Metro and getting around

The metro

Tbilisi's metro opened in 1966 and is Soviet-built, which means deep: long escalators, cool platforms, and stations dug well below a hilly city. There are two lines and 23 stations, running from early morning until around midnight. You pay with a Metromoney card tapped at the gate, and a ride costs about one lari — cheap enough that most residents do not think about the fare.

Above ground

Where the metro does not reach, marshrutkas do. These are shared minibuses that run fixed routes but not fixed stops: you wave one down and tell the driver where to let you out. City buses cover the same ground more predictably, and the same travel card works on both.

Ride-hailing apps are widely used and inexpensive by European standards, which is how most newcomers get around for the first few weeks.

Between cities

Tbilisi to Batumi is about 370 kilometres. The fast train does it in roughly five hours along the valley, a flight in about one, and the drive takes five or six depending on the road. North towards the mountains, the Georgian Military Highway climbs to Gudauri and on to the Russian border — spectacular, and closed by weather often enough that it is worth checking before setting out.