Tbilisi to Kutaisi and Batumi by car: the route and where to stop

Published 23 September 2026

The drive from Tbilisi to Batumi crosses Georgia from the capital to the Black Sea: about 370 kilometres, almost all of it on the country's main east–west highway. Since the new motorway over the Rikoti Pass opened in full at the end of 2025, the trip is faster than it has ever been.

You can drive it in a day. Two days, with a night in Kutaisi, leave time for the sights along the way. This guide follows the route stage by stage.

The route at a glance

Stage	Distance	On the way
Tbilisi → Gori	about 85 km	Mtskheta, Uplistsikhe
Gori → Kutaisi	about 145 km	Surami, the Rikoti Pass, Borjomi as a detour
Kutaisi → Batumi	about 150 km	Kobuleti and the Black Sea coast

Starting in Tbilisi?

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Tbilisi to Gori

Leave Tbilisi on the motorway west. Twenty minutes out, a short detour takes you to Mtskheta, the old capital, whose Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and hilltop Jvari Monastery are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

An hour further on, Gori is the home of the Stalin Museum. About ten kilometres east of the town, Uplistsikhe is an ancient cave town cut into the rock above the Mtkvari river.

Over the Rikoti Pass

West of Khashuri the road climbs to the Rikoti Pass, which divides eastern from western Georgia. The old two-lane road over it used to be the slowest part of the trip. Since 30 December 2025, a four-lane motorway carries you through 51 tunnels and over 97 bridges, and the crossing takes about half the time it did.

Before the pass, around Surami, roadside stalls sell nazuki, a sweet spiced bread baked in clay ovens. From Khashuri, Borjomi, with its mineral springs and national park, is a detour of about 30 kilometres to the south.

Kutaisi

Kutaisi, Georgia's third-largest city, is the natural place to stop for the night. Bagrati Cathedral stands on a hill above the centre, and Gelati Monastery, founded in 1106 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is about ten kilometres away.

Caves and canyons are close by. Prometheus Cave and the Sataplia reserve are each under half an hour's drive, and Martvili and Okatse canyons are each about an hour away.

Kutaisi also has an international airport, so the route works from either end.

Staying in Kutaisi?

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Kutaisi to Batumi

From Kutaisi the road runs west through Samtredia and reaches the sea near Kobuleti, then follows the coast south to Batumi. This last stretch is busy in summer, especially at weekends, so an early start pays off.

In Batumi, the seafront boulevard runs for kilometres along the beach, and the Botanical Garden covers a green headland just north of the city. Gonio Fortress, with Roman-era walls, is a short drive south towards the Turkish border.

Ending in Batumi?

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Tips for the drive

Trucks are many on the highway. Overtake with care, and keep right when you are not passing.
Fuel stations are frequent along the whole route.
In summer, set off early: both the heat and the traffic to the coast build through the day.
You do not have to drive back. Many companies let you collect the car in Tbilisi and return it in Kutaisi or Batumi; the booking page shows what it costs.
Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons for the drive. In July and August the coast is at its busiest.