A trip to a border crossing is not the same job as a trip to the airport. Three things behave differently: the route, the wait, and what happens on the far side.
There are three crossings worth knowing from Tbilisi. Each goes to a different country, each behaves differently in summer versus shoulder season, and each has a specific way it can fail. Here is the manual.
The three crossings
Larsi (Verkhny Lars), for Russia. North along the Georgian Military Highway, about 165 kilometres from Tbilisi to the crossing, at 1,400 metres altitude. The crossing reaches the Republic of North Ossetia in Russia. It is the only road crossing currently operating between Georgia and Russia. Driving time: about three hours in clear conditions, indefinite in poor weather. The crossing is open year-round, but the road to it closes intermittently when snow hits the Jvari Pass.
Sadakhlo, for Armenia. South of Tbilisi on the S7 toward Yerevan, about 75 kilometres by road from Tbilisi to the crossing. The crossing reaches the Lori region of northern Armenia. Driving time on the Georgian side: about one hour and fifteen minutes. Driving time from the Armenian side to Yerevan: roughly three hours. Open 24 hours.
Vale, for Turkey. Southwest, via Akhaltsikhe, about 200 kilometres from Tbilisi to the crossing. Reaches the Posof region of north-eastern Turkey. Driving time on the Georgian side: about three hours, west on the main highway to Khashuri, short of the Rikoti tunnels, then south through Borjomi and Akhaltsikhe. Check its hours before planning a night crossing.
There are other crossings (Sarpi to Turkey on the Black Sea coast, Ninotsminda to Armenia), but those are rarely the right choice for a guest leaving Tbilisi. The crossings into Azerbaijan are left out on purpose: its land border is closed to arriving travellers, which is why the road from Tbilisi to Baku does not work right now.
The driving time, decoded
Driving time at a border crossing has two parts. The drive itself, and the wait at the actual crossing. The published number on a route planner ignores the second.
For Sadakhlo and Vale, waits vary by day and season; check current reports before planning.
For Larsi, the wait is the trip. In quiet weeks (mid-week, off-season) it can be short. In peak summer weeks or during political tensions, it has run to many hours. It is also a crossing we do not drive; more on that below.
What the traveller carries
Passport with at least six months validity. The visa for the destination country if required, arranged in advance rather than left to the border, because the rules differ by passport. Any vaccination certificate the destination still requires. Cash in destination-country currency for the immediate first hours: there is no reliable ATM at any of these crossings on either side.
Where we fit in, and where we do not
Most of the people we drive arrive by air. Travellers who cross one of these borders overland usually do it in their own car, or by train or shared minibus, and border runs are not a standing service of ours.
Sadakhlo and Vale. If a trip does need a car to one of them, ask when you book, and we will tell you in writing whether one of our cars can do it on your date before anything is confirmed. The whole Tbilisi to Yerevan trip, including the train and marshrutka, is written up separately.
Larsi. We do not run it. Travellers coming in from Russia make their own way to Tbilisi and book the car from there, which is where hiring a car with a driver begins.
What to send
A crossing adds four things to the standard booking brief: the guest’s nationality and passport details, the crossing, the date with the earliest departure the guest will accept, and the address of the first night on the other side.
A crossing usually sits inside a longer trip, so ask about it as part of a multi-day booking rather than as a one-off transfer; the trip itself usually starts with an airport pickup days earlier. Email booking@soitblack.com with the dates and the passport countries, or send them here, and the answer comes back in writing.