Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

Tbilisi - Mestia by car

Country forums / Eastern Europe & the Caucasus / Georgia

Hi.
I'm planning on renting a car in Tbilisi end April / early May and driving to Mestia. A few questions:
- is the Tbilisi-Kutaisi-Zugdidi-Mestia route the only (reasonable !) option ?
- is this road open in all weather conditions in April-May ?
- how long approximately would it take ?
- would you recommend renting a 4x4 for this drive - or not necessary (for trips from and around Mestia I'm not planning on using the rented car) ?

Any help/advice appreciated.

1, Yes
2. most probably - yes
3. Including some stops - approximately 9 hours (also given that you will have to accommodate to Georgian style of driving :)))))
4. 4X4 is not an absolute necessity to go to Mestia, as the current state of the road is quite decent, but I would still opt for it.

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