Azerbaijan and Georgia Small Group Tour 2019-202010 Days | Azerbaijan, Georgia

Arrival in Baku. Private transfer to your hotel will be arranged. Check-in at 14:00.
At 18:00, meet your guide and other group members in the hotel lobby. Enjoy welcome dinner at national restaurant. Overnight at the hotel.
Driving distance: 30 km

Breakfast. At 09:00, start a guided sightseeing tour of Baku. Visit Martyrs’ Lane, known as ‘Shehidler Khiyabany’ among locals. Walk through the Alley of the Martyrs to find a beautiful view overlooking Baku’s coastline. Move to Icheri Sheher, the old part of the city. Visit the Shirvanshah's Palace, Caravanserai, Maiden Tower, and main market square, which has numerous art studios and souvenir stalls. Finish the sightseeing tour with Nizami Street and Fountain Square in the new part of Baku. Exploring the contrasts of Baku will take 5-6 hours, after which you’ll have free time in the afternoon. Overnight at the hotel.
Driving distance: 10 km

Breakfast. Visit Yanardag Mountain, also known as Burning Hill, where natural gas has been ablaze for hundreds of years. Continue to the Ateshgah Fire Temple, located in the village of Surakhany. Zoroastrians from India travel thousands of kilometers to Ateshgah to worship the fire coming out of the earth. After lunch, drive to Gobustan National Park to visit the Petroglyph Museum and explore rock carvings dating back to 10,000 BC. The Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Weather permitting, drive to the mud volcanoes in Gobustan Reserve (change of vehicle). Gobustan is home to almost half of the world’s mud volcanoes. Return to Baku in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.
Driving distance: 220 km

Breakfast. Depart towards Sheki. On the way, stop at Diri Baba Mausoleum in the village of Maraza. Continue to Shamakhi and visit the historical Juma Mosque. Weather permitting, a scenic drive through Girdimanchay River Canyon to visit Lahich will follow. Lahich, an ancient village with charming cobbled sidewalks, is famous for its medieval water supply and sewage systems, as well as its traditional jewelry, copperware, carpets, pottery, daggers, and iron tools workshops. This quaint, 5th-century corner of the Caucasus Mountains is rich in historical and architectural value. Continue driving to Sheki for an evening arrival. Overnight at the hotel.
Driving distance: 340 km

Breakfast. At 08:30, visit the colorful Sheki Bazaar. Here, you can find virtually everything you may want to eat: local fruits and berries, spices, freshly-baked bread, honey, cheeses, and Sheki sweets. Continue to the Palace of Sheki Khans, which is surrounded by medieval fortress walls, and then visit handicrafts workshops and caravanserai. Leave Sheki and head towards the border with Georgia (115 km, ~2 h). Cross the border and start exploring the Eastern part of Georgia, which is famous for its viticulture and winemaking traditions. Our first stop in Georgia will be the Khareba Winery. On the way there, enjoy the picturesque landscapes of vineyards and wine-producing villages. Khareba’s unique wine cellar is located in a tunnel carved out of the rock. Originally built for military purposes, today the tunnel is used to store Kakheti’s finest wines. Enjoy a wine tour and a tasting session, and then drive to our overnight point, Akhasheni Wine Resort, by 18:30-19:00. This Resort is surrounded by beautiful vineyards with stunning views of the Caucasus Mountains – the perfect place to take a break before continuing our journey in Georgia.
Driving distance: 180 km

Breakfast. Free morning at Akhasheni Wine Resort. At 12:00, continue exploring Kakheti by visiting Sighnaghi Royal Town, which is surrounded by defensive walls with 23 towers and was an important trading center on the Great Silk Road. Continue to Bodbe Convent – according to legend, this is the burial place of St. Nino, who converted Georgia to Christianity in the 4th century. Arrive in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, in the evening at about 18:00–19:00. Overnight at the hotel.
Driving distance: 150 km

Breakfast. Then take a morning sightseeing tour of Tbilisi. Start at Metekhi Сhurch and the monument to Vakhtang Gorgasali, the legendary founder of Tbilisi. Visit Narikala Fortress to enjoy a breathtaking panoramic view of the city. Walk down to the district of sulphur bath houses and pass by the only mosque in Tbilisi. Stroll through the Sharden area, full of narrow streets with cozy cafés, wine tasting bars, and souvenir shops, and breathe in the history of Old Tbilisi. Also visit Sioni Cathedral, Anchiskhati Basilica, and the famous Rezo Gabriadze Theatre’s clock tower, before crossing the Bridge of Peace to Rike Park. After a couple of hours at your leisure, join the group to proceed to one of the local restaurants to taste traditional Georgian cuisine (departing from the hotel by bus at 19:00). Overnight at the hotel in Tbilisi.
Driving distance: 10 km

Breakfast. Today you’ll explore the North of Georgia. The first stop will be at Jvari Monastery, a true architectural masterpiece of the Early Middle Ages, which is picturesquely perched above the confluence of the Aragvi and Mtkvari Rivers. Continue to the Ananuri Complex, a former residence of Argveti Dukes, which features churches and towers dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries and beautifully overlooks Jinvali Reservoir. Next, drive over the Cross Pass and make a short stop at the Soviet-era “People’s Friendship” mountain view point, which overlooks a deep gorge of the Caucasus Mountains. In Kazbegi, switch to a four-wheel drive vehicle to reach Gergeti Holy Trinity Church (located at an altitude of 2,170 m) and enjoy breathtaking views of Mount Kazbegi. Reach Gudauri at about 19:00 for overnight at the hotel.
Driving distance: 210 km

Breakfast. Drive to Stalin’s home town of Gori. Visit the Stalin Museum, which includes more than 60,000 artifacts, the tiny house where Stalin was born, and an impressive bulletproof train that Stalin used to travel to Yalta and Potsdam. Explore the cave town of Uplistsikhe, which dates back to the Hellenistic Period and is notable for its unique combination of various styles of rock-cut architecture, including both pagan and Christian. Continue to Mtskheta, one of the oldest towns in Georgia and the country’s cultural and religious center. Mtskheta was the capital of the Eastern Georgian Kingdom of Iberia from the 3rd century BC. Visit Svetitskhoveli, the main cathedral of Mtskheta and a sacred place where the robe of Christ is kept. Reach Tbilisi in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.
Driving distance: 250 km

Check-out from the hotel till noon. Free time till transfer to Tbilisi International Airport. End of the tour.
Driving distance: 10 km