8-Day Itinerary for Skiing in Georgia

Today I want to share my itinerary for a ski trip to Georgia with you. This country in the Caucasus is a great place to get out on the slopes and into the spirit of the winter season. If you want to go skiing somewhere different, read on for my guide to a trip to Gudauri. I’ve included a map, too.

Skiing in Georgia

Georgia isn’t on every skier’s radar. The country is better known for wine than pistes. But the Caucasus Mountains are worth a special trip for their good value, lack of crowds, and great ski resorts.

I’ve been invited to Georgia on a group trip with Traverse Events and the Georgia National Tourism Board. They’ve arranged an itinerary that includes time in the capital city of Tbilisi as well as several days in the mountains.

I’ve been to the country before (you can see my itinerary from my trip to Georgia and Armenia here and my YouTube video about Georgia here), and I’m excited to be back to discover more. I hope this blog post inspires you to visit, too.

Day 1: Tbilisi

After a direct overnight flight from Heathrow, my group lands in Tbilisi at 6:30am. We’re whisked off to our accommodation, the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel, where we’re able to check into our rooms early and get some extra sleep.

The hotel is in a great location in the heart of Tbilisi. It’s right on the Kura River, and there are amazing views from the upper levels. There’s even a spa and bar on the top floor. The former has a pool with sweeping panoramas of the city.

After resting at the hotel, we set off to explore Tbilisi. Our first stop is lunch at a Georgian restaurant called Sachashnike. We sit down at a long table in the dining room and enjoy a classic meal of fresh salads, khinkhali dumplings, bread, and meat dishes.

The chef even gives us a short lesson in how to make khinkhali. It’s all delicious, and it sets a good tone for the trip.

After lunch we head to the Tbilisi Wine Museum. This country has been producing wine for 8,000 years, and the museum details the history of it.

Georgians have a traditional style of winemaking that involves clay vessels called qvevri. They’re buried in the ground while the fermentation process takes place. The end result is unique wine, including the amber variety Georgia is often associated with.

We start our visit with a tour. Our guide shows us historic winemaking equipment and explains how wine is made in a qvevri. Afterwards we do a tasting, where we get to try white, amber, and red wines. They’re as good as I remember them from my last trip.

Leaving the museum, we walk around Tbilisi. We start at the Bridge of Peace, a modern construction over the Kura River that offers great views of the city.

From there I wander off on my own to explore Shavteli Street and other narrow lanes just to the west of the bridge. They’re packed with shops, restaurant tables, and historic churches, and they’re all atmospheric.

In the evening I meet back up with the group for dinner at Kartuli Sakhli (Georgian House). This theatrical restaurant offers live music, dancing, and entertainment along with meals of traditional Georgian food.

We’re welcomed by singers in an outdoor courtyard. Soon we’re offered bread, cheese, and vegetables along with chacha, a spirit made from the grape skins, seeds, and stems left over from the wine fermentation process.

Dinner is upstairs in a huge dining room with high ceilings and a dance floor. We’re serenaded by a group of musicians while dancers take to the stage in folkloric costumes.

There are decorations all around, not to mention a screen showing clips of popular movies. It’s a feast for the senses.

We enjoy a huge meal at the restaurant, then join in as a dance party kicks off at the end of the night. It’s a great way to cap off our first day in Georgia.

Day 2: Mtskheta & Gudauri

The next morning we enjoy a buffet breakfast at the Radisson Blu before hopping into vans for the drive to Gudauri. It’s one of the most popular ski areas in Georgia.

On the way we stop for coffee in Mtskheta, the historic capital of the country and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It’s known for the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, which dates back to the 11th century, and the Jvari Monastery, which was built in the 6th century.

Back in the vans, it’s less than a 2-hour drive to Gudauri. We arrive in time for a late lunch at our hotel, Marco Polo. The restaurant here puts on a huge spread for us, with dishes as varied as tomato salad, eggplant, khachapuri (cheese bread), and grilled meats.

Marco Polo is a ski-in, ski-out hotel, so a few members of the group head out to get some runs in after lunch. The rest of us pick up our rental skis from the hotel’s shop, put them in lockers, and settle into our rooms, which have views of the slopes.

In the evening we meet back in the restaurant at Marco Polo for dinner, then walk through the lobby to the hotel’s entertainment area. There we enjoy games of bowling and pool before ending the night with drinks at the bar.

Day 3: Skiing in Gudauri

The next morning we wake up to a beautiful blue sky and lots of sunshine. It’s the perfect day for skiing. After a quick breakfast at the hotel’s buffet, we head out for our first full day of skiing in Georgia.

The lifts open at 10am and the resort is big enough to spend a day skiing without retracing our paths too much. It’s a weekday, and the lift lines are non-existent. We spend the morning alternating between skiing and stopping at mountain cafes for coffees and drinks.

Gudauri has something for everyone. The beginners in our group enjoy lessons on the bunny slopes, while those of us who have more experience hit the blue and red runs (red being the equivalent of black if you’re North American).

While most of the runs are intermediate, there’s plenty of backcountry skiing on offer for those with expert inclinations.

When lunch o’clock rolls around, we head back to Marco Polo for another feast (it’s a good thing we’re skiing on this trip, as the food is plentiful). Afterwards we head back out for more skiing until the lifts close at 5pm.

It’s enjoyable skiing here, and I can’t help comparing it to other places I’ve skied. While most of my experience has been in California, Canada, and Utah, I’ve gone on ski trips to France, Switzerland, and Japan as well.

The main things that stand out to me in Georgia are the reasonable prices, short lift lines, and long runs. The only thing that strikes me as strange is the relative lack of signage. Thankfully I’m skiing with friends who have been here before so I don’t have to get a map out all the time.

In the evening we have another dinner at Marco Polo, followed by a big party at the hotel spa’s outdoor pool. The tourism board has hired a DJ, and the spa bar keeps the beer and sparkling wine flowing. It’s a great way to end our first full day of skiing in Gudauri.

Day 4: Skiing in Gudauri

The next day we enjoy another morning of skiing and another lunch at Marco Polo. We hit a few runs we didn’t get to the previous day, and enjoy some of our favorites as well (most of us love a run called Kobi).

In the late afternoon we all meet at a bar called the Drunk Cherry in New Gudauri. It’s a short drive (or ski) from Marco Polo. There’s an outdoor area reserved for us, and we enjoy drinks and pizzas to the sounds of a live DJ as the sun sets behind the mountains.

Afterwards some of us take taxis back to Marco Polo, while others opt to take advantage of the resort’s night skiing as a method of transport back to the hotel.

Day 5: Gudauri

The following morning it’s snowing heavily, so most of us trade skiing for spa-ing. After a lazy morning at breakfast, we head to the hotel spa to enjoy the indoor and outdoor pools, the sauna, and the steam room.

A few people get massages, while others hit the gym to work out. It’s a great way to enjoy the hotel’s facilities and take advantage of a low-visibility day on the mountain.

In the late afternoon the weather clears enough for us to walk down to the lowest chairlift and enjoy outdoor drinks at one of the bars near it.

We stay until closing time, then hit the spa again before heading back up to New Gudauri. We’re here for dinner at a place called the Black Dog. With traditional wooden decor, a jukebox, and a buzzing crowd, it’s a fun place to spend an evening.

Outside we discover an open-air market with vendors selling all kinds of food and drinks, as well as a DJ playing music. We walk around to take in the scene before heading back to Marco Polo for a good night’s sleep before another day of skiing.

Day 6: Skiing in Gudauri

Our last morning in Gudauri is a sunny one. We hit the slopes as soon as the lifts open, enjoying a few good runs before the clouds settle in. The pistes are in excellent condition thanks to the previous day’s snowfall, and it all feels magical.

I join the group for lunch at Marco Polo, then return my skis to the hotel’s rental shop. I can’t resist taking one last trip to the spa in the afternoon before meeting everyone for a closing dinner at a mountainside restaurant called Ati Ambavi.

The restaurant has traditional-meets-modern decor, and the meal is an unusual Georgian feast with small shared dishes of everything from chicken soup to trout and beef.

Day 7: Gudauri, Ananuri, Tbilisi

The next morning we depart for Tbilisi. The drive is a snowy one, and we break it up with lunch at a restaurant in Ananuri called Guda. We enjoy lots of Georgian specialties here, from khinkhali to khachapuri and lots of meat and potatoes.

Back in Tbilisi, we check into the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel again. Some of the group heads up to the top floor to enjoy the stunning views from the spa and bar, while others of us head to the city’s famous sulphur baths.

These historic brick bathhouses in Old Tbilisi are famous for their hot springs, which have a high sulphur content. The one we go to is called Gulo’s Thermal Spa, and we have the entire place to ourselves.

There’s a hot pool, two cold pools, a sauna, and a steam room, as well as a therapist who does traditional hammam-style scrubs.

After the baths, I take a walk through Old Tbilisi. It has great atmosphere with shops, restaurants, and historic buildings and church steeples climbing the hillsides.

From the old town I walk up to Shota Rustaveli Avenue, one of the main thoroughfares in Tbilisi. It’s home to everything from the Georgian National Museum to the Viceroy Palace, Georgian Museum of Fine Arts, parliament, National Gallery, and Opera and Ballet Theater of Tbilisi.

It takes me to the achingly hip Stamba Hotel, where I check out the bars and restaurants before walking back to the Radisson Blu.

Not far away, I pop into a wine shop called 8000 Vintages to do a tasting and pick up a couple bottles of Georgian wine to take home with me.

From there I meet the group for dinner at a restaurant near the hotel. It’s called Alubali, and we tuck into a delicious feast of Georgian salads, fish, meat, and wine. It’s a great place to have the last meal of the trip.

Day 8: Departure

The next morning we leave the hotel at 5:30am to get to Tbilisi International Airport for a morning flight to London. It’s early, but many of us enjoy breakfast in the Primeclass Lounge before our departure.

From there we head back to London, taking in views of the snow-capped mountains from the windows of the plane. They take us back to our days of skiing in Georgia and tempt us to return for more in the future.

In fact, one member of our group is already coming back to ski with his family in a couple weeks. The rest of us are scheming for next ski season. I hope my blog post has inspired you to do the same.

Map of Georgia Ski Trip Itinerary

Further Details:
eSIM provider: GigSky
Sunscreen provider: Ultrasun
Arnica spray provider: SBC Skincare
Lift pass provider: MTA Mountain Trails Agency

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