By plane
Tbilisi International Airport entrance/exit
Tbilisi International Airport (IATA: TBS) (ICAO: UGTB), [2] is 17km southeast of the city centre. A new, modern terminal was inaugurated on February 7, 2007. George W. Bush Avenue leads from the airport to downtown Tbilisi.
The following airlines operate service to/from Tbilisi:
Aerosvit Airlines (Kiev-Boryspil, Odessa), airBaltic (Riga), Arkia Israel Airlines (Tel Aviv), Austrian Airlines (Vienna), Azerbaijan Airlines (Baku), Belavia (Minsk), bmi (London-Heathrow), Czech Airlines (Prague), Donbassaero (Donetsk), Dniproavia (Dnepropetrovsk), Euroline (Almaty, Donetsk, Dubai, Kharkiv, Odessa, Vilnius) Georgian Airways (Amsterdam, Athens, Dubai, Kiev-Boryspil, Minsk, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Tel Aviv, Vienna), Lufthansa (Munich), Pegasus Airlines (Istanbul-Sabiha Gokcen), SCAT (Aktau), Sky Georgia (Batumi, Antalya), TAM Air (Donetsk, Kharkiv), Turkish Airlines (Istanbul-Atatürk), and Ukraine International Airlines (Kiev-Boryspil)
Bus #37 leaves from the right corner of the arrival area every 15-30 minutes, between 8:00 and 23:00 to the city center. It travels via Freedom Square, Rustaveli, Republic Square and Tamar Bridge, to the main train station (Vagzal). The trip can take up to 50 minutes. The buses are crowded and slow and the fare is 0.40 GEL.
Taxis between the airport and the city cost 20-25 Lari. Negotiate the price beforehand because meters are not used. Taxis are recommended unless you are pinching pennies.
Trains from the airport to the main train station cost 2 GEL and are fast. The train runs only 6 or 7 times a day but the trips are synchronized with flight arrivals so it's worth to check the schedule.
By train
Domestic trains run between Tbilisi and Batumi, Gori, Kutaisi, Satskhe Javakheti, Marneuli, Poti, and Zugdidi. International Trains run regularly between Tbilisi and Yerevan or Baku.
The train from Baku to Tbilisi is not very nice and is pretty hot. The train will have to wait for a pretty long time at the border crossing, and you will have to pay fee for everything that you bring, mostly if it is for sale or in big quantities.
By bus
Luks Karadeniz oeprates a daily bus from Turkey, costing 70 YTL. Bus services from Russia have been suspended.
Regular run between Tbilisi and Batumi or Kazbegi as well as Azerbaijan
Neo-Turs bus company offers bus transfers Tbilsi - Saloniki - Athens and back, starting from Didube bus station (price: 100 US-$).
By minibus
The main mini-bus station can be found at Didube. Buses 21 and 46 lead there from the city center. It's rather large, and you'll find minibuses to almost anywhere.
By boat
Tbilisi is located inland and does not have ferry connections. You may be able to catch a ferry from the Ukraine to Batumi, six hours away.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Transport in Tbilisi (taxi)
Taxis are a surprisingly cheap way of getting around Tbilisi. Just hail one on the street - they are far from in short supply. There's no meter, but in general you can pay a "fair" price without problems. 5 Lari is more than sufficient for a journey almost anywhere in the city - with the exception of Turtle Lake, and you're unlikely to encounter complaints if you just hand the driver a fiver at the end of your journey.
Also there are some taxi cabs: GIG,09,Pelican
here is prices:
Tbilisi - Mtskheta 20-25 GEL ($12-$15,€9-€11)
Tbilisi - Kutaisi 120-150 GEL ($68-$85,€52-€65)
Tbilisi - Zugdidi 190-210 GEL ($107-$118,€83-€91)
Tbilisi - Batumi 200-240 GEL ($113-$135,€87-€104)
Also there are some taxi cabs: GIG,09,Pelican
here is prices:
Tbilisi - Mtskheta 20-25 GEL ($12-$15,€9-€11)
Tbilisi - Kutaisi 120-150 GEL ($68-$85,€52-€65)
Tbilisi - Zugdidi 190-210 GEL ($107-$118,€83-€91)
Tbilisi - Batumi 200-240 GEL ($113-$135,€87-€104)
Transport in Tbilisi (bus)
City buses are yellow, and come in various sizes. The bus number and a description of the route are usually listed on signs in the bus windows, but only in Georgian. Board through the double doors in the middle. A journey costs 0.40 GEL($0.22,€0.17), and exact change is required if you don't have a touch card. Hold onto the ticket you receive on the bus; you will need to present it to the yellow-shirted ticket checkers.
Marshrutkas are vans which service the side streets of the city; they are independently owned. Like buses, the route is posted in the front window, but marshrutkas use a different route numbering system, and the route descriptions may be more general than the buses (e.g. "Vake" rather than a specific street in the Vake area).
Marshrutkas are vans which service the side streets of the city; they are independently owned. Like buses, the route is posted in the front window, but marshrutkas use a different route numbering system, and the route descriptions may be more general than the buses (e.g. "Vake" rather than a specific street in the Vake area).
Transport in Tbilisi (Metro)
Metro:
Tbilisi has a two-line metro system[3], which are served from 6:00 AM until midnight.
All signs inside the metro are in Georgian, but some stations feature Georgian and English signs. Station names are announced only in Georgian and text is in the Georgian alphabet, which makes figuring out which direction you are going in somewhat taxing. You will be lucky to find English speakers riding the Metro, but generally people over 40 years old are willing to speak Russian to help lost tourists at metro stations and mashrutka (minibus) stops, younger people are less inclined to help you. Take a bilingual map with you if you are not proficient with the local alphabet/pronunciation.
A trip with the metro in Tbilisi costs 0.40 GEL($0.22,€0.17). Pay at the ticket office near the entrance and get a token for the gate, or buy a card (2 GEL($1.12,€0.86)) that you can load with any amount you like at the counter, and use it for travel both on the metro and on buses.
Tbilisi has a two-line metro system[3], which are served from 6:00 AM until midnight.
All signs inside the metro are in Georgian, but some stations feature Georgian and English signs. Station names are announced only in Georgian and text is in the Georgian alphabet, which makes figuring out which direction you are going in somewhat taxing. You will be lucky to find English speakers riding the Metro, but generally people over 40 years old are willing to speak Russian to help lost tourists at metro stations and mashrutka (minibus) stops, younger people are less inclined to help you. Take a bilingual map with you if you are not proficient with the local alphabet/pronunciation.
A trip with the metro in Tbilisi costs 0.40 GEL($0.22,€0.17). Pay at the ticket office near the entrance and get a token for the gate, or buy a card (2 GEL($1.12,€0.86)) that you can load with any amount you like at the counter, and use it for travel both on the metro and on buses.
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