Away With The Steiners

Getting a Marshrutka from Kazbegi to Tbilisi, Georgia.

Sarah Steiner

If you have made it to Georgia and up to the mountains of Kazbegi then, wow – you are in luck. The scenery is breathtaking. And the road to Kazbegi is undoubtedly Georgia’s most spectacular drive. Right now though the next challenge is to get back from Kazbegi to Tbilisi.

Here is everything you need to know about getting a marshrutka from Kazbegi to Tbilisi.

What are the options for transport from Kazbegi to Tbilisi? 

There are several options for getting from Kazbegi (Stepansminda) to Tbilisi.  

In this quick guide I will give you some tips for taking a marshrutka van (micro bus) from Kazbegi to Tbilisi, Georgia.

How much does a marshrutka cost from Kazbegi to Tbilisi? 

A seat in the marshrutka costs 15 GEL ($6 USD). 

How long does it take? 

The marshrutka from Kazbegi to Tbilisi takes three hours. 

Where do the marshrutka vans depart from in Kazbegi? 

The town of Stepantsminda is the main destination in Kazbegi.

There is just one main road through town, so it is not hard to spot the Tourism Centre and small marshrutka and taxi stop in Stepantsminda.

The bus stop in Stepantsminda where to get the marshrutka from Kazbegi to Tbilisi.
The humble bus stop on the main road in Kazbegi (Stepanstsminda).

What is a marshrutka van like? 

Marshrutka all over Georgia are pretty much identical.

The van will be a reasonably late model 17-seater micro-bus (a Mercedes Sprinter or similar).

The vans we travelled on did not have air conditioning but there are several windows in the back that can open. (AKA there is air flowing through!).

Stocked up on (simple) snacks and with the window open in our marshrutka to Tbilisi.

What is the drive like from Kazbegi to Tbilisi? 

Prices and timing aside (this is all great in theory) you are likely already wondering what is the drive like?  Is it fast and dangerous and winding? 

The first 30km of the drive down from Kazbegi’s tourist town of Stepantsminda over the Jvari Pass is picture-postcard like.  It’s seriously stunning.  

Looking to the hills and snowcapped mountains its stunning.

That is, if you are able to look beyond the never-ending line of trucks stretching seemingly all the way from the border and back to Tbilisi. (They aren’t quite; but almost).

Taxis and coach buses have pulled over to take photos by the Travertine limestone hillside between Gudauri and Kobi.  But your driver is on a mission.  (And don’t be alarmed at this stage.  This is the easy bit). 

As you say goodbye to the beautiful mountains and rolling valleys the close dollops of mud-sprinkled snow and ice is only a short skip away to be touched.  

Goodbye Kazbegi.

The next 14km are what you may have been imagining. 

My stomach lurched as we set off down the first set of switchbacks near the ski resort of town of Gudauri over 2200m up.

And I admit I braced myself for what could have been a sense of regret in choosing the mashrutka from Kazbegi to Tbilisi…

But I needn’t have worried. 

Instead, I was thankful for two key factors at this point: 

  1. That the switchbacks only last ten minutes; and,
  2. That due to the aforementioned line of trucks back up to the border there is no option but to snake slowly in single(ish) file down this portion of road. 

Before you know it, you have arrived back down on the flat again near the village of Kvemo Mleta (albeit actually still 1479 metres above sea level) and the unusually striking Aragvi River rushing as it meets with ice melt from the mountains. 

And from here the remaining 1.5 hours by marshrutka takes the leisurely drive at sub 80kmph. 

Does the Kazbegi to Tbilisi marshrutka stop? 

No.  We had read originally that when getting a bus from Tbilisi to Kazbegi that the marshrutkas stop halfway for a short toilet and refreshment stop.  But this is only on the way up. 

Getting from Kazbegi to Tbilisi by shared bus is a direct drive.  The marshrutka does not stop. 

Where does the Kazbegi to Tbilisi marshrutka drop you off in Tbilisi? 

The marshrutka from Kazbegi to Tbilisi ends at the busy Didube Bus Station in Tbilisi.

This is Tbilisi’s largest bus station and main transport depot servicing destinations in the north, west and south-west of the country.

The Didube Bus Station market on arrival in Tbilisi (Welcome to Tbilisi!).

Where to from there? 

The marshrutka from Kazbegi to Tbilisi will drop you at Didube.  And from Didube Bus Station in Tbilisi it is easy to find a row of shared taxis and private cabs to take you where you need to go next.  

It is a 20 minute car ride to Freedom Square in the centre of Tblisi and should cost you between 20 – 30 GEL for a taxi or much less for a Bolt if you have the app ready to go. 

Off to find a taxi to the Old City (and showcasing the public toilets for .50 GEL at Didube Bus Station).

Where we stayed in Georgia

Getting a Marshrutka bus to Tbilisi.

Useful links for your travels in Georgia and beyond…

These are the companies we use while traveling fulltime as a family and that we would recommend to anyone planning and booking travel. 

Read more about traveling in Central Asia

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