Transportation in Tbilisi and Caucasus Mountains

Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, is quite a big city with three-lined avenues and busy city streets complete with rather heavy traffic. The roads are packed with buses, both big and small, minivans called 'marshutkas' and taxis. If you are planning a visit to the city centre arrange to get there either by bus or taxi as marshutkas are not allowed.

Travel by bus in Tbilisi can be slower than by marshutkas, but they run on time.

Our Tbilisi transportation guide tells you all you need to know about getting into and around Tbilisi. Use our Tbilisi destination guide to research some of the many Tbilisi highlights just waiting to be explored. Book a Tbilisi tour that takes you to explore them all.

Tbilisi Tranportation Guide

There is a large variety of transport in Tbilisi to help you get from A to Z! Read below for some handy information about getting to, from and around Tbilisi.

Getting to Tbilisi

By Air

The Tbilisi International Airport in Georgia is a small, efficiently run terminal that links Georgia with the important cities of Europe and other parts of the globe. Being the main airport of the region, it has undergone a recent renovation in 2007. Swiss Air, British Airways and Austrian Airlines operate flights to Tbilisi. A few flights like the Riga-Tbilisi flight arrive in the city at the odd hour of 3.30 am. The airport is located 18 km from the city centre and can be reached in 20 minutes time. A special yellow bus serves the airport exclusively and it costs about .6 USD (1 GEL) to use this service.  You can also board the bus route no. 50 at the airport entrance, to reach the city centre close to the Town Hall. The bus plies at a regular interval of 30 minutes and the fare is 50 Lari.

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Flights to Tbilisi

By Train

There are two international railway lines in Georgia, one connecting to Azerbaijan and another to Armenia. Russia too is linked by rail, but since the line passes through Abkhazia, a breakaway region, it has not been functional for the past 15 years. Turkey is yet to find a place in the rail network. Talks are in progress on the proposed railroad along the Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki-Kars route. The train journey to Yerevan seems never ending. This train cruises along at a speed of 20 kmph with frequent stops along the route. If you are planning a trip to Yerevan, take a Marshrukta instead; it's cheaper and you'll reach Yerevan in 6 hours.

Getting around Tbilisi

By Bus

Do you intend to get to the regions of Georgia by public transport? There are two bus stations in Tbilisi: Bus Station Dedakalaki near Vagzlis Moedani (station square) and Bus Station Okriba near Didube metro station, equipped with both modern buses and minibuses. They leave Tbilisi in early mornings and come back in late evenings. Buy tickets in the booth and enjoy diverse views of nature and different kinds of music on the way.

A fleet of 1000 state of the art buses services the city. The buses have been procured recently and are very comfortable. The bus routes have been almost finalised and would require alterations only when the city undergoes any expansions. These buses can be boarded only at the designated stops. New monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly and annual bus cards are available for prices ranging between 20 GEL and 145 GEL for people who regularly use the bus service. Making bus transport in Tbilisi a reasonably inexpensive way to travel. Though the price seems quite high, these cards offer the commuter quite a few free trips, which eventually bring down the average commute cost to less than the standard 40 Tetris.

By Marshrutkas

Mini vans called Marshrutkas are ideal for daylong trips in the city. You could get the tickets at a nearby booth or pay the driver when you get on or off the vehicle. There are no strict payment modes. Mini vans are a relatively inexpensive way to explore the neighbourhood. You can inform the driver where you want to get off or if you aren't too sure of your bearings, there are always many people willing to help out. The main Marshrutka depot is better known as the Didube.

The Marshrutka service is not limited to the city; long distance services are also operated to link towns and cities within and across the border. There are three bus stations in Tbilisi that cater to long distance travel. Vehicles departing from the Didube ply to locations within the county. Visitors travelling to Mestia, Borjomi, Tskhinvali, Kazbegi, Gori and Mtskheta can board buses from this station. The Vagzel International Bus Depot at Orchatala is the starting point for international services linking Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia. Twice a week, buses ply to Baku, which lies about 14 hours away from Orchatala. Also, two buses operate from Orchatala to Yerevan each day. The travel time is about seven hours.

Every morning the mini vans leave for Greece and Yerevan. The Marshrukta nos. 48 and 94 ply regularly from the Parliament in Rustaveli to Orchatala.  Route no 94 also connects Orchatala to the central train station.

By Train

Tbilisi Railway Station provides routes to different cities of Georgia. You can go either in a day-time or overnight. Go to Station Square, enquire about time-table and decide! Trains feature air conditioning, heating and clean compartments.  Travelling by trains in Tbilisi takes more time than by buses and minibuses and can be boring. The train that leaves for Batumi is equipped up to high standards and travels faster. Conductors of all the trains are friendly and help you be ready when you approach your itinerary.

By Taxi

If you prefer taxis in Tbilisi, they can be found in almost every street. Different kinds of cars are available from Soviet cars to the latest ones. Agree on the price before beginning the trip. Do not get confused if the driver talks to you in Russian - most of them are middle-aged and as in their childhood Georgia was a part of Soviet Empire, the only foreign language they know is Russian.

By Metro

The Tbilisi metro is another travel option available and it takes just 15 minutes to reach your destination. The metro network in Tbilisi is quite well organised, with about 22 stations. The service is functional between 6 am and 12 pm, and has a commuter base of 300,000 people any day.

Important stations: The stations most useful to a visitor include the Vagzlis Moedani (the central station), Avlabari (to reach the Old Town and the sulphur baths), Tavisuplebis Moedani (to reach the end of Rustaveli), Rustaveli (main avenue) and Marjanishvili (near the Nasi guesthouse).

The instructions at the metro stations are mostly in the local Georgian script of Kartuli. Familiarity with the local language will help get the written directions, otherwise you could always ask for help and the people will only be too glad to be of assistance. The token (a red chip) for the metro can be purchased at the booth. Ask for ‘Adin zheton (one token)' or ‘Dva zheton (two token)' and complete the request by using ‘pazhalsta (please)' at the end of the sentence.

By Hire Car/driving

In case you intend to hire a car in Tbilisi, be careful as traffic is not well-run in Georgia. Drivers tend to forget traffic lights and cross the road when red light is on.  Although, everything is solved peacefully in the end because Georgians are used to it and just smile at it.

Walking

If you plan to take a walk, watch out for the traffic. The eight-laned streets are really wide and very dangerous to cross at one go. Tackle half a street at a time to get across safely. The drivers have very little respect for the pedestrians and the stoplights.