Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour
Traveler rating
4.6/5
Based on 166 traveler reviews. Ratings and reviews provided by Viator and Tripadvisor.
Quick answer
Is Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour worth booking?
Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour is a 12-hour experience in Tbilisi, Georgia, from $43 per person. It scores 78 out of 100 on the Outty Ranking, which we label “Strongly Recommended”, based on a 4.6/5 rating across 166 reviews. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before the start time. Same-day spots are currently showing.
- Outty Ranking
- 78 / 100
- Rating
- 4.6/5 (166)
- Duration
- 12 hours
- From
- $43 per person
Vardzia is a historical cave city carved into the mountainside, with numerous interconnected rooms, tunnels, and stairways. It is an important historical site in Georgia and offers visitors a chance to learn about the country's history and culture. Rabati is a medieval fortress that has been rebuilt and restored over the centuries, and it offers visitors a unique blend of Islamic and Orthodox architecture. The complex also includes a bazaar and a mosque, giving visitors a chance to experience Georgian culture from a different perspective. Borjomi, on the other hand, is a beautiful town located in central Georgia, surrounded by the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, the largest national park in the country. Visitors can explore the park's beautiful natural scenery and taste the famous Borjomi mineral water, which is said to have healing properties.
What you get
About this experience
Vardzia is a historical cave city carved into the mountainside, with numerous interconnected rooms, tunnels, and stairways. It is an important historical site in Georgia and offers visitors a chance to learn about the country's history and culture. Rabati is a medieval fortress that has been rebuilt and restored over the centuries, and it offers visitors a unique blend of Islamic and Orthodox architecture. The complex also includes a bazaar and a mosque, giving visitors a chance to experience Georgian culture from a different perspective. Borjomi, on the other hand, is a beautiful town located in central Georgia, surrounded by the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, the largest national park in the country. Visitors can explore the park's beautiful natural scenery and taste the famous Borjomi mineral water, which is said to have healing properties.
What's included
Included
- Proffesional guide
- On-board WiFi
- In-vehicle air conditioning
Not included
- Admission to The Borjom's Park - 5 GEL(Lari)
- Admission to The Vardzia - 15 GEL(Lari)
- Admission to The Rabati - 17 GEL(Lari)
- Lunch
What you'll see and do
Vardzia
Explore the Cave City: Vardzia Visit the Churches Learn About Georgian History Enjoy the Scenic Views Travelers can explore the well-preserved caves and tunnels, see stunning frescoes and paintings, and learn about the rich history of the site, which dates back to the 12th century.
120 minutes here · Admission not included
Rabati Castle
Explore the Castle Visit the Mosque See the Church Visitors can tour the castle and its various buildings, including a mosque, a synagogue, and a Christian church, and enjoy stunning views of the surrounding countryside.
60 minutes here · Admission not included
Borjomi Central Park
Explore Borjomi- Taste the Famous Borjomi Mineral Water Relax in the Local Nature Travelers can visit the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, taste the local mineral water, and relax in the town's many spas and wellness centers
60 minutes here · Admission not included
Where it starts and ends
Meeting point
Tbilisi
Look for our guide holding a sign with our tour company name. The meeting point is easily accessible by public transport or taxi.
Hotel pickup
No pickup: everyone meets at the start point.
Ends at
Look for our guide holding a sign with our tour company name. The meeting point is easily accessible by public transport or taxi.
Before you book
- Cancellation
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
- Languages
- ru, en
- Ticket
- Mobile Only
- Runs on
- Every day
- Group size
- Up to 15 travelers per booking
- Operated by
- Imperial Tours
Know before you go
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Time for transportation is already included in the total duration
- Indulge in the rich flavors of Georgia with our team, as you sip on Chacha, a traditional Georgian brandy, and savor Churchkhela, a sweet and savory snack made of walnuts and grape juice
Photos
What travelers are saying
Outty’s summary of the themes that recur across 165 traveler reviews. Written by us, not quoted from reviewers.
The guide
7 mentionsTravelers single out the guide as the reason the experience works.
Knowledge and storytelling
4 mentionsReviewers describe the commentary as informative rather than scripted.
Food and drink
3 mentionsThe tastings and food stops are a highlight for most reviewers.
Physical effort
2 mentionsExpect real walking or climbing: reviewers mention the effort involved.
Traveler reviews
165 verified traveler reviews for Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour. Ratings and reviews provided by Viator and Tripadvisor.
Vardzia was impressive
Both our tour guide, Data 4, and our driver, Pato, were excellent. Data 4 was very knowledgeable, friendly and chatty, and shared lots of interesting information and recommendations throughout the day.The tour itself was good, although I think the itinerary could be rearranged slightly to make the day feel less long. As Vardzia is the furthest destination, it might make more sense to go there first and visit Borjomi on the return journey.Borjomi was pleasant, but it was probably the least interesting stop for us personally. We would have preferred to spend more time exploring Rabati Castle instead.One area for improvement was lunch. Although it had been pre-arranged, there was still quite a long wait for our food to arrive.Overall, we had a great day and really appreciated Data 4's expertise and Pato's safe driving.
via Viator
Incredible tour of Vardzia, Borjomi and Rabati with Zura!
Zura was an amazing tour guide! He has a great sense of humor and is deeply knowledgeable, caring, polite, and cordial—even when handling pesky, disruptive tourists. His rich historical and cultural storytelling left a lasting impression on us. The day-long tour does involve navigating plenty of steep stone stairs, but if you only have time to see one thing in Georgia, it has to be Vardzia, ideally with Zura as your guide. An unforgettable experience!
via Tripadvisor
Lots to see but a very long day. Excellent guide/driver
After breakfast we had our first tripped booked with Viator, to the western edge of the country towards the Black Sea. We had a 6:30AM start so took a Bolt to the meeting place, by the bathhouses and met the other guys at the minibus. There were a decent mix of people but we were the only Western Europeans. The bus filled up and we headed off, a 600km round trip. The guide (Data4) was great and chatted as we travelled, watching the scenery go by. The first stop was Borjomi, situated in the largest National Park in Europe and just utterly beautiful - think the Welsh mountains, covered in trees and twice the height. The town was a famous health spa with mineral water that is exported for drinking as well as bathing (I think). There were a lot of beautiful 1920s style buildings and the main industry was obviously tourism. The square where we stopped was at the cable car station and there were also multi seat electric carts to ferry tourists around. One thing David told us was that the government was concerned at the number of people leaving the outlying areas to move to Tbilisi so, to make the mountains more attractive to residents, they supply them with free gas and electric. He said this has also lead to industries relocating to take advantage of this which in turn leads to more jobs and community income. We had the option of walking around the town and trying the water or taking a car to the viewpoint. We chose the latter, along with a Brazilian family, and drove up to the summit. I did have to borrow the driver's fleece as it was damned cold when we were driving! Once we reached the top we were surrounded by pine forests. There were wolves, bears and maybe boar in the forests apparently and there are lodges and camping areas to enjoy the scenery. We visited a small church, which had lots of frescoes, and then drove the sort distance to the cable car arrival point and the viewing platform. We looked down over the town and the scene was just stunningly pretty. There were jagged, forest covered peaks as far as the eye could see and at the bottom, in a river valley, this 19th century town with domed and turreted roofs. We didn't really have time to do anything else so we drove back down in the buggy to the square and got back on the minibus. We drove for about an hour until we made a short photo stop. The stop was at Atskuri, a huge and well preserved fort on a hill next to a river. The fort was built in the 9th century and then rebuilt in the 17th after being heavily damaged by the Turks before it was abandoned in the 19th century. A group of us crossed a very rickety rope bridge suspended over the river that was still safer than the one on Cuenca! I took some photos of the fort but we didn't have time to go in. Our drive continued through rocky, treeless gorges that seemed to go on for miles and probably did! We eventually arrived at Vardzia Maspindzeli, a restaurant overlooking the cave city, to pre-order our food before the trip to the city. We drove the short distance to the city and paid 15 Gel to enter plus 2 for the minibus to the base of the city. It was rather hot by now but Data4 (David) explained the history of the city to use before we walked up the final distance. The city as we see it was built in the 12th century and was both a monastery, in times of a peace and a refuge, in times of war. There are around 500 caves making up the city which was sacked and looted by the Persians in the 16th century and abandoned by the end of that century after the Ottoman occupation. I did walk around and explore quite a lot of the site, just over a third is currently blocked off after a landslide but the rest showed various unadorned rooms, lots of buried wine jars and everything needed for a city of people in this period. The church was the only building with any decoration but we weren't allowed to take photos so when the frescoes fade due to deterioration or Turkish invasion, they will be lost. We returned to the restaurant for a fiasco of time wasting that meant our 'pre ordered' meal to well over an hour to arrive, in dribs and drabs. The setting was beautiful, with views of the entire cave city and gorge and the food was actually decent, it just took far too long and meant we wasted 90 minutes of what would turn out to be a ridiculously long day. The drive to Rabati Fortress was just over an hour and we arrived around 5PM. This attraction was the undoubted star of the day and I could have easily spent half a day there. We had around an hour so I went straight into the inner fortress (20 Gel entry) and wandered round as the light faded. There were beautiful gardens, a mosque, various pavilions and the ramparts and towers. I didn't get time to visit the citadel or the museum. Inside the outer walls were shops and restaurants as well as the walls themselves and towers. Everything was well preserved/restored and labelled. The fortress was originally a 9th century creation and actually held against Tamerlane in the 14th century before being handed over to the Turks in 1590 then surrendered by them in 1829 to the Russian Empire, of which Georgia was a protectorate. The buildings were heavily restored in 2010 to improve tourism and it certainly worked. There were also lots of affectionate dogs in the lower fortress which helped too. The drive from the fortress back to Tbilisi took a ridiculous amount of time, I think due to an accident or maybe just traffic volumes but we didn't arrive at the drop off point until 11:30PM, 16.5 hours after we left. The team (Jony and Data4) were excellent and Jony must have been shattered driving all that way, especially considering a chunk of the roads weren't tarmaced so he had to manoeuvre around potholes and assorted bumps, mostly at night. Data4 was great at informing us of each place we visited and the areas we passed through as well as general info on Georgian history and society. Personally I'd have skipped the cave site and added an hour or so to Borjomi (maybe a short hike?) and Rabati or possibly added in Surami Fortress as a stop. For information, entrance fees weren't included so I'd add 70 Gel each plus food for the day. 600km in one day on those roads was a lot of driving.
via Viator
DATA 4 and Jony are an amazing team. They were very professional and quite attentive to all the guest.
Make sure to wear comfortable clothing and shoes for the long adventure. Also you need to be comfortable traveling for 16 hours
via Viator
Included interesting sites!
David and Johnny were both amazing! David told us so many interesting facts about the country and always tried to make sure everyone was included. He did both english and russian translations. Johnny's driving never once felt unsafe! One thing to note is that this tour is a very long one, we left at 7am and arrived back at 11pm. Be prepared and make sure you eat breakfast beforehand. There's only lunch included in the sceduled timeslot. I just felt bad for our guide and driver because they had to take care of all of us for so long!
via Viator
Good to know
- Duration
- 12 hours
- Free cancellation
- Up to 24h before
- Minimum age to book
- All ages
- Availability
- Bookable today
- Runs on
- Every day
- Hotel pickup
- No pickup, meet at start point
- Booked in 30 days
- 58
- Verdict
- Strongly Recommended
Who runs this experience
Operated by Imperial Tours, who run 13 experiences we rank across 1 city, with an average Outty Ranking of 66.5.
See everything Imperial Tours runsWhy this scores 78
The Outty Ranking is a weighted composite. Here is how this experience performed on each component.
Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour: questions travelers ask
Practical detail on this experience, plus the wider planning questions for Tbilisi.
How much does Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour cost?
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Prices start at $43 per person. The final price depends on the date, the time slot and the number of travelers, and peak weekends in Tbilisi usually price higher than midweek mornings. Live pricing and remaining availability are confirmed on the booking screen before you pay.
How long does Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour take?
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Plan for about 12 hours from start to finish, not counting travel to the meeting point. Most travelers leave another 30 minutes on either side so the rest of the day in Tbilisi is not rushed.
Is Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour worth it?
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It holds an Outty Ranking of 78 out of 100, which we label "Strongly Recommended". That score blends traveler sentiment (4.6/5 across 166 reviews), the depth of that review evidence, recent booking momentum, value for money against comparable last minute in Tbilisi, and how flexible the cancellation terms are.
Can I cancel or reschedule Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour?
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Yes. Cancel free up to 24 hours before the start time for a full refund. Inside that window the booking is non-refundable, and no-shows are not refunded.
Is Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour suitable for kids and families?
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Yes, all ages are welcome. Families should still weigh the 12-hour running time, and strollers are easier on the earlier, quieter departures.
How far in advance should I book Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour?
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Around 58 people booked this in the last 30 days, so popular slots go early. Two to three weeks ahead is comfortable in shoulder season, while summer weekends and holidays in Tbilisi can sell out a month out. Same-day spots do open up when other travelers cancel, so it is worth checking if you are already in town.
What should I bring or wear?
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Bring photo ID, your booking confirmation on your phone, a refillable water bottle and comfortable shoes. Dress for the weather in Tbilisi and add a light layer if any part of the 12-hour experience runs outdoors or after sunset.
Where does Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour start and how do I get there?
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The exact meeting point and directions are on your voucher once you book, and they sit in central Tbilisi within reach of public transport. Arrive 15 minutes early: late arrivals are treated as no-shows by most operators.
What are the best things to do in Tbilisi?
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On Outty we rank every Tbilisi experience on the same 0 to 100 scale, and alongside this one the highest scorers right now include Kakheti Wine Region Tour + 10 Premium Wine Tastings & Sunset, Tbilisi:Mtskheta,Jvari,Bazaar,Chronicles of Georgia & Wine Cellar, Day Trip to Kazbegi and Gudauri. The city page groups everything into most popular, highest reviewed, last minute and family-friendly so you can build a day around what actually delivers.
When is the best time to visit Tbilisi?
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Booking patterns follow the same curve: prices and queues climb in peak weeks, while shoulder season gives you better availability on the top-ranked experiences and more room to change plans.
How many days do you need in Tbilisi?
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Three full days covers the headline sights without sprinting. A workable rhythm is one anchor experience each morning, such as this one, an unhurried afternoon in a single neighborhood, then a food or nightlife booking in the evening. Five days lets you add a day trip outside the city.
Do I book through Outty or through the operator?
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Outty ranks and explains the experiences, then hands you to Viator to complete the booking with the operator directly. The price is the same as booking on Viator yourself, and Outty earns an affiliate commission on the referral, which is how the rankings stay free to read.
What is included in Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour?
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Included: Proffesional guide; On-board WiFi; and In-vehicle air conditioning. Not included: Admission to The Borjom's Park - 5 GEL(Lari); Admission to The Vardzia - 15 GEL(Lari); Admission to The Rabati - 17 GEL(Lari); and Lunch. Always check the voucher for the final list before you travel.
Where is the meeting point for Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour?
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Look for our guide holding a sign with our tour company name. The meeting point is easily accessible by public transport or taxi. Hotel pickup is not included, so plan your own transport and arrive 15 minutes early.
What languages is Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour offered in?
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It is offered in Russian and English. Pick your language when choosing a date and time, as not every departure runs in every language.
Will I get instant confirmation and a mobile ticket for Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour?
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Confirmation is sent by the operator after booking, usually within 48 hours; if it is not confirmed you are not charged. Mobile tickets are accepted, so you can show the voucher on your phone.
Is Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour wheelchair or stroller accessible?
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The operator notes: Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap. If accessibility is critical, contact the operator after booking to confirm arrangements for your date.
What happens to Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour if the weather is bad?
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This experience depends on good weather. If it is canceled because of poor weather, you are offered a different date or a full refund.
What do travelers say about Vardzia, Rabati, and Borjomi Ancient Georgia Group Tour?
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Across 166 reviews averaging 4.6 out of 5, recurring themes include the guide, knowledge and storytelling, food and drink. Travelers single out the guide as the reason the experience works. One thing to know: Expect real walking or climbing: reviewers mention the effort involved.
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