Discover Georgia - Private Tour

You will be met on arrival at Tbilisi International Airport (TBS) by a local guide, and driven the 25 minute journey to your centrally-located hotel. There are no planned activities for today, so you are free to arrive in Tbilisi at any time. For those booking their own flights, you will just need to let us know your flight details no later than three weeks prior to departure, in order to be met on arrival.

Many flights from the UK arrive into Tbilisi in the early hours of the morning (around 3am), which should be booked for arrival on the morning of Day 2. If you arrive in the morning of Day 1, please note that your hotel room may not be available to check-in until after 2pm, and so you may wish to book an additional night's accommodation.

Please note that many of Georgia's museums close on a Monday, so if you wish to visit a particular attraction then please check that it is open on the day you want to visit. Stay: Hotel KMM (Comfortable)

Set out today with a local guide, to discover both the Old and New Towns of Georgia's cosmopolitan capital city on foot. If you've arrived in the early hours of the morning, your guide will set a slightly later start time in order to give you time to rest after your flight.

Starting the visit in the old part at the Church of Metekhi, continue through narrow lanes past cafes and restaurants to the Synagogue, Sioni Cathedral and Anchiskhati Church, which marks the end of the Old Town. Take a stroll along the lively Rustaveli Avenue, admiring the architecture of many grand buildings that line Tbilisi's main street, and in the afternoon take the cable car to Narikala Fort, which dominates the skyline of the Old Town, before walking down to the brick-domed sulphur baths. Stay: Hotel KMM (Comfortable) (B)

Leave Tbilisi and head east to Kakheti, Georgia's wine region, driving through stunning countryside with mountain views. You'll be travelling with a local guide throughout the trip, who will be able to point out the many places of interest en route. Stop first at the Tsinandali estate, a magnificent historic home that dates back to the 1700s and has been at the heart of Georgian wine production for over a hundred years.

Take tour of the museum here, before continuing on to the Kondoli winery where you can try two types of the region's 'bio wine'. Biodynamic wine uses organic farming methods both to grow the grapes and in the creation of the wine, along with following a schedule aligned with astronomical events. Alongside a local master, learn how 'Qvevris' are made, the large earthenware vessels containing the wine which are buried underground. You'll also have the chance to try some of the local firewater known as chacha! Later in the afternoon, continue on to Telavi. Stay: Hotel Old Telavi (Comfortable) (B/D)

Combine Georgia's underrated food scene with its impressive history today, in a full day of exploration. Set out to Telavi's food market this morning, where stalls are loaded with fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, spices and drinks. Next up, visit the UNESCO Alaverdi Cathedral, an 11th century Georgian Orthodox monastery. Once Georgia's highest at around 50 m, it dominates the surrounding countryside; however it was superseded in 2004 by Sameba, Tbilisi's Holy Trinity Cathedral, which stands at a magnificent 100 m. Continue to a local farmer's house for lunch, and to see how the local Georgian sweets ('churchkhela') and bread ('shoti') are made. Lunch is included here - the delicious Georgian delicacy 'mtsvadi', meat barbequed on a fire made from vine branches. Vegetarian options are also available.

It wouldn't be right to leave the wine region without a final tipple! Travelling back to Tbilisi over the Gombori Pass, stop at Kakabeti village and visit the 'Velino' winery to taste three further kinds of bio wine. Stay: Hotel KMM (Comfortable) (B/L)

Leaving the capital again this morning, drive to picturesque Mtskheta, the spiritual heart of Georgia. Visit the hilltop 6th century Jvari Monastery and take in the spectacular views of Mtskheta and the confluence of two rivers below. Make your way down into the town and visit Svetitskhoveli Cathedral. The 9th century basilica contains the grave of Sidonia, who was said to have been buried holding Christ's robe.

Continue through villages to the Silk Road cave town of Uplistsikhe. Here an entire town of streets, churches, palaces and residential buildings has been carved into the mountainside. Dating from the first millennium BC, it gradually grew to be an important city on the trade route linking Byzantium with India and China. After exploring this unusual place, drive on to Akhaltsikhe for a two night stay. Stay: Lomsia Hotel (Comfortable) (B)

Today's destination is one of Georgia's most significant sites, the cave town of Vardzia. Bigger and more dramatic than Uplitsikhe, Vardia is cut into a towering cliff and is in a remote location reached by a drive through a beautiful rolling landscape. Established by King Giorgi III in the 12th century as a stronghold against the Turkish Sultanate (the Turkish border is only 10km away). Vardzia was subsequently developed by his daughter, Tamar (later to become Queen Tamar), who created a cave monastery that became a centre of Georgian culture.

This network of caves above the Mtkvari (Kura) river once numbered 3000, with up to 19 tiers in some places. Much of it was destroyed after a huge earthquake in 1456 and only 550 caves have been since discovered. There are numerous churches, meeting halls, refectories and wine cellars, all interconnected by tunnels and stairways. You'll have time to explore and navigate your way around this fascinating place before returning to Akhaltsikhe. Time permitting, you may also be able to visit Rabath Castle on the way back (closed on Mondays). Stay: Lomsia Hotel (Comfortable) (B)

At approximately five hours, today's drive is the longest of the trip, as you head north to the mountains. Stop at the Soviet style town of Gori, where Georgia's most famous son, Stalin, was born. Here there is time to visit the Stalin museum, if you wish, and learn much about his life. Interestingly he initially began training as a priest in the Georgian Seminary, before abandoning religion to become a brigand and join the new Bolshevik movement. It has been suggested too that Georgia escaped the worst horrors of Stalin's regime because he was afraid of his conservative Christian mother!

Further into our journey, pay a visit to the Ananuri Fortress, which overlooks a reservoir on the Aragvi River. The scenery becomes more dramatic throughout the ascent along the Georgian Military Highway. Drive through the spectacular and breathtaking mountain scenery of the Greater Caucasus, passing Gudauri (2196 m), a winter ski resort overlooking an epic gorge, before reaching the mountain village of Kazbegi. Stay: Hotel Stepantsminda (Comfortable) (B/D)

Walk from Kazbegi through Gergeti village and up to the Gergeti Holy Trinity church, stunningly located on a hilltop both overshadowed and overlooking the surrounding snowy peaks of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. The walk is a round trip of 3-4 hours. The area is a treasure trove of mythology - it was to the majestic Mount Kazbegi (5047 m), the highest peak in this region, that Prometheus was chained. This part of the Caucasus is a protected area, and is home to a variety of flora and fauna. Georgia has over 100 different mammals, and although the European bison and Caucasian leopard have become extinct, there are still wolves and bears in the mountains.

This afternoon, drive back to Tbilisi for your final night. Stay: Hotel KMM (Comfortable) (B)

Today the trip ends, and you'll be taken to Tbilisi International Airport (TBS) for your international flight, approximately 25 minutes from the hotel. There are no activities planned today, so you are free to depart Tbilisi at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day, luggage storage facilities are available at the hotel. (B)