Georgia is one of the best countries in the region to drive around and one of the easiest to hire a car in badly. The country is small enough that you can be in vineyards in the morning and at three thousand metres in the afternoon, the main roads are decent, and fuel is cheap. What catches people is not the driving. It is a rental agreement that quietly forbids exactly the roads they came here to use, and an excess large enough that a kerbed wheel becomes an expensive afternoon.
What to sort before you book
The licence question, in writing, from the specific company rather than from a forum.
Unpaved roads: permitted or forbidden, and get the answer in the agreement.
The excess figure, and what it costs to reduce.
What the standard cover excludes, typically tyres, glass and underbody.
Cross border permission, if Armenia or Turkey is in the plan, which needs arranging in advance.
Two wheel drive or four, decided by where you are actually going rather than by price.
On collection
Photograph everything, in daylight, including wheels, sills and the underside if you can.
Check the spare and the jack are present and usable.
Note the fuel policy and the return time precisely.
Confirm the damage record on paper and keep your copy.
Check the tyres for tread, because mountain roads punish bad ones.
Test the air conditioning before you leave the forecourt in summer.
The mountain road reality
Gravel and broken asphalt on most approaches to the mountain villages.
Unfenced drops, narrow passing places, and no barrier on long stretches.
River fords on some Svaneti and Tusheti approaches, depending on the season.
Weather closures on the passes, which happen at short notice.
Livestock on the road, routinely, including at speed on rural asphalt.
Fuel is scarce once you leave the main routes; fill up before you turn off.
Practical notes
Fuel is cheap by European standards and stations are common on main roads.
Police checks happen; carry the documents in the car.
Parking in Tbilisi is difficult and paid in the centre.
Marshrutkas stop anywhere without warning, and taxis behave similarly.
Night driving on mountain roads is genuinely worth avoiding.
Return the car in daylight so the damage inspection is not a negotiation in the dark.
Where this fits in a Georgia trip
Hire it for the regions and give it back before Tbilisi rather than parking it there.
For the driving itself, the rules and the road conditions, our guide to driving in Georgia covers the ground.
For the cover that sits alongside the rental agreement and does a different job, our guide to travel insurance for Georgia covers the clauses.
And for anyone weighing the alternative to driving themselves, the marshrutka guide covers how the minibus network actually works.
The short version
Decide where you are actually going before you choose the car, and if any of it is a mountain, book the four wheel drive with unpaved roads permitted in writing. Confirm the licence requirement with the specific company rather than in general. Buy excess cover online before you fly instead of at the desk, and make sure your credit card can absorb the excess temporarily. Photograph the whole car in daylight on collection. Fill up before you leave the main road, and do not drive the mountain roads at night.
