Tour formats in Georgia
The same route looks entirely different depending on how many of you there are and who is travelling with you. The format decides the cost, the pace and how far the day can bend around your own rhythm. Each one below is described with actual numbers - group size, vehicle, booking lead time - so the choice does not have to be a guess.
- 6formats
- 1-50group
- 3languages
- all yearseason
Six formats and how they differ
The same route - Kazbegi, Kakheti or Svaneti - runs in all six formats. The difference is in the price, the pace and the quiet, not in what you see. The sites are identical in every format.
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Private tour
Just you, a guide and a driver. You set the schedule: when to leave, where to linger and when to head back. The most expensive per head and the most flexible. On photography and food routes it is in practice the only format that works.
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Small group
Six to twelve people, usually already known to each other. The cost per head drops sharply while the schedule is still yours - it just needs consensus on the stops. The most balanced way to travel together.
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Family format
Child seats, shortened driving legs, frequent breaks and a route where the children have something to do as well. The pace is slowed deliberately, and the sites are picked so the day does not become monotonous.
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Corporate and MICE
Team outings, a post-conference programme, team building and a supra in the evening. Logistics, catering and the event in one package, with bank transfer settlement, a contract and a completion certificate.
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Join a group
You join a departure that is already scheduled, alongside other travellers. The cheapest option, but the date and the route are fixed and the departure depends on a minimum number. The tour normally runs in English.
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Car with driver, no guide
Transport only: the driver takes you, waits and brings you back, while you see the sites on your own. For people who do not want a guide, or who already know what they are looking at. Considerably cheaper than a private tour.
How the format moves the price
Most of the cost of a tour has nothing to do with how many people are in it. The vehicle, the fuel, the driver's day and the guide's day cost the same for one passenger as for seven. That is why the price per head falls so quickly as the group grows - not because we are discounting, but because the same cost is spread across more people.
In practice it looks like this: a day trip to Kazbegi for two people and for six costs almost the same in total, but the per-person figure differs by a factor of three. So if budget matters and you can give up some flexibility, joining a group is the most efficient thing you can do.
The separate part of the bill is whatever attaches to a person rather than to a vehicle: entry tickets, lunch, tastings and hotel rooms. That part grows in proportion with the group, which is why the group effect is more modest on multi-day tours than on a single day out.
What the extra money buys on a private tour
On a private tour you are not paying for better service - the guide and the vehicle are the same - you are paying for control. You decide what time to leave, where to spend twice as long and where to cut short. In a group format every one of those decisions is a compromise.
It shows most on photography and food routes. If the point is the right light, departure has to be at 05:30 and you may need two hours in one spot; a group cannot do that. The same applies in a cellar: if the conversation takes off and the winemaker decides to open a qvevri, on a private tour you stay, while a group is pulled out by the schedule.
A private format is also better when the group contains people of different physical ability. The route can be built so that nobody has to be left behind or hurried along.
Small group: where the limits fall
Seven is the number that matters: it is the capacity of a standard minivan. From eight people we move to a minibus, which changes the price in a step rather than gradually. So if there are eight of you, two vehicles are often better - more comfortable, and frequently cheaper too.
Above twelve, walking tours become difficult: the group can no longer hear the guide over the street noise. That is why we take twelve as the ceiling on city tours, and for anything larger we either split across two guides or use a radio guide system where everyone has an earpiece.
The other thing about a small group is that everyone already knows each other. It changes the dynamic of the day: the breaks run longer, the conversation is easier, and the schedule ends up more flexible in practice than it was on paper.
Family format: what actually changes
When travelling with children the binding constraint is neither the distance nor the number of sites - it is the length of an unbroken stretch of time. A five-year-old struggles beyond two hours in a vehicle, so we cut the route to keep driving legs under 90 minutes and make sure every stop has a point to it, even if that point is just somewhere to run.
Child seats by age and weight are included in the price - tell us in advance how many children there are and how old. We also have pushchairs and child carriers for the routes that involve walking.
The choice of route changes too. Canyons, caves and horse riding usually hold children's attention better than a sequence of monasteries. We say so in advance, so the day does not end in disappointment.
Corporate format and the paperwork
On corporate outings the settlement and the documents often matter more than the logistics. We work by bank transfer, issue an invoice and a contract, and after the event a certificate of completion. That is usually the part the accounts department cares about, and the part some agencies will not handle at all.
In content, a corporate programme splits in two: the working half - conference room, equipment, catering - and the non-working half of excursion, team building and a supra. We put both in one package, so you are not hunting for a venue and a tour separately.
For groups of 10 to 50 the transport is planned as several vehicles or a coach. Above 50 we have to start at least three weeks ahead: in high season, vehicles of that size and a block of hotel rooms are both in short supply.
Transport: which vehicle in which format
For one to three people we use a saloon car or a crossover. For four to seven, a minivan - typically a Mercedes Vito or a Hyundai Staria. That boundary is not arbitrary: a minivan seats seven, but with all seven seats occupied there is almost no luggage space left. So if there are seven of you with large suitcases, we suggest two vehicles or a luggage trailer on a multi-day tour.
From 8 to 19 people it is a minibus, and above 20 a coach. There is one practical limit here: on narrow mountain roads - into Tusheti, Khevsureti, or towards Ushguli - a full-size coach simply cannot pass. A large group going into the high mountains is therefore planned as a convoy of 4x4s, and that changes the cost.
The 4x4s are a category of their own. On the Abano Pass into Tusheti, the road to Shatili and the winter climb to Gergeti, four-wheel drive is compulsory. On those stretches the vehicle and its local driver are included in the price - not an add-on, and itemised for you in advance.
The guide's language and how we match it
Our guides work in Georgian, English and Russian. If a group is mixed and speaks different languages, there are two practical options: the tour runs in English, or the guide alternates between two languages. The second costs time - everything is said twice - so the content of the day shrinks accordingly.
For other languages - German, French, Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew, Chinese - we find a guide by prior arrangement. There are only a handful of such specialists and they are busy in season, so write to us at least a week ahead. The price in that case is above standard.
On themed tours, specialisation is added on top of language. An archaeological route wants a guide trained in history; a wine tour a sommelier. The pool of such guides is narrower by language, so if you have both conditions - a rare language and a narrow subject - start planning early.
How far ahead to book
A private day trip can often be arranged the day before, if a vehicle and a guide are free. In high season - July and August, and during the grape harvest - that gets harder, and we would suggest three or four days of lead time.
A multi-day route is different: guesthouses in Svaneti and Tusheti are small and fill early in summer. Two weeks is the minimum there, and a month for August. Join-a-group departures have their own calendar and are published in advance, so booking a place early is better still.
A corporate event needs the most notice. Transport for 30 to 50 people, a block of hotel rooms and a venue are all constrained in season - three weeks is the minimum, and in September and October, when conference season peaks, two months is not excessive.
Format and season together
In winter some formats effectively disappear. Join-a-group departures are rare from November to March, because the flow of travellers thins out and the minimum number does not come together. In that period a private tour is often the only real option - but prices are lower, because demand on vehicles and guides is lower too.
In summer it is the reverse: group departures run daily, while a private tour has to be booked early because the guides are committed. Demand for the family format also peaks in summer, so child seats need to be flagged to us in advance.
The shoulder seasons - April and May, September and October - are the most flexible of all. The weather is good, the crowds are thinner, prices sit in the middle and every format is available. If the dates are yours to choose, those two windows are the best.
Mixing two formats in one trip
Often the best answer is not a single format. If you have five days, a logical solution is this: the Tbilisi city tour in a group format, where you are walking anyway and flexibility does not buy you much, and Kazbegi or Svaneti privately, where the stops and the light do matter.
Mixing like that moves the budget considerably. Building the whole five days privately is the most expensive option; building it entirely in groups is the most constrained. The middle version, with two private days and three group ones, is in practice the one most people settle on.
One thing to bear in mind: group departures have fixed dates. So a mixed programme has to be built out from those dates rather than the other way round. We look first at which group departure runs on which day, and pin the private days around it.
How to choose a format
The simple rule goes like this: if the date is fixed and budget is the priority - join a group. If the date is flexible and comfort is the priority - go private. If you are somewhere in between - a small group, which splits the difference.
One thing people often do not account for: a join-a-group departure needs a minimum number of participants. If it does not fill, we tell you in advance and offer either another date or a switch to the private format, with the price difference explained. That matters because if you only have one day in Georgia, a cancelled departure wrecks the whole plan.
The format can also be changed after booking, as long as no reservations have been made. It often happens that people start out wanting a private tour and then friends join - in that case we recalculate and refund the difference.
Frequently asked questions about formats
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How much cheaper is it if I join a group?
On a day trip the difference is usually a factor of two or three against the private format, because the cost of the vehicle and the guide is spread across more people. On a multi-day tour the gap is smaller, since hotels and meals attach to the person anyway and scale with the group. We work out the exact figure for your particular route in advance and show you both options side by side, so the comparison is easy to make.
There are eight of us - do we fit in one vehicle?
No. A standard minivan takes seven passengers, so for eight we either move to a minibus or take two vehicles. Two vehicles are often more comfortable and come out at a similar price - we will quote both and let you choose.
Who else will be on a join-a-group tour?
The group is mixed: people from different countries, usually 8 to 16 of them. The tour runs in English unless something else has been agreed. We cannot tell you in advance who will be there, but before you book we will say how many places are taken and which language the departure runs in. If the departure fails to reach its minimum, we let you know a day ahead and offer either another date or the private format, with the price difference explained.
Will you issue an invoice for a corporate tour?
Yes. We work by bank transfer, draw up a contract, send the invoice in advance and provide a certificate of completion after the event. If your accounts department needs a particular form or additional details, tell us beforehand and we will prepare the documents accordingly.
Can I have a driver without a guide?
Yes, that is a separate format and considerably cheaper. The driver takes you, waits and brings you back, but does not explain the sites and does not come in with you. Drivers usually speak basic English - we check this in advance and tell you exactly what level of communication to expect. This option works when you already know the route and only need to get around.
Can the format be changed after booking?
Yes, as long as no reservations have been made. If the group grows or shrinks we recalculate and refund or invoice the difference. If a hotel has already been booked in your name, changing that part depends on the supplier's rules.
There are seven of us with large suitcases - will we fit?
By passengers, yes: a minivan seats seven. By luggage, seven large suitcases is already a problem, because with all seven seats occupied there is almost no boot space left. On a multi-day tour we would suggest two vehicles or a luggage trailer in that case - tell us in advance how many cases there are and what size.
Can I mix different formats in one trip?
Yes, and it is often the most sensible answer. A city tour in a group format, say, with the mountain days private. The only constraint is that group departures have fixed dates, so the programme has to be built out from those. We look at the calendar first and pin the remaining days around it.
More in Tours and Excursions
The other formats in this same category.
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