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Svaneti region is split into two parts, the Upper Svaneti and Lower Svaneti. The Mestia municipality, Upper Svaneti is the most beautiful and well-known part. Cultural Landscape of Upper Svaneti (Ushguli/Chazhashi) is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In my opinion, this is the most beautiful part of Georgia and anyone visiting the country should see it. However, traveling to Svaneti is not an easy task and requires planning. Therefore, I will give you all essential tips you need for arranging your trip.
History of the Region
The region was always very remote and very difficult to access. The paved road to Mestia was done only about a decade ago. Until then, getting there from other regions was taking far longer, than now. This is an important piece of information to understand the overall Svaneti culture.
Nowadays, the time for driving from Zugdidi to Mestia is about 3 hours. Besides this, the flights from near Tbilisi made Mestia more accessible. The road from Mestia to Ushguli – the highest permanent settlement in Europe is halfway paved. In the old times, this road was only possible on foot through very difficult terrain. I don’t imagine, how people managed to get out of there at all. I guess that’s the reason, they were mostly cut off from the other regions.
As a result of this remote location, for centuries Upper Svaneti had no “lord” and they pride themselves with that. They were in the kingdom of Georgia and recognized the Kings; however, they were never ruled by a local ruler, unlike the Lower Svaneti, which was ruled by the Dadeshkelianis.
They have adapted to the harsh living conditions. Their life was very difficult, up until very recently, they were only sustaining themselves with husbandry, hunting, etc. As they have told us, they would take cows and other animals to the higher parts of the mountains over summer and were themselves living in the huts there. In recent years, tourism helped a lot and their life has gotten somewhat better, although the industry is seeing its decline.
As you can guess Svans, the ethnic sub-group of Georgians, are known for being very firm in their decisions (stubborn 😊). They have their own language, which does not have an alphabet.
When to Visit Svaneti (Mestia)
You can technically visit this region any time of the year. The road to Mestia is open most of the time, unless there’s a heavy snowfall. In that case, it’s cleared quite quickly.
Summer is definitely the best time to visit, as any of the places you will want to see here are accessible – of course, depending on the weather, it would be dangerous in cases of heavy rain. The temperatures in summer are milder, we only needed jackets, but it can get pretty cold, especially on rainy days so do bring sweaters along.
Winter (which here lasts basically from November to April) is also a popular time to visit for the lovers of skiing. The skiing resort Hatsvali is well developed and attracts more and more people. At this time though many other places of attraction are inaccessible.
Spring and Autumn are very short periods and off season. Particularly spring is known for its rains. During these periods some locations may not be accessible, although you still could visit some if you are lucky, depending on the weather conditions.
Overall, unless you have a lot of time in Georgia, I wouldn’t risk visiting Svaneti region, if it’s not summer. This is the only season, when you can be fairly sure, that you will actually see and do everything this amazing region has to offer.
How Long to Spend in Svaneti (Mestia)
I believe you need at least 3 days (excluding the travel) in order to be able to explore some of this amazing region. This will give you enough time to see the highlights and wander around the mountainous areas. You can also squeeze it into 2 days, but it will be tight.
How to Get to Svaneti (Mestia)
Travel by Plane to Mestia
The most convenient way is to fly from Natakhtari Airport (a small airport near Tbilisi) directly to Mestia (the company flying is Vanila Sky). Tickets can be purchased online here. The issue is that tickets sell out very fast and need to be booked way in advance. The flight takes approximately an hour, and the views are simply gorgeous. It really is one of the most beautiful flights I have taken. Make sure to sit on the right side, while flying to Mestia and on the left side from Mestia. This way you will have amazing views of Caucasus mountains.
To get to Natakhtari Airport, they actually pick all passengers up with a bus from central location in Tbilisi – bicycle statue in front of Radisson Blue. They will also drop you off here after arriving to Natakhtari from Mestia.
From Mestia Airport (which is tiny and has only one flight), you can get to the city even on foot. We did that in about 15-20 minutes.
A major disadvantage of the flight is that it highly depends on the weather. So if the weather doesn’t allow, it may get cancelled, which can affect your plans significantly. So be aware of this possibility and plan accordingly to avoid disappointment.
Note: there are also flights of Vanila Sky from Kutaisi to Mestia, but only twice a week.
Travel by Train and Mini Bus to Mestia
Another option is taking the train to Zugdidi and then a minibus from there to Mestia. This option is time-consuming, as the train takes about 6 hours and then minibus takes about 3 hours (unless there are delays on the road). There’s one train a day in each direction – 8.40 departure from Tbilisi arriving to Zugdidi at 14.30; 17.25 departure from Zugdidi arriving to Tbilisi at 23.15pm.
See my guide to public transport in Georgia for the details on how to buy the train tickets.
After the train, you will have to find minibuses, which are waiting for the train to arrive and continue your journey. Other times of the day minibuses depart from next to the Zugdidi market (somewhere around this area, do ask the people there to direct you).
Note: Taking minibuses can be time consuming and frustrating, as they wait till they are full. We had to wait for the morning minibus to depart for about 3 hours (it was the COVID time and only few of them ran). Some days they may find passengers and leave soon, while other slow days you may have to wait for long.
Alternatively, if you want to break your journey in two, you can spend a night in Zugdidi. We arrived in the afternoon, visited the Dadiani palace and walked around Zugdidi and next morning we took minibus to Mestia. On the way back catching 17.25 train is certainly easier.
You could also take the train to Kutaisi first (train runs at 8.50 at arrives to Kutaisi at 14.30, on the way back you can catch a 12.25 train). From the train station you will need to go to the Kutaisi bus station (near McDonalds around this area). From the bus station you can catch a minibus to Mestia, which should take around 5 hours.
The road to Mestia is beautiful. The photo below was taken from a moving minibus – it still shows the beauty of the gorge a little though.
Travel by Mini Bus to Mestia
The direct option is taking minibuses from Samgori bus station. They run only once a day at 7am. This should take about 10 hours. The minibuses will drop you off in a central location in Mestia. You can take a minibus from Mestia at this location as well.
Driving to Mestia
You can hire a car and drive to Mestia with any type of car. The road is winding but paved and not dangerous. However, once you get to Mestia, unless you have a 4×4 and are very experienced driver, don’t attempt to go to other areas of Svaneti by car.
Travel by Tour from Tbilisi or Kutaisi to Svaneti
Given the difficulty of access to Mestia, a tour package may be a good option. There are a number of private and group tours, which allow you to explore the region with the guide.
- For instance, check out this private 4-day tour from Tbilisi.
- Alternatively, this tour takes 5 days from Kutaisi or Tbilisi and covers a lot of ground.
- Here’s also a tour from Kutaisi.
Most of the private tours will let you customize your itinerary, so if you want to include other spots than they offer, inquire in advance. I haven’t see Koruldi mentioned in the tours, but it’s beautiful, so you may want to include it.
Getting around in Svaneti
Hiking
If you like hiking and are here for a long while, then you won’t need to look for the drivers with 4×4. You can hike to Ushguli in 4 days for instance, while Koruldi Lakes is a 1 day hike (although must be a very long day). I wouldn’t do this alone, if you are travelling solo. Try to find travel companions.
If you prefer to explore with a guide, you should be able to hire one at the local tourist office (it’s not always open though. You can also book your guide in advance from various agencies, including Viator.
Hiring a Driver with the 4×4 Cars
However, if you like us are not a hiker, you will have to find the drivers with 4×4 to get you to places, as there is no public transport in the area. They had been talking about introducing a minibus from Mestia to Ushguli, but the Svans are against it, as driving tourists is one of their major incomes. So currently the only way is to get a shared ride or hire entire 4×4, a Jeep or so called Delica with a driver.
Normally the cars offering shared rides stand in the central areas – the location, where minibuses from Zugdidi arrive. Another location is the Seti square in front of café Laila. Here, you can negotiate with the drivers and find other people to share cars with, as paying for one alone can be rather expensive, unless you are traveling as a group. You can also inquire with your hotel or guesthouse, if they can offer a driver, in order to see what the prices are at that moment. The prices are constantly changing (increasing or decreasing depending on the season, as well as how busy the tourist season is), so I can’t advice what the best rate would be at the time of your visit.
We asked two guys on Seti square, they turned out to be from Khergiani family, with several of them working on driving tourists. They themselves found other people we could share a ride with. Our driver was Valodia Khegiani. He was a very interesting person, who told us all the details about the places we visited, about life in Mestia and about his famous relative, mountaineer Mikheil Khergiani. If you are lazy to ask around, here is a number of his son, who speaks English – +995598 551368. This could be one of the quotes you can get, in order to determine best price for you.
Bad part of getting a shared ride is that you are dependent on other people in the car. As we always love to look at all parts and take a lot of pictures, we had to rush in the end. Try to make sure to get enough time at each location, notwithstanding what others want, it’s so worth it.
Note: The 4×4 drivers usually take cash. But you will find a couple of ATMs around the Seti square.
Joining Tours
There are various tours – group and private – available from Mestia itself. For instance this Ushguli private tour. Of course, booking a tour online will cost more than if you haggle with the drivers on the spot. Therefore, if you are able to and don’t mind leaving it to last minute, talk to the drivers in Mestia. Otherwise, you have options for group and private tours.
Where to Stay in Svaneti (Mestia)
Best strategic location for exploring the region is Mestia. Therefore it’s preferable if you base yourself in Mestia and do day trips from there. The town has several hotels and guesthouses to choose from. Check Booking.com for relevant accommodation for you.
Choosing a location of the accommodation in Mestia is pretty easy, they are mostly in the central walkable areas (I highly doubt you will find any transport around Mestia, so you gotta walk). Also note that the old area, where all the towers are located is on the steep slope, so if your accommodation is there, climbing might be complicated.
Where we stayed: Svaneti Apartments is located about 5-10 minutes’ walk from the towers and the restaurant area. It was clean, cheap and spacious and I can definitely recommend it. I doubt they speak English, however, you should easily be able to communicate via Google translate.
If you prefer to stay at a hotel instead, check out the Mestia Inn. It has perfect central location and comes highly recommended.
Best Cafes and Restaurants in Mestia
While Svaneti became quite touristy lately, there aren’t too many restaurants and cafes around here. Still you have enough options. Do note that many of these, even though called cafes, are basically restaurants serving Georgian food:
This café/restaurant was where we ate almost every day during our visit to Svaneti. At the time we visited there were few tourists around, so the café wasn’t always that crowded, but usually it’s a very popular place. They offer Georgian dishes, as well as coffee and sweets.
This café is located nearby the Margiani tower/museum, so pop in while exploring the area. Their food was nice and they have a lovely view, so definitely sit on a terrace.
This coffee shop we first discovered in Mestia (we then frequented it in Tbilisi too). This is the only real coffee shop in town I believe, as all others serve food and don’t specialize on coffee. We enjoyed their coffee and sweets a lot. I believe they now serve food as well.
Lushnu Qor Restaurant Beer Garden
The atmosphere here was nice. They have a lovely old style yard with wooden decorations. Their food is pretty good and worth checking out.
A popular restaurant, although we didn’t check it out.
This café/restaurant is located on top of Hatsvali and you get here via Ski lift. The place has great views and even if you don’t eat or drink anything here, just walk around its balconies for those views.
See also
Hello I am Ket,
A traveler, planner, and sweet tooth behind Hit the Road Ket.
Travel isn’t just my passion – it’s a lifeline for my mental health. Having lived in three cities and explored 60 countries (and counting!), I created this blog to share my experiences, smart tips, and itinerary advice with fellow travel lovers. I’m all about making the most of limited time, finding scenic routes, and turning every trip into something memorable – coffee in hand, of course.
