Tbilisi to Kazbegi: Our Terrifying Marshrutka Experience

A marshrutka is one of the most common and affordable methods of public transportation in Eastern Europe, as well as in former Soviet Union states.

They are shared mini-vans or busses that run back and forth between two destinations. Unlike a taxi, however, a marshrutka does not operate on request; instead, it will only depart once it’s completely full, or when the driver decides he’s had enough of waiting.

We took a marshrutka from Tbilisi to the town of Stepantsminda, high in the Greater Caucasus mountains of northern Georgia. While the scenery along the way was breathtaking, the experience itself ranks high among the most nerve-wracking things we’ve ever done throughout all of our travels.

So here’s what our experience with marshrutka travel from Tbilisi to Kazbegi was like, along with some useful info in case you feel brave enough to include one of these methods of transportation in your Georgia itinerary.

Let’s get started!

All marshrutkas depart Tbilisi from the same station

Didube Bus Terminal is the departure point for every official marshrutkas leaving Tbilisi.

The terminal is connected to the city’s metro network, so it’s very easy to reach. Figuring out where your bus is, however, is a little trickier.

The bus terminal is basically a huge parking lot with a few market stalls and shops spread here and there, so you’ll have to look around for a bus with your destination marked on the front. There should be signs with lists of locations, and the respective vans are usually not far from them. That’s also how we found ours, which was smack in the middle of the lot.

Know the difference between tour and public marshrutkas

When we entered the bus terminal, we were almost immediately approached by a man in a bucket hat (and who was henceforth known as “Hat Man”) who asked us for our destination.

In friendly but slightly broken English, he mentioned he would do a few stops, which we figured were for him to stretch his legs. He led us to his bus, which was still empty. We knew that it meant we would have to wait a while before we could depart; we also found it strange that the driver had asked us for 30 GEL each instead of the 15 GEL plus 5 per bag price that we had read about online. He left us there to wait and, after a while of no other passengers showing up and starting to fear a scam, we decided to take a look around for another alternative.

We quickly found another van, this time with passengers already inside, and the driver asked for 20 GEL, the correct price.

On that note, we mentioned before that the drivers charge 5 GEL per bag. This is regardless of the size or whether it’s a suitcase or a backpack. However, whether you pay it does seem to be up to the driver, since we were charged for our backpacks on the way to Stepantsminda but not on the return journey.

What we eventually realised was that “Hat Man” had not been trying to scam us, he was simply offering a private tour with two stops at some points of interest. The second one, on the other hand, was driving the public bus that went directly to Stepantsminda, hence the fee we had seen online. With the misunderstanding cleared, we waited an other hour or so before finally leaving Tbilisi.

The drive to Stepantsminda was pretty intense

When we first left Tbilisi behind us and entered the highway, we thought we were in for a pretty chill trip, although we made sure to fasten our seatbelts in spite of the local customs.

The seats were not the most comfortable and, sure, the driver was definitely speeding a bit, but nothing we hadn’t experienced before. That all changed fast when we reached the countryside and started climbing up into the mountains. The moment we left the highway and the lanes became one per side, the fun really began.

What you might not know is that Stepantsminda is located just over 7 miles from the Larsi border crossing, the only legal gateway between Russia and Georgia. This is also the only passage for trucks carrying goods between the two countries, meaning that the main road is nearly always traffic jammed.

Unperturbed by the line of trucks in front of him, the driver started passing them five at a time whenever the traffic on the other side allowed it, and sometimes even when it didn’t.  He would merrily do the same on switchback and hairpin curves, all the while driving along an admittedly impressive 300 foot drop.

Finally, after three and a half hours of white knuckling it, we made to Stepantsminda. It was an overall pretty intense ride, but the absolutely incredible view of the Caucasus mountains we were treated to on the way and when we reached our destination sure made it worth the stress!

The drive back to Tbilisi was a nightmare

Our time in Stepantsminda was amazing but unfortunately limited to only a few days, as we had not planned for a long visit on account of the weather being potentially very cold (which in the end it wasn’t).

We hopped in another marshrutka, this time with a different driver, which departed from the same spot where it had dropped us when we arrived. We settled in, thinking we knew what to expect. As it turns out, the way back was much, much worse.

Just as with the first trip, the driver almost immediately started overtaking trucks four or five at a time, with the difference being that now he was doing it sharply downhill and speeding like a madman. He was also much less careful when overtaking, and at one point even had to fit himself in between a truck and a car that was coming up the road in the opposite direction. And don’t forget, all of this next to a 300 foot drop. Oh, and the seatbelts were broken.

The lady sitting in front of us kept praying and crossing herself, and we were very much in agreement with the sentiment. For myself, during my time in Africa I was charged by a rhino, stalked by a leopard and saw a man come inches from being clawed in the face by an angry lion, and this might top all of these experiences as the most dangerous one.

It goes without saying that it was another white-knuckle trip, and we were incredibly relieved when we finally made it back to Tbilisi.

Is it better to drive yourself?

While our first trip was definitely uncomfortable, the driving on the way back was so insane that really made us reconsider whether or not it was a good idea to take a marshrutka from Tbilisi to Stepantsminda.

In all honesty, we think that the next time we might just rent a car and drive ourselves, at least we’ll keep our lives in our hands instead of watching it flash before our eyes!

So, that was our marshrutka experience.

Have you had any similar experiences of your own? What do you think, would you still take one after reading this or will you be looking for other methods of transportation for your next trip to Georgia?