My Tbilisi Travel Diary: 5 Days of Sulfur Baths, Khachapuri, and 8,000-Year-Old Wine
Day 1: Arrival and the First Khachapuri
Landed at Tbilisi International (TBS) at 11PM. The airport bus (#37) costs 0.50 GEL — that's about 19 cents — but at midnight I splurged on a Bolt taxi. 12 GEL ($4.40) to my hostel in the old town.
The hostel was 20 GEL/night ($7.40) and surprisingly clean. The owner, Nino, was still awake watching Turkish soap operas and immediately handed me a glass of homemade red wine. "Welcome to Georgia. You drink."
I drank. It was good.
Hunger hit at midnight, and this is where Tbilisi revealed its first superpower: everything is open late. Found a Machakhela restaurant (chain, but solid) on Rustaveli Avenue. Ordered Adjarian khachapuri — the boat-shaped bread filled with molten cheese, with a raw egg and butter dropped in at the table. You stir it all together and tear off pieces of the bread to scoop it up.
12 GEL ($4.40). At midnight. In a restaurant that would charge $22 for the same dish in Brooklyn.
This city was going to be a problem for my waistline.
Day rating: 7/10. Late arrival, but the wine-and-khachapuri welcome set the tone.
Day 2: Old Town and the Sulfur Baths
Started in the old town — Kala — a maze of narrow alleys with wooden balconies leaning at angles that shouldn't be structurally possible. Grape vines crawl up walls. Cats own every doorstep. Someone's grandmother hangs laundry from a third-floor window while a cafe below serves natural wine to backpackers.
Took the cable car from Rike Park (2.50 GEL) to Narikala Fortress. The 4th-century fortress is free to enter and the views are the best panorama in the city: the Mtkvari River below, the old town's colorful buildings cascading down the hillside, the Bridge of Peace glinting in the sun, and the Mother of Georgia statue (Kartlis Deda) on the ridge — a 20-meter aluminum woman holding a sword and a wine cup. Sword for enemies. Wine for friends. That's Georgia in one image.
Afternoon: Abanotubani sulfur baths. The city was literally founded because of these hot springs — "tbili" means warm. I booked a private room at Orbeliani Baths (the one with the blue-tiled facade) for 60 GEL/hour. The sulfur water is hot, slightly smelly (egg-like), and after 30 minutes every muscle in your body decides to stop being tense forever.
Added a kisi scrub (25 GEL) — a Georgian man attacked my skin with a rough cloth until I was pink, smooth, and questioning my life choices. Afterward, I felt like I'd been reborn.
Dinner at Shavi Lomi. Modern Georgian cuisine, tiny portions by Georgian standards (which means normal by everywhere-else standards). Lamb chakapuli (stew with tarragon and sour plums): 22 GEL. Glass of Saperavi: 12 GEL. Outstanding.
Day rating: 9/10. The sulfur bath alone was worth the flight.
Day 3: Wine Day
Georgia claims to be the birthplace of wine. Not metaphorically. Archaeologists found 8,000-year-old qvevri (clay fermentation vessels) in the country. This is where humans first figured out that grape juice becomes something magical if you bury it underground in clay pots.
Started at Vino Underground — a wine bar that specializes in natural wines made in traditional qvevri. The bartender poured an amber wine (orange wine, made from white grapes left in contact with their skins) that tasted like nothing I'd had before. Honey, dried apricot, and something earthy I couldn't name. Tasting flight: 25 GEL.
Afternoon: Day trip to the Kakheti wine region, 120km east. Booked through the hostel — 100 GEL for a full day including transport, visits to two family-run wineries, and tastings. The first winery was a family operation where the grandfather still makes wine in qvevri buried in the backyard. He poured four varieties and refused payment. "You are my guest."
The second winery was slightly more commercial but still felt intimate. Unlimited tasting. I tried eight wines. Bought two bottles of Saperavi (15 GEL each, ~$5.50) that were better than most $30 bottles at home.
Evening: Stumbled into a supra (traditional feast) at a restaurant near Dry Bridge. The tamada (toastmaster) led a sequence of toasts — to God, to Georgia, to ancestors, to guests, to love, to the dead, to life. Each toast required drinking. I lost count after toast seven.
Gaumarjos. Cheers.
Day rating: 10/10. I came to Georgia for wine and Georgia delivered beyond any reasonable expectation.
Day 4: Dry Bridge Market and Mtatsminda
The Dry Bridge flea market operates daily but weekends are best. An open-air sprawl on a disused bridge selling Soviet military pins, Georgian enamel jewelry, oil paintings, vinyl records, antique daggers, and vintage cameras.
I bought a Soviet-era propaganda poster (15 GEL after bargaining from 25) and a small Georgian cloisonne enamel pendant (20 GEL) as gifts. The vintage camera selection was tempting — working Zenit SLRs for 40-60 GEL — but I resisted.
Bargaining is expected. Start at 40-50% of asking.
Afternoon: Mtatsminda Park via the funicular (8 GEL round trip). The 1903 funicular (rebuilt 2012) climbs through forested hillside in 3 minutes. The hilltop has an amusement park (rides are pay-per-use), but I was here for the view. The Ferris wheel at 770m gives you all of Tbilisi spread below with the Caucasus mountains behind.
Dinner: Khinkali at a hole-in-the-wall near Marjanishvili metro. Khinkali are Georgian soup dumplings — you pick them up by the twisted top knob, bite a small hole, suck out the broth, then eat the rest. You don't eat the knob. Stacking discarded knobs on your plate is how you keep count.
1 GEL per khinkali. I ate 12. That's $4.40 for dinner. And I was full.
Day rating: 8/10. The flea market was a highlight I didn't expect.
Day 5: Bridge of Peace and Departure
Quiet morning. Walked the Bridge of Peace — Michele De Lucchi's glass-and-steel bow connecting old town to Rike Park. Free to cross. Beautiful at any time, but the LED lights at night are better.
Last coffee at Prospero's Books & Caliban's Coffee, a bookshop-cafe that felt like it was designed specifically for me. English books, good espresso (6 GEL), and a garden terrace overlooking a churchyard.
Bolt to the airport. 15 GEL.
Day rating: 6/10. Departure days. You know the drill.
I'm planning my return trip while writing this. Georgia is the most hospitable country I've ever visited, and I've been to 30+. If Georgia hooks you, neighboring Yerevan is a natural next stop. The food is extraordinary. The wine is ancient and unique. The prices are laughably low. The old town is stunning. And the sulfur baths are something I now dream about on cold nights.
If Europe has a best-kept secret left, it's Georgia.
Total cost for 5 days: Approximately 650 GEL (~$240) including hostel, all meals, wine day trip, sulfur bath, and transport. That's $48 per day in one of the most interesting cities in the world.
