We recently visited Georgia for a week. This was our basic itinerary:

Day 0: Arrive in Tbilisi in evening. Overnight in Tbilisi

Day 1: Tbilisi to Mestia. Overnight in Mestia

Day 2: Walk around Mestia; Day trip to Ushguli. Overnight in Mestia

Day 3: Mestia to Tbilisi. Tbilisi Opera. Overnight in Tbilisi

Day 4: Sightseeing in Tbilisi (Old and New Tbilisi). Overnight in Tbilisi

Day 5: Day trip to Davit Gareja and Kakheti (Sighnaghi, Bodbe Monastery). Overnight in Tbilisi

Day 6: Day trip to Kazbegi (Gergeti Sameba, Ananuri fortress). Overnight in Tbilisi

Day 7: Day trip to Jvari, Gori, Uplistsikhe, Mtskheta. Depart on overnight train to Baku

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- SVANETI DRIVER: Our driver in Svaneti was Giga. He's an awesome guy, and totally went above and beyond. We had booked him for our Ushguli day trip, and he ended up rescuing us from our cancelled flight and taking us from Tbilisi to Mestia for a dirt-cheap price because he happened to be going there that same day. He also took us to the airport in Mestia and helped arrange for us to get a refund on our Mestia flights, even though the flight ticket for the next day was non-refundable until it was actually cancelled for weather. His phone number is +995 558 90 00 94

- TBILISI DAY TRIPS GUIDE: We used Maria Romanova as our guide for the three day trips from Tbilisi on Days 5-7. Her phone number is +995568817632

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Some thoughts on the sites and cities:

*SVANETI*

- Svaneti is simply beautiful. It's difficult to reach on a short trip (9 hour drive, or a flight that seems to get cancelled due to weather), but we certainly have no regrets about going there for even a short time. It was awesome to see the great peaks of the Caucasus up close. Very few tourists around. It's a shame we didn't have a week to spend in Svaneti to relax and do some more hiking, but it was still great to experience the little of Svaneti that we did.

- Ushguli is stunning and the defensive towers are unique. We had a good 5-6 hours there on our day trip (Giga didn't rush us). We started by walking some of the route to the glacier, which took us uphill and gave us beautiful views down into the villages. Then we spent the rest of the day walking through the three villages. It was fun and interesting to see the village life, the animals, the views, the people, etc.

- Mestia isn't as interesting or beautiful as Ushguli, but it's still a beautiful place to spend a couple nights. Mestia feels a little bit "touristy" and developed; a new road running through the town, and the main street is filled with guesthouses.

- The drive into Svaneti from the highway is stunning, as is the drive from Mestia to Ushguli. Every few minutes is a new -- and amazing -- photo op. Though, we lucked out with the weather, and I can see it being rather disappointing if there are clouds.

- Note for dog lovers: The dogs in Svaneti (both in Mestia and Ushguli) are awesome. I'm not sure if they're strays / community dogs or if they belong to specific families, but they'll be wandering around the streets. They're big dogs, but totally friendly, harmless and fluffy.


*TBILISI: THE CITY*


- Tbilisi is a good walking city, and we had a great day exploring Old and New Tbilisi on our own. 1 full day and a lot of energy is sufficient to get a basic overview of the city, but more days can't hurt. Sites are close together, so you can see a lot in one day.

- We began the day by walking around the Old City, generally north to south. We saved the Narikala Fortress for last, and then took the cable car down across the river into Rike Park. And then we walked across the bridge, and went into the New City to see the museums.

- We found these walking tours helpful for covering everything and getting some good background information: http://tbilisiguide.ge/w/tourist_routes.php . More comprehensive than any of the walking tours in the tourbooks.

- Old Tbilisi is quite fascinating with many interesting sites. Lots of variety: old houses and streets to explore, an oddly built clock tower, several churches, two beautiful synagogues, a mosque, sulphur bathhouses, etc. Great 360-degree views from the fortress and Mother Georgia.

- Rike Park was neat, particularly seeing all the modern architecture that Saakashvili built.

- If you're at all into art, make a quick visit to the National Gallery and see the paintings by Pirosmani and others. Despite the imposing name ("*national* gallery"), it's a relatively small collection and can be seen quickly.

- The Museum of Georgia was worth a stop. The best part of the museum was the section on the "Soviet Occupation." The collection of old gold was interesting as well. The rest of the museum seemed like the same old artifacts that you'd find in any country's national museum (e.g., old coins, old pottery, old tools) and wasn't of too much interest to us.

- Tbilisi Opera: We saw Absalom and Eteri at the National Opera Theatre. We're not opera connoisseurs, but the performance was enjoyable and the production was impressive. The opera house is beautiful inside, too. And the tickets are quite cheap compared to that of major Western cities.

- Food in Tbilisi was great, and Georgia really has a rich and unique cuisine. We ate lots of khachapuri and khinkali. Khinklis Sakhli had many flavors of khinkali and was very good, and Machakhela had various styles of great khachapuri. We didn't like the churchele at all and thought they were flavorless and boring; perhaps they'd be better if they were a bit sweeter. Georgian food is very bready / starchy, so we got a bit tired of eating heavy food.

- The Tbilisi metro is worth a ride, particularly if you've never seen an old Soviet metro station.

* TBILISI DAY TRIPS *

- We decided to base ourselves in Tbilisi and see Davit Gareja, Kakheti, Kazbegi, etc. as separate day trips. While it would have saved some driving time to do it differently, we opted to stay in one place rather than having to move around every day. It worked out just fine this way.

- Davit Gareja: Really impressive. Hiking around the caves and seeing the old frescos was a blast. Great views and scenery. Thankfully, the people on the tour groups are generally too unfit to make it to the caves, so you'll likely have the caves all to yourselves. Definitely a must-see if you're going to Georgia

- Kakheti: We weren't too impressed with what we saw. Bodbe Convent wasn't particularly impressive; it seemed like a run-of-the-mill monastery, other than the fact that it was for women (we didn't see any). Sighnaghi was a pretty town and looks great in the photos, but it seemed rather touristy and boring once we got there. We were also disappointed that "wine tasting" in Kakheti seemed to be going to someone's home or a restaurant to try out various wines, rather than going to actual wineries or vineyards. Maybe our guide didn't take us to the right places.

- Kazbegi: After having visited Svaneti a few days earlier, Kazbegi unfortunately didn't seem so impressive. Perhaps that's also because it was a bit foggy and Mt Kazbeg was pretty much hidden. The scenery there was still quite pretty, and we had a great hike up to the Gergeti Sameba church. If you're in good shape and can handle a slightly steep climb, walk up the other side of the mountain rather than the car road for much better views. The church at the top is unimpressive.

- Ananuri fortress: Just okay. It's a fairly interesting fortress, but nothing to write home about. Nice to see on the way to Kazbegi, but I wouldn't make a 1/2 day trip just to go there if you're not going to Kazbegi.

- Gori: Fascinating, and one of the highlights of the trip. We really lucked out and had a great museum guide (included with the admission ticket) who spoke amazing English and was also very passionate and informed about Stalin and Soviet history. Perhaps the experience would have been mediocre if we didn't luck out and have him as our guide, as the museum itself is largely a collection of photos. But our guide really made it come to life and we learned a ton. Seeing Stalin's train car and childhood house was also neat.

- Uplistsikhe: Definitely worth a stop if you're already going to Gori, since it's nearby. You'll have to use a little bit of your imagination, but the ruins are fairly well preserved and actual rooms are still intact.

- Jvari: Fairly unmemorable, particularly since we'd already seen many monasteries on hills. The only thing that stood out were the good views of Mtskheta and the river.

- Mtskheta: Annoyingly touristic. The entire city felt like a giant tourist trap; to walk to the church, you must pass several streets full of vendors peddling junk. The city had no authentic charm whatsoever. The church itself was overcrowded and full of tourists, and visiting was an unpleasant experience. I know that Jvari and Mtskheta is a popular trip from Tbilisi, but there are much better things to see in Georgia.

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Some miscellaneous notes:

- FLIGHTS TO MESTIA: We purchased flights from Tbilisi to Mestia (and return) in advance. On Day 1, we went to the airport for the flight, and the flight ended up being cancelled because of rain/fog. Luckily, Giga (our Svaneti driver mentioned above) happened to be going from Tbilisi to Mestia himself that day and he was able to give us a ride. The afternoon before our return flight, the weather report seemed questionable for the next day, so we opted to get a refund for our flight and decided to take the marshrutka. We didn't want to take a chance that the flight would get cancelled because of rain/fog. Bottom line is that the flights are totally unreliable, and you could get totally screwed if you wait around for them and they get cancelled.

- MESTIA-TBILISI MARSHRUTKA: We left at 8am, and arrived at 5pm. The road in Svaneti is quite scary (alongside a cliff), and you'll be on the edge of your seat for much of the drive. The marshrutka is cramped and smelly, so wasn't the most fun 9 hours of our lives.

- MESTIA HOTEL: We stayed at Nino Ratiani's Guesthouse ( https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...ti_Region.html ) for 2 nights in Mestia. It was great. It was about $35/night for an en suite double room including breakfast and dinner for 2 people. I wrote to a lot of budget / mid-range hotels in Mestia, and found it difficult to find one offering rooms with en suite bathrooms. Luckily, Nino offers them. The rooms are modern and very clean. She's a very nice lady, and she speaks excellent English and can help you out with trip planning. And the food is excellent and plentiful. Meals are sit-down with many different local dishes, which will promptly be refilled.

- TBILISI AIRBNB: We stayed at this AirBnB in Tbilisi: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6172795 . It was clean, spacious and well maintained. The owner was very nice and helpful. The location is great: smack in the center of Old Tbilisi, and a 3 minute walk to Leselidze Street (where all the bars and restaurants are).

- TBILISI-BAKU TRAIN: We booked a first class cabin (2 beds / cabin), and it was about $50/person. The train leaves Tbilisi at 5:30pm, and arrives in Baku at about 7:45am. We heard that the train is sometimes several hours late, but our train arrived only about 20 minutes late. It's an old Soviet train that doesn't move very fast, but the first class cabin was very comfortable and clean. The staff were very nice, and clean bedding is included. The train bed is quite comfortable, but it was a bit difficult to sleep due to the train's frequent starting and stopping. We'd never taken an overnight train before, and it was a fun and relaxing experience. Border formalities for each country took place somewhere between about 7pm and 10pm (don't remember exactly), which means you can sleep for the remainder of the ride without being awoken.

- BUYING TRAIN TICKETS IN ADVANCE: Apparently, the international train tickets cannot be bought online, not can someone buy them for you in advance because a passport is required. We bought the train tickets exactly one week in advance in person at the train station without hassle; the train didn't even seem full.

- THE GEORGIANS: Very nice and helpful people, overall. Unfortunately, almost every man smokes, as did a lot of the women. They also drive quite aggressively, and the machismo is evident.