My first visit to Georgia (the country, not the US state) was in late winter of 2019 and coming back has been on my mind since then – while the weather back then was not exactly ideal, it was perfect for relaxing in the sulfur baths, enjoying some wine and delicious Georgian food, minus all the other tourists. For a country that is so small in size (smaller than my home country of Austria and smaller than South Carolina, for example), it does pack a mighty punch!
Whether you are after impressive mountain ranges, excellent food and wine, seaside adventures or exploring the charming capital city of Tbilisi, you definitely are in for a treat.
Even Georgians are not able to give you a straight answer when asked whether the country lies in Europe or Asia and I think that is part of the reason it is so special.
Georgian cuisine is, in my opinion, one of the world´s best and is naturally very vegan-friendly due to the country’s fasting times. Most Georgians refrain from eating any meat or animal products at least twice a week and usually a few times a year for an extended period of time around orthodox Christmas and Easter, around 40 days! Therefore, asking for fasting or lent food is nothing unusual here!
This time, a few travelers and I ventured out on a fully vegan tour for a week, hitting some of the country´s highlights. Of course we started in Tbilisi, a captivating city with lots of hidden nooks and crannies to explore. It is hard not to fall for the wooden balconies, small alleys, lovely bars and bakeries and it is also, let´s be real, hard to not fall literally as there are lots of uneven sidewalks!
As mentioned, the city boasts a bunch of sulfur baths, and the city´s name derives from the word “tbili”, which means warm. I highly recommend adding a visit to one of the baths to your itinerary – and make sure to add a scrub to the experience. We opted for a private room at Chreli Abano and while this one might be a bit more expensive than others, it was a very pleasant experience. Compared to European spas, your time here is limited, usually to one hour. I recommend coming in the evening and you will sleep like a baby afterwards!
Speaking of sleeping: we stayed at three different hotels in Tbilisi during our short Georgia trip. The main reason for that is the fact that, when touring the country, you will need to backtrack through Tbilisi either way and passing the city and then heading west, for example, would just be too much driving for one day – besides, there is a lot to discover here!
We stayed at the Qarvasla hotel right in the city center for a few nights – the rooms are gorgeous, there are plenty of options at the breakfast buffet (could be labelled better but staff is very knowledgeable) and the location is just perfect to get your bearings together on a first visit.
When we returned, we stayed at a hotel called Brim, which was funky and looked super cool but ended up being a bit of a disappointment, so I would skip that one, especially given the fact that there are so many hotels to choose from.
Lastly, we stayed at a vegetarian hotel called Livin, which is located right next to the Holy Trinity Cathedral. This hotel features a cute garden, most rooms have balconies (one of us could even harvest pomegranates right from the balcony) and a vegetarian, and vegan-friendly restaurant on the roof, offering great food and views. The only downside about this hotel is that it does not have an elevator, so keep that in mind.
To start off your Georgian adventure, I would recommend a vegan food tour with https://veganfoodtourtbilisi.com/ – a newly established, fully vegan experience which will introduce you to Georgian food and gets you a taste of western food as well. Let by Tonia, who had made Tbilisi her home, you will soon understand why she likes this city so much.
Tbilisi is full of amazing restaurants – while not too many are fully vegan, almost every restaurant offers a few options. You will almost always find Pkhali, a Georgian appetizer made of walnuts mixed with garlic, beetroots, spinach or leek and served in a thick ball. It is eaten on its own or with bread. Lobio, a stick stew made of kidney beans, is another favorite and usually vegan – while lobiani, the same stew packed in a dough and served as a pie, usually is not (as it contains egg or butter).
Kinkhali are Georgia´s famous dumplings and you should not leave the country without trying them. Do not eat the “stamp”, as it is an indicator of how many you have eaten. Kiwi Cafe offers a version filled with vegan “meat”, but many traditional restaurants offer versions with potatoes or mushrooms, but you need to double check to make sure they are vegan.
As we had been traveling for quite a while and were craving pizza, we enjoyed vegan pies at Daner pizza, a small, super homey place located in a backyard – all their pizzas are vegan.
Lutra Lutra is a vegan bar offering pasta dishes, wines and cocktails, but we did not manage to check it out this time. Azarpesha is one of the restaurants I remembered from my last visit – while I was only vegetarian back then, I am sure they can create something delicious that is vegan.
After a few nights in Tbilisi, with day trips to Mtskheta and the cave dwelling of Uplitsikhe, we headed towards Kakheti, the cradle of Georgian wine! We timed our visit just right and came in September, right when the grape harvest happens. To get our visit started, we ventured out to the vineyards, harvested some grapes and enjoyed some right there before heading back to the small winery, where we got to stomp the grapes to extract their juices (wearing boots!), which was super fun.
We also learned how Qvevri, the traditional Georgian wine vessels are made and got to try making one with our own hands. Many of the local wines are fermented in qvevri and usually, these vessels are coated with beeswax for its antibacterial features, so technically, while the wines may not be filtered with animal products, they are fermented and stored in a vessel that does use it.
Our day in the countryside was topped by a stay at Bodbe Hotel in Sighnaghi, a hilltop refuge that feels quite intimate despite its large size. While some of us enjoyed the large indoor- and outdoor pool as well as the sauna and steam bath, others relaxed in their room and watched a massive thunderstorm roll in. Sighnaghi is a little lover’s town and known for its 24 hour wedding services – do not expect any reminiscence of Las Vegas, however, it is the opposite.
While in town, I highly recommend a meal at Pheasant´s Tears, a farm-to-table restaurant that offers a few excellent vegan options – I had eaten here before and absolutely had to come back to this place! They also produce their own wines, but most are qvevri wines.
Sighnaghi still features a massive city wall that you can walk on and you will see great views from up there. The landscape around here is a bit reminiscent of Tuscany, I would say. (Mug can be ordered here https://www.etsy.com/listing/4507378735/enamel-camping-mug-will-travel-for-vegan )
Our next region to explore was Kazbegi, the mountainous side of Georgia. It is quite impressive how much this little country has to offer and we barely scratched the surface, really. As we drove a few hours north of Tbilisi, it got colder and more foggy as we proceeded. Once in Kazbegi, a Georgian spice class was on the agenda and it was quite interesting to learn about all the different spices being used, such as blue fenugreek (I highly recommend buying some spices to bring home if your country permits it). Our “spice hostess” was also the one who prepared our delicious dinner for us.
We spent the night at Step Inn, which was comfortable but unfortunately a large, very loud group stayed at the same hotel, which prevented some of us from getting a good nights´sleep. Overnight, some mountains surrounding us had received a dusting of snow!
Back in Tbilisi, we got to experience a Georgian supra on our last night – I definitely recommend including an evening of traditional singing and dancing as part of your experience. We went to “Georgian House”, which was packed with Georgians celebrating weddings, family and life while we visited. Again, ordering from their fasting menu was no problem (but others were definitely not fasting!).
I would highly recommend a visit to Georgia to anyone who wants to see a lot within a short amount of time. I would, however, not recommend it to people who are allergic or averse to walnuts and garlic or dogs. There are lots of well-taken-care-of street dogs roaming the streets of Tbilisi and other towns and I can imagine it being unformfortable for people who are scared of dogs.
Curious to join us on our next trip? Just drop us a note eat@vegantoursinternational.com !
