# How to get from Tbilisi to Gudauri

Page: https://bookhome.ge/guides/tbilisi-to-gudauri

> 120 km and about two and a half hours up the Georgian Military Highway: marshrutka, taxi or a booked car, what each costs, and the road in winter.

Gudauri sits at about 2,200 m on the Georgian Military Highway, the road from Tbilisi north to Kazbegi and the Russian border. From the city it is 120 km and, in good conditions, about two and a half hours. From the airport, which is on the east side of Tbilisi, add half an hour to get around the city first.

## Three ways up, and what they cost

| How | Price | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Marshrutka (minibus) from Didube station | about 30 GEL a seat | One or two people travelling light |
| Taxi from the city | around 400 GEL for the car | A group arriving in the day, no planning |
| A car booked ahead | around 250 GEL for the car | Luggage, skis, night arrivals, the airport |

The prices are what owners on bookhome.ge saw in October 2026. They are the going rate, not a quote: a taxi driver will name a price, and it is worth agreeing it before you get in.

**The marshrutka** leaves from Didube bus station in the north of Tbilisi, on the metro line of the same name. Minibuses for Gudauri and Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) leave when they fill, from the morning until the early afternoon. It is the cheapest way up and the slowest: three hours or more, a stop in Pasanauri, and nowhere good to put skis. Fine if you are renting your equipment at the resort.

**A taxi off the street** is the simplest. Ask for New Gudauri or Old Gudauri by name, not just "Gudauri": they are a couple of kilometres apart, and the driver will otherwise take you to whichever one he knows. The ride-hailing apps that work in Tbilisi can quote an intercity trip too, which saves the haggling.

**A car booked ahead** is what most owners recommend for anyone with luggage, skis, children or a late flight. It costs less than a taxi hailed on the spot, the driver meets you at arrivals, and it is the only option that works at three in the morning. Ask your host: most know a driver, and a 4×4 with a ski rack is worth the extra after a big snowfall.

## The road in winter

The highway is kept open through the winter, but it is a mountain road. The last stretch, the hairpins from Mleta up to Gudauri, is closed by the police in storms and for avalanche work, usually for a few hours, sometimes for a day. The Jvari Pass just beyond Gudauri, on the way to Kazbegi, closes more often, but you do not need it to reach the resort.

A few rules of thumb:

- Winter tyres are required on this road in winter. Chains are sold in Pasanauri on the way up, and the police check them when the road is bad.
- If the road closes while you are on it, stop in Pasanauri or at Ananuri and eat something. Sitting in the queue at the barrier gains nothing; the road opens for everyone at once.
- Tell your host when you set off. Owners live with this road all winter and usually know what it is doing before the news does.
- Trucks are stopped first. If the lorries are parked along the road at Pasanauri, the pass is closed above.

## Coming back down

The same three options, in reverse. On Sunday afternoons and at the end of the New Year holidays the road down is slow, with everyone leaving at once; leave before noon or after four. A car booked for the way up can usually be booked for the way down at the same price.

## On the way

The road is worth looking at. Zhinvali reservoir and the Ananuri fortress on its shore come about an hour out of Tbilisi, Pasanauri is where the two Aragvi rivers meet, and the climb from Mleta is where the view opens up. In summer the same road carries on over the pass to Stepantsminda and the church above Gergeti, an easy day out from Gudauri.

[Apartments in Gudauri](https://bookhome.ge/apartments/gudauri.md)