Kazbegi or Svaneti, Georgia: Which to Pick & How to Do Both

Kazbegi or Svaneti for your Georgia trip? Hikes, base towns, days needed and every way to get from Kazbegi to Svaneti, from someone who hiked both.

Kazbegi and Svaneti are the two best-known mountain regions in Georgia. Both sit in the Greater Caucasus, the range that runs along the country’s northern border with Russia, but they’re nowhere near each other. Kazbegi is about three hours north of Tbilisi, the capital. Svaneti is in the far northwest, much closer to Kutaisi, a smaller city in western Georgia with its own international airport.

I went to both, on a trip built almost entirely around hiking. I spent four nights in Stepantsminda, the main town in Kazbegi, and then three days in Mestia, the main town in Svaneti. 

So, Kazbegi or Svaneti? This guide compares the hikes, the base towns and the logistics, explains who should pick which, and covers how to get from Kazbegi to Svaneti if you decide to do both. 

For a quick first answer, just scroll down to the next chapter. 

Pick Svaneti if you’re going for the hiking. The trails around Mestia take you right up to glaciers on fairly easy day hikes, and that’s getting rare anywhere in the world. Mestia is also a much nicer town to come back to at the end of the day, and Ushguli, which is even more fascinating, is just nearby. If I only had three or four days, I’d fly into Kutaisi and go straight to Svaneti.

Pick Kazbegi if you land in Tbilisi and don’t have much time to spare. Stepantsminda is about three hours from the capital, and you can drive yourself, or arrange a transfer (both private and shared options are available). The hikes there are also very interesting, and go from a big glacier to a valley full of sulphur waters and abandoned villages. In winter it’s the easier choice, because you can wait in Tbilisi for a clear day and go up for a night or two.

Pick Svaneti if you don’t hike, but it's almost a draw. Ushguli is one of the most unique villages in Georgia, and some glaciers and lakes in the area are visible with just a walk, or with a 4x4. However, Kazbegi works almost as well, since you can drive all the way up to its famous hilltop church, and to some parts of the Truso Valley.

Do both if you have around ten days just for the mountains. Split the days half and half, and plan a full day of travel to get from one to the other. More details below.

Here are the basics side by side, before we get into the details.

Kazbegi

• Where: In the north of Georgia, along the main road from Tbilisi to the Russian border.
• Base town: Stepantsminda, at about 1,740 m (5,709 ft). Most people just call the town Kazbegi too.
• From Tbilisi: About 150 km (93 mi), so 2.5 to 3 hours by car without stops. Minibuses run all day, and there are private transfer options.
• From Kutaisi: About 5.5 hours of driving, because you have to pass close to Tbilisi first.
• Nights you need: At least three, so you get two full days on the trails. Four or five if you want more hikes and a spare day for bad weather.
• Known for: Gergeti Trinity Church on its hill below Mount Kazbek, 5,054 m (16,581 ft), plus valley hikes like Truso and Chaukhi.
• Where to Stay: I stayed at Lens Design Hotel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and it was great. For more options, see my guide on where to stay in Kazbegi

Svaneti

• Where: In the far northwest of Georgia, high up in the valley of the Enguri River.
• Base town: Mestia, at about 1,400 m (4,593 ft).
• From Tbilisi: About 460 km (285 mi). That’s a full day by car, or train plus minibus, or a short flight on a small plane.
• From Kutaisi: About 255 km (158 mi), around 5 hours by car. There’s also a direct minibus and private transfer options.
• Nights you need: Three or four. Fewer than that, and most of your time goes to the trip in and out.
• Known for: Medieval stone towers, the village of Ushguli, glaciers you can hike to, and Mount Shkhara, at 5,193 m (17,037 ft) the highest mountain in Georgia.
• Where to Stay: I've stayed at the Lahili Boutique Hotel in Mestia ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, and loved it. You can see more hotels in my guide on where to stay in Mestia.

Hiking is the main reason to go to either region, and both have plenty of marked trails you can do on your own. The difference is in what you find at the end of them.

Hiking in Kazbegi

Kazbegi has fewer big-name hikes, but each one is quite different from the others. I covered five of them in my guide to the 5 best hikes in Kazbegi, and these are the three I’d put first.

• Gergeti Glacier. The trail starts right below Gergeti Trinity Church, with the best view of it you’ll get, and climbs past a mountain hut up to the Gergeti Glacier, which comes down from Mount Kazbek. It’s a long, steep day, harder than any hike I did in Svaneti. All the details are in my guide to the Gergeti Glacier hike from Trinity Church.
• Truso Valley. A wide, quiet valley near the Russian border, with half-abandoned stone villages, mineral springs and orange travertine terraces, formed by the minerals in the water. It ends at an old fortress. Here’s my complete guide to the Truso Valley.
• Chaukhi Lake. You start from the village of Juta and walk toward the Chaukhi massif, a wall of jagged rock peaks that reminded me a lot of the Dolomites in Italy. The trail ends at a small lake below them. The route is in my Chaukhi Lake Hike guide.

Hiking in Svaneti

What surprised me in Svaneti was the glaciers. There are several of them at fairly low altitude, and you can walk up to them on easy, pleasant trails. That’s hard to find these days, with glaciers shrinking almost everywhere. My full ranking is in my guide to the 5 best hikes in Svaneti, and these are the four day hikes I did.

• Chalaadi Glacier. The easiest one. It’s about 4.7 km (2.9 mi) round trip with roughly 300 m (984 ft) of climbing, through a forest and a field of boulders to the front of the glacier. The trailhead is 30 minutes from Mestia. More in my guide to the Chalaadi Glacier hike.
• Shkhara Glacier. This one starts near Ushguli and walks along a valley floor toward the glacier below Mount Shkhara. A short version starts from a parking area you reach by 4x4, about 5 km (3.1 mi) round trip with less than 300 m (984 ft) of climbing. Both routes are in my guide to the Shkhara Glacier hike.
• Shdugra Waterfall. A tall waterfall below Mount Ushba, the double-peaked mountain you see from all over Svaneti. It’s about 8 km (5 mi) round trip with 427 m (1,401 ft) of climbing from above the village of Mazeri. Details in my Shdugra Waterfall hike guide.
• Koruldi Lakes. A group of small lakes high above Mestia, at about 2,740 m (8,990 ft), with views of Ushba. We went up by 4x4. On foot from Mestia it’s a hard full day, around 14 km (8.7 mi) round trip with 1,335 m (4,380 ft) of climbing. Both options are in my guide to Koruldi Lakes by 4x4 or on foot.

If you want something longer, Svaneti also has the four-day trek from Mestia to Ushguli, sleeping in village guesthouses along the way. Kazbegi has no equivalent that’s as well known.

My Pick for Hikers: Svaneti

In Svaneti there are so many easy-to-moderate hikes ending in a spectacular glacier, plus waterfalls and lakes, with the landscape that stays green and pretty from start to finish. It's a visual that's simply hard to beat.  Kazbegi’s trails are perhaps more original in a sense, Truso in particular looks like nothing else I saw in Georgia. But in Kazbegi, I found Mount Kazbek was often hidden in clouds. In Svaneti there were so many beautiful peaks around that something was always in view, even with clouds.

In both regions you’ll sleep in one main town and drive or walk out to the trails each day. So the town is where you spend your evenings, and that’s where the two regions differ most.

Stepantsminda, Kazbegi

Stepantsminda sits in a wide valley with Gergeti Trinity Church on the hill above it and Mount Kazbek behind, on the days the clouds let you see it. The view is great. The town itself isn’t pretty. The architecture is not particularly interesting or a place to take a pleasant stroll, and when I was there, a lot of the streets were unpaved or full of potholes, there were roadworks and half-built hotels all over the place. 

What Stepantsminda does have is a good choice of hotels and restaurants. I ate well every single night, and you’ll find my favorites in my guide to the best restaurants in Kazbegi. For hotels and which part of town to pick, see my guide on where to stay in Kazbegi.

Mestia, Svaneti

Mestia is greener and much nicer to walk around. The old houses come with tall stone towers attached, built centuries ago by local families to defend themselves, and they’re everywhere you look. The town is surrounded by mountains on all sides, and a river runs through the middle of it.

In the evening, the restaurants in the center put tables outside, some right below the towers, and that was one of my favorite parts of the trip. If you’re still deciding on a hotel, I compared the areas and my picks in my guide on where to stay in Mestia.

Which Town Wins: Mestia

It's Mestia, easily. In Stepantsminda you come for what’s around the town. In Mestia, the town is part of the reason you’re there.

Both regions are built around hiking, so if you don’t plan to walk much, you’ll see less of what makes them special. Still, there’s enough to fill two or three days in either one.

Svaneti Without Hiking

• Ushguli. A group of four small villages at the end of the valley, full of stone towers, with Mount Shkhara and its glacier right behind. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and for me the most striking place in the region. Don’t miss Lamaria, the small church on the hill above the village. Ushguli is a long day trip from Mestia by car, and you can do it with a driver or a tour.
• Glaciers from the road. In Svaneti you see glaciers even without hiking to them. Some are visible (at a distance) from the road, others after a short walk from the parking area.
• Koruldi Lakes by 4x4. You can ride all the way up to the lakes above Mestia in a 4x4 with a local driver. The road is rough, but the view of Mount Ushba at the top is one of the best in Svaneti.
• Mestia itself. Walking around the old towers is a nice way to spend an afternoon. Some of the towers are open as small museums, and you can climb inside one to see how a Svan family lived.

Kazbegi Without Hiking

• Gergeti Trinity Church. A paved road now goes all the way up to the church, with a parking lot right below it, so any car can make it.
• Truso Valley by 4x4. Local drivers take you into the valley on the rough dirt road. You’ll see the travertines and the old villages, though for me walking it is what makes Truso special.
• The Sno stone heads and Dariali Monastery. Two easy stops by car. The first is a field of giant stone heads carved by a local artist, on the road to Juta. The second is a modern monastery in the gorge near the Russian border.
• The drive up from Tbilisi. The road to Kazbegi passes a fortress on a lake and a huge Soviet viewpoint over a valley, and it’s a big part of the trip. All the stops are in my complete guide to the Caucasus mountains in Kazbegi.

My Pick if You Don’t Hike

Svaneti again, but only just. Ushguli alone makes the long trip there worth it, and the glaciers are easy to see even from the car window. If you’re short on time and flying into Tbilisi, though, Kazbegi is a perfectly good choice. The church and the stops you can take along the road from Tbilisi are enough on their own.

A few things people often worry about when choosing between the two turned out to be pretty much the same in both regions.

• Crowds. I was there in mid-August, the busiest month of the year, and the trails were fine in both places. You meet other hikers, but never so many that it spoils the walk. The towns are a different matter. Mestia was almost fully booked, hotels and restaurants alike, so in July and August book your room early and reserve dinner a day ahead.
• Weather. It changes fast in both regions, like in any high mountain area. We had sunny mornings that turned to thick fog in a couple of hours, in Kazbegi and in Svaneti. Neither one is reliably better. Start your hikes early and leave a spare day in case one gets rained out.
• Hotels and prices. Both have the same mix: simple family guesthouses on a budget, plenty of mid-range hotels, and a few four and five-star places with spas and big views. Prices were very similar too.
• Food. Each region has its own mountain dishes. In Kazbegi it’s things like mkhlovani, a flatbread filled with cheese and wild greens, and in Svaneti it’s kubdari, a round bread stuffed with spiced meat. I tried the local specialties in both places and liked them all.

So don’t let any of these decide for you. The real differences are the hikes, the towns and how easy it is to get there.

If you have the time, I’d do both. They’re different enough that the second one won’t feel like a repeat. The catch is the trip between them. Stepantsminda and Mestia are about 500 km (310 mi) apart by road, and whichever way you go, it takes a full day.

Below are the four ways to do it:

By Car

Best for: anyone who wants to stop along the way and split the trip with a night in Kutaisi. This is what we did, and it’s the option I’d recommend.

• Time: About 8.5 to 9 hours of pure driving from Stepantsminda to Mestia. With stops, plan for two days: Stepantsminda to Kutaisi on day one, about 5.5 to 6 hours of driving, then Kutaisi to Mestia on day two, about 5 hours.
• Cost: Your rental car plus fuel. There are no tolls on the way.
• Where to book: The rental companies and routes are covered in my guide on how to get to Mestia.

Three stops worth knowing about on this route:

• Gori. The town where Stalin was born, with a museum about his life. Whether you want to visit a dictator’s museum is a personal choice. I’d say it’s mostly for history lovers. 
• Katskhi Pillar. A tall natural rock column with a tiny monastery built on top. You can’t climb it anymore, but you can walk up to its base for free, and there’s a small museum and a chapel.
• Uplistsikhe. An ancient town carved into the rock, a short drive from Gori. 

In Kutaisi you can stay one night and keep going, or stay longer to see the canyons and caves around the city. I’d only drive straight from Stepantsminda to Mestia in one day if there are several of you sharing the wheel. It’s doable, but it’s a very long day.

By Minibus and Train

Best for: travelers on a budget without a car, with two days to spare for the trip.

• Time: Two days. On day one, take the marshrutka, the shared minibus, from Stepantsminda to Didube station in Tbilisi, about 3 hours. Sleep in Tbilisi. On day two, take the 8:15 train to Zugdidi, which arrives at 1:36 pm, then a minibus from Zugdidi to Mestia, about 4 hours.
• Cost: About 15 GEL for the minibus to Tbilisi, 16 to 43 GEL for the train depending on the class, and 35 to 40 GEL for the minibus to Mestia.
• Where to book: Buy the minibus tickets on board or at the station. Train tickets are sold online on the Georgian Railway website and at the station.

There’s no way to do this in a single day with public transport, because you can’t reach Tbilisi from Kazbegi in time for the morning train.

By Private Transfer

Best for: groups who want a door-to-door ride with no driving.

• Time: About 9 hours, plus any stops you ask for.
• Cost: It depends on the car and the season, so get a quote. For reference, a transfer from Tbilisi to Mestia starts at around 550 GEL for a car, and Stepantsminda is farther away.
• Where to book: GoTrip and Budget Georgia both offer private transfers with fixed prices, and with GoTrip you can add stops along the way.

Split between three or four people, this ends up not much more expensive than renting a car, and nobody has to drive.

By Plane (via Natakhtari airport)

Best for: travelers short on time who can book early and keep their plans flexible.

• Time: About 2 hours by car from Stepantsminda/Kazbegi down to Natakhtari airport, plus one hour for the direct flight to Mestia in Svaneti
• Cost: 90 GEL one way.
• Where to book: On the Vanilla Sky website. Tickets go on sale up to 30 to 60 days ahead and often sell out almost as soon as they’re released.

There’s usually a flight at 10:00 am, so you’d need to leave Stepantsminda by 6:30 am at the latest. The airline runs free shuttle buses from a few points in Tbilisi, and can arrange others for a fee. The plane is small, so the baggage limits are strict. Bad weather in the mountains also cancels flights more often than you’d expect, so keep a backup plan.

How Many Days You Need

• About ten days in Georgia in total: I’d see Tbilisi and pick just one of the two mountain regions. Fitting both in means spending a big part of the trip on the road.
• About ten days just for the mountains: Split them half and half between Svaneti and Kazbegi I had three days of hiking in each region, plus the travel days in between, and it worked well.
• Two weeks or more in Georgia: That’s enough for basically everything without rushing, with a night or two in Kutaisi on the way, too. It’s roughly what we did, with three days in Tbilisi, three days in Kazbegi, a couple in Kutaisi and three days in Svaneti.

Can you visit Svaneti on a day trip from Kazbegi?
No. The two regions are a full day of travel apart, so there’s no way to go and come back in one day. You can get from one to the other in a single day, by driving for about ten hours or by flying from Natakhtari, but you’ll need at least two or three nights in Svaneti to make the trip worth it.

Kazbegi or Svaneti in winter?
From November to May, the hikes in both regions are mostly under snow. Mountain roads can close for a few hours or days after heavy snow, so keep your plans flexible. Svaneti in winter is mostly for skiing on the slopes near Mestia. In Kazbegi, Stepantsminda shuts down almost completely to tourism, and skiing happens mostly in the town of Gudauri.

Which one is better for families or less experienced hikers?
For walking, Svaneti. The Chalaadi Glacier hike and the short route to Shkhara Glacier are gentle trails that fit people can manage, and they still end right in front of the ice. Kazbegi’s best hikes are steeper, especially the climb to Gergeti Glacier. If you’d rather keep the travel short, though, Kazbegi’s church and the drive up from Tbilisi make an easy two-day trip with kids.

When is the best time to visit Kazbegi and Svaneti?
June to September for both. July and August are the warmest and most reliable months, but also the busiest, so book ahead. In June there’s still snow on the higher trails, and September is quieter and cooler. The Zagari Pass road between Kutaisi and Ushguli is only open in summer, roughly from June to October.

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