Georgia travel budget

Sulfur baths, mountain monasteries and a supra that runs until midnight.

How much per day?

Typical daily spend per person, everything included. Local amounts at the latest available rate (1 USD = 2.6 GEL).

Backpacker

$25–45

GEL 64.9–117

Dorms, street food, buses

Mid-range

$60–110

GEL 156–286

Private rooms, restaurants, some tours

Comfort

$130–250

GEL 338–649

Hotels, taxis, nicer dinners

What things cost

Item	USD	GEL
Khachapuri or a plate of khinkali	$2–6	GEL 5.2–15.6
Sit-down restaurant meal (per person)	$9–20	GEL 23.4–51.9
Cappuccino	$1.5–4.5	GEL 3.9–11.7
Local beer or glass of Georgian wine	$2–5	GEL 5.2–13
Bottled water (1.5 L)	$0.5–1	GEL 1.3–2.6
Bolt ride across Tbilisi (~5 km)	$1.5–3.5	GEL 3.9–9.1
Marshrutka, Tbilisi to Kazbegi	$5.5–8	GEL 14.3–20.8
Hostel dorm bed	$6–15	GEL 15.6–39
Private double in a guesthouse	$18–50	GEL 46.7–130
Mid-range hotel (double)	$40–90	GEL 104–234
Tourist SIM or eSIM with data (1-4 weeks)	$7–25	GEL 18.2–64.9
Group day tour (Kazbegi or Kakheti)	$25–65	GEL 64.9–169

Cash or card?

Cards and contactless work almost everywhere in Tbilisi and Batumi, including the metro. Carry lari for marshrutkas, bazaars, street food and village guesthouses.

ATMs

Basisbank and Cartu Bank ATMs charge no fee on foreign cards; Bank of Georgia adds about 3 GEL and others a few lari. Withdraw lari, not dollars, and always decline dynamic currency conversion.

Tipping

Many Tbilisi restaurants add a 10% service charge (sometimes 12-15%), so check the bill before tipping. Where it's absent, about 10% for good service is customary, paid in lari.

Watch out for

Street taxis at the airport and bus stations quote whatever they think you'll pay. Book Bolt instead, which costs roughly 20-30 GEL from the airport to the centre.

Make your GEL go further

✓Use Bolt or Yandex Go for every taxi, and the metro or buses (about 1 GEL a ride) for most trips around Tbilisi.
✓Eat at bakeries and khinkali houses outside Old Tbilisi; khachapuri in a touristy Sololaki cafe can cost three times bakery prices.
✓In Kazbegi and Svaneti, book guesthouses with dinner and breakfast included. Half board often costs less than eating out.
✓Take shared marshrutkas from Didube or Samgori stations instead of group tours. Kazbegi is about 15 GEL each way versus 175+ GEL for a tour.
✓Buy a local Magti or Silknet SIM in town or top up in the app; airport kiosk bundles cost two to three times as much.

When to go

Late April to June and September to October bring mild weather and shoulder-season rates. July and August peak in Batumi and the mountains, and November and January to February give the cheapest city stays (ski resorts excepted).

Where people are heading

Tbilisi
Sulfur baths, wine bars and old balconies, for less than most of Europe.
Kazbegi
Gergeti Trinity Church under Mount Kazbek, a few hours north of Tbilisi.
Svaneti
Medieval stone towers and some of the Caucasus’s best hiking.

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