Georgia

Georgia is the destination Indian travel groups discovered two years ago and haven't stopped talking about since — and unusually, the hype is deserved. This is a country where snow-capped 5,000m peaks rise an hour from a capital full of art-nouveau balconies and sulphur bathhouses, where a full restaurant dinner with wine costs ₹800, and where the wine itself has been made in buried clay vessels for eight thousand years. It looks like Europe, costs like Asia, and — for now — hasn't been priced like either.

The shape of the trip

Tbilisi (3 nights). The capital deserves more than the transit stop most itineraries give it. The old town's carved wooden balconies, the Narikala fortress cable car, the brick-domed sulphur baths of Abanotubani (book a private room — ₹1,500–₹3,000 an hour, a scrub included), the Dry Bridge flea market on weekend mornings, and Fabrika — a Soviet sewing factory turned courtyard of cafés — fill three days without trying. Eat khinkali (soup dumplings; twist, sip, bite — never use a knife) and khachapuri adjaruli, the cheese-and-egg bread boat that will ruin all other breakfasts.

Kazbegi / Stepantsminda (1–2 nights). The three-hour drive up the Georgian Military Highway is the most scenic road in the region — stop at the Ananuri fortress and the Russia–Georgia Friendship Monument viewpoint. The prize is Gergeti Trinity Church, a 14th-century silhouette against 5,047m Mount Kazbek. Stay overnight: the day-trippers leave by 5pm, and the church at sunrise with clouds pouring off the mountain is the single best photograph in the Caucasus.

Kakheti wine country (1 night or a long day). Signagi — the walled "city of love" overlooking the Alazani valley — plus two or three family wineries. Georgian qvevri wine (fermented underground in clay amphorae) is a UNESCO-listed tradition; tastings are generous, informal and rarely over ₹500.

Optional swaps: in winter, replace Kakheti with Gudauri — a genuine ski resort where lift passes and lessons cost a third of the Alps. In summer, ambitious travellers add Svaneti (Mestia's medieval towers) — spectacular, but it needs three extra nights; don't cram it.

What it costs, honestly

A couple travelling comfortably should budget ₹1,60,000–₹2,00,000 all-in for 7 nights — with wine, drivers and the good hotels included. The same trip in actual Europe is triple.

Food and wine: the short course

Georgian cuisine is the best food story you haven't been told. Beyond khinkali and khachapuri: badrijani (walnut-stuffed aubergine rolls), lobio (bean stew in clay pots), mtsvadi (grill-fire pork skewers) and pkhali (vegetable-walnut pâtés) — the last two categories mean vegetarians eat brilliantly here, which almost no one expects of the Caucasus. The supra — the Georgian feast, led by a toastmaster called the tamada — is worth experiencing once; many guesthouses arrange them. Wine is everywhere, ancient, and absurdly cheap: house qvevri wine by the litre in restaurants costs less than bottled water in Dubai.

What Indians specifically should know

• The visa-free shortcut: a valid US, UK or Schengen visa (used once) gets Indians into Georgia without the e-visa at all — one of the best perks of holding those stamps.
• E-visa printouts matter. Carry the approval printed, plus hotel bookings and return tickets — Georgian border officers do ask Indian arrivals, and airlines at Indian check-in desks ask harder.
• Connectivity: Magti has the best coverage; a tourist SIM with generous data costs ₹600–₹900 at the airport. Bolt (not Uber) is the ride app.
• Currency is the lari (GEL); cards work in cities, but mountain guesthouses and markets are cash. Exchange in the city, not the airport.
• Weather whiplash is real: Tbilisi can be 28°C while Kazbegi is 12°C and raining. Layers, always, even in July.

Frequently asked questions

Is Georgia safe for Indian travellers?

Genuinely, yes — Tbilisi ranks among the safer capitals anywhere, solo women travellers report overwhelmingly positive experiences, and violent crime against tourists is rare. Standard city sense covers the rest. The one caution: check current advisories about the boundary areas of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which are simply not on any tourist route.

Georgia or Azerbaijan — which first?

Georgia for scenery, wine and mountain villages; Baku for a polished city-break with Gulf-style architecture. The smart play is both in one trip: they connect by overnight train and a combined 9–10 nights covers the pair. We'll publish the full combo itinerary soon.

Do people speak English?

Young Georgians in Tbilisi and tourist towns, yes. Older generations speak Georgian and Russian. Google Translate handles menus; goodwill handles everything else — hospitality here is a national trait with 8,000 years of practice.

Is it good for a honeymoon?

An unconventional but brilliant one: private wine tastings, cliff-top Signagi sunsets, mountain-view rooms under Kazbek and candle-lit old-town dinners — at a third of a Europe honeymoon's price. Choose May–June or September for the weather.