Borjomi Uncovered
We arrived in Borjomi by car from Tbilisi in the evening, of course passing through Mtskheta and Uplistsikhe. Checked into a guesthouse and immediately went to the restaurante Old Borjomi. No, no — definitely not to drink mineral water. Khinkali, chakapuli, shkmeruli and other joys of life under a glass of chacha felt much closer. Old Borjomi turned out to be a nice restaurant with reasonable prices.
We weren’t planning to stroll much around this Georgian balneological resort. The plan for the next day was: Borjomi – Akhaltsikhe (Rabati Fortress) – Vardzia cave city – Green Monastery – Borjomi. One more night in Borjomi, and after that we’d drive to Kutaisi.
There aren’t many hotels in Borjomi, but there are plenty of guesthouses — just like everywhere in Georgia. Want to spend a few days in Borjomi with mineral water and spa treatments? I recommend Borjomi Palace Health & Spa Center.
How to get to Borjomi
By car
The E60 highway from Tbilisi to Khashuri is excellent, and from there a secondary road to Borjomi is just as good. On the approach to Borjomi, you’ll see roadside cafes on the left serving fish and shaslik (grill meat). You can stop for a bite if you like — we did, and then spent the next 20 km picking chewy bits of sinew out of our teeth. In general, Georgians don’t really know how to grill a proper meat (shashlik) — but that’s a topic for a separate post about food in Georgia.
Don’t miss: Car rental in Georgia – where it’s best + everything about driving and road conditions
By minibus (marshrutka)
From Tbilisi to Borjomi: departures from the bus station near Didube metro, daily from 8:00 to 20:30, running as they fill up. The trip takes about 3 hours and costs around 12 lari.
By train
| Train | Route | Departure | Arrival | Departure | Arrival | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 618/617 | Tbilisi-Borjomi | 6:35 | 10:47 | 16:30 | 20:50 | Daily |
| 686/685 | Tbilisi-Borjomi | 18:35 | 22:47 | 5:50 | 10:10 | Daily |
Tickets for these trains can’t be bought online — only at the station ticket office, right before departure if you like. The current schedule is available at railway.ge
Taxi
You can try bargaining with local taxi drivers — but I recommend a more civilized option: the Georgian super-service gotrip.ge. I used them for my Batumi – Kutaisi ride and really liked it. You choose your starting point, what you want to see, and where the trip ends — all online. The price is calculated instantly. During the ride, you can make as many stops along the route as you want, with no time limits. It’s basically a car rental with a driver. Give it a try and compare.
What to see in Borjomi
If your goal isn’t just to run to the toilet from all that mineral water, there are actually a few places in Borjomi worth seeing.
Central Park
Here it is on Google Maps.
That’s where everyone drinks mineral water, strolls around, sits on benches, breathes the air, and reads books. Most of the park is designed for families with children.
You pay 5 lari and can come up to the little fountain all day, fill your cup (better bring your own container), and drink. Naturally, this natural water tastes nothing like bottled Borjomi. It’s warm and smells like rotten eggs. I just can’t drink that. Some people fill whole bottles and try to stretch the pleasure over a few days — though after a couple of hours the water loses all its properties anyway.
Keep in mind that mineral water from these kinds of springs also has a laxative effect — so unless you want to be picking mushrooms behind every bush along the way, it’s better to visit the park in the evening. The park is open from 9:00 to 19:00.
At the entrance, they sell pine cone jam. Buy it! Such an unusual taste — I’d never eaten spruce cones before.
Prometheus Monument
So, you’ve filled your cup with water, sipping it slowly, and walking toward a small waterfall and the Prometheus Monument — it’s about a 500-meter walk.
If you follow the path uphill from the park, you’ll reach the thermal baths. They’re crowded in the morning and daytime, but much quieter in the evening.
Cable car
You can take the cable car up to the park with the Ferris wheel.
It’s best to leave all that for the evening — you won’t miss much. In the morning, you should head out of Borjomi — the views along the way are absolutely fantastic.
Even the simple rural landscapes are very beautiful.
Akhaltsikhe and Rabati Fortress
- Akhaltsikhe and Rabati – how to get there, description, and photos
Vardzia Cave City
Read more on my blog: Vardzia Cave City – how to get there, description, and photos
Green Monastery
It’s located right next to Borjomi, and I recommend visiting in the afternoon. It’s set in the forest (here’s the Google Maps link). After turning off the road, you drive a bit through the forest, then walk from the parking lot.
We arrived around 5 p.m. There’s nothing particularly remarkable in the monastery — 9th century, pretty standard. But the surroundings are quiet, the church doors are open, and there’s no one around. Candles lie scattered, and there’s a donation box. The place is simply magical.
After that, you can park your car and stroll around the mineral water park 😉
The next day, you can take the old train to Bakuriani (a ski resort). The special thing about this train — besides being old, with the tracks over 100 years old — is that it runs along a very beautiful narrow-gauge line through the forest. It’s especially stunning in early autumn. The journey takes 2 hours and 25 minutes. Tickets cost 1 and 2 lari. The 2-lari carriage has been renovated. Payment is made to the conductor on board.
Schedule:
Borjomi – Bakuriani: 07:15 — 09:40; 10:55 — 13:21
Bakuriani – Borjomi: 10:00 — 12:23; 14:15 — 16:32
And then you can head to Kutaisi.
