Georgia is one of the easiest countries in the region to spend money in and it has a split personality about how. In Tbilisi and Batumi you can go a week without touching a note, paying by card for coffee and calling taxis through an app. Two hours up a mountain road, in a guesthouse where the food is better than anything in the capital, nobody has a card machine and nobody ever will. Getting the balance right between the two is most of what there is to know.
The basics
The lari, abbreviated GEL, with its own symbol, not pegged to anything.
Cards work in the cities, widely, including in small places.
Cash is required outside them, particularly in the mountains and at markets.
Bank machines are common in towns and absent in villages.
Exchange offices are everywhere in the cities and competitive.
Prices are quoted in lari, and anybody quoting you in dollars or euros is charging a premium.
Where cash is still necessary
Mountain guesthouses, almost universally.
Marshrutka drivers, always.
Market sellers and the flea market.
Wine cellars and small family producers.
Village shops and cafes, everywhere off the main roads.
Entry fees at some smaller sites and monasteries.
Getting the best of it
Withdraw larger amounts less often, because most machines charge per withdrawal.
Compare two or three exchange offices within a street; the rates differ visibly.
Ask about commission on top of the posted rate before handing over notes.
Avoid airport and hotel exchange, which is the worst rate you will be offered.
Keep small notes for marshrutkas, markets and village shops.
Tell your bank you are travelling, because a first Georgian transaction triggers blocks.
Practical notes
Contactless is widely supported in the cities.
Taxi apps remove the fare negotiation and take cards.
Receipts are given as a matter of course in shops and restaurants.
Service charge is sometimes added in city restaurants; check the bill before tipping again.
Counterfeit notes are not a common problem, but count change at markets like anywhere else.
Damaged notes can be refused by small sellers; ask for clean ones at the bank machine.
Where this fits in a Georgia trip
Ten minutes of setup at the start and you will not think about money again.
For the practical shape of a first visit and what to arrange before you fly, our first time guide to Georgia covers the basics.
For what things actually cost and where a trip here gets expensive, our Georgia budget guide covers the numbers.
And for the data connection that half of this depends on, our guide to SIM cards and internet covers the options.
The short version
Do not buy lari before you fly. Withdraw a larger amount on arrival rather than several small ones, and always decline the offer to charge you in your home currency. Use cards freely in the cities and carry real cash the moment you head into the mountains, to a market or to a wine cellar. Compare a couple of exchange offices rather than using the first one, and skip the airport entirely. Tell your bank you are coming, and keep small notes for the minibuses.
