Prohibited routes
Akhaltsikhe – Batumi via the Goderdzi Pass
Unpaved for long stretches, with no road infrastructure and difficult ascents and descents. The crossing takes 8–9 hours rather than the 5 hours a map suggests, and roadside assistance cannot reach you.
Drive this instead: Drive Akhaltsikhe – Borjomi – Kutaisi – Batumi, or Tbilisi – Kutaisi – Batumi. Both are paved and faster in practice.
Mestia – Ushguli – Lentekhi
Rugged mountain terrain and genuinely dangerous. Ushguli is a UNESCO site and is closed to rental cars; the area is remote and hard to evacuate from.
Drive this instead: Reach Mestia from Kutaisi via Jvari on the paved road. Continue to Ushguli by local 4x4 transfer. A small number of cars carry a travel authorisation option that permits this route between 1 May and 30 September; it must be booked with the car, and applies to that vehicle only.
Sairme – Abastumani
A narrow unpaved mountain road with tight turns and unpredictable conditions.
Drive this instead: Use the main valley roads between Kutaisi and Akhaltsikhe instead.
Prohibited regions
You can visit all of these places; you simply cannot take a rental car the whole way. Local 4x4 transfers run from the last permitted village in each case, and they are cheaper than one damaged sump.
Truso Gorge
No further than the village of Almasiani.
A narrow unpaved road that runs directly along the cliff edge in places.
Juta
No further than the village of Sno.
A narrow, bumpy unpaved road above the gorge.
Vashlovani Nature Reserve
No further than Kasristskali village.
The roads inside the park are unpaved throughout, and evacuation from the reserve is difficult.
Tusheti and Omalo
No further than Kvemo Alvani.
The Abano Pass road is bumpy and unpaved, with steep hairpins, sheer drops, rock falls and waterfalls crossing the track. It is widely known as the road of death, and emergency access is very limited.
Shatili
No further than Gudani.
A very poor unpaved road; at the Bear Cross Pass the edge of the road disappears into a precipice in places.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia
Entry is not permitted at all.
These territories are not controlled by the Georgian authorities and your insurance is void there.
What happens if you drive there anyway
The cover on the car is cancelled for the whole event, not reduced. If the car is damaged, recovered or written off on a prohibited road, you are responsible for the repair, the towing and the days the car is off the road. Standard insurance already excludes wheels, undercarriage, windscreen and interior, which is exactly what these roads damage first.
A 4x4 does not change the rule. The restriction is on the road, not on the vehicle, and the only exception is the travel authorisation option for Mestia – Ushguli – Lentekhi between 1 May and 30 September, on cars that offer it.
Planning a mountain trip?
Compare 4x4 and SUV rentals for the paved mountain roads that are allowed, such as Tbilisi to Kazbegi.
See the full rental terms and conditions and the insurance guide. Tbilisi Rent A Car is an independent comparison site; each supplier's own terms are shown before you pay.