Trek the Svaneti Region

This adventure in the Caucasus is full board whilst trekking. Georgian gastronomy consists of rich pastries, meats and cheeses, eaten alongside fresh, vegetable salads. A continental style breakfast is served at your hotel each morning and in the guesthouses you will be provided with a range of pastries, cereals, cheeses, cold meats and fruit along with plenty of tea and coffee. Each day whilst trekking you will receive a picnic lunch from your guesthouse for you to carry in your daypack. Our lunches are all made with fresh local produce and will include fruit, vegetables, cold meats, cheese and lovely fresh bread. Evening meals will be taken at the guesthouse. There will be a range of starters, main courses and desserts for you to choose from and you will get to try local delicacies such as Khakali and Chirbuli. In Kutaisi and Mestia, your evening meal isn't included. This is an opportunity to head into one of the local restaurants and sample the locals favourites.

During the trip you will be given 2 bottles of water per day. Any other drinks, including additional water, are your own responsibility. You may wish to carry a water purification system such as a filter or tablets to treat water from natural springs or villages whilst trekking. There are plenty of places to refill your water bottles both in towns and in remote mountain areas, your guide will advise you when and where to refill. Please be aware that tap water in Georgia may not be safe to drink, so you may wish to bring a filter/purification tablets to treat this also.

If you have special dietary requirements please inform us as soon as possible after booking your trip. We will work with you to ensure your needs are met.

On this trip we will stay in hotels in Kutaisi and Mestia. The hotels will be of 4 star standard with double or twin rooms and private bathrooms. Single rooms can be arranged on request and subject to availability.

Whilst trekking we will be staying in local guesthouses in twin rooms with shared bathrooms. Single occupancy isn't always available in the guesthouses and will be reviewed on upon request.

During the trek, your luggage will be transported by an all-terrain vehicle. You should bring two bags with you, a large 80-100 litre duffel bag and a smaller 30-50 litre daypack. Your duffel bag will be transported by the vehicle each day and made available for you at your accommodation each afternoon once the vehicles have arrived. Your daypack will stay with you at all times and should be used to carry spare clothing, water, suncream, lunch etc. A flexible duffel bag or backpack is best for your main luggage.

You will need to arrive at Kutaisi International Airport (KUT) on Day 1 of your itinerary. If you would prefer to arrive a few days earlier, we would be happy to book additional hotel accommodation for you on request.

In order to reach Kutaisi it is necessary to have a stopover in Europe. For those travelling from the UK, there are indirect flights from London and Manchester with Pegasus, Ryan Air and Easyjet with layovers in Instanbul or Budapest. If travelling from Glasgow, you will need to go via London.

From the US, Norse Atlantic and French Bee offer the most options, with indirect flights from New York and Miami with short stop overs in Europe. Flights from Atlanta will need to be via New York and Los Angeles.

When you arrive in Kutaisi, please look out for our guide and driver in the arrivals area, where they will be waiting to meet you.

From 1st January 2026, it became mandatory for all tourist entering Georgia to present a health and accident insurance policy. This can be physical or an electronic version and must be in either Georgian or English language. The insurance coverage amount must be at least 30,000 GEL (US$11200) and should be issued by either a Georgian or a foreign insurance company.

The policy must include the following information:

Parties (insurance company and insured person)

Subject of insurance

Start and end date

Risks

Insurance limits

Amount of premium to be paid

Place, and terms of payment

The insurance policy must cover the entire period of your stay in Georgia.

If you are changing airlines or re-checking your luggage at an airport on route, please ensure you leave a minimum of 3 hours between flights. This will account for any delays on arrival, travel time across airports (this can take longer than you think) and time taken to re-check baggage.

Travelling Responsibly

Here at Kandoo, we like to support our guests to make their travel more sustainable. As of 2025, we are offsetting the carbon on all of our trips from arrival in destination to dropping you back off at the airport. As we don't include flight travel in our trips these aren't included in our offsetting calculations, so we are providing you with the calculator below for you to do this yourselves.

eC02 Flights Calculator

A pre-trek briefing will be held for this trip in the evening of Day 1 of your trip. Your guide will meet you in the hotel reception area for this briefing.

The currency in Georgia is the Georgian Lari (GEL) and it's sign is ₾.

Georgia has a closed currency which means Lari cannot be imported or exported from the country. You can exchange currency at the airport, banks, exchange offices, or with currency exchangers. However, the latter isn't recommended as some exchangers will provide you with counterfeit money. US Dollars and Euros are the easiest currencies to exchange. The National Bank of Georgia and TBC bank are considered to be credible banks to exchange your money with. Credit and debit cards are widely accepted at restaurants and larger shops in the big cities. If you are planning to carry a credit card for emergencies, please inform your card provider in advance. ATMs are also available in the bigger cities to withdraw cash, if you have a pre-paid card such as Monzo or Revolut this can often be done without exchange charges.

The only way to pay for things once you leave Kutaisi is in cash. Cards are not accepted in the smaller towns and villages so you will need to carry enough cash for snacks, drinks and any personal expenses.

The average cost of a three course meal in Kutaisi is around ₾60-80 ($20-30). A taxi ride will generally start at ₾2 ($0.75) whereas a one way bus ticket for a 10 minute journey will be around ₾0.4 ($0.15). Its is a fairly a cheap place to eat out and travel compared to Western standards and if you are wanting to buy some suluguni cheese or churchellato take home then these generally cost anywhere between ₾15-270 ($5-$100) for gifts that will pack into your main bag. Don't forget you will also need to budget for drinks too. A bottle of water might cost you $1 to $2, while a local beer can be around $2 to $4. We would recommend a budget of $250 for your time in Georgia.

Tipping when you are satisfied with the service you have received is customary in Georgia. However, it is not mandatory and should be left to the discretion of each individual. We recommend a budget of 8 - 10 GEL (equivalent to US$3 - $4 / £2 - £3) per person per day for tips. Tips should be given to your lead guide who will distribute them with any support crew. These should be paid in the local currency.

Please double check that your passport is valid for 6 months beyond the date of arrival in Georgia. We recommend that you take a photocopy of your passport and keep it separate from the original, and this will be useful if the original is lost while you are travelling.

Travelling to Georgia is visa free for up to one year, for UK and US citizens. For other nationalities a visa may be required. Please check this with your embassy.

There are no specific health risks in Georgia. However, you should ensure that your routine vaccinations and boosters are up to date, such as tetanus and MMR.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you are fully and adequately insured for the duration of your trip. Please ensure that all activities, excursions and destinations in your itinerary are included in your travel insurance policy, in addition to your regular cover for cancellation and medical expenses. If you are climbing Mount Kazbek, you will need to be covered for trekking up to 5100m and using fixed ropes. We ask that you keep a copy of your policy summary (containing policy number and the emergency contact number for your insurer) in your day sack at all times, so that we can access this information should we need to contact the insurer on your behalf.

Please note that Georgia has a very strict anti-drugs policy. This can also cover prescription and non-prescription medicines commonly available in the UK and US. For example, non-prescription medicines containing codeine are illegal.

If you need to bring prescription medication with you to Georgia, please also bring your signed Doctor’s prescription and the original packaging for the medicine.

HEADGEAR

Sun hat – preferably wide-brimmed for protection

Sunglasses – high UV protection

Neck gaiter or scarf

Warm beanie style hat – fleece or wool

UPPER BODY

Gloves – warm fleece or wool gloves

Short sleeve shirt/t-shirt – lightweight, moisture wicking (x2)

Long-sleeve shirt/t-shirt – light/medium weight, moisture wicking (x2)

Fleece or soft shell jacket

Lightweight insulated jacket – down or primaloft

Water/windproof hard shell outer jacket

LEGS

Trekking shorts

Trekking trousers – lightweight – convertible trousers work well

Wind and waterproof over trousers (Gore-Tex or similar)

Gaiters

FEET

Trekking boots – with good ankle support

Training shoes or sandals – to wear in the accommodation in the evening

Light-weight trekking socks (x3 pairs)

Breathable, high-wicking liner socks (x2 pairs)

80-100L duffel bag

30-40L rucksack with chest strap and waterproof cover - to carry water, packed lunch and personal items each day

Trekking poles

Water bottle or hydration bag – must be able to carry 2.0L of water

Drybags – provide additional waterproofing for the kit in your rucksack

Individual plastic tub and cutlery – for your picnic lunch

Headlamp (plus extra batteries)

Water filtration system or purification tablets

OTHER ACCESSORIES

Sunscreen and lip balm (high SPF)

Toiletries, including wet wipes, after sun and hand sanitiser

Camera and spare batteries

Personal medication and first aid kit

Personal snacks and energy bars – dried fruit and nuts are also good

Microfibre towel

Ear plugs, if you are a light sleeper