Getting Around Tbilisi
Tbilisi is Georgia's capital and largest city, sitting on the banks of the Kura River, and it packs a dense, walkable core together with a public transport network that covers the wider city. For a visitor, the practical picture is simple: the metro and buses do the heavy lifting, taxis and ride-hailing apps are cheap and easy, and much of the historic centre is best seen on foot.
The Metro
The metro is the fastest way to cover longer distances across the city, and it links several of the places visitors care about most. Stations connect the centre with the main rail hub and with the bus stations on the city's edges.
- Station Square (Sadguris Moedani) serves Tbilisi Central Station, the city's main railway station, which also has a shopping mall on its lower levels and ticketing and platforms above.
- Didube is the stop for Didube bus station, the departure point for many north-western and western destinations.
- Avlabari sits near Avlabari bus station, just across a side road from the metro's north exit.
Because the metro links the centre, the main train station and the main bus stations, it is often the quickest way to transfer between them. As a rule, it is worth having a stored-value transit card before you start riding, since that is how fares on the metro and city buses are handled.
Buses and Other Public Transport
City buses fill in the gaps the metro does not reach, including the airport route and cross-town connections. Fares are paid electronically rather than with coins.
- You need either a Metromoney Card (a stored-value transit card) or a contactless credit card. Coins are not accepted.
- Paying with a Metromoney Card is cheaper than paying by contactless credit card.
- Marshrutkas (minibuses) also operate around the city and on regional routes, and are a common way to reach places the metro does not serve.
Note that the rail network in and around Tbilisi is centred on Tbilisi Central Station and is oriented mainly toward intercity travel rather than quick hops around town, so for getting across the city itself, the metro and buses are the more useful tools.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Taxis are plentiful and inexpensive, and ride-hailing apps are widely used and generally the best-value option.
- Yandex.Go and Bolt both operate in Tbilisi and typically offer lower, more predictable prices than street taxis.
- For airport runs in particular, app-based rides tend to be considerably cheaper than what drivers quote on the spot.
- Be aware that unofficial or scam taxi drivers operate, especially around the airport, and may quote inflated "official" rates. Treat any unusually high quoted fare with suspicion and prefer an app or a clearly posted rate.
Walking
Central Tbilisi is very much a walking city. Many of the best-known sights cluster in the historic core and along the main avenues, so a good deal of a visit can be done on foot.
- Notable destinations within the walkable centre include Freedom Square, Rustaveli Avenue, Aghmashenebeli Avenue, the medieval Narikala Fortress, the Sameba and Sioni cathedrals, the pseudo-Moorish Opera Theater, and the Georgian National Museum.
- The city's architecture is a mix of medieval, neoclassical, Beaux Arts, Art Nouveau, Stalinist and modern styles, which makes strolling between sights rewarding in itself.
- Summers are warm and winters cool, so plan your walking around the season and build in breaks.
Getting From the Airport Into the City
Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport (TBS) sits east of the city centre and has a small but reasonably modern terminal with food and drink outlets, duty-free shops, ATMs, a bank branch, and currency exchange counters that operate around the clock. The three main mobile phone companies sell SIM cards in the arrivals area. From the airport you have three main options.
- Bus 337 leaves from the right corner of the arrivals area and runs roughly every 20–30 minutes during the day. It passes Avlabari, Freedom Square, Rustaveli, Republic Square and Tamar Bridge on its way to the main train station, and the trip takes around 50 minutes. You pay with a Metromoney Card or a contactless credit card; coins are not accepted. Note that the airport bus is not always reliable, especially on the last departures of the day, so do not count on the final bus or two actually running.
- Taxi or ride-hailing. A standard taxi between the airport and the city is inexpensive, and standard rates are posted on a board by the taxi rank as you exit the terminal on the right-hand side. App-based services such as Yandex.Go and Bolt are usually cheaper still. Be cautious: scam drivers have become common at the airport, will approach you right after baggage claim with friendly greetings, and may charge several times the going rate. Avoid withdrawing cash from airport ATMs if you can, since some drivers watch to see how much you take out.
- Hitchhiking. Getting around Georgia by thumb is generally easy, including from the airport. Try along the road toward the highway, or on the highway north of the airport, which is also handy if you are heading east toward Kakheti.
If you are arriving via Kutaisi Airport instead, note that it is a separate city well to the west; onward travel to Tbilisi is by marshrutka or by train.
Arriving by Train or Bus
If you come into Tbilisi overland, you will likely arrive at one of a few key hubs, all of which connect to the local network.
- Tbilisi Central Station (Station Square) handles domestic trains to Batumi, Gori, Borjomi, Kutaisi, Marneuli, Poti and Zugdidi, as well as international services to Yerevan and Baku. It sits directly on the metro at Station Square.
- Station Square bus station, in the plaza in front of the train station and along Abastumani street, serves larger Georgian cities such as Kutaisi, Batumi, Zugdidi, Telavi, Gori, Akhaltsikhe and Borjomi, and also has buses to and from Mestia.
- Didube bus station, north of downtown and reachable by metro at Didube or by marshrutka and bus from the centre, handles north-western and western destinations, including Turkey, Russia and Greece, plus regular services to Mtskheta and Stepantsminda/Kazbegi.
- Avlabari bus station, right by the metro's north exit, has regular connections to and from Yerevan.
- Ortachala bus station is another hub in the south-east of the city.
To transfer between Didube and Ortachala, use marshrutka 150 or the metro. In Georgian, a bus station is avtosadguri or avtovagzali, and large stations are usually next to big train stations, called sadguri or vagzali.
Practical Tips
- Get a Metromoney Card early: it is the cheapest way to pay on the metro and city buses, and coins are not accepted on public transport.
- Use the metro for longer hops and to reach the main train and bus stations; use buses and marshrutkas for everything else.
- Prefer ride-hailing apps over street taxis, especially at the airport, and check the posted rate board before agreeing to any fare.
- Plan to walk the historic centre, where most of the headline sights are concentrated.