Georgia is one of the most beautiful countries we travelled in, in 2016 and it happens to be the cheapest. With budget airlines like WIZZ Air flying in and out of Kutaisi from all over Europe, holidays here are very affordable! Here’s an idea of how much it costs to travel in Georgia.
Costs are given in Georgian Lari (GEL). The exchange rate for Lari to New Zealand dollars is 1GEL = $ 0.54 NZD.
Accommodation:
Antony and I travelled in Georgia in April (10 nights) and October (19 nights) 2016. 7 of the 29 nights were spent at a workaway place so we didn’t pay for accommodation there. The other 22 nights were in guesthouses/bnbs or hotels.
Total for 22 nights paid accommodation: 1,073 GEL = $580 NZD
Average per night (for a couple): 49 GEL or $26.36 NZD
Air BnB in Tbilisi (April)
Food:
The food in Georgia was cheap and came in large portions. We ate out a lot. There were various cheesy bread/ pizza type things and quite a number of dishes for vegetarians, such as beans in a pot, fresh salads, grilled mushrooms and yummy potato dishes. The famous dumplings could also be ordered with potato or mushroom, both usually came with lots of pepper and tasted pretty good. Photos and details on Georgian food in my post here. When we were at our workaway we each contributed 10 lari ($5.40 NZD) per day toward food costs.
Total food costs: 1097 GEL = $590 NZD
Average food cost per day: 38 GEL = $20 NZD OR 19 GEL/ $10 NZD per person.
Transport:
We mostly used local transport; i.e. metro in Tbilisi, trains and marshutkas (minivans) between towns and a few day trips with a private driver. We covered 2,519 km during our time in Georgia.
Total Transport costs for two people: 610 Gel = $330 NZD
Per km cost (for two people): $0.13 NZD
Marshutkas in the Svaneti region.
Activities:
The cost of funicular rides, entrance fees to caves and other sightseeing attractions were all quite reasonable in Georgia. Churches were free. We went to a pretty cheap Turkish bathhouse in Tbilisi but you can pay more and get fancier versions!
Total activities & sightseeing cost: 256 GEL = $138 NZD
Average per day for 2 people: $4.75 NZD or $2.38 NZD per person.
Rabati Fortress, Akhaltsikhe
Communication:
We bought a Georgian sim card the first time we were in Georgia. The following amount is the cost of the plan including internet data.
Total communication costs: 17 GEL = $9.20
Gifts, Post & Health:
We bought a few souvenir gifts, postcards, a couple of small icon cards and a few second hand English novels.
Total for gifts, books, post: 43 lari = $23 NZD
Total Health, toiletries and toilet visit costs: 49 GEL= $26 NZD
Clothing:
On our second visit I needed to get some warm tights, more socks and underpants. Got some budget deals on all of the above.
Total clothing: 21 GEL= $11
For more about where we went and what we saw have a read about Kutaisi– the town we flew in and out of, the country’s capital Tbilisi, our day trip up the Georgian Military Highway to Stepantsminda, Stalin’s hometown of Gori and nearby cave city Uplistsikhe, the stunning mountainous Svaneti region, Workawaying at a Wine Hostel, Exploring Kakheti, Akhaltsikhe– home to an impressive fortress, Borjomi with its famous mineral water and the cave city of Vardzia.
Total cost for our time in Georgia: 3166 GEL= $1710
* Cost per day (for two) = $59 NZD or $ $29.50 NZD per person
Not only is Georgia a cheap and beautiful destination for the budget traveller but visas are not required for European, North American, Australian and Kiwi travellers amongst others. You can travel visa free in Georgia for an entire year!! Iranians can travel visa free for 90 days. For those limited by Shengen visa rules in Europe, once your 3 months are up I can highly recommend getting a cheap flight to Georgia and hanging out there until you can re-enter Europe again 🙂