If you plan to visit Georgia, there’s no doubt you’ve got Kutaisi on your mind. Some of the best things to do in Georgia are easily reached from here. It’s also a great place to experience true Georgian culture, with plenty of traditional restaurants to try. The city itself is charming, and if you take a day trip like we did, you can visit amazing spots like Martvili Canyon, Okatse Canyon, and Prometheus Cave. Our recent trip with GetYourGuide took us to some of the most beautiful natural areas around Kutaisi, and we’re going to talk you through why each is well worth the visit.
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Short on time? Here are some quick links to help you:
- Book the ultimate Kutaisi canyons and cave tour here
- For more inspiration, check out our Georgia Travel Guide & Tips
- You can see our full list and exact locations of the best spots in Georgia here.
- Other recommendations: Kakheti Wine Region Tour
- Check out our travel vlogs on YouTube
- Planning to head to Türkiye next? Check out our guide!
Why Visit Kutaisi?
Kutaisi is charming, authentic, and only three hours from Tbilisi. It’s also a few hours from Batumi, making it easy to reach some of the best places across Georgia. With airlines like Wizz Air now flying directly to Kutaisi, it’s perfect for a short getaway. You can spend a day here sampling traditional dishes (like khachapuri and khinkali) and wandering its scenic streets and unique architecture. Kutaisi also has stunning cathedrals like Bagrati, surrounded by breathtaking views of the countryside. We also noticed art dotted across the city, adding to its authentic charm.
If you’re looking for Georgia’s laid-back and authentic city, this is the place for you.
In our opinion, though, the best things to do in Kutaisi are outside the city. Martvili Canyon, Okatse Canyon, and Prometheus Cave are stunning natural spots, all accessible from here. So if you’re looking to visit the best places from Kutaisi – we’ve got you covered!
Cave and Canyons Trip from Kutaisi
If you’re more into nature than cities, like us, you’ll love this trip. We booked a day tour with GetYourGuide (linked here) because we had limited time and wanted to make the most of it. This day trip takes you to Martvili Canyon, Okatse Canyon, and Prometheus Cave. These places are all worth visiting – but don’t be fooled, they’re quite spread out. While it’s technically possible to reach them by public transport, we wouldn’t recommend it (we’ll explain why later). A full-day Canyons and Cave tour is by far the easiest option. It’s affordable and a great way to visit Kutaisi’s best spots in one go.
The trip starts around 10 AM and returns to Kutaisi by 6 PM. It costs around £16 per person and includes all of your transport. The sites are far apart and require a fair bit of driving, but trust us, it’s worth it. Our tour was in a 16-seater minibus and included a guide who gave us tips at each location. Just note: entrance fees to the canyons and cave are not included. More on that below.
Martvili Canyon
One of the best spots in area is definitely Martvili Canyon. We took a short boat ride through the canyon which is definitely the highlight. The water is an incredible shade of blue and it almost looks fake it’s that pretty. You know the type of blue that you see on the front of travel magazines? Expect that but it’s not edited. You can also wander around and check out waterfalls from walkways and viewing platforms. The entrance fee is 20 GEL, and the boat ride is another 20 GEL. It’s a short ride, but completely worth it. It’s peaceful and extremely photogenic. Martvili Canyon really exceeded our expectations and is a must visit place in Georgia. It’s also the first stop on the GetYourGuide tour we did and one we highly recommend.
Okatse Canyon
The next place we recommend visiting from Kutaisi is Okatse Canyon. If you do the same trip as us this will be your second stop. It’s completely different from Martivili Canyon but equally as impressive. A quick note before you visit though… If you’re afraid of heights maybe this one is not for you. Expect to walk along a 700m suspended walkway with views of the canyon from above. The canyon costs another 20 Georgian Lari to enter and from the entrance it’s either a 2.3km walk to the suspension bridge or you can pay a small fee to get a jeep to drive you. We opted for the jeep and it’s likely that if you do the tour you will too (due to time restrictions). if you decide to visit Okatse without a day trip then there’s multiple walks that you can do around this area.
Although Martvili and Okatse are both canyons, they are completely different so don’t worry about being ‘canyoned out’ if you plan to see both in one day.
Prometheus Cave
The final stop on our trip and another amazing thing to do from Kutaisi is to Prometheus Cave. This is actually Georgia’s largest cave and it’s very impressive. It’s huge inside and is full of incredible rock formations. The inside is lit up by colourful lights and you walk along a paved pathway that allows you to admire the many stalagmites and stalactites. To enter Prometheus Cave you’ll again have to pay 20 Georgian Lari (it seems to be the going rate for entry fees in this area). If we’re honest this was the stop we were least excited about. We’ve visited a lot of caves recently and they all seem to look very similar. However, we actually really enjoyed it as it’s extremely hard to not be impressed by the huge chambers and rock formations.
Alternative Ways to Visit (From Kutaisi)
Okay so now you know the best things to do from Kutaisi, let’s talk about other ways to reach them. We originally wanted to only do one of the canyons – Okatse. After reading online it was entirely possible to get public transport to Okatse and just do the one spot. However, even just reaching one canyon via Marshrutka (local minibus) looked like a lot of effort. Some quick reading online led us to the conclusion that you either have to get multiple buses or you have to do a lot of walking to reach any of the options we’ve stated above. That’s why we would recommend doing a tour. Not only does it make your life a lot easier but you’ll also see multiple places in less time.
We’re so glad we did a tour because otherwise we’d have missed out on the incredible boat trip through Martvili Canyon or the impressive walk through Prometheus Cave.
If tours really aren’t your thing then the next best option would be to hire a car and drive to each of the spots. We love hiring a car and exploring at our own pace and it would be a great way to spend longer at each location. You can find rental cars for Kutaisi here. Before you jump ahead and book a rental car though, it’s worth knowing that Georgians can be CRAZY drivers. Make sure you’re confident and comfortable before you make the decision to hire a car.
Final Thoughts
Kutaisi really is a great place to visit and by visiting the canyons and cave in Western Georgia you’ll get a good feel for what the country has to offer. If you plan to visit Kutaisi for a few days then we would highly recommend the day trip to Martivili Canyon, Okatse Canyon and Prometheus Cave. In total you’ll spend around £40 per person for transport, entry and an additional boat trip. You get to visit three iconic spots in Georgia and don’t have to worry about getting multiple buses or walking miles to reach each spot. If you have much longer to spare then making your own way to each spot would give you longer to make the most of hiking in the area.
It really is such a beautiful part of Georgia and honestly, we could spend months in Georgia and still feel as if we need more time.
We’ve got more Georgia Travel content on our social media channels and we’ll be sharing more guides to help you navigate your way through the beautiful country!
