Ekb, Kazan and other cities, tickets cost from 12,000 rubles.
Window through Europe
Georgia has long lived as a part of Europe, so low-cost airlines from other countries fly to it. Most of the inexpensive tickets are in Kutaisi. Therefore, you can easily combine a trip to Europe and a trip to Georgia.
For 3000-5000 rubles in both directions, you can fly to Georgia from almost any European country and vice versa: Cyprus, Lithuania, Germany, Italy, Poland and others. See here where the cheap flights are.
The cheapest route: Moscow - Debrecen / Budapest - Kutaisi and back. All tickets can be purchased from 9,500 rubles.
Another option is to get to Georgia cheaply: we go from Moscow or St. Petersburg to Vilnius by train or bus, and from Vilnius on Wizz Air flights you can fly to Georgia from 20-40 euros (one way).
Transport from Kutaisi... Directly from Kutaisi airport you can get to Tbilisi by minibuses (cost from 10 GEL), buses (from 15 GEL). Kutaisi is located much closer to Batumi than Tbilisi - convenient for those who travel to Georgia by the sea. A taxi from the airport to Batumi will cost from 40-50 lari.
The total cost: depends on the route, about 10-30 thousand rubles for all flights.
disadvantages: Schengen is needed.
To Georgia by sea (from Sochi to Batumi)
Now, judging by the reviews and the blank page on the Sochi port website, the ferry does not operate.
It used to be like this. The high-speed meteor ferry made it possible to get to Georgia by sea - from Sochi to Batumi. Travel time is 5-8 hours. One way ticket costs 7,000 rubles. The schedule is floating (about once or twice a week). Departure at 10:30 am. You need to find out up-to-date information about the ferry at the ticket offices of the Sochi or Batumi seaport.
How to get to Georgia cheaper and faster
Let's summarize.
There are two cheapest ways to get to Georgia - both will require from 5000 rubles for everything:
- Fly to Vladikavkaz, and from there by minibuses or hitchhiking.
- Fly to Gyumri (Armenia), and then take a minibus.
It will be faster and more convenient to fly to Georgia by connecting flights. From Moscow and St. Petersburg - from 12,500 rubles, from the regions - almost twice as much.
The most interesting and intense way to travel to Georgia is by car.
Getting to Georgia via Europe or Azerbaijan is also interesting and quite inexpensive.
Take your pick!
See how much hotels and apartments cost in Georgia in the summer of 2021:
| A type | Price per day (rub.) | Example |
| Budget guesthouse in the center of Tbilisi | from 1200 ₽ | Guest House Kato |
| 3 * hotel with breakfast in Old Tbilisi | from 3000 ₽ | 7 Baits Hotel |
| Hotel 3 * by the sea in Batumi | from 1700 ₽ | Cozy Corner Hotel |
| Apartment with a courtyard in the center of Tbilisi (2 bedrooms) | from 3000 ₽ | Central Tbilisi - Patio Appartment |
| Apartment in Batumi by the sea | from 2600 ₽ | IOANE HOME |
Attention:
- Trains from Russia to Georgia do not run.
- It is impossible to enter the territory of Georgia through Abkhazia. Keep in mind that you may not be allowed into Georgia if you have Abkhazian stamps in your passport. Therefore, to enter the latter, use an internal civil passport.
