Tbilisi

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Georgia (country) > Tbilisi
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Tbilisi (or Tblisi, Tiflis) is the capital of Georgia and the country's largest city.

The M27 motorway goes through the city.

Hitchhiking out

Northwest towards Gori, Kutaisi, Samtredia or North towards Russia, Vladikavkaz

One hitchhiking point is not far from the Didube bus station, near the statue of David the Builder on horseback.

However, hitchhiking north might be easier if you take a marshrutka towards Mtskheta and tell the driver to let you out when the S1 national road splits off from the Mtshketa road (see photo).

Another option is to get to Metro Station Sarajishvili and walk over the bridge across the highway to one of the gas stations (you can see both of them from the bridge) and start hitchhiking from there. Expect some weird looks from the guys who work there, and they might even tell you to get the hell out. Most of them don't speak or understand english which will make it hard to make clear what you're doing. But when you're feeling lucky, go for it!

File:Tbilisinorth.jpg
Hitchhikers going north from the turn off the Mtskheta road

East towards the airport and Telavi

Take bus or minibus to the 'Lilo' market, from 'Samgori' metro station. From there it's quite easy to hitchhike.

Southeast towards Rustavi, Merneuli, Armenia and Azerbaijan

Hitching out towards the South is easy as pie. Hitch from anywhere in the city center or take a Marshrutka to the Ortachala bus station. You might have to take another short ride to where the roads to Rustavi and Merneuli, Armenia, Azerbaijan split up. Don't listen to anybody who tells you that you cannot hitch out of the city in this direction or out of Merneuli. It's very very easy!

Public transport

Tbilisi has a metro system with two lines. To enter it, you must first buy a smart card from the ticket office (2 Lari as of August 2011) and then load value onto it. Swipe the smart card at the turnstiles. You can get 5 Lari onto your card for free by going to the counter and asking for 5 Lari from the president ("Minda chuti Lari president" - not perfect georgian, but understandable; tested by Zenit in November 2011). You can also get the 2 Lari deposit back when you hand the card in again. From metro stations one can reach further parts of the city by city buses or marshrutkas.