The five great road trips of Georgia: Military Highway, Kakheti loop, Abano pass, Goderdzi and the Zekari road

The five classic Georgian road trips are the Georgian Military Highway from Tbilisi to Stepantsminda, the Kakheti loop through Telavi and Sighnaghi, the Abano Pass track into Tusheti, the Goderdzi Pass crossing in Adjara, and the Zekari Pass between Imereti and Adjara. Between them they cover everything from a smooth two-lane highway suitable for any rental sedan to a high-altitude 4×4 track that only opens for about four months a year. Two further routes belong in the same conversation: the flat, paved Black Sea coast road, and the Rikoti Pass corridor that most drivers now bypass through a tunnel.

None of these roads is static. Snow closes passes without much notice, resurfacing projects shift opening dates year to year, and Georgia’s road authority updates conditions daily rather than seasonally. Treat every distance, time and condition below as a planning baseline for November 2026, confirm before you drive on georoad.gov.ge, and see our own live notes at gtour.ge/road-status.

Georgian Military Highway: Tbilisi to Kazbegi

This is Georgia’s best-known road trip and the only one of the five that a standard rental sedan can manage in good conditions. The route runs about 150 km from Tbilisi to Stepantsminda (Kazbegi), climbing over the Jvari Pass at 2,379 m before dropping toward the foot of Mount Kazbek. Driving time is roughly three hours without stops, but a full day is the sensible plan once you add Ananuri fortress, the Gudauri viewpoints, the Russia-Georgia Friendship Monument and the walk or 4×4 shuttle up to Gergeti Trinity Church.

The road is paved and generally good, though traffic queues build at the Larsi border crossing near Verkhny Lars and after heavy snow the Georgian Road Department sometimes closes the Jvari Pass section for hours at a time, occasionally overnight, until ploughs and avalanche teams clear it. Winter tyres or chains are compulsory on this stretch in the cold months; a 4×4 is not required for the highway itself but is useful if you plan to continue to Juta, Sno or the Gergeti glacier side roads. Overnight in Stepantsminda rather than returning the same day if you want an early light on Kazbek, or base in Gudauri in ski season. We run this as the Georgian Military Highway — Ananuri, Gudauri and Gergeti in a Day tour, and as a two-day version with more time in the mountains as Kazbegi — 2-Day Mountain Journey.

The Kakheti loop: Telavi, Sighnaghi and the Alazani valley

The gentlest of the five routes is a loop of roughly 250 to 300 km depending on which villages you add, linking Tbilisi, Telavi, the Alazani valley wineries, Kvareli, Sighnaghi and back to Tbilisi via Gurjaani. All of it is sealed road, suitable for any car, and open year-round, which makes it the obvious choice if your dates fall outside the short window when the high mountain passes are open. The only pinch point is the Gombori Pass between Tbilisi and Telavi, which can be slow and occasionally icy in winter storms but rarely closes outright.

A single long day covers the highlights: Tsinandali’s wine museum, Alaverdi Cathedral, a cellar tasting in Kvareli, and sunset over the Alazani valley from Sighnaghi’s walls. Spreading it over two or three days lets you add Nekresi monastery, the Lagodekhi forest trails and a proper harvest-season supra. Sleep in Telavi for the northern loop or Sighnaghi for the southern one; both have small hotels with valley views. Our Kakheti Classic — Sighnaghi, Bodbe and Two Cellars in a Day and the longer Kakheti Grand Wine and Heritage tour cover the full loop at different paces.

Abano Pass: the road into Tusheti

This is the most demanding of the five and the one where the wrong vehicle is a genuine safety problem, not just an inconvenience. The track runs about 70 km from Kvemo Alvani in Kakheti over the Abano Pass at roughly 2,900 m down into Omalo, the main village of Tusheti. Allow five to six hours one way even in good conditions; the surface is unpaved gravel and rock with sheer drops and no barriers along much of its length.

A genuine 4×4 with an experienced local driver is not optional here, and self-drive on this road is not something we recommend regardless of your vehicle. The pass is closed by snow from roughly mid-October to late May or early June, which gives it one of the shortest open seasons of any road in the country; exact opening depends on the winter and should be checked locally each year, since Tusheti sits inside a protected landscape managed by the Agency of Protected Areas. Sleep in Omalo or push on to the stone village of Dartlo for one of the most striking overnight stops in the Caucasus. We run this as the 4×4 Expedition — Tusheti, Khevsureti and Kazbegi in 8 Days, and as the shorter Tusheti by 4×4 — Omalo, Dartlo and Diklo in 3 Days for travellers with less time.

Goderdzi Pass: Adjara’s highland crossing

Goderdzi links the Black Sea hinterland of Adjara, around Khulo, with the Beshumi highlands and on toward Imereti and the famous Green Lake. The crossing sits at around 2,025 m and the route from Batumi to Khulo and up to the pass covers roughly 90 to 100 km, with driving time of four to five hours each way once you include the switchbacks above Khulo.

Road quality is mixed: the lower section through Khulo has been progressively paved in recent years, but stretches near and over the pass remain gravel and can be rutted after rain, so a high-clearance vehicle or 4×4 is the safer choice even though some drivers manage it in a standard car in dry summer weather. Snow typically closes the pass from November through to April or May; this is a summer-and-autumn road. Stop at the Khulo cable car, the alpine meadows around Beshumi, and the Goderdzi Alpine Botanical Garden if it is open for the season. Overnight options are limited to simple guesthouses in Khulo or Beshumi. Our Adjara Highlands — Khulo, the Goderdzi Pass and the Green Lake day tour and the two-day Adjara Highlands by 4×4 — Beshumi, Goderdzi and the Alpine Villages cover this route with a driver who knows the current surface conditions.

Zekari Pass: Imereti to Adjara the hard way

Zekari is the least travelled of the five and the one most likely to catch out an unprepared driver. It connects the Imereti side, near Baghdati and Sairme, with the Adjara highlands around Khulo, crossing at about 2,182 m. The full crossing is roughly 70 km of mostly unpaved track, and five to six hours should be budgeted even though the distance looks modest on a map, because much of the surface is loose stone, washed-out in places, with no fuel or phone signal for long stretches.

A 4×4 with good ground clearance is required, not recommended, and this is a route for a local driver rather than a self-drive outing. The pass is open only from roughly June to October and closes earlier than Goderdzi in a hard winter. There are no formal hotels on the pass itself; plan to sleep in Sairme’s spa guesthouses on the Imereti side or in Khulo on the Adjara side, and cross in one direction only in daylight. We include the Imereti side of this landscape, without the pass crossing itself, in the Western Wine — Imereti and Racha in 3 Days itinerary, and can arrange a dedicated 4×4 crossing on request through our Car with Driver by the Day service.

Two more routes worth knowing: the coast road and the Rikoti alternative

The Black Sea coast road from Sarpi on the Turkish border up through Batumi, Kobuleti, Poti and on to Anaklia and Zugdidi is the easiest drive in the country: fully paved dual carriageway for most of its length, open every month of the year, and no 4×4 required at any point. It is the natural spine for combining Batumi city time with day trips to Gonio fortress, the Mtirala rainforest, or north to Kobuleti and the Shekvetili pine forest.

The Rikoti Pass is the historic road connecting eastern Georgia (Kartli) with western Georgia (Imereti) over the Likhi range, and most through-traffic on the Tbilisi-Kutaisi-Batumi highway now avoids the old pass road entirely by using the Rikoti tunnel section of the E60 motorway, a paved, year-round route with no seasonal closure concerns. The older surface road over the pass still exists as a slower, more scenic alternative through Surami and Khashuri, useful if the motorway is congested or if you want to stop at Surami’s fortress and the churchkhela stalls, but for a straightforward east-west transfer the motorway and tunnel are faster and simpler. We run this corridor as the Tbilisi to Kutaisi Transfer and the Tbilisi to Batumi Transfer, both using the current fastest road rather than the historic pass.

Practical summary

• Military Highway and the Kakheti loop are open all year and need no special vehicle; winter tyres help on the Jvari Pass.
• Abano and Zekari passes demand a genuine 4×4 and, in our view, a local driver rather than self-drive.
• Goderdzi is passable in a standard car in dry summer weather but a high-clearance vehicle is safer.
• All three high passes, Abano, Goderdzi and Zekari, are shut by snow from roughly late October or November to May or June; confirm current status on georoad.gov.ge or gtour.ge/road-status before setting out.
• For an east-west transfer, the Rikoti tunnel route is faster and simpler than the historic pass road.
• Book hotels in Stepantsminda, Telavi or Sighnaghi, Omalo or Dartlo, Khulo or Beshumi, and Sairme well ahead in peak season, since rooms near each pass are limited.
• See our Car with Driver by the Day and Licensed Private Guide by the Day services if you want a flexible, driver-led version of any of these routes rather than a fixed itinerary.

Sources

• Georgian Road Department
• Agency of Protected Areas
• Georgian National Tourism Administration
• Georgia Travel official portal
• Civil.ge – Infrastructure and Transport News
• Agenda.ge – Georgia Travel and Tourism News