The cheapest way to visit Vardzia

#summerbudgettrip #georgia #vardzia Vardzia is one of the highlights of Georgia. Unique ancient town carved in a mountain! The place absolutely deserves to be visited, and while entrance fee is just 15 lari (5.5 USD) the main expense is the transport to/from Vardzia. The nearest town is Akhaltsikhe and it is easily accessible by bus, “marshrutka” (small shared minivan) or train. But then it is an over an hour drive from Akhaltsikhe to Vardzia. The easiest way is to come by your own car, the rental start from about 35 USD per day. The second most popular option is to go by taxi, but they ask for about 80-100 lari to take you there, wait for two hours, and bring you back. It could be haggled down to 60 if you good at bargaining but still it may be expensive for solo budget travelers. So I’m gonna tell you about the third option to get to Vardzia from Alkhatsikhe - by public transportation. You must catch a 10.30 am marshrutka at the bus terminal. It takes about an hour and a half to get to Vardzia (marshrutka will stop right at the parking lot by the ticket office). And then there is a marshrutka back to Alkatsikhe at 3 PM. Marshrutka costs 8 lari one way, and you can either buy your ticket at the ticket office at the bus terminal or pay directly to the driver. So, you will have about three hours to explore the ancient city of Vardzia. Honestly on average two hours is more than enough, so you are totally good on time!