Why Georgia
It is the oldest known wine-producing country: wine has been made here in buried jars for eight thousand years, and the method is still alive. The Georgian table, the supra, is its extension, with its codified toasts led by a tamada.
The Greater Caucasus offers massifs at five thousand metres, villages with stone towers in Svaneti, and multi-day walks that see few people. Tbilisi, between sulphur baths, churches and Soviet architecture, is one of the most engaging capitals in the region.
Getting around
Marshrutkas — shared minibuses — serve the whole country, leave when they are full and cost almost nothing. That is the normal transport.
The mountain roads to Kazbegi, Tusheti or Ushguli are spectacular and punishing; some require an off-road vehicle and a local driver, and close for more than half the year.
Stay away from the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, access to which from Georgia is closed and the line of demarcation shifting.
Money
Cards are accepted in Tbilisi and the cities, but the mountains and the guesthouses run on cash. ATMs are reliable in the regional centres, absent in the valleys.
The country is very cheap for Europe: food, wine and accommodation cost a fraction of French prices. Tipping is not compulsory but is well received.
Before you go
The mountain roads are the leading source of incident: fast local driving, blind overtaking, degraded surfaces. Taking a driver rather than driving yourself in Svaneti or Tusheti is not a luxury.
Churches require shoulders and knees covered, and a headscarf for women — there are generally some at the entrance.
Refusing a toast at a supra is poorly understood; answering it with a barely touched glass is perfectly acceptable.