Tbilisi is a year-round city, but it is not an all-seasons-are-equal one. The summers get properly hot, the winters can turn grey and slushy, and there are two golden windows when the weather, the light and the wine all line up beautifully. If you are trying to decide when to book, the short answer is that the best time to visit Tbilisi is late spring (May to June) and early autumn (September to October).
This guide breaks it down properly: a season-by-season look at what to expect, a quick month-by-month list with rough temperatures and what is on, plus the best windows for the wine harvest, hiking day trips, festivals and travelling cheaply. Whatever you are optimising for, there is a good time to come.
The short answer
If you only remember one thing, remember this: aim for the shoulder seasons. Here is the quick version before we dig into the detail.
- Best overall: May–June and September–October — warm days, cool evenings, clear skies.
- Best for wine harvest (Rtveli): late September to mid-October.
- Best for hiking & mountain day trips: June to early October, when high passes are open.
- Cheapest: November and January–February (excluding New Year week).
- Avoid if you hate heat: mid-July and August, when the city regularly hits 35°C+.
Tbilisi season by season
Spring (March–May)
Spring is a lovely time to be here, though early spring is a gamble. March is still cool and can be wet, with daytime highs around 12–15°C and the surrounding hills often still capped with snow. By April the city warms up (highs of 18–20°C), the plane trees along the river green over, and terrace cafés start putting chairs back outside. May is close to perfect — sunny days of 22–25°C, long light evenings, and the parks and courtyards of the Old Town at their freshest before the summer heat arrives. Wildflowers on the day-trip hikes are at their best in May and early June.
The one catch in spring is rain: April and May are among the wetter months, so pack a light layer and something waterproof. Showers tend to be short and heavy rather than all-day drizzle.
Summer (June–August)
Early June still feels like spring, but from late June onwards Tbilisi heats up in earnest. July and August are hot and dry, with daytime highs frequently over 32°C and spikes of 35°C or more. The city sits in a valley, so heat gets trapped and the pavements radiate well into the evening. This is when locals who can leave head for the mountains of Kazbegi or the cooler resort town of Bakuriani.
Summer is not a write-off, though — you just have to plan around the heat. Do your sightseeing before 11am and after 5pm, retreat to a shaded courtyard or an air-conditioned wine bar in the afternoon, and use the botanical garden waterfall or a sulfur bathhouse to cool off. Evenings are wonderful: the whole city comes out, riverside bars fill up, and it stays warm and lively past midnight. If you can only travel in summer, treat it as a base for cooler high-altitude day trips.
Autumn (September–November)
Autumn is, for many, the single best time to be in Georgia. September cools the city back to comfortable 25–28°C days, and by October you get crisp 18–22°C afternoons with deep blue skies. This is also harvest season — Rtveli, the grape harvest, runs roughly late September into October and brings the wine regions to life. The city’s flagship festival, Tbilisoba, lands in autumn too (usually a weekend in October), filling the streets with food stalls, folk music and free-flowing wine.
November is the quiet tail of autumn: cooler (10–14°C), sometimes grey, but atmospheric and cheap. The vine leaves turn gold, prices drop, and the crowds thin right out. If you want the harvest energy, come in the first half of October; if you want low prices and a calm city, late November is your window.
Winter (December–February)
Winter in Tbilisi is cold rather than brutal. Highs sit around 5–9°C and nights can dip below freezing, with occasional snow that rarely lasts long in the city centre. It can be a grey, damp season, but it has a real charm: cosy wine cellars, steaming sulfur baths (never better than in the cold), and a genuinely festive stretch around New Year, when Rustaveli Avenue is strung with lights and the markets sell mulled wine and churchkhela.
Winter is also the ski season. Gudauri, Georgia’s main resort, is about a 2-hour drive north and reliably snowy from December to March, making Tbilisi a workable base for a ski day trip or a longer combined stay. New Year (the Georgian holiday season runs late December into early January) is the one expensive, busy period — book well ahead. Outside that, winter is the low season, with the best hotel deals of the year.
Month-by-month at a glance
A quick reference for planning. Temperatures are typical daytime highs.
- January (5–7°C): cold, quiet, cheap; skiing at Gudauri; low-season hotel prices.
- February (6–9°C): still winter, still cheap; good for baths and ski trips.
- March (12–15°C): cool and changeable; spring beginning, some rain.
- April (18–20°C): mild and green; wetter, but pleasant; Orthodox Easter often falls here.
- May (22–25°C): excellent; sunny, flowers out, ideal for hiking and city walks.
- June (27–30°C): warm and long-lit; great early on before real heat.
- July (32–35°C): hot; sightsee early and late; day-trip to the mountains.
- August (33–35°C+): hottest; lively evenings, tough afternoons.
- September (25–28°C): superb; harvest begins, warm and clear.
- October (18–22°C): a highlight; Tbilisoba, Rtveli, crisp blue skies.
- November (10–14°C): quiet and cheap; autumn colours, some grey days.
- December (5–8°C): cold and festive; New Year lights and markets.
For a deeper breakdown of rainfall, sunshine hours and what to wear each month, see our full Tbilisi weather by month guide.
Best time for the wine harvest (Rtveli)
Rtveli is Georgia’s grape harvest, and it is as much a cultural event as an agricultural one. The exact dates shift with the year’s weather, but the reliable window is late September to mid-October, mainly in the eastern wine region of Kakheti. Many family wineries welcome visitors to help pick grapes, tread them, and share a long table of food and freshly made wine afterwards.
If wine is your reason for coming, base yourself in Tbilisi and take a day trip east — the Kakheti wineries are 1.5 to 2.5 hours away and the countryside is at its most beautiful in harvest. Plan the trip using our Kakheti wine tour guide, and read up on grape varieties and the qvevri method first in the Georgian wine guide.
Best time for hiking and day trips
For anything in the high mountains — Kazbegi, the trails above Gudauri, the passes on the Georgian Military Highway — the safe window is June to early October. Earlier than June, snow can still block high routes; by late October the first snows return to the passes. Peak summer (July–August) is fine at altitude, where it stays cool even when Tbilisi bakes, which is exactly why locals escape there.
Lower-altitude day trips work across a longer season. Mtskheta, the old capital just 20 minutes away, is comfortable from spring to autumn. For the best combination of open trails and pleasant temperatures, May–June and September are the sweet spots. See our day trips from Tbilisi round-up and the best hikes near Tbilisi for specific routes and timings.
The cheapest time to visit
Tbilisi is affordable year-round, but the clear low season is winter — November through February, excluding the New Year week. In these months hotel and guesthouse rates are at their lowest, flights are cheaper, and the city is uncrowded. You will trade warm weather for it, but if your priority is value, this is when your budget stretches furthest.
The one exception is the late-December to early-January holiday stretch, when prices spike for New Year. If you want cool-season value without the festive markup, come in mid-January or February. Whenever you visit, day-to-day costs stay low: a metro ride is 1₾ (about $0.40), a Bolt across the centre is often 5–8₾ (roughly $2–3), and a hearty meal with wine can be had for 30–50₾ ($11–19) per person.
Festivals and events worth timing your trip around
Georgia’s calendar has a few standouts that can genuinely shape when you come:
- Tbilisoba (October): the city’s birthday festival, usually a weekend in mid-to-late October — folk music, dancing, food stalls and wine across the Old Town and riverside.
- Rtveli (late Sept–Oct): the grape harvest across the wine regions, with hands-on winery visits.
- New Year & Christmas (late Dec–7 Jan): Georgian Orthodox Christmas falls on 7 January; the whole period is festive, with lights on Rustaveli Avenue and holiday markets.
- Orthodox Easter (spring): a moving date, deeply observed; a special time to be here, though some businesses close on the holiday itself.
For up-to-date dates and more seasonal happenings, browse the seasonal events section.
What to pack by season
A rough packing steer, since the seasons vary so much:
- Spring: layers, a light waterproof, and comfortable shoes for wet cobbles.
- Summer: light, breathable clothing, a hat, sunscreen, and a refillable water bottle — plus a light layer for cool mountain day trips.
- Autumn: layers again; warm days but cool evenings, and a jacket for October onward.
- Winter: a proper coat, warm layers, and waterproof boots for slushy streets; swimwear if you fancy the sulfur baths.
Whatever the season, pack shoes you can walk hills in — Tbilisi is steep and cobbled in the best parts. For a month-specific packing list, cross-check the weather by month guide before you zip up.
Frequently asked questions
What is the overall best time to visit Tbilisi?
Late spring (May–June) and early autumn (September–October) are the best all-round times. You get warm, sunny days without the fierce summer heat, cool comfortable evenings, clear skies, and — in autumn — the harvest and Tbilisoba festival on top.
Is summer too hot to visit Tbilisi?
Not a deal-breaker, but July and August regularly top 35°C in the valley. It is very doable if you sightsee early and late, rest in the shade or air conditioning midday, and use the mountains for cooler day trips. The evenings, when the whole city comes alive, are the reward.
When is the Georgian wine harvest?
Rtveli, the grape harvest, generally runs from late September to mid-October, centred on the Kakheti region east of Tbilisi. Dates shift year to year with the weather, so aim for the first half of October to be safe and confirm with your winery or tour in advance.
Can you visit Tbilisi in winter?
Yes, and it has its own appeal: festive New Year lights, steaming sulfur baths, cosy wine cellars, and easy access to skiing at Gudauri, roughly two hours away. It is cold (highs of 5–9°C) and sometimes grey, but it is also the cheapest, quietest season outside the busy New Year week.
However you time it, Tbilisi rewards visitors in every season — it is just a matter of matching the month to what you want from the trip. Once you have picked your dates, start planning the rest with our Tbilisi travel guide, line up the sights with the best things to do in Tbilisi, and get out of the city using our day trips round-up.
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