Kutaisi: airport, direct flights and onward travel to Tbilisi and Batumi

Kutaisi Airport (KUT) lies around 23 km west of the centre of Georgia's third-largest city and is geared towards low-cost airlines: from Germany only Wizz Air flies here, from Berlin, Dortmund, Frankfurt-Hahn, Hamburg and Memmingen. Almost all of these flights land between 00:15 and 01:30 local time, so the first thing to plan is your first night. Buses to Tbilisi and Batumi run to match the landings; the first train towards Tbilisi only leaves at 09:27.

Getting there: direct flights from Germany only with Wizz Air

In the airport's flight schedule for 24 September to 23 October 2026, exactly one airline flies from Germany to Kutaisi: Wizz Air, only two or three times a week on each route. Wizz Air gives the flight time as around 4 hours. All times are local time; Georgia stays on UTC+4 all year round and does not switch to summer time.

As of September 2026; the flight schedule has been checked up to 23 October 2026. Whether the routes continue in the same way afterwards is shown by the Kutaisi Airport flight schedule (opens in a new tab).

Belavia, FlyArystan/Air Astana, Azimuth, Pegasus from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen and Wizz Air Malta also fly to Kutaisi, but none of them from Germany. The airport (ICAO code UGKO) is officially also called “David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport” and is operated by the state-owned United Airports of Georgia. With around 1.7 million passengers in 2024 it is Georgia's second-largest airport, and there is no night flight restriction.

If your flight is cancelled or lands very late, you may be entitled to compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004. The “At a glance” box shows the amount for routes from Germany.

From the airport into Kutaisi city

According to Wander-lush, the roughly 23 km to the centre take 30 to 45 minutes by road. After the night landings from Germany, only the shuttle and the taxi come into question among the following connections.

Shuttle bus: round the clock every two hours

The airport shuttle stops at the exit of the arrivals hall and takes about 40 minutes to the Kutaisi Tourism Center in the city. From the airport it departs at every odd hour from 01:00 to 23:00, from the city at 08:00, 11:00 and 13:00 and then every two hours until 07:00 in the morning (as of September 2026).

The airport does not state a fare. According to the travel blog Wander-lush, the journey costs 5 GEL and is paid for by card only at the driver's terminal. After a landing between 00:15 and 00:45 the bus at 01:00 is the next departure, after 01:05 or 01:30 only the one at 03:00.

Train: only two regional trains into the city

The “Kutaisi International Airport” station in Kopitnari is 1.8 km from the terminal, and a free shuttle bus connects the two. Only regional trains No. 683 at 11:58 (arriving 12:52) and No. 681 at 22:39 (arriving 23:33) run into the city to Kutaisi I station. For the night landings from Germany the train therefore plays no role.

Marshrutka and taxi

The terminal is on the main road from Kutaisi to Batumi, where marshrutkas, i.e. minibuses, stop. According to Wander-lush, you board opposite the airport access road, pay 2 to 3 GEL in cash and find these buses only during the day; no official information on this could be found.

The official taxi partner is Bene Exclusive with premium vehicles, round the clock in the arrivals hall. The airport does not state a tariff. For a Bolt ride into the city Wander-lush gives 25 to 30 GEL, while Wizz Air gives 15 to 25 GEL for the taxis in front of the terminal (as of September 2026).

From Kutaisi Airport to Tbilisi

Tbilisi is around 200 km from the airport. At night a long-distance coach takes you there; the train from the airport station is faster but only runs from 09:27.

Georgian Bus: departure after your landing

Georgian Bus schedules its departures around flight arrivals: when booking you choose your flight, and boarding is in front of the door of the arrivals area. According to the timetable the journey takes 4 hours to Station Square in Tbilisi, where the bus station is on the Zotne Dadiani Street side. After the German night landings the buses depart between 01:00 and 02:05 and arrive in Tbilisi between 05:00 and 06:05; after the flights from Memmingen and Berlin roughly from 01:30 to 05:30 (as of September 2026).

Adults pay 30 GEL, children aged 2 to 12 pay 20 GEL. You book online up to 2 hours before departure, or with the representative at the bus up to 5 minutes before; if a bus is full, a second one runs. The “Flexible Schedule” option for rebooking or cancelling costs 1 GEL, and from 5 travellers there is a 5 GEL discount per person.

The Georgian Bus hotline number is +995 32 2 80 60 60. For the return journey the buses are timed to the departures, for example 08:30 from Tbilisi arriving at the airport at 12:30 for the afternoon flights to Berlin and Memmingen. All departures are listed in the Georgian Bus timetable (opens in a new tab).

Omni Bus (omnibusexpress.ge) also has a counter in the arrivals hall, and the airport lists Metro Georgia (metrogeorgia.ge) without giving a location; according to the airport, both operate round the clock. According to Wander-lush, both go to Tbilisi for 30 GEL; the blog gives the journey time for all three operators as about 3.5 hours.

Train from the airport station: 2:33 hours in a double-decker train

Two types of train run from the airport station to Tbilisi. The double-decker express trains take 2:33 hours, the slower trains about three to three and a half hours, but cost less than half as much.

The times come from the daily timetable of 23 September 2026, the prices from the ticket search for 7 October 2026. According to the framework timetable, 801, 803, 869 and 873 run daily, No. 853 only every second day; No. 807 is not listed there. Because the times in the framework timetable are older, check your travel date in the Georgian Railway timetable search (opens in a new tab), where you also buy the tickets; the railway's service number is 1331.

Via Kutaisi city: train from Rioni or marshrutka

According to Wander-lush, Rioni station is about 10 km south of the centre, 15 to 20 minutes by road. You get there by city bus No. 3 or by Bolt for about 8 to 10 GEL (as of August 2026).

From Rioni, No. 873 at 09:55, No. 853 at 12:40 and No. 869 at 20:36 run to Tbilisi, for 14 GEL in 2nd class and 26 GEL in 1st class. The double-decker express trains 801 to 808 do not stop at Rioni.

Marshrutkas run from the central bus station on Chavchavadze Avenue to Didube bus station in Tbilisi. According to Wander-lush, one departs about every 30 to 60 minutes between 06:00 and 21:00, for 25 GEL in 3 to 3.5 hours (as of August 2026).

From Kutaisi Airport to Batumi

According to its timetable, Georgian Bus takes 2 hours to Batumi, also at night after the landings from Germany, roughly from 02:05 to 04:05. The price is the same as to Tbilisi, and the terminus is Giorgi Tsabadze Street 11, the former Gogol Street. According to Wander-lush, Metro Georgia also goes to Batumi for 30 GEL in about 2 hours.

The train to Batumi also runs from the airport station. The express takes 1:24 hours, the regional train a good three hours.

The regional trains do not appear in the online ticket search, which is why their prices are missing. According to the framework timetable, 682, 684, 802 and 804 run daily; No. 808 is not listed there. According to Wander-lush, marshrutkas to Batumi start from the same place as those to Tbilisi, the central bus station on Chavchavadze Avenue; the blog gives no times or prices.

Car hire from Kutaisi Airport

Enterprise (with Alamo and National) and Avis have counters in the arrivals hall that are open round the clock, and the airport also lists Europcar Georgia with round-the-clock service (as of September 2026). A car helps above all for excursions: there is no direct public transport connection to Martvili Canyon, and for Gelati and Prometheus Cave the sources consulted give no bus access. Parking at the airport costs 2 GEL per hour, or 10 GEL for 5 to 24 hours (as of September 2026), and the airport accepts no liability for parked cars.

Sights in Kutaisi and excursions

Kutaisi has around 161,000 inhabitants (2025) and is the main town of the Imereti region; the Rioni flows through the city, with the White Bridge, the Red Bridge and the Chain Bridge. Admission prices and opening hours for Bagrati and Gelati could not be found in any official source.

Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery

Bagrati Cathedral stands on Ukimerioni Hill and can be seen from almost everywhere in the city; an inscription dates the construction to 1003. After Ottoman bombardment the dome collapsed in 1692, UNESCO criticised the reconstruction up to 2012, and in 2017 Bagrati lost its World Heritage status. Today it is the seat of the Metropolitan of Kutaisi and a popular wedding church.

Gelati Monastery lies 11 km outside the city and was founded in 1106 by King David IV, the “Builder”, whose epithet also appears in the name of the airport. He is buried beneath the entrance gate; a mosaic from the 12th century shows Mary with the Child and the archangels Michael and Gabriel. Gelati has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994, since 2017 without Bagrati.

In the city itself, the Colchis Fountain carries 30 golden figures modelled on finds from Vani. The Botanical Garden is 1 km from the centre and has a chapel in the trunk of a 400-year-old oak; Motsameta Monastery dates from the 8th century.

Prometheus Cave: stalactites, stalagmites and a boat trip

The cave is near Kumistavi in the Tskaltubo municipality, about 40 km from Kutaisi according to georgia.travel. Of 22 halls, 6 are accessible; the guided tour takes around an hour. On request, a 15-minute boat trip on the underground Kumi river can be added, which is cancelled when the water level is high.

Foreigners pay 40 GEL, and the boat costs 30 GEL extra and is bought in advance together with admission. The protected areas agency APA gives the opening hours as daily 10:00 to 17:00; other sources differ (as of September 2026).

Martvili Canyon: gorge with a circular trail

The canyon in Samegrelo is 45 to 50 km from Kutaisi, depending on the source, and has no direct public transport connection; the visitor centre is in the village of Inchkhuri. A paved circular trail of 700 m leads over two bridges to three viewing platforms above the 2.5 km long gorge with rock walls up to 70 m high.

Foreigners pay 20 GEL admission and 20 GEL for the 300 m boat trip on the Abasha, on which everyone rows. According to APA it is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00 (as of September 2026).

Best time to visit

May and September are the more balanced months, with average daily maxima of 24.5 °C and 27.0 °C (WMO normals 1991 to 2020). July and August reach 29.4 °C and 30.2 °C, with a record of 43.1 °C in July. On the other hand, August is the driest month with 77.6 mm of precipitation and 7.4 rainy days.

Around 1,358 mm of precipitation falls in a year, most of it in October with 144.9 mm. In January Kutaisi reaches an average of 9.7 °C by day with a low of 3.7 °C. According to georgia.travel, Martvili Canyon is quietest from early April to the end of June and from mid-September to mid-November.

Costs

All prices on site are given in lari (GEL). The cheapest way is the slow train for 14 GEL from the airport to Tbilisi, the fastest by day is the double-decker train for 33 GEL.

Practical information

The currency is the lari (GEL, ₾). At the airport there is an exchange office that is open round the clock, plus ATMs and counters of Liberty Bank in the departures and arrivals halls and of TBC Bank in the arrivals hall (as of September 2026). In Kutaisi, card payment is widespread according to Wander-lush.

You can get SIM cards in the arrivals hall from Magti, Silknet, Cellfie, Hallo and Luxcom, and eSIMs in the departures hall from Roamingo and Global Cell; according to the airport, all counters are staffed round the clock. There is free Wi-Fi throughout the terminal.

The current rules on entry, health insurance and safety are on the German Foreign Office's country page.

Who this is not for

Anyone who wants to fly direct from Frankfurt am Main, Munich or Cologne/Bonn will find no connection. Wizz Air only departs from Berlin, Dortmund, Hahn, Hamburg and Memmingen; no other airline flies direct from Germany to Kutaisi.

Apart from some of the Berlin flights, all aircraft from Germany land between 00:15 and 01:30. After that you are left with 4 hours on the bus, arriving in Tbilisi at around 05:00 to 06:00, or a night in Kutaisi, because the first train only leaves at 09:27.

Without a car, excursions are laborious because there is no direct public transport connection to Martvili Canyon. Anyone who copes badly with heat should avoid July and August with around 30 °C by day.