What you need to know to travel to Georgia by car

Georgia is an amazing and incredibly beautiful country. If you are going to go by car to Georgia in 2019, then you will find a very exciting journey and friendly people. However, do not forget about compliance with the laws of this country. In this article, we will tell you how to cross the border correctly, what documents are needed for this, and how much on average you will have to spend on a trip.

It should be noted that legally it is possible to cross the Russian-Georgian border by car through the Upper Lars checkpoint. This checkpoint operates without interruption around the clock. A highway connecting Vladikavkaz and Tbilisi passes through this checkpoint. By the way, in many ratings this road is recognized as the most beautiful mountain road in the world.

The procedure for passing the border is as follows:

1. You pass through the barrier and go to pass the control by the border guards, including the inspection of transport using mirrors.
2. Then go through passport control.
3. Next comes customs control. Customs officials may ask you to unload all things that are in the car. They can even enlighten all the luggage on the x-ray machine. True, a thorough inspection and the use of X-rays is quite rare.

In general, the procedure for crossing the border of the Russian Federation and Georgia can take up to 2-3 hours. Passengers go through passport control separately. The driver, as a rule, is not required to leave the vehicle, he may be asked to leave only in extreme cases. As tourists note, all these procedures on the Georgian border are quite fast, but on the Russian border, the check takes at least 1-1.5 hours.

Please note that Georgian legislation prohibits travel to the country through Abkhazia (Gantiadi-Adler checkpoint), since according to Georgian laws, Abkhazia is not recognized as a separate republic, but as a temporarily uncontrolled territory. It is also forbidden to drive through the checkpoint "Rock - Nizhny Zaramag".

If you violate this rule, you may be fined 400 GEL. In case of re-crossing the border through prohibited checkpoints, the fine will already be 800 GEL or even imprisonment from 3 to 5 years. be sure to consider this fact before you go to Georgia.

Required documents

If you have planned a trip to Georgia, then you must take the following documents with you:

• Valid passports for all passengers.

• Vehicle registration certificate.
• Driver's license.

If the owner is not driving the car, then in addition you need to take a power of attorney with you, and it must be notarized and translated into English. Translation into Georgian is not required. You do not need to pay any additional taxes on the car.

A visa is not put in the passport, only a stamp on the passage of the border is affixed. Recall that a visa is not needed for a trip, since 2012 the visa regime between Georgia and the Russian Federation has been canceled and it is enough to present only a passport at the border.

Do I need a green card

From March 1, 2018, the owner of a foreign car entering the territory of Georgia is required to have a motor third party liability insurance policy. You can buy a policy directly on the territory of Georgia after crossing the border or in advance on the website www.tpl.ge
For lack of insurance, a fine of 100 to 200 Georgian lari threatens.

Basic traffic rules

After crossing the border from Russia to Georgia, high speed must be abandoned, as the road is very winding and dangerous. On highways, you will not meet police officers with a radar, but speeding can be registered by special cameras that record speed. The maximum speed on the highway is 110 km, and in urban areas - up to 60 km.

If you arrived in Georgia by car with a child, then according to local rules, you can put a child in the front seat only after they reach 12 years old. Babies under 3 years old must be in a special chair or in the arms of an adult.

Of course, you can’t drink while driving, you can be fined already for the presence of 0.03 ppm in the blood. You can refuse to test for alcohol, but in this case, the driver is found guilty. And the punishment for drunk driving is serious - 200 GEL, if the violation is committed for the first time, for the second such trick, deprivation of rights for up to six months threatens.

You can also get a fine for tinted windows - 50 lari, for a repeated violation, deprivation of rights for 6 months is already provided. True, the ban on tinting applies only to the windshield and front windows. Rear windows can be tinted without restrictions.

For driving a car without a driver's license, you will have to pay 500 GEL. Punishment is inevitable if you put a person without a license behind the wheel. Deprivation of the VU also threatens if the driver does not stop at the request of a police officer.

For driving without a seatbelt, a fine of 40 GEL can be imposed, for talking on a mobile phone while driving - 10 GEL.

Despite such harsh fines, local drivers are reckless and do not adhere to traffic rules very much. The fact is that fines for minor violations are not issued so often. However, if it has already happened that you have been fined, then it is not recommended to offer a bribe to the police.

Each police officer has a chest camera, so it is almost impossible to hide the fact of receiving a bribe. But in general, patrolmen treat foreigners very kindly. If it so happens that you get lost somewhere, you can always safely turn to law enforcement officers and ask them for directions to the right place.

The fine must be paid within one month after it is issued. If you do not invest within this period, then additional penalties will be charged. However, if you do not agree with the decision made, you can try to challenge the penalties in the local court.

For ignoring the deadlines for paying a fine, they can even deprive you of your rights, despite the fact that you are a citizen of the Russian Federation or another country. In practice, this happens at the border, if the border guards have information about non-payment of a fine by a foreigner. They will be given to the violator only to the ambassador of debt repayment and payment for the restoration of the VU. Therefore, it is best to avoid even minor traffic violations. And if it has already happened that you have been held accountable, pay off the penalties on time

Gas stations, gasoline and roads

Gasoline in the country is slightly more expensive than in Russia. But cans of gasoline from the Russian Federation cannot be brought in, you can only fill a full tank in Vladikavkaz. A liter of the 95th costs about 2.20 lari or about 55 rubles. We can cancel that after Upper Larsi there are no gas stations along the road for a long time, the first gas station can only be found in the Gudauri region. It is also advisable to change money in advance, since only local money is accepted at gas stations, it will not work to pay in rubles.

The condition of the roads in Georgia is noticeably improving every year, but there are still some sections of complete off-road. Most of these sections can be found on the Georgian military road, but the deplorable state of the route here is explained by the fact that mudflows regularly descend here. The road section between Kobi and Gudauri is also in poor condition. There are no toll roads in the country, all highways are absolutely free.

What to see in Georgia

It is no secret that this state has a lot of attractions. The capital is of particular interest. The most interesting places in Tbilisi are Peace Bridge, Freedom Square, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Tbilisi Opera, Metekhi, Narikala Fortress, etc. It is also worth visiting the Old City, the quarters of Alnabar, Abunotubani and Sh. Rustaveli Avenue.

After visiting the capital by car, it is easy to get to Mtskheta. From there you can plan a route to Ananuri and then to Telavi. You can prefer a trip in another direction - from the capital go to Gori, Uplistsikhe and Kutaisi. The end points of the route will be Mestia and Batumi.

Many tourists are interested in the famous resort of Borjomi, which is located 160 km from the capital. Here you can enjoy wonderful mineral water and visit the unique cave town of Vadzia, Akkhaltsikhe fortress and Khervisi.

In summer, resorts on the Black Sea are especially popular: Kobuleti, Gonio, Sarpi and Kvariati.

A trip by car to Georgia in 2019 is a unique opportunity to see all the beauties of the country in a couple of days. The main thing is to take care of the availability of all necessary documents and not violate local traffic rules, then your vacation will be pleasant and unforgettable.