SOIT Journal
Long-form notes on Georgian tourism, hospitality, and the road from Tbilisi.
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Tbilisi to the border crossings: a road manual
Three crossings reach three countries from Tbilisi. The difference between the right one and the wrong one is two hours of waiting in a parking lot at altitude. Which crossing for which trip, what to carry, and which ones we will do.
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Svaneti by road: where the trip starts feeling remote
The road to Mestia is paved now, but at Lentekhi the asphalt narrows and the cellphone signal disappears for the next forty kilometres. The honest version of the Svaneti road trip from Tbilisi: routes, towers, what goes wrong, and when the V-Class handles it.
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The Georgian Military Highway in shoulder season
May and late September are the two windows where the Cross Pass is open, the tour buses are gone, and the wildflowers above Gudauri don't yet have anyone photographing them. The case for skipping peak summer on Georgia's most famous road.
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Alaverdi Monastery cellar: where Georgian wine actually started
The qvevri buried beneath Alaverdi have been making wine for centuries. What the eight-thousand-year claim actually means, what a visit looks like, and how to pair it with Ikalto for the deepest wine-history day in Kakheti.
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Telavi as a base, not a stop
Sighnaghi gets the postcards and the day-trip crowds; Telavi gets the wineries within twenty minutes of breakfast. The case for the other Kakheti base and the three hotels that earn the slot.
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The booking brief: what we ask for, and why
Most failed transfers fail at the brief, not the drive. The seven fields we ask concierges and corporate bookers for, what each one buys you, and the side-by-side of a brief that works against one that creates a phone call at 7am.
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Sighnaghi in a day: when the overnight isn't possible
The shorter Kakheti. One walled town on a ridge, one monastery, one cellar, back to Tbilisi for dinner. What the wine-roads piece does in two days, this version does in one — and what you give up to make that work.
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A half-day in Mtskheta: the trip an afternoon can hold
The most-asked half-day from Tbilisi. The 20 kilometres north, the two churches that earn the trip, the part most guests think they need but don't, and the timing that decides whether it works as an afternoon or has to be a morning.
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Kazbegi from Tbilisi: when to go, what to skip
A chauffeur's read on the Tbilisi-Kazbegi day trip. The Military Highway in shoulder season, Gergeti Trinity at golden hour, Gudauri without skiing, and the parts most guests think they want but actually don't.
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The Tbilisi airport transfer playbook
What concierges and corporate bookers actually need from a Tbilisi airport pickup. Flight buffers, flexible windows, the early-morning question, and the short list of things that go wrong.
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The wine roads of Kakheti: a chauffeur's itinerary
A discreet road guide to Kakheti's qvevri cellars and the slow way from Tbilisi. What the bus tours miss, where the asphalt ends, and which cellars are worth the drive.