I Spent a Week in Georgia for Under £500 All-In — Here's Exactly How

I almost didn't go to Georgia. Not the American state — the actual country, wedged between Russia, Turkey, and the Black Sea, where the wine is extraordinary, the food costs next to nothing, and somehow half of Britain still hasn't discovered it yet. I booked flights on a Tuesday afternoon because a mate sent me a Wizz Air deal he'd spotted. Six hours later I had a week off work approved and £98 flights confirmed. That's where this story starts.

Spoiler: I came back with £480 spent in total. Including flights, accommodation, food, wine, a day trip to the Caucasus mountains, and a truly regrettable amount of churchkhela (Georgian walnut-and-grape-juice sweets). Here's exactly how.

✈️ Getting There: Flights from London

Tbilisi has been quietly getting more accessible from the UK. Wizz Air flies direct from Luton, and you can find return tickets from £90–150 if you're flexible on dates. Georgian Airways and flydubai also do the route with one stop. Avoid July and August if you're purely after price — shoulder season (April–June, September–October) is when the deals appear and the city is genuinely at its best.

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Flight time is about 5.5 hours direct. No dramatic time difference — Georgia is 4 hours ahead of the UK, so you land in the evening and feel human. That matters more than people think.

🏨 Where to Stay

Old Town (Abanotubani, specifically) is where you want to be. It's the neighbourhood with the wooden balconies, the sulphur bath houses, and the winding streets that somehow manage to feel both ancient and perfectly walkable. Budget guesthouses here run £18–28 per night for a double room — family-run places where breakfast is usually included and the hosts will tell you exactly where to eat if you ask.

I stayed at a guesthouse on Gorgasali Street for £22 a night. The room was spotless, the terrace had a view of Metekhi Church, and I was given homemade tkemali sauce on my first morning as a welcome gift. Can your hotel do that? Didn't think so.

Browse guesthouses in Tbilisi Old Town →

Hostels start from around £8 a night if you're travelling solo and want to keep costs lower. There's a solid backpacker scene — Georgia has become a proper digital nomad hub — so you'll find good social hostels in the Vera and Vake districts if Old Town gets too touristy for you.

🍽️ Food: The Main Event (Seriously)

Right. The food. I need to talk about the food.

Georgian cuisine is one of the great underrated food cultures in the world. It's not delicate or fussy — it's generous and deeply flavoured, built around walnuts, pomegranate, sour plum sauce (tkemali), and more cheese than seems medically advisable. A full dinner for two with wine will cost you £12–18. I am not making this up.

What to order:

Khinkali are the famous dumplings — thick twisted parcels of spiced meat broth. You hold them by the knot at the top, bite a small hole in the side, suck out the broth first, then eat the rest. Do not use a fork. You will be judged.

Khachapuri is Georgia's cheese bread — a boat-shaped pastry filled with melted sulguni cheese, topped with a raw egg and a pat of butter that you stir in at the table. The Adjaran version is the famous boat shape. Order it once and you'll order it every single day.

Georgian wine deserves its own article. Georgia is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world (8,000 years, to be precise), and a bottle of excellent local wine costs £4–8 in a restaurant. The amber wines — made with the skins left in during fermentation — are particularly special. Try a Rkatsiteli or a Kisi.

The Deserter's Market (Dezerter Bazaar) near the railway station is where locals buy food. Go on a Saturday morning. Stall holders will press bread, cheese, and wine into your hands. You will spend £6 and leave carrying an entire wheel of suluguni.

🏛️ What to See: The Free Stuff

Tbilisi rewards walking. The Old Town is genuinely beautiful — layered balconies draped with vines, hidden courtyards, tiny chapels wedged between apartment buildings. It doesn't feel performed or polished. It feels lived in.

Don't miss:

Narikala Fortress — the ancient citadel above Old Town, free to walk around, spectacular views of the Kura River and the city below. Get there at golden hour. Take too many photos. No apology needed.

The sulphur baths in Abanotubani — the domed bath houses that have been here since the 5th century. You can book a private room (about £10–15 per person per hour) and soak in natural sulphur spring water. It smells like eggs, feels like magic, and you'll sleep better than you have in years.

The Bridge of Peace — controversial with locals (it's very modern and strikingly out of place among the medieval architecture), but it's free and the view from it at night is excellent. Walk across it and decide for yourself.

Rustaveli Avenue — the main boulevard, lined with theatres, galleries, and a very good national museum. The Georgian National Museum charges about £4 entry and is genuinely excellent if you want to understand the context for everything you're seeing.

🏔️ Day Trip: Kazbegi

This is non-negotiable. Take the marshrutka (minivan) north from Didube station for about £5–8 each way and you'll be in the Caucasus mountains, standing in front of the Gergeti Trinity Church with one of the most dramatic backdrops on earth. The church is 14th century, perched at 2,170 metres on a hill above the town of Stepantsminda, with Mount Kazbek (5,047m) behind it. Entire photography careers have been dedicated to this view.

The marshrutka leaves around 10am and returns around 6pm. Bring layers — even in summer it's cold up there. Eat at a family guesthouse in the village for lunch (£5 for a full meal). Do not rush this day.

💷 Budget Breakdown: My Actual Week

Here's what I actually spent, not what I planned to spend:

Flights (return Luton–Tbilisi, Wizz Air): £98 | Accommodation (7 nights, Old Town guesthouse): £154 | Food and drink (7 days, eating extremely well): £90 | Activities and entry fees: £22 | Kazbegi day trip (transport + lunch): £18 | Souvenirs, wine to bring home, churchkhela: £38 | Airport transport: £12 | TOTAL: £432

I was trying to spend more. The city simply wouldn't let me.

📋 Quick Tips

— Georgian Lari (GEL) is the currency. £1 ≈ 3.7 GEL at time of writing. Cards are widely accepted in Tbilisi but bring some cash for markets and smaller restaurants.

— A tourist SIM from Magti or Geocell costs about £5 and gives you generous data for a week. Buy at the airport or any phone shop.

— Bolt and Yandex Go are the taxi apps. Never use an unmarked cab without agreeing a price first.

— Tbilisi in October–November is my pick for the best combination of mild weather, lower prices, and the grape harvest season. Winemakers literally invite strangers in off the street. It's that kind of place.

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