Where to stay
Hotels in Tbilisi
Tbilisi: the Abanotubani and Sololaki core
Tbilisi rewards the overnight stay more than any other old town in the country, because the historic core is scattered across several districts and none of them reads well in a two-hour walk. Abanotubani, the bathhouse quarter below the Narikala ridge, is at its best in the late afternoon, when the brick domes steam and the lanes empty out. Sololaki, the grid of 19th-century houses west of Rustaveli Avenue, holds most of the city's best small hotels in converted merchant buildings, and staying there puts you a 10-minute walk from Freedom Square metro.
Prices for a double in a restored Sololaki or Abanotubani guesthouse typically run from around 120 to 250 Georgian lari a night in spring and autumn, and higher in July and August, when the city gets hot and hotel rates rise with it. The practical argument for the night is timing: day-trippers arrive around 10am and leave by 5pm, so the streets around the Anchiskhati basilica and the Sioni cathedral are yours at breakfast and again after dinner. I would book two nights here and use it as the base for the whole trip.
Mtskheta and Kutaisi: short visits and a case for staying
Mtskheta, 25 minutes by road from Tbilisi and reachable by marshrutka from Didube station, is a half-day destination rather than an overnight one. Svetitskhoveli cathedral and the Samtavro convent sit within a few minutes of each other, and the town's guesthouses are mostly functional. The one reason to stay is to see the Jvari monastery on the hill above the confluence of the Aragvi and Mtkvari rivers at sunset, after the tour buses have gone. A double in a Mtskheta guesthouse runs around 80 to 140 lari, but with Tbilisi 25 minutes away, most travellers should sleep in the city.
Kutaisi is the opposite case. Georgia's second city has a compact old quarter around the White Bridge and the Rioni river, and it makes a sensible overnight base for day trips to the Gelati and Bagrati cathedrals and the Prometheus cave at Kumistavi, 30 to 40 minutes west. The city is also a low-cost flight hub, so a night here often falls naturally at the start or end of a trip. Doubles in Kutaisi guesthouses commonly sit between 70 and 150 lari, making it the cheapest old-town night on this list, and worth one night rather than two.
Kakheti: Telavi and Sighnaghi
Sighnaghi is the postcard: a hill town of pale stone walls and wooden balconies above the Alazani valley, about two hours by road from Tbilisi. It is small enough to walk end to end in 20 minutes, which is the argument for staying the night rather than driving back in the dark. The evening light on the Caucasus to the north, and the quiet after the day crowds leave, are the reason to book. Doubles in Sighnaghi's guesthouses and small hotels typically run from about 100 to 220 lari in the May to October season, higher at weekends in September, when the grape harvest brings visitors.
Telavi, 60 kilometres northwest of Sighnaghi and the administrative centre of Kakheti, is a working town rather than a preserved one, and its old quarter is modest. It is the better base if you plan to visit wineries around Tsinandali, Ikalto and Napareuli, and a night there saves a long return drive to Tbilisi. Doubles in Telavi run roughly 80 to 160 lari. Between the two, I would book Sighnaghi for the atmosphere and one night only, and Telavi if the wine route is the priority and you want a second night in the region.
What to skip and how to sequence the trip
Skip the idea of overnighting in every old town. Zugdidi and Gori have their sights, but their centres are not places you would linger after dinner, and Batumi's old town, while pleasant, is a summer beach base rather than a heritage stay. In Tbilisi, skip the hotels clustered immediately on Rustaveli Avenue itself if you want quiet; the side streets towards Chugureti and the Marjanishvili metro area are cheaper and calmer, and a 15-minute walk gets you into the core. Avoid arriving in Sighnaghi after dark on a first visit, as the approach road is unlit and the lanes are uneven.
A sensible sequence for a 10-day trip: two or three nights in Tbilisi, one in Mtskheta only if you want the Jvari sunset, two in Kakheti split between Telavi and Sighnaghi, and one in Kutaisi before heading west to the mountains. Book the Tbilisi and Sighnaghi nights first, since those fill earliest in May, June and September. Registration activity on this site has been light this week, which usually means travellers are still comparing rather than committing, and the old-town rooms with the best locations are the ones that disappear first.