Trans-Georgia Traverse: Tbilisi to the Black Sea

Good fitness is essential. This is a seven-day traverse with one very big climbing day (the Goderdzi Pass, +1,530 m) and long days back to back. You don't need to be a racer, but you should ride regularly and be comfortable spending most of the day in the saddle. The support vehicle carries your bags and can lift you over the hardest ramps if a day gets too much.

No — it's about endurance rather than bike-handling. The route is mostly quiet tarmac and back-roads with some gravel, not technical singletrack. If you want technical, descent-focused riding, our 4-day Enduro MTB Expedition in Tusheti is the better fit.

A quality gravel or hardtail mountain bike is included in the price, set up to your size, with a helmet. It's the right tool for the mix of tarmac, concrete back-roads and the gravel sections on the plateau and the upper Goderdzi climb. Prefer your own bike? Bring it and we'll take a little off the price — just tell us when you enquire.

It's the crux of the trip: a long climb from the Kvabliani valley up to 2,025 m, with the upper section on rough mountain gravel. It's a genuine effort but not technical, and the support vehicle is right there — plenty of riders take a lift over the steepest kilometre or two and still ride the rest. The payoff comes the same afternoon: a huge descent over the far side into the green gorges of upper Adjara.

Around 20% overall, concentrated in two places: the first riding day across the Javakheti plateau (~80% gravel) and the upper ramps of the Goderdzi climb (~15% of that day). Everything else — including the entire descent to Batumi — is paved or concrete back-roads. We choose the quietest lines we can and the support vehicle handles any road you'd rather skip.

Because a point-to-point traverse lets the country change under your wheels — steppe, alpine lakes, a medieval cave-city, a high pass, and a subtropical coast, all in one week. You finish somewhere completely different from where you started, with your wheel in the Black Sea. It's the whole appeal of the trip.

Late spring and early autumn are ideal — June and September especially. The Goderdzi Pass needs to be clear of snow (usually from June), and the low valleys and coast can be hot in mid-summer, so we ride them early in the day. We don't run this route in winter.

Yes. You get a hotel in Tbilisi, family guesthouses with full board along the route, and a hotel in Batumi, plus all meals including a welcome supra and a farewell dinner. Alcoholic drinks beyond those two meals are the only food cost not included.

Two ways. Join a fixed-date group departure and you pay a set price per person shown next to each date. Or book privately for your own group and the per-person price scales by size — best value with more riders, since the guide and support vehicle are shared. A bike is included either way. Send us your dates or group size and we'll reply with an exact quote.

The tour ends in Batumi on the morning of Day 7. Many riders fly out of Batumi or carry on along the coast; we can also arrange a private transfer back to Tbilisi (about 5–6 hours, bikes included). Just tell us your onward plans when you book.

Both. You can join one of our fixed-date small-group departures — a handful of like-minded riders at a set price per person — or book the whole trip privately for just you and your friends on dates that suit you. Pick "Join a group" or "Private trip" on the booking card. Private trips are priced per person, scaling with the number of riders; use "Request a Custom Version" to adjust the route, pace or dates.