Trip readiness checklist for Georgia
Georgia treats a guest as a gift from God, which sounds like a slogan until you are three hours into a dinner that shows no sign of ending. Here's the trip-readiness checklist for Georgia: what to pack, when to go, entry rules for your passport, and the official sources to confirm before you fly.
Build my checklistWhat to pack
Georgia stacks vineyards, megacity energy, and 5,000-meter peaks into one small country. Pack layers for serious altitude swings — and an appetite you're prepared to defend.
Layers for altitude
Tbilisi can be hot while Kazbegi needs a fleece; mountain weather changes fast.
Sturdy walking shoes
Old Tbilisi is steep and uneven; monasteries involve climbs — always worth it.
Modest cover for churches
Working Orthodox churches expect covered shoulders and knees; women often cover hair (scarves at the door).
Room in the bag for wine
You're visiting the birthplace of winemaking (8,000 vintages and counting). Resistance is theoretical.
When to go
May–June and September–October are ideal — warm, green, harvest-festive. July–August is hot in Tbilisi (locals flee to the mountains, which are perfect then). Winter is ski season in Gudauri.
Money & getting around
Georgia runs on the lari (GEL). Cards work in cities; carry cash for markets, mountain guesthouses, and marshrutka minibuses (the intercity workhorses). Tipping ~10% is appreciated. If a supra (feast) breaks out, pace yourself — the toasts are a marathon, not a sprint.
Local quirks worth knowing
Georgia treats a guest as a gift from God, which sounds like a slogan until you are three hours into a dinner that shows no sign of ending.
The supra has a leader
A big dinner is run by a tamada who makes the toasts. Drink when toasted, never before, and never sip a toast: it is the whole glass.
Wine is the national identity
Eight thousand years of it, fermented in clay qvevri. Amber wine is not a mistake; it is the point.
Marshrutkas are the transport
Minibuses leave when full from stations across Tbilisi. Cheap, quick, no seatbelts. Pay the driver; tell him where to stop.
Churches mean covering up
Women cover heads and wear a skirt (wraps are lent at the door); men remove hats. Orthodox services are long and you may stand at the back.
Lari, in cash for the small stuff
Cards work in Tbilisi restaurants; bakeries, markets and mountain guesthouses do not take them.
A week in Georgia, the list starts here
Quantities scale with your dates, the weather groups arrive once we have your travel days, and your own plans add their gear on Trip Pass.
- Passport & travel documents1
- Phone charger & adapter1
- Wallet, cards & some local cash1
- Toiletries bag1
- Any daily medicationsenough for the trip
- Underwear7
- Socks7
- T-shirts / tops5
What am I forgetting?
A real answer from Trip Happens for a sample week in Georgia, departing in five weeks with a checked bag and nothing packed yet. Yours is built from your own trip.
A week in Georgia, five weeks out. Three gaps worth closing.
- 1.
Layers for late-October swings
Late October in Georgia means warm Tbilisi afternoons and cold air the moment you gain altitude. Pack a warm mid-layer and a windproof shell rather than one bulky coat.
- 2.
Lari in cash
Cards work in the cities, but markets, mountain guesthouses and marshrutka minibuses expect lari. Plan to pull cash early and keep small notes for tips of around ten percent.
- 3.
Confirm US entry requirements
You're travelling on a US passport and the trip has no entry guidance loaded yet. Check the official Georgian entry rules and your own passport's expiry date before you book anything else around the dates.
Entry, advisories & health
These change. Confirm at the official source before you book.
Entry and visa requirements depend on your nationality. Confirm the current rules for Georgia with the official source below before you book.
U.S. State Department travel advisory for Georgia — check the current level and any alerts before you go.
CDC traveler health page for Georgia — recommended vaccines, health notices, and a packing checklist.
Get the full Georgia checklist
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