1

Yes, it is. Day trip is sufficient though - the town is quite small.

2

Thanks if do Tbilisi to David Gareja Cave Monestary to Sighnaghi then back to Tbilisi - driving myself, is this doable? or does it become a long day drive

3

It's doable. The monastery is in Kakheti, which is near Sighnaghi. Kakheti is about 3hours or so from Tbilisi.
Good like driving in Georgia!

4

possible, but with driving all day long.

5

Beter enjoy staying in guesthouse in Signachi, and then return back to Tbilisi next morning. Signachi is nice small town to walk around in peace.

6

The best thing about Sighnaghi is its location, the town itself is very small and has been remade for tourists (though I highly recommend the Mexican restaurant). It's nice to walk around but there isn;t much to do. Definitely go visit Bodbe monastary, a couple km out of town. I went last weekend and from Tbilisi the marshrutka only took about an hour and a half, so if you're driving it will go even faster. Past Sagurejo there is a turnoff for David Gareji which I think is about 50km away.

7

We found Sighnaghi a bit disappointing actually. Absolutely magnificent location, but, as seemingly in many places in Georgia, completely overrestored. It lacks an authentic feeling. It felt like they are reshaping the town on the base of some Toscany or Provence photographs. We found it rather soulless. There are nicer places in Georgia. A day trip from Tbilisi might be worth it, though.

Beware of the marshrutka drivers, by the way. If you prefer to decide upon your accomodation by yourself, just tell them you had already booked something (and swap a name from the guidebook). Many of these guys are just proppers for their own guesthouses, which are in many cases the lower-grade accomodations in town. As elsewhere, the better places don't need PR (just check this forum for them).

We learnt this through mistakes, though: on our first day in Georgia, we were persuaded by one of those guys (a driver named Gela, from the Tbilisi-Sighnaghi route), who put us up in one of his several guesthouses (they still drive their marshrutkas to prop unknowing tourists), and was then very persistent in trying to get us into guesthouses of his friends in our other destinations. When he learnt that we had changed plans, and would no longer spend a second night in his (not yet fully renovated) guesthouse, he got quite annoyed.

He insisted on bringing us personally to a so-called perfectly modern guesthouse in Tbilisi, our next stop. Although we clearly said that we would be ok finding something on our own, he simply took us to the end of his route, parked his marshrutka (why would a marshrutka driver do that anyway, not being from Tbilisi?) and guided us into the metro to the city center, to finally lead us into a completely dark alley with a third-grade, over-prized hostel. Feeling like hostages by that point, we just took off after which he got completely nuts.

When we arrived in Kazbegi, a few days later we were awaited by a lady, a friend of him, whom he had called without saying, after he had casually asked about our further plans. Again, we just took off, leaving a startled lady.

Reading this, you might wonder if we had perhaps misunderstood Georgian hospitality. We really did not. We encountered enough genuine hospitable people to compare. This was merely hijacking. Anyway, don't let stories like this refrain you from travelling this marvellous country. It is just one of these little setbacks that happen when travelling, anywhere. They won't spoil your trip in the end though.

8

I was planning to stay there for a couple of nights. Do you think Sighnaghi is a good base for wine tastings in the Kakheti region or should we plan to stay elsewhere? Perhaps Telavi?

9

The reconstruction of Telavi will start this summer, so it coul be a lot of building activities. Better stay in Signachi or in a guesthouses in villages.

10

Thank you Vytulia. Will stay in Sighnaghi then.