Georgia in June - Road trip :) Restaurants? :) and accommodation? :)

Hi guys & girls :),
We arrive in Tbilisi June 1st and intend on staying in Tbilisi for 2 or 3 nights before heading off around Georgia.
We will most likely hire our own car and drive around the countryside. We have done this in many countries ourselves (Romania, Bulgaria, Sri Lanka and others) so can't see this being an issue.
We have no idea what route to take!! Haha.
We are a couple that are into eating/drinking with a view. Prefer homestays or anything that isn't a big soulless hotel.
Rooms/restaurants with balconies and views of rolling mountains/rivers are what we are after. We arnt serious trekkers but would definitely be up for some day treks.
We also wouldn't mind crossing the border and spending a few nights in Armenia but we will see how it goes with that when we are there. Also always been fascinated in Abkhazia so would like to make the effort to spend a night or 2 there since I'm in that part of the world.
Just wondering if a 4wd is necessary? Are the roads decent condition?
Love small towns but not too small if we sleeping in i.e. if they have a restaurant or 2 we are happy :) Or if its a home stay then we are fine with a village of 10 :)
Any route recommendations or places to stay would be greatly appreciated
Also re Tbilisi? Anyone have any recommendations for places to stay (with view) and restaurants? We are willing to lash out in Tbilisi in relation to food/restaurants so no budget restrictions :)
We fly out of Tbilisi on the 13th.
Thanks guys… Cant wait to get there (its our honeymoon :))
Ed

Well, I would suggest renting your car at the Tbilisi Airport rather than a downtown location to avoid traffic suffering and possible seconds of terror. A standard rental car should do, But, if you plan tp drive to the Tusheti or Svaneti regions you should hire a 4WD. Many roads in very rural Georgia are either quite challenging or not decent

In my opinion the best Tbilisi hotels with balconies, views and restaurants are the Kopola, The Old Metekhi or GTM Tappan. Specify a room with view of Old Town & River. Tbilisi is illuminated at night and the balcony views are worth it.

Kazbegi, four hours north of Tbilisi is a must and well as the Sno Valley leading to the village of Juta. The wine region of Kakheti and a visit to the Davit Gareja Monastery should be a priority. I believe Signagi is the most picturesque town in Kakheti with good views toward the Caucasus mountains. Tours of wineries and/or monastic and cultural sites can be arranged or with a car you can do it yourself.

You mentioned you like eating/drinking. Do be a bit careful as Georgia has a serious zero tolerance policy.

Regarding Abkhazia. This will be an adventure. I would suggest doing some online and guide book research. Things are quite different and unique there, for example ATM's, money can be a problem and the conversations with customs on either side of the border might be extended.
Armenia is no problem. You can purchase a visa at the border I believe. Try not to do too much in too short a time.

Good travels

With that amount of time, I would recommend spending your few days in Tbilisi, then driving to Gori -- not a beautiful city but the Stalin museum is bizarre and fascinating plus it has BY FAR the best restaurant I went to in my month in Georgia -- which is really saying something because the Georgian cuisine is all around great. From there to Kutaisi -- a nice city (I liked it better than Tbilisi) with some really cool day trips available. Then on to either Abkhazia or Svaneti, then to the other. You really should not miss Svaneti -- that region and Tusheti are generally talked about as the best of Georgia (with good reason) and you don't have time to see Tusheti on your trip.

The most logical route in terms of breaking up drive times might be Tbilisi - Kutaisi - Svaneti - Abhazia - Gori - Tbilisi

Homestays are readily available in all those places (well, I'm not sure about Abkhazia) and are generally where you find the best meals.

If looking for a restaurant with a view - you can not beat Swallows Nest in Sighnaghi.

And Kazbegi Rooms Veranda towards Kazbegi Mountain...

Old Tbilisi Hotels have good places in terms of dinner with a view...

Wow… Thanks guys for all the suggestions. Ill look into them all :)
Keep them coming :)

austin_guiri , could you please advice the resto in Gori you mentioned? which exactly are you talking about? i'm very curious. i've been in the city but did't find any good place to eat

I'm pretty sure it was called Old Gori. I'll check with my girlfriend who writes down that sort of thing and edit if that's not right.

To get there you go to the long boulevard/park in the middle of town with the Stalin museum at the end. Leave the park past the Stalin museum. A street running the same direction starts on the other side of the museum (right hand side) with a fancy restaurant with huge windows on the corner. Walk down between 1/2block-2 blocks and the restaurant is on your right. It has no sign but is fairly obvious. You enter by going down some stairs -- the restaurant's half a floor below street level.

this one? bit different from your directions, but seems close....https://ru.foursquare.com/v/old-gori/51fa9cb1498e2493ded6bb63

i visited the one you mentioned-the one near the museum, with huge windows. wouldn't recommend it.

That's the one!

"Pelmans in clay pot" is great

thanks a lot! will check :-)

How do you rate the wine country to the east of Tbilisi?
As far as accommodation goes outside of Tbilisi - Would you recommend booking? Or if we just did the trip free without booking and just rocked up would we find places?
Unfortunately we both only speak English so I'm guessing finding accommodation when you arrive into a small town at 4pm might be an issue?

So would you recommend heading west and then north instead of East then north (from Tbilisi?)

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