Georgia and Armenia Highlights

Land at Tbilisi International Airport, where your driver meets you for the private transfer into the capital. Catch your first views of the city's contrasting classic and modern architecture during the drive. Check into your hotel, settle into your room, and take the evening to rest or explore nearby streets at your own pace. You stay overnight in Tbilisi.

After breakfast, depart at 9:00 AM for Mtskheta. Visit sixth-century Jvari Monastery overlooking the river confluence, followed by Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and free time in town. Drive back to Tbilisi to see Metekhi Church, Meidani Square, and Shardeni Street for lunch. Continue to the Gabriadze Clock Tower, Sioni Cathedral, and walk across the Peace Bridge before taking the two-way cable car to Narikala Fortress for sunset vistas over the capital.

Have breakfast at your hotel before leaving Tbilisi at 9:00 AM on a countryside drive toward Dashbashi Canyons. Arrive at the gorge to view the rock faces and greenery, then step out onto the suspended transparent Diamond Bridge spanning across the canyon. You can purchase lunch at the bridge-mounted cafe while admiring the gorge views. Return to Tbilisi by road in the afternoon and spend your evening relaxing at the hotel.

Begin your journey north after breakfast, stopping at turquoise Zhinvali Reservoir and the 17th-century Ananuri Castle Complex. View the junction of the Black and White Aragvi rivers before ascending Jvari Pass to the Gudauri Panorama monument. Take a ride on the Gudauri cable car, then continue to Stepantsminda for lunch. Board a 4x4 jeep to reach Gergeti Trinity Church, facing Mount Kazbek. Afterwards, take the long mountain road down to Telavi for check-in.

Depart Telavi at 9:00 AM for the historic Tsinandali estate to tour its manicured gardens, winery, and sample three regional Georgian wines. Following lunch at a local restaurant, drive to Bodbe Monastery to view the peaceful grounds and the tomb of Saint Nino. Travel on to Sighnaghi, known as the City of Love, where you take a one-hour walking tour, browse town shops, and walk along sections of the 18th-century defensive wall overlooking the Alazani Valley. Return to Telavi for dinner and rest.

Leave Telavi at 8:00 AM and drive to the international border for immigration procedures, taking around five and a half hours in total. In Armenia, stop in Dilijan to see the 19th-century carved wooden architecture along Sharambeyan Street and eat lunch in the Old Dilijan Complex. Continue to Lake Sevan, one of the world's largest high-altitude freshwater lakes, to take in the vast waters. Head onward to Yerevan in the late afternoon, check into your hotel, and relax.

After breakfast, start your city tour at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex. Visit the Matenadaran manuscript institute to see historic medieval texts, then head to Victory Park for the Mother Armenia Monument and look down over Yerevan and Mount Ararat. Climb the art-lined limestone stairs of the Cascade Complex and Cafesjian Centre. Take a short drive to Etchmiadzin Cathedral and Museum, before concluding your day among the dancing fountains of Republic Square and the handicraft stalls of Vernissage Market.

Travel from Yerevan toward Charent's Arch for open views across the plain toward snow-capped Mount Ararat. Proceed into the Azat River Gorge to view the Symphony of Stones, an impressive natural formation of volcanic basalt columns. Head up to the first-century Hellenistic Garni Temple for lunch and canyon vistas. Continue to the UNESCO-listed Geghard Monastery, whose sacred chambers and tombs are carved directly out of solid rock cliffs. Return to Yerevan in the late afternoon to spend your final Armenian evening at leisure.

Check out from your Yerevan hotel after breakfast and travel north through the Debed River gorge. Stop at the 10th-century Haghpat Monastery, exploring its medieval chapels, stone bell tower, and khachkars before eating lunch nearby. Drive on to the Armenian-Georgian frontier to complete border control procedures. Enter Georgia and transfer directly to Tbilisi International Airport, arriving in time to check in for your homeward flight.