My 3-Day Svaneti Tour With Megobari Tours: Itinerary & Review

Hikes, glaciers, Ushguli and the Zagari Pass: my private 3-day Svaneti tour with Megobari, including our full Svaneti itinerary, the costs and whether I’d book it again..

Svaneti is the mountain region in Georgia’s far northwest, and seeing it means long days on narrow, curvy roads. In August 2026 I spent 3 days in Svaneti on a private tour with Megobari Tours, a small company based in Kutaisi, with a guide who also did all the driving.

Below is the exact 3-day Svaneti itinerary we followed, more or less hour by hour, including all the stops along the way. After that comes my review of the tour, what the whole trip cost us, and how it compares to driving yourself. Each hike has its own detailed guide, linked in the day where we did it.

This wasn’t a sponsored trip. I booked the tour like any other traveler and paid for it myself, so everything below is, as usual, just my own experience.

• What the tour is: a 4x4 trip from Kutaisi into Svaneti with a local guide who also drives, guided hikes to glaciers and waterfalls, and nights in Mestia, the main town of the region.
• Tour options: small group (up to 6 people per car), private 2-day tour, or private 3-day tour. We did the private 3-day one.
• Start and end: hotel pickup and drop-off in Kutaisi, Georgia’s third-largest city, about 3.5 hours by car from Tbilisi.
• What we paid: €592 (about $680) for two people, for the private 3-day tour. For a group of 3+ people, it's roughly €222/person.
• Included: transportation and guide
• Not included: hotels, meals, entrance tickets, and any extra you ask for. For us that meant the 4x4 ride to the Koruldi Lakes.
• Best for: people who want to hike in Svaneti without driving its mountain roads, and would appreciate a guide along the way to learn more about the region
• Skip it if: you don’t enjoy walking at all. The hikes are the best part of this tour.
• Where to book: Megobari Tours on GetYourGuide
• Where to stay:
  • Newport Hotel Kutaisi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, where we slept before and after the tour.
  • Lahili Boutique Hotel in Mestia ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, where we stayed during the tour. More options in my guide on where to stay in Mestia.

Our Svaneti 3-day itineray with Megobari Tours went like this:

• Day 1: from Kutaisi over the Zagari Pass to Ushguli and the Shkhara Glacier hike.
• Day 2: a hike to the Shdugra Waterfall near Mazeri, and a 4x4 tour of the Koruldi Lakes over Mestia
• Day 3: Chalaadi Glacier hike, the Heshkili Huts, a Svan tower museum in Mestia and the Enguri Dam on the way back to Kutaisi.

The Koruldi Lakes aren't normally included in the itinerary, we asked for it and paid separately. Since the tour was private, we sorted our preferences out by just talking with her in the car. The times below are ours. A slower or faster group will move things around a bit.

Day 1: Kutaisi to Mestia Over the Zagari Pass and Ushguli

Our guide picked us up at our hotel in Kutaisi at 9 am, with our suitcases loaded in the back. The first stop came an hour later, at the Rachkha Waterfall. It’s in Lechkhumi, a quiet green region on the way to Svaneti, and you reach it with a short walk from the road. After that, it’s a long climb. Around 12:45 we reached the viewpoints of the Zagari Pass, at 2,620 m (8,596 ft). This road is only open in summer, roughly June to October, and the road conditions are in my detailed guide on how to get to Mestia.

At 1 pm we were in Ushguli, a cluster of four small villages full of medieval stone towers, right below Mount Shkhara, Georgia’s highest peak. We drove up to Lamaria Church first.

At 2 pm our guide parked the 4x4 at the end of the dirt road above the village, and we started the Shkhara Glacier hike. It’s the short version of the route, with a distance of about 5 km (3.1 mi) round trip, and an elevation gain under 300 m (about 980 ft). The slope is gentle, although the mud and tall grass are not. We were back at the car around 4:20 pm. Every step of the trail is in my complete guide to the Shkhara Glacier hike.

Back in the village we walked around Chazhashi, the part of Ushguli with the most towers, and climbed the tower at Queen Tamar Castle. Inside it’s dark, with wooden ladders leaning between the floors and a few rungs missing. The village, the walk and the climb are all covered in my full guide to Ushguli village.

We left Ushguli at 5:45 and got to our hotel in Mestia about an hour later. Dinner was on our own, which is how the tour works every night.

Day 2: Shdugra Waterfall and the Koruldi Lakes

We left our hotel in Mestia at 9 am and drove west toward Mazeri, the last village of a valley called Becho, about 50 minutes away. 

We started walking at 10 for the Shdugra Waterfall hike (distance: 8 km / 5 mi round trip; elevation gain: 427 m / 1,401 ft). The first half is flat and goes through a forest. All the climbing comes in the last stretch, on steep rocks. The falls drop from a granite wall right below Mount Ushba, the mountain with two pointed peaks you see from all over Svaneti. The trail, the border post and the muddy parts are all in my complete guide to the Shdugra Waterfall hike.

The afternoon was our own addition. We’d asked our guide about the Koruldi Lakes, small alpine lakes on a plateau about 1,340 m (4,400 ft) above Mestia, and she told us right away that her car couldn’t go up there. The road needs a special kind of 4x4 and a trained driver who does it every day. She found one for us, and at 2:30 pm we switched cars in the center of Mestia. The drive up took an hour and was the scariest ride of my whole trip to Georgia: tight hairpins, loose rock, and drops with no barrier. Up top we walked around the lakes for about an hour. We paid 350 GEL (about $130) for the car. The road, the price and the hiking options are all in my full guide to the Koruldi Lakes 4x4 drive and hike.

Day 3: Chalaadi Glacier, Heshkili Huts, Niguriani Tower and the Enguri Dam

Our last day started at 9 again, and by 9:25 we were at the trailhead of the Chalaadi Glacier hike (distance: 4.7 km / 2.9 mi round trip; elevation gain: about 300 m / 985 ft. It’s the easiest of the three hikes we did. You cross a slightly wobbly bridge, walk through a pine forest next to a loud gray river, then a meadow of purple wildflowers, and finally a field of big boulders right below the ice. Additional info about the trail, the ice cave and more are in my guide to the Chalaadi Glacier hike.

At 12:45 we stopped at the Heshkili Huts, a group of small wooden cabins in an old village above Mestia, on the road to the Hatsvali ski area, at about 1,900 m (6,230 ft). People come for the view, a row of snowy peaks and glaciers over a deep valley of pine forest. There’s also a swing that hangs over the slope, and a café where we sat outside with a lemonade.

Back in Mestia we visited the Niguriani Tower, a Svan family home from the 12th century with its defense tower next to it. Svan families lived on the ground floor in winter, together with their animals, and this room, called the machub, is now set up with the old objects of the house. You can climb the tower too. The ticket was 15 GEL (about $5.50), cash.

We left Mestia at 2:25 pm, on the main road down the Enguri valley toward Zugdidi. Around 4:40 we stopped at the Enguri Dam, one of the tallest arch dams in the world at 271.5 m (891 ft). We paid 17 GEL each for the basic ticket, which covers the walk out to the viewing platform and a short video. There are more expensive tickets with a shuttle, but the walk is short, so we didn’t bother. After about half an hour we were back in the car, and we got to our hotel in Kutaisi at 8 pm.

For me, yes, absolutely. On GetYourGuide, the Megobari Svaneti tour from Kutaisi has a 5.0 rating from almost 300 reviews. After three days with them I understand why.

Our Guide-Driver

Our guide was a young Georgian woman who did all the driving and walked every hike with us. I normally get carsick on curvy mountain roads, and Svaneti is basically all curvy mountain roads, but she drove so smoothly that I barely felt it.

On the trails she knew every turn, and she kept to our pace, which I’m fairly sure was slower than hers. She also left us alone for a while when we wanted to explore, and pointed out the best spots for photos. She kept checking that we had water and snacks and told us where the few toilets were, which up there is useful information. She knew a lot about Svan history and the towers too, and she was really fun to spend three days with.

Private or Small Group?

You can book this tour in two ways:

• Small group: up to 6 people per car, shared with other travelers. Solo travelers can join if there are other bookings on the same date.
• Private: just your group, from two up to nine people, with a bigger car for bigger groups.

We went private, and I’d do it again. Hiking speed changes a lot from person to person, and we could walk at ours, start when we wanted, and add things on the way. Koruldi was one of those things, and in a group tour it’s normally not part of the plan. The group option is still a good tour, and cheaper per person. Just know that you follow a fixed program.

2 Days or 3 Days?

Take three. The 2-day version follows the same first day, then on day 2 it goes straight from Mestia back to Kutaisi, with only short stops on the way. That leaves out the Shdugra Waterfall hike, and you spend a big part of your two days in the car. With a three day itinerary, we did three hikes, plus Koruldi, and never felt rushed.

What the Whole Trip Cost Us

For two people, in August 2026:

• Private 3-day tour: €592 (about $680)
• Koruldi Lakes 4x4: 350 GEL (about $130) for the car, paid in cash to the driver
• Hotel in Mestia, 2 nights with breakfast: €175 (about $200)
• Enguri Dam: 17 GEL (about $6) per person
• Niguriani Tower: 15 GEL (about $5.50)
• Tip for our guide: about €150 (about $175) for the three days, but this cost is obviously up to you, and not mandatory, although obviously appreciated. 
• Meals: on top of everything, since none are included. We had big breakfasts at the hotel, snacks on the trails and dinner in Mestia.

That’s a little over €1,050 (about $1,200) for two, before meals. Prices on GetYourGuide change with the option, the season and how many people you are, so check the current price for your dates.

We had a rental car for the rest of our trip in Georgia, and we left it parked in Kutaisi for these three days. Both options work. The choice mostly depends on how you feel about mountain roads.

On a tour

• Best for: people who’d rather not drive in the mountains, and anyone who wants a guide on the hikes.
• Cost: €592 (about $680) for two for our private 3-day tour, less per person in a small group.
• What you deal with: almost nothing. You book your hotel in Mestia and pay for meals and tickets.
• Downsides: less freedom on the timing, and in a group you follow a fixed plan.

On your own, with your own car

• Best for: confident drivers who like to stop wherever they want and plan their own days.
• Cost: around $45 to $70 a day for a 4x4, plus fuel. I rented from Parent.ge, a local company I was happy with.
• What you deal with: all the driving, the route, and finding the trailheads on your own.
• Downsides: some rental contracts don’t allow the road to Ushguli or don’t cover damage on dirt roads, so read yours before you sign. You’d still need a local driver for the Koruldi Lakes.

The hours behind the wheel add up fast here, and have roadworks, potholes and cows around blind curves, and you have to pay attention the whole time. With a guide driving, I could just look out the window. For a first trip to Svaneti, I’d pick the tour. 

We booked the Svaneti Megobari Svaneti Tour through this link on GetYourGuide.

These are the things worth knowing before you click:

• • Pick the right option. The listing covers the small group tour, the private 2-day tour and the private 3-day tour. Choose the option on the booking page, after you pick the date. The private 3-day tour doesn’t show up on every date, so if you don’t see it, try a few days earlier or later, or contact Megobari.
  • Book early for July and August. The tour is popular and the listing often shows as likely to sell out. Hotels in Mestia fill up in summer too.
  • Cancellation: free up to 24 hours before the start, and you can reserve without paying right away.
  • Book your hotel in Mestia yourself. It’s not included. Megobari suggests staying within walking distance of Seti Square, the main square. Our hotel (Lahili Boutique Hotel in Mestia) was about 10 minutes away on foot, and that was fine.
  • Expect a message a few days before. Megobari got in touch with us shortly before the tour to confirm the pickup time at our hotel in Kutaisi.
  • Bring cash in lari. You need it for tickets, extras, cafés along the trails and the tip. Mestia has ATMs, the villages around it don’t.
  • Out of season, plans can change. In winter, early spring and late fall, the road to Ushguli can be closed by snow or mud, and Megobari adjusts the itinerary when that happens. The Zagari Pass road is only open roughly from June to October.

Can you do the Megobari Svaneti tour from Tbilisi?
The tour starts and ends in Kutaisi, so you need to get there first. From Tbilisi it’s about 3.5 hours by car on the highway, or a few hours by train. Kutaisi also has its own airport with lots of budget flights from Europe, so you can fly straight in. We slept in Kutaisi the night before and the night after. If you’re also planning the mountains near Tbilisi, I compare the two regions and how to combine them in my article: Kazbegi or Svaneti, which one should you pick?.

How fit do you need to be for this tour?
You need a good level of fitness. The three hikes are easy to moderate and take between 2 and 3 hours each. None of them climbs more than about 430 m (1,410 ft), though. The hardest part is the final rocky climb to the Shdugra Waterfall. The rest is mostly mud, roots and gentle slopes, so good hiking shoes matter too.

Who should skip this tour?
Megobari doesn’t recommend it for people with reduced mobility or a fear of heights, and I would agree, as the hikes and the mountain roads are the core of the tour.

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