The return to Tbilisi is a direct drive on the main east–west highway: 357 km and about 6 to 6½ hours in the vehicle, the last of the three long days. We leave Batumi after breakfast, by 09:00. Lunch is a one-hour stop near Kutaisi, about three hours into the drive; the second leg, over the Rikoti Pass, takes about 3½ hours with one rest stop. The Rikoti Pass section is driven in daylight, and we reach Tbilisi in the late afternoon, which leaves the evening free before your flight home. Breaking this drive overnight would add an eighth night to the trip, so we keep it as one day and keep sightseeing off it in the standard itinerary: with a cave or canyon visit it becomes a day of 8 hours or more in the vehicle on the evening before you fly. Families who want that visit can add it, and families who want a shorter day can take the train or the extra night; the four options are set out below.
Stops
Lunch stop on the motorway near Kutaisi
A one-hour break about three hours into the drive.
- Time there
- about 1 hour
- Booking
- Restaurant arranged in advance and confirmed before departure; we have not yet verified a halal restaurant on this section
Rest stop on the second leg
A short break on the leg over the Rikoti Pass, which takes about 3½ hours to Tbilisi.
- Time there
- about 15–20 minutes
Prometheus Cave (option 1, chosen when you book)
Optional add-on, not in the standard day
A guided underground walk of about one hour and 1,420 m through six halls; a short boat section is an extra when the water level allows. With the cave, the day is 410 km and about 8 hours in the vehicle.
- Time there
- about 1½ to 2 hours including tickets and waiting in July and August
- Opening and closures
- Open every day, 10:00–17:00 (Agency of Protected Areas fee page, checked 2026-10-06). Boats stop when the water level rises. Tickets are not refundable.
- Booking
- Tickets at the visitor centre; for July and August we ask about the site’s paid fast-track service to shorten the queue
Martvili Canyon (option 2, instead of the cave)
Optional add-on, not in the standard day
A 700 m stone-paved loop with a short boat ride in which guests help to row; each boat takes 6 people and children must be over 1 m tall. With the canyon, the day is 415 km and about 8½ hours in the vehicle.
- Time there
- about 1½ hours
- Opening and closures
- Open every day, 10:00–18:00 (Agency of Protected Areas fee page, checked 2026-10-06). Boats do not run in rain. Tickets are not refundable.
- Booking
- Tickets at the visitor centre
If a road or a site is closed
Options, chosen when you book. (1) Add Prometheus Cave: the day becomes 410 km and about 8 hours in the vehicle, about 3½ to 4 hours to the cave and then about 4 to 4½ hours from lunch to Tbilisi with one rest stop. We leave by 08:00 (by 07:30 for trips arriving on or after 20 August); the Rikoti Pass section is still driven in daylight, and we reach Tbilisi in the early evening, about 10½ to 11 hours after leaving the hotel. Anyone who finds walking difficult can wait at the visitor centre; if high water stops the boats, the visit is on foot throughout. (2) Add Martvili Canyon instead of the cave: the day becomes 415 km and about 8½ hours in the vehicle in total; we leave by 07:30. Guests help to row the boats, which take 6 people each; children must be over 1 m tall, and the boats do not run in rain. (3) Take the train from Batumi to Tbilisi, about 4 hours, while your vehicle carries the luggage by road; we meet you at Tbilisi station with a second vehicle. Tickets go on sale only a few weeks before travel, so this option is confirmed late. (4) Add a night near Kutaisi, which makes the trip 8 nights and gives time for the cave or the canyon with neither day longer than about 4½ hours in the vehicle; ask us for that quotation when you book. We do not recommend options 1 and 2 for families with very young children or elderly parents.
