Me And Teddy’s Georgia Travel Story: Tbilisi Highlights And Hidden Gems

Arriving in Tbilisi

I will skip the part about staying in the former mental hospital In Milan, Italy lol. There isn’t really much to say about this – I guess it was OK but I suppose Italy isn’t somewhere that gets me too excited. It was my 3rd time in Milan in less than a month and really it was not there very long.

I got to Tbilisi airport the next day and it really was quite stress free except all the desperate taxi drivers begging me for their service at the airport.

I’m really glad I didn’t bite because catching the bus was so easy and cheap. Although, I don’t know I do find not every country is bad for taxi drivers but I’m definitely very wary of them.

The walk to my hostel (The Tbilisi Friends Hostel) after leaving the airport was no trouble really either. A bit of a tiresome walk uphill but I was there in about 10 minutes. I was basically off to a good start.

The Next Day and Going To The Zoo

I often wonder what people think with me and going to the zoo so much. Rarely, do I go to any zoos in the UK but when I go to abroad I will seem go and checkout their zoos and wildlife reserves at any opportunity.

The Zoo in Tbilisi was a good one. I was kind of feeling a bit of zoo fatigue when I went to Rome Zoo a couple months before but this one I really liked.

It reminded me a bit of the zoo in Belgrade. Kind of archaic, part zoo part amusement park and very cheap to get in. I think it was something like 20 GEL (about £2) to get in and the first thing I see was the bumper cars.

It was like I was dreaming. I then see the Baboons and Macaques. There was the raccoons and a Hippo that followed me from one side of the enclosure to the other.

I was thinking how it would be cool to work here. I would love to care for an animal like that and I never even realised that this Hippo (Begi) was actually famous and had made International news during the Tbilisi flood back in 2015.

I never realized this till later but even just meeting him and seeing how friendly he was this was the best part. I’ve never really been much of a hippo person but I definitely really took a liking to Begi.

Also, the big wheel at Tbilisi Zoo I thought was quite cool. To look at it you will think it maybe doesn’t look safe. You could could imagine it has been here for decades but I paid 50 GEL to get on and I guess it was quite funny and scary at the same time.

The zoo I probably got round in maybe an hour if that. Another memorable thing was seeing the vultures here. If you see them some of them looked like they were meditating in a lotus pose.

Not sure if this is normal for vultures, or not, but this was quite amazing I thought.

The Chronicles of Georgia

I didn’t book any tours for the whole time I was in Georgia. I’m sure there is plenty of things I must have missed during this 1st stay in the country but one thing I did do that stuck out to me like a sore thumb after finding out about it was the Chronicles of Georgia.

Unbelievably, this place only began construction in 1985 – just a year before I was born in 1986. It is a place you will see and think it is an Ancient wonder of the world but it’s actually not very old at all compared to say the Pyramids of Giza or Petra Gate.

For me, I am deeply Interested with the ancient past. In my lifetime I would like to see many ancient sites and travel all across the world to see them. I like to just theorize about how people could have managed to build such Incredible things, but this – there is no mystery about how it was built just when you see it is just unbelievable.

Seeing how small people are standing next to it. The intricate calligraphy with the designs of all the saints and biblical scenes you wonder how the architects could even fathom the scope of building such a site.

Stalin and the Soviet Union are not very fondly remembered by the Georgian people I’m sure. In Estonia it was the same hearing about all the trouble during these years but over here at least it looked like there was something good that come from this.

The construction of the Georgia Chronicles was halted around 1992 after the fall of the Soviet Union. Till this day this monument remains unfinished although, its construction has now resumed, and its progress is something I will be very Interested to check on again in the future.

Getting To The Chronicles of Georgia

I will add I did have a bit of a headache getting here. The bus stop you need to get to is by the Tbilisi Sea. From the Opera Theatre if my memory serves me correct there is one stop in-between and you get the next bus to Tbilisi sea from here.

I’m not sure what I was doing I probably ended up on 3 or 4 buses to get here. Basically because I never got off at the right stop I had to get a bus back here to the stop where the bus goes to Tbilisi sea from.

Honestly, it doesn’t need to be this difficult just make sure you get off the bus at the right place. Use Google maps but just don’t make a pigs ear of it like I did.

The sea is very beautiful as well actually. If you are coming here definitely take a bit of time to explore the views around here too.

My Return to Georgia

It was a long trip back to Tbilisi. Getting through the Armenian border took a very long time with me and the rest of the group waiting for what seemed like hours. I think this was to do with a Russian girl who we was travelling with. Maybe a Visa or something.

We was due in Tbilisi for around 1:30pm but it was around 4:30pm when we actually did get back here. I suppose from here was not too much trouble really. The place where we was dropped off Isani Mall has a McDonalds and from here I booked a bolt going straight back to the Friends Hostel.

Getting back here was quite funny. The same receptionist was working and we had a joke about my bag for life and how he remembered it from when I 1st arrived.

On a side note: I’m constantly laughed at because of my bags for life but I swear none of these airlines ever stop me for having too much in my bag. I remember one time I tried another bag because so many people where taking the piss and I learned my lesson – I got stung coming back for my last £50 – and I swore never again would I go without my bag for life lol.

Visiting the Bear Sanctuary in Tskhvarichamia

This was one thing I wanted to do since getting here. I was hoping to get on the tour to come here but I could not find one. It’s definitely the best option – the way I came was a bit extreme really.

Getting the train was easy enough but then Google maps was saying to go somewhere else and it was just so confusing. I was getting very overwhelmed by everything at this point. No one was talking English around these parts and I also lost 100 GEL.

I could have give up on the idea but I calmed myself down after this and decided to check how much it would to get a Bolt. It, if I remember correctly, was the equivalent of about £25 GBP. I’d hoped to get her cheaper but there was no other option.

The driver too I had trouble with finding. I’m surprised he didn’t leave me because it must have been 25 minutes before I actually found him. He was actually very nice. I could barely understand a word he was saying but he kept giving me apples, sweets and bottles of water.

The Drive Here

This I definitely underestimated. This bear sanctuary I never realised is right up in the mountains. My plan was to get dropped off here and to walk back down but this was absolutely nuts. It didn’t feel safe coming up here in a car and I’m sure if I had to make my way back on foot then It definitely wouldn’t have been safe.

One reason is because the area up here has bears and wolves in the wild. Many of the rescued animals here I believe are from the local area. Even I think I even see a wild bear out the car window. May have been a large dog but I did see bears that looked like this at the sanctuary – so I think it may have been one.

I was lucky I still had the driver on the chat on my Bolt App. I’m sure he knew that me walking back was a stupid idea and he was more than happy to wait for me and drop me back from an extra 50 GEL.

Visiting The Mother of Georgia Statue

This was my last full day in Tbilisi. On this morning I didn’t really have any plans about what to do on the day. I certainly never knew about the Mother of Georgia statue (Kartlis Deda) and it was only by chance that I spotted her from the streets below after a kind of aimless wander around the area.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing when I spotted it. Another amazing monument from the Soviet Union era. It was another thing that felt like a dream. One minute I was looking down from the street below and before I knew it I was walking up the steps to get here.

I stopped at an art gallery / shop on the way. The art work was a bit naughty (sexual) lol but it was a cool place to just look around.

The statue I made my way up to in about 15-20 minutes of walking up. Another surprise was actually the whole area around here with loads of stalls amongst other things.

One thing I found out was that this was connected to Mtatsminda Park to the right, and there is a second cable car that heads up to this side of the mountain.

From here you can also head to a place called Turtle Lake which I never got to see but next time I’m here I definitely got to see this.

>>>Note: I returned to Georgia in February 2026 and again I never found Turtle Lake but another thing up here is the Nature Reserve which I did say – definitely check that out if you ever visit here<<

I also noticed the Tbilisi hot air balloon in the distance. After some goggling I found you can pay to get up here most days for about £30. It takes you to the highest point overlooking the city which is pretty mad with the mountains you can go up.

It was a shame like Turtle Lake that I didn’t find out about this sooner. I am now desperate to come back to Georgia – It is really one thing after another here.

My Last Morning in Tbilisi

Sadly my 10 days in Georgia and Armenia were almost over. I’d had a wonderful stay here. It definitely surpassed my expectations. I loved how cheap it was but also the culture here and all the cool places I had got too visit.

I would definitely recommend coming here to anyone that likes travelling. Most people in Tbilisi speak English and I never really had any problems at all. Just make sure to get Mobile data sorted and you will find it’s very nice here.

So, it was my last morning but I fortunately had a good amount of time to spare before I had to get back to the airport.

Leaving Georgia

After going to the zoo and having my last meal I headed back to the hostel to grab my bags.

I was hoping to get the bus back to the airport but annoyingly I couldn’t figure out what side of the road I needed to get the bus from. It was funny really I got here so easily but I didn’t have the same fortune getting the bus back.

At this point I was getting a bit anxious. As much as I would have loved to have stayed I really didn’t want to have to pay for another flight back so I done the smart thing and ordered a Bolt to the airport.

Pretty easy to do and just like that my trip was over

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