Kutaisi, Georgia

In July 2026, we traveled to Kutaisi, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Georgia, a country located in the Caucasus region of Eastern Europe that shares land borders with the countries of Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Armenia.
Georgia uses the Georgian lari aka GEl as their official currency.
The major ride share companies are Bolt & Yandex, cabs are not my recommended mode of transportation. The best company for sim service is MEO, which has great coverage and unlimited service for about $17 USD a month.

Kutaisi is surrounded by the Caucasus mountains, which are covered with snow during the winter months.

A small number of black people live in Kutaisi, but during my 2 months stay I only saw 3. Although only a few blacks live in the city of Kutaisi most of the residents are very hospitable and friendly. A few people stared out of curiosity, but if you say hello (Garamajoba) in their native language, they will smile and give you a friendly response. The native language spoken is the Georgian language. Many Georgian people also speak English & Russian.

Georgia is a country that has a 8000 year old wine making history. People in Kutaisi are very proud of their wine making history and you will find most Georgian grow grew their own grapes and make their own wine.

It is customary for a Georgian to invite you to their homes to eat original Georgian food and drink homemade wine. The typical home cooked meals for guests consists of several dishes of fresh cooked breads, meats, fresh made cheese, pickles and olives. In Kutaisi, people not only make their own wine, but they make their own vodka called cha-cha.

The most important thing to know is that a Georgian hosts will never allow your wine glass to be half- full or empty. It is considered rude if they don’t keep your glass full of their homemade wines.

We stayed in the South part of Kutaisi, near the area of David the builder monument. This was an older area in Kutaisi and our building had an elevator that required you to pay to use. There was a coin box and you had 30 seconds after the door closed to insert the proper coin or the elevator power would turn off and you had to put a coin in the box or wait for someone to call for the elevator to get out.

If you plan a trip to the country of Georgia, don’t miss out on Kutaisi, the third largest city in the country.