Georgia Travel Tips for Indians: Currency, Money, SIM, Food and Safety

Georgia is a friendly, affordable and easy country to travel in, but a few practical things help your trip run smoothly. This guide answers the questions Indian travellers ask us most often: what currency Georgia uses and how to carry money, which SIM card to buy, how to get around, what vegetarians can eat, how to dress in churches and how safe it is.

Planning your first visit? See our Georgia tour packages page, where we build custom trips around your dates and budget.

Georgia's currency is the Georgian lari (GEL, symbol ₾). As a rough guide, 1 GEL is about ₹36.7 (October 2026); rates change daily, so check before you travel.

• Cards: Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted in Tbilisi and Batumi hotels, restaurants and shops. Many places accept contactless payments.
• Cash: carry some lari for villages, markets, small cafés, churches' candle stalls, tips and minibuses.
• Exchanging money: carry US dollars or euros and change them at exchange booths in city centres, which usually give better rates than the airport. Indian rupees are not easy to exchange in Georgia.
• ATMs: widely available in cities; check your bank's international withdrawal fees. A forex card loaded in USD or EUR is a convenient option.

The main mobile networks are Magti, Silknet and Cellfie. Tourist SIMs with generous data are inexpensive and sold at the airport and in city shops; take your passport. eSIMs are another option if your phone supports them. Coverage is good in cities and along main routes, and patchier in remote mountain valleys. Wi-Fi is common in hotels and cafés.

• Private car with driver: the most comfortable way to travel between regions, and how we arrange our custom trips. Drivers know the mountain roads well.
• Ride apps: Bolt and Yandex Go work in Tbilisi and Batumi and are cheaper and clearer than hailing a street taxi.
• Tbilisi metro and buses: cheap and useful for the centre.
• Trains: the Tbilisi–Batumi train takes roughly 5 to 5.5 hours.
• Marshrutkas (minibuses): cheap but crowded, with signs mostly in Georgian.

Georgian food is generous and full of flavour, and vegetarians can eat well. Look for khachapuri (cheese bread), veg khinkali with potato, mushroom or cheese, lobio (bean stew), badrijani (aubergine with walnut paste), pkhali (vegetable-walnut pâtés), fresh salads with walnut dressing and churchkhela sweets.

• Portions are large; ordering a few dishes to share works well.
• Many dishes use walnuts, so tell restaurants about nut allergies clearly.
• Tbilisi and Batumi have several Indian restaurants, useful for families and seniors.
• Jain and strict vegetarian diets need planning, especially in mountain areas; tell us when you enquire.

• Casual clothing is fine in cities. In churches and monasteries, cover shoulders and knees; women are usually expected to cover their head, so carry a scarf.
• Georgians are proud of their hospitality, wine and singing; a traditional feast (supra) is led by a toastmaster (tamada) who gives long toasts.
• Tipping: a service charge of around 10% is often already added to restaurant bills; check before tipping more.
• Ask before photographing people, especially in churches.

• Georgia is generally safe for tourists, including families and women. Use normal care with valuables in crowded places.
• Travel health insurance is mandatory for all tourists since 1 January 2026, with minimum cover of 30,000 GEL for the whole stay.
• Mountain areas like Kazbegi and Gudauri sit at around 1,700 to 2,400 m; take it easy on the first day.
• Tap water is generally considered drinkable in Tbilisi; bottled water is cheap if you prefer it, and Georgia's mineral waters (like Borjomi) are famous.
• Road travel on mountain passes can be affected by snow in winter; keep buffer time.

• Time difference: Georgia is GMT+4, so it is 1 hour 30 minutes behind India.
• Plugs: Type C and F (European round two-pin), 220V; carry a universal adapter.
• Language: Georgian, with its own alphabet. Russian is widely understood and younger people and tourism staff often speak English. "Gamarjoba" means hello and "madloba" means thank you.
• Weather: it varies a lot by region and season; see our best time to visit guide.

• Passport with enough validity and blank pages
• Georgia e-visa, or a valid US, UK or Schengen visa or residence permit that qualifies for visa-free entry (see our Georgia visa guide for Indians)
• Travel health insurance (minimum 30,000 GEL cover)
• Return flight tickets and hotel bookings
• Some USD or EUR cash and a forex or international card

For flight options, read flights from India to Georgia.