During my time in Georgia, I knew I absolutely had to get out of the capital, Tbilisi, and see the spectacular Caucasus Mountain range up close. One of the best and most accessible ways to do this is taking a daytrip from Tbilisi up the Russian Military Highway (the main road connecting Georgia and the Caucasus with Russia’s southern border) to Kazbegi!

There are two main ways to do a daytrip to Kazbegi and the sights along the Russian Military Highway from Tbilisi. The first is to join a group tour on a minibus, the second is to hire a private driver. You could also rent a car and do it yourself. But after seeing the chaotic mess that is driving in Georgia (and the state of the roads), I do not recommend renting a car and driving yourself. You can easily take a marshrutka from Didube Station to Kazbegi. But it’ll take about 4 hours, and you wouldn’t be able to stop along the way (which were some of the real highlights!!). The last marshrutkas leave Kazbegi for Tbilisi between 5:00-6:00pm—so again, you’d be limited.

There are pros and cons to both doing a guided group tour, and getting a private driver. A group tour will be cheaper, but you’ll have less freedom since you’ll be on a schedule. A private driver will be more expensive, but you’ll be able to (in theory) stop wherever you want, and spend longer in places if and when you want to.

Originally I wanted to hire a private driver. I was traveling with Mr. Away With Maja, meaning I’d split the cost so it wasn’t too expensive. To hire a driver, you can walk around the cars/vans around certain spots in Tbilisi (the Old Town, Freedom Square, Europe Square, etc.) and ask the guys to take you. I wasn’t totally comfortable with this and to be honest, wouldn’t recommend it to a solo female traveler for safety reasons. There are loads of tour agencies you can go through too. However, prices vary for this—I was quoted between 100 lari (about $40 USD) through an agency, 200 lari (about $80 USD) from a guy on the street, and up to $100 (400 lari) from my hostel for a private driver to Kazbegi for the day.

In the end, we chose to book a Kazbegi group tour with City Sightseeing. It cost 70 lari per person (~£21 or $28). It was incredibly easy to book the day beforehand. We walked into one of the information kiosks, and we were able to pay with a credit card. We got confirmation that the minibus would be air-conditioned (very important for Georgia in summer!), and walked out about 10 minutes later with the papers we needed to show for the tour the next day. You can read all about how much this trip to the Caucasus cost here.

The first stop of the day was the Zhinvali Dam, which was a spectacular sight to see. It’s a massive reservoir, with tropical blue colored water. The photos don’t do it justice! This was really just a photo stop for about 15 minutes.

Our next stop was Ananuri Fortress, which was one of the places I was most excited about seeing! This fortress overlooks the edge of the reservoir and is the perfect place to go photo crazy. Our guide brought us in to the complex, and gave us a brief history of the fortress and the church. We then had free time (about 40 minutes) to explore!

Climbing up to the top of the tower is not for the faint-hearted. The staircase is small and very narrow and steep. You have to cross the structure to get to the staircase on the otherside. And the “floor” was basically just logs put in place that yes, did move when we walked on them. It was mildly terrifying!

One of my favorite parts was that I had enough time to run halfway across the bridge to take the above photo. Granted, the (normal, concrete) bridge shook every time a vehicle passed on it and I wasn’t sure if I’d make it out alive, but it’s a nice photo in the end!

Our group made an extra stop on the side of the road to do a honey tasting. It was literally just some guy’s honey stand (they sell everything on the side of the road in Georgia!), and it was open 24/7. There were giant bees everywhere, so I got one tasting spoon of honey and ran back to the bus, but some people bought things. It was really good honey though! We also drove through Guduari, the ski resort town. It was interesting to see it in summer—we didn’t make a stop here, just drove through it on the highway.

Next up was one of the stops I was most looking forward to: the Russian-Georgian Friendship Monument! This structure was built in 1983 to commemorate 200 years of Russian and Georgian friendship. It’s literally just on the side of the road off the Russian Military Highway. But these views of the Caucasus Mountains were just incredible! Our guide again brought us to the monument, gave us a brief overview and history of the monument, and then let us explore on our own.

Some of my favorite photos from my time in Georgia were taken here! The mountains were so lush and green. The scenery is just absolutely stunning. I’m not sure photos can do it justice!

We also had a brief stop to see a pretty cool formation of minerals right on the side of the road. The water running down the road creates this kind of formation. There’s a lot of water rushing down, but it’s certainly worth getting out and taking a few photos!

The second-to-last stop of the day was Stepantsminda, one of the biggest outdoor hubs in the Kazbegi region. Driving through the small town, it was apparent that it was full of hikers and outdoor supply shops! As summer is the only time to hike in some of these areas (due to snowfall during the other seasons), it was quite busy. We pre-ordered our lunch at a restaurant, and then transferred vehicles.

For our vehicles up to Gergeti Trinity Church, we had to pay an additional cost of 15 lari per person. We were told that this wasn’t included when we made our booking for the tour, and we made sure we had cash for it. This is because the road up to the church is absolutely awful, and you must have a 4×4!! It was 20 minutes of possibly the worst driving experience I’ve had. There were a few times that I legitimately thought we would fall off the cliff. That being said, our driver was clearly a professional. He knew every single rock, every rut, every twist and every turn on that road. I’m sure he made the drive several times a day. If you’re not going with a group, you’ll need to pay 80-100 lari for a 4×4 up to the church and back down. You can also hike up, which will take 1.5-2 hours one-way.

Gergeti Trinity Church is one of the most famous icons of Kazbegi, of Georgia, and of the Caucasus region in general. The church is high up overlooking the town, and gives some incredible views! You can also see Mt. Kazbek from afar on a clear day—it’s one of the highest mountains in the Caucasus region. Like many other Orthodox churches, the church has a strict dress code. Scarves and wrap-around long aprons are available outside.

The church was built in the 14^th century, and it remained a popular tourist destination even throughout the anti-religious Soviet period.

The church’s remote location in the mountains means that the scenery is just spectacular. I took about a million photos. This was the highest I’ve ever been!

After visiting the church, we hopped back in the jeeps and got dropped off back at the restaurant. Even though we had pre-ordered beforehand, our food was nearly 20 minutes later than everyone else’s. But our guide made sure we had time to eat, and then it was back on the bus! We drove all the way back from Stepantsminda to Tbilisi, with just a quick stop at Ananuri Fortress for a smoke/food/water/toilet break.

Like I said, we booked this tour with City Sightseeing, which I really recommend. It cost 70 lari per person, plus 15 lari extra for the jeeps up to Gergeti Trinity Church. We met at the City Sightseeing office at Freedom Square (not the Hop-On-Hop-Off Sightseeing office!), and left at 9:15am. We arrived back into Tbilisi at 8:00pm, which was later than the time they gave for the tour. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of a private driver, I really recommend this tour and this company! It was so easy and since it was on a mini-bus, it was limited to less than 16 people (unlike a coach bus). They do the tour in both English and Russian (the Russian group was in a separate bus). Both the guide and driver were great.

My daytrip to Kazbegi and the Russian Military Highway was definitely one of my highlights from my time in Georgia! The region is absolutely beautiful, and it was amazing to experience the Caucasus Mountains that define the whole region. If you only visit one place outside of Tbilisi, it should be this!

Have you ever been to the Caucasus Mountains? Share your experiences in the comments below!

Check out my other posts on Georgia:

20 Photos To Convince You To Visit Georgia

9 Things To Do On A Trip To Kutaisi

The Best Bars In Tbilisi

Hostel Review: Fabrika Hostel, Tbilisi

A Daytrip To Gori From Tbilisi: Stalin And Caves

44 Awesome Things You Must Do In Tbilisi: A Complete Guide To The Georgian Capital

The Best Viewpoints In Tbilisi, Georgia

How Much Does It Cost To Travel The Caucasus And Istanbul For 2.5 Weeks?

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