Georgia – perhaps one of the most underrated countries I’ve ever been to. Why this amazing country is still sitting quietly at the edge of everyone’s travel radar while half of Europe queues up for the same five cities, the same over photographed viewpoints, the same tired old itineraries, is truly beyond me. I wrote an article about this already last year after visiting this incredible country for the first time, but visiting for a second time and seeing that the country is finally gaining some tourism traction, I feel even more strongly about it and wanted to share some updated reasons why yo should really hit it up before the tourist wave devours it (and it gets more expensive :P).
So for today, I wanted to share with you my 6 reasons you should add this country to your travel destination list TODAY. Ready? Let’s go!
1. The scenery will genuinely ruin other trips for you
I don’t say that lightly. Borjomi, with its forests and mineral springs, feels like the country took a deep breath and asked you to do the same. There’s a stillness to it that’s hard to describe until you’re standing in it, just breathing in the fresh air and walking through its maze of green forests. Kazbegi is the one that’ll live in your head rent-free — that little church sitting alone against the mountains, Gergeti Trinity, looking like something a film location scout invented and then couldn’t quite believe was real. You hike up (or take a very questionable 4×4 ride, no judgment either way) and the view will genuinely take your breath away. Then there’s Vardzia, which is a whole cave city carved directly into a cliffside, which really makes you question whether you’ve been doing life wrong all along. I really wouldn’t mind waking up in a cave every day with that amazing view, no thought about my 9-5, and just enjoying life. If you’re a fan of hiking, Mestia is also amazing: Svaneti’s strange stone fortresses jutting out of a mountain village make the whole region look straight out of a fairytale. I could go on forever to be honest, but I think we should move onto the second point. 😉
2. The food is SO GOOD
As a vegetarian, I often struggle with local food while travelling. And while admittedly Georgian cuisine does have a lot of meat, I was also so pleasantly surprised to discover the rich variety of vegetarian options that their traditional dishes also offer. Of course Khinkali are worth the first mention here: the famous Georgian-style dumplings, these historically derive (or so I have been told) from traditional Asian dumplings, until at some point in time they started taking steroids and became MASSIVE. I didn’t know about them before visiting Georgia, and once I tried them I became addicted. While the traditional ones do contain meat, cheese and mushroom options are also super popular and you can find them pretty much anywhere. My second love is khachapuri: as a cheese enthusiast and a devoted egg lover, I was mind blown when I found out about the existence of this incredible dish. it’s basically like pizza dough, except it is full of cheese and with an egg in the middle. It sounds simple and perhaps strange if you have never tried it, but believe me, it is AMAZING. t is not a light meal by all means, but to be honest I find it perfect because while it’s full of fat, it’s also got so much protein from the egg and cheese, it’s kind of a win win for travellers who also need their energy fix. Other that, the list of things to try is so long, so you’re gonna have to try it yourself 😉 What I loved even more though in all of this though is that wherever you are, whatever hour it is, you’ll always find. restaurant serving all of this.
It’s truly heaven.
Let’s move on.
3. It is actually the real home of wine?
Did you know that Georgia (according to them, at least) is the oldest wine maker in the world? I, in fact, did not, until I went there and realised wine tastings were plastered all over the place without a clear reason. In fact, evidence of winemaking in Georgia goes back as far as 8,000 years ago, and with their own special method where the grape juice is fermented in qvevri — enormous clay vessels buried underground — rather than the more common “western”, over ground method. Apparently, this method gives the wine, especially the amber ones, a texture and depth that is quite unique and cannot be replicated elsewhere, which was super interesting. I am not going to lie, I do still think Italian wine is still better, but it is honestly super fair competition. On top of this, prices are super affordable and wine tastings are literally EVERYWHERE – a lot of time for free as well! If you are genuinely interested in trying a lot of it though, there’s an entire region of wine producers that you can take a day trip to from Tbilisi, and try out the different wines in all the local distilleries (or, of course, you can take your time and spend multiple days there to enjoy it at your own pace).
4. It is ripe with art, music and alternative vibes
This is the part nobody warns you about — Tbilisi has this scrappy, creative, slightly rebellious pulse running underneath it that I was not expecting at all, but that made me absolutely fall in love with it. From its graffiti-lined, quaint cobble stone streets, to the vintage shops all over the place, to the small indepetndent galleries hidden away in tiny courtyards, I truly felt like I had landed in my dream city from minute 0. Everything just feels cool, exciting and interesting. There is so much energy in there you feel like you can never stop without having to miss something in the meantime – I absolutely adore this and it genuinely makes Tbilisi my favourite city on earth that I’ve been to so far. I stumbled across so many spontaneous concerts, performances and art events while I was there, and had a blast every time just discovering more and more about the artistic soul of the local people. If you’re an art lover, trust me on this one and go NOW!
5. The social scene is on point
For starters, the café culture alone (especially in Tbilisi) feels like a dream. I am not joking – it’s probably one of the best I’ve experienced so far. There are so many spots, I could spend days and days just checking out all of them (unfortunately, I could not :’) ). But beyond this, there are so many bars and clubs with a super social vibe – the kind of place where you just show up, start talking to someone and make instant friends. I had the chance to meet so many cool people while I was there, that I am still in touch with, and so often it happened that I would go out to the same bars, meet the same people, and just hang out as if we were old time friends. It truly felt like a home away from home. So if you’re looking for a social place to meet people easily, again, this is a great reason to check out Georgia!
6. And the biggest reason of all — everything is always open
Here’s what actually sealed the deal for me. I have a soft spot for places that never sleep, and Georgia beat all my expectations. Everything is always open. That khinkali place you’re suddenly craving at 1am? Open. Need a coffee at an hour that shouldn’t really count as morning? Open. Want to wander into a bar on a random Tuesday with zero plan and just see what happens? Open. Of course not all places, but whatever you’re craving, there will be somewhere that can give it to you.
For me, living like this, being able to do whatever I wanted to do without having to stress about being late, about something closing, was like a dream. Especially as someone who is chronically late, it gave me a piece of mind that you can’t even imagine. So if you’re looking for a place where you don’t have to rush, where you can relax, enjoy your trip and not have to worry about fitting everything into a tight schedule – Georgia is, once again, the place for you.
Honestly, I could go on forever because I truly love this country and could not recommend it enough. In fact, I was so happy to see more tourists this year compared to last year (although, on the other hand, it kinda makes me sad the more touristy it gets, as it means it won’t have that magical, “hidden” vibe that it had the first time I went). Still, it’s not yet on the top of people’s travel list, so I recommend you visit now before it becomes jam packed (and expensive)!.
With hopes this blog post was interesting for you, I’d love to hear about your experience in Georgia in the comments, or any questions and thoughts you wanna share on why you haven’t visited this small piece of heaven yet. 😉
As always, wishing you all a lovely day,
Elena
