You can talk forever about the beauties of magnificent Georgia - this ancient proud country fascinates and attracts guests from all over the world. But in order to feel the local atmosphere, to explore all the sights and customs, one tourist trip will not be enough. A week-long visit to the country by inquisitive tourists always ends with a detailed plan for the next trip.
In order not to depend on the airline's flight programs, save time, provide yourself with the freedom to travel to fascinating places and see much more than is included in the tourist package, we invite you to learn more about traveling to Georgia by car from Moscow.
Travel documents
To avoid possible difficulties when crossing the border, it is necessary to make careful preparations and first of all find out what documents will be needed. A trip from Moscow to Georgia by car will require a minimum of paperwork:
- A passport valid for at least six months.
- Vehicle registration certificate.
- Those who are not driving their own car need a power of attorney certified by a notary from the owner to drive a car with the agreed right to cross the border. There must be a translation into English.
- Driver's license issued in the territory of the Russian Federation.
No travel insurance is required, but it is very important to check your international passport for Abkhaz border crossing marks. The Georgian government considers crossing the Russian-Abkhazian border illegal and fines tourists with similar stamps. Thus, if you have already visited Abkhazia, the road to Georgia by car from Moscow is closed to you until you receive a new passport.
Visa to Georgia
Visa-free regime applies to Russian citizens who wish to travel in Georgia for no longer than 90 days. If a trip to Georgia by car from Moscow is planned for a longer period, you will need to apply for a visa at the checkpoint. For this you will need:
- Show your passport.
- Fill out the visa application form in English and sign it.
- Pay the state fee in the prescribed amount. From September 2014, the visa application fee is $50.
- Children of all ages traveling also need a visa and a fee tofull size, regardless of whether they are traveling with their own passport or are inscribed in the parent's passport.
If there are no problems with the documents and the correct filling of the forms, the visa is put in the passport, and the journey by car from Moscow to Georgia can be continued.
Travel itinerary
At present, only one border checkpoint, Upper Lars, is functioning smoothly for entry into the territory of Georgia. Therefore, there can be no deviations from the only correct route along the Moscow-Georgia route. The distance by car to Tbilisi is 1961 km, it can be driven in about 31 hours, excluding border inspection and rest time. It is unrealistic to overcome such a distance without stops, especially if there is only one driver among travelers. Fortunately, along the way you can meet a large number of hotels and roadside cafes where you can relax, gain strength and refresh yourself with Georgian cuisine.
Conditionally, the road to Tbilisi can be divided into 3 segments:
- Travel along the M-4 "Don" highway from Rostov-on-Don to Pavlovskaya village in the Krasnodar Territory. This section will be about 1200 km.
- Further along the federal highway M-29 "Kavkaz" the road goes through Vladikavkaz to the Russian border and is 600 km.
- The last push - from the border checkpoint Upper Lars to the capital of Georgia along the Georgian Military Highway. The views here are amazing and the road will cover the remaining 200km.
Beyond the Russian border, there are several kilometers of absolutely neutral territory that does not belong to anyone. lovelylandscapes and complete silence will allow you to feel complete freedom and enjoy the anticipation of something new and unknown.
Travel tips for the itinerary
Vacation in Georgia by car from Moscow is a fairly common phenomenon, and the indispensable experience of already accomplished travelers allows us to identify very useful recommendations:
- The M-4 highway is regularly undergoing repairs, which can cause many kilometers of traffic jams. You need to prepare for this in advance - study the situation for the period of the trip and provide for possible detour routes.
- To get to the exit border from Russia in time, tourists recommend spending the night somewhere outside Rostov. There are good and inexpensive hotels in Armavir, Kropotkin and Tikhoretsk.
- It is better to pass the M-29 highway at night - there will be fewer leisurely KAMAZ trucks and local residents, which will significantly reduce travel time.
- On the border with Georgia, the Upper Lars and Dariali checkpoints often change their opening hours due to the threat of mudflows, so the opening hours must be clarified in advance so as not to fall on the closed border.
- On the territory of Georgia, gasoline costs almost twice as much as in Russia, so it is advised to fill the tank before going abroad. There are good gas stations in Rostov, Armavir, Pyatigorsk. The last gas station will meet in Vladikavkaz. Carrying gasoline in cans across the border is prohibited.
- In Pyatigorsk, a large market is held on weekends, and thereforebig tube. The way out of it can be found through Prokhladny or Georgievsk.
- At the entrance to Georgia, the first settlement will be the village of Kazbegi at the foot of Mount Kazbek - about 20 km from the border. There are many inexpensive hotels here, you can take a break from the road, have a bite to eat, take a walk in bewitching places and go further in the morning.
Border crossing procedure
The algorithm for crossing the border when leaving Russia is as follows:
- After passing through the barrier located on the border, travelers are waiting for border control. It includes a vehicle inspection using mirrors.
- Then, all those traveling on the Moscow-Georgia route by car are required to go through passport control and stamp the border.
- The final step is the inspection of luggage by the customs service, during which it is necessary to unload all things from the car for inspection. If the customs officers have any suspicions about the luggage, it is possible to check the car using x-ray equipment.
Carrying out all the checks usually takes about 2 hours, but practice shows that customs officers are quite loyal to those traveling on the Moscow-Georgia route by car. Careful inspection with unloading of luggage, using mirrors and X-ray devices is extremely rare. Usually at the border they get by with questions about the contents of the trunk and a visual inspection of the cabin.
Crossing the border with Georgia is much easier and lasts about 20 minutes. Customs officers stop the car, and passengers are offered to go through passport control in the customs building. At this time, the driver passes control without leaving the car - he passes all the documents necessary for crossing the border to the window of the checkpoint. After checking the documents, the driver is photographed, and a stamp is placed in the passport about crossing the border. Then there is a visual inspection of the cabin and transported items.
Attempts by foreign citizens to enter the territory of Georgia without passing the security check are illegal and punishable by fines, as well as a trip to Georgia by car from Moscow through Abkhazia. For the first violation, the fee is 500 GEL in national currency. At the next illegal intrusion, the amount of the fine is doubled.
Such offenses under aggravating circumstances are punished by a just government of this country with imprisonment for up to 5 years in accordance with Article 344 of the Criminal Code of Georgia.
Border checkpoints in Georgia
In addition to the Daryali checkpoint, through which the road from Moscow to Georgia passes (including by car), there are other checkpoints on the Georgian border. The following checkpoints are officially open to travelers:
- From Georgia to Turkey. Here passes the European highway E-70 (checkpoint "Sarpi"), connecting Batumi and the Turkish city of Hopa, as well as the highway E-691 (checkpoint "Vale"), leading from the city to the southwest of Georgia Vale in the village of Posof on the border of Turkey.
- Georgian-Azerbaijani border. You can get here by the Tbilisi-Rustavi-Ganja-Baku highway, the Red Bridge checkpoint. Also here is the checkpoint "Vakhtangisi" and "Tsodna", located on the highway from Baku to Telavi.
- Georgian-Armenian border. There are 4 checkpoints on the Georgian border from Armenia: the Ninotsminda checkpoint on the Akhalkalaki-Gyumri highway, the Guguti checkpoint, through which the E-117 road from Tbilisi to Yerevan passes, the Sadakhlo checkpoint on the Tbilisi-Vanadzor-Yerevan highway and Checkpoint "Akhkerpi".
At the Georgia-Russia border section, since 2010, traffic has been resumed through the Verkhniy Las checkpoint on the Russian border and the Daryali customs checkpoint on the Georgian border. Due to the fact that the elimination of the consequences of mudflows is taking place on this segment, to ensure safe traffic on the way to Georgia by car from Moscow this summer, border control will work from 04:00 to 17:30.
Road conditions on the route
All the same experienced tourists who have experienced all the hardships and pleasures of a road trip to Georgia can make an assumption about the state of the tracks for this year. About the road by car to Georgia from Moscow, the reviews are mostly positive, the condition of the road surface contributes to fast driving, but there are a few nuances:
- The Moscow-Voronezh road along the M-4 highway can be called ideal, but there are toll sections. At this time, there are 6 of them, in order to drive through them during the day, you needwill spend about 350 rubles. At night, the fare will be cheaper. Traffic jams often occur in front of these sections during the resort season.
- On the way from Voronezh to Rostov along the same highway, travelers often come across sections with road repairs, and the autobahn is replaced by two-lane traffic.
- The section from Rostov to the village of Pavlovskaya highway is completely two-lane, repairs are often carried out on the road, in the summer you have to stand in kilometer traffic jams.
- The M-29 highway from the village of Pavlovskaya to Kropotkin is a two-lane without marking, besides, the road is in poor condition. The driver needs to be careful in this area.
- The Kropotkin-Vladikavkaz road along the same M-29 highway looks better - it has been repaired, two-lane traffic is replaced by four-lane, markings are present.
Safety and customs of local residents
Georgia can be confidently called a safe country for tourists. This is facilitated not only by strict police reforms, but also by the goodwill of the local residents themselves. Cars are often left open here, without even bothering to raise the windows - in Tbilisi they believe that this is not necessary.
However, in crowded places you need to be more careful - as in any tourist country, pickpockets often operate near the main attractions. Most often, these are not even Georgians, but gypsies or visiting lovers who profit from other people's money. If a local resident witnesses the theft, he will try to help,than he can - tourists are loved here and supported in every possible way.
In cases when a girl goes to Georgia by car from Moscow - alone or with her friends - she has nothing to fear. Reviews of representatives of the fair sex who have visited Georgia suggest that Georgians, as connoisseurs of beauty, can say a lot of compliments without crossing the line, as is the case with local residents in Egypt or Turkey. The exception is traveling in the mountainous regions (Tusheti, Khevsureti or Svaneti) - the people here are peculiar, with their own customs and principles, and without the accompaniment of familiar men it can be dangerous.
If you prefer a tent to spend the night in a hotel, you need to choose a place carefully, after asking local residents for advice. The fact is that in some wild regions of Georgia there are wolves and bears, a close acquaintance with which will not please you.
Estimated cost of road trip
Traveling alone by car will cost you about the cost of two air tickets, but traveling with your own car will be much more convenient and interesting. In addition, renting a car or calling a taxi in Georgia is very expensive, and public transport leaves much to be desired. Own car will allow you to bring home fine Georgian wine and as many gifts for loved ones as you like.
Judging by the reviews, the average amount spent on gasoline in one direction will be approximately 11,000 rubles. You can rent a room in a modest guesthouse for 800rub. for two per day, in terms of the national currency of Georgia, the cost will be 30 GEL. A room in a three-star hotel, booked during a trip to Georgia by car from Moscow, in winter will cost 50 GEL for two. Food in Georgian cafes is not the cheapest, but very tasty. You can have dinner for 30 GEL. The food here is hearty - one serving of khinkali is enough to feed two adults.
Excellent Georgian wine can be purchased for only 25 GEL per bottle, but no more than 3 liters of alcoholic beverage per person are allowed to be imported into the territory of the Russian Federation.
Conclusions and reviews of travelers
For those who have already managed to master the Moscow-Georgia road by car, the route causes only positive emotions. The condition of the route is generally good, but after crossing the border with Georgia, bad sections of the road appear in some places, then a mountain serpentine follows, where you need to slow down and drive with great care. Along the way, there are pleasant hotels that offer inexpensive rooms, as well as many roadside cafes with Georgian national dishes.
According to tourists who have mastered the route Moscow - Georgia, the distance by car is easily overcome. However, the driver will need to be patient - many motorists, crossing the highway in the region of the Stavropol Territory and North Ossetia, faced impudent extortion of money by local traffic police officers. To avoid trouble, do not give yourself a reason to stop - it is not recommended to neglect the rules of the road. For non-compliance with the speed limit andnot wearing seat belts are treated with great attention and punished to the fullest extent.
On the territory of Georgia, the driving style of local residents is simply terrible - they, apparently, are poorly aware of the rules. Here, people often forget to turn on their turn signals, change lanes from the leftmost lane to turn right, cut off neighboring cars, and run red lights.
Gasoline in Georgia is expensive - the average price is almost twice as high as in Russia. They don’t let people cross the border with full cans of gasoline in the trunk, so it’s advised to fill up a full tank just before crossing the Russian border – in the Vladikavkaz region.
Air tickets "Moscow - Tbilisi" for two cost the same as from Moscow to Georgia by car, including not only the cost of gasoline, but also accommodation in hotels of different levels. In general, the country is assessed positively - security is at a high level, Georgia can be visited even with children. The police are closely monitoring the order, the Georgians are very friendly people, many of them speak Russian well.
