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Car rental in Kutaisi works as the western gateway to Georgia, and almost every trip starts at KUT airport. The terminal is a hub for Wizz Air and Ryanair flights from Eastern and Central Europe, and most passengers arrive at night — between 02:00 and 04:00 local time. Hosts at KUT operate 24/7 with no night-pickup surcharge.
The Kutaisi fleet is smaller than in Tbilisi only on paper: most cars are delivered from the capital to match your flight, and on hires of seven days or more delivery from Tbilisi is usually free. So this isn't a small local fleet — it's the same Tbilisi fleet picked up from a different airport.
A couple landed on a Wizz flight at 03:40, met the host at the arrivals exit, signed at the kerb and were on the E60 in seven minutes. No queue, no shuttle to a remote depot.
Prices and seasonality in Kutaisi
Kutaisi prices sit slightly above Tbilisi due to the delivery logistics, but below Batumi in summer. Low season — economy from $25 a day, crossover from $32. High season (June–September) — the same cars climb to $40–55. The seasonal swing is gentler than in Batumi but heavily tied to the Wizz schedule: on big arrival days from Poland and Hungary the fleet can sell out.
When to book
For summer, book 3–5 weeks ahead. For ski-season trips (Bakuriani, Gudauri), 2–3 weeks. For East European school holiday peaks, plan 6 weeks ahead — the local fleet is genuinely limited.
A solo traveller with one cabin bag took the Georgian Bus to Tbilisi for 25 GEL instead — the maths only stops working at two passengers and luggage, when a car wins on the first day.
Chevrolet Cruze in Georgia
Thank you very much for the good and really quality service Irakli met us at the airport at night, told us everything, showed us everything, handed us the keys and wished us a good vacation. During the week of travel with the car no problems, but we did not travel very much, maybe about 700km only. Gasoline 95y. The heater worked well, the tires were winter, and for the mountains and did not need anything else. Thank you very much, I will definitely contact you again on the next trip.
Jeep Renegade in Georgia
Nice car, we did fast meet with Giorgi, have a good connection. Car is fully repaired, ready to comfortable trip. All is good, thanks so much!
Subaru Forester in Georgia
Thank you very much for the car. The main thing for us was that we were met at the airport with a sign. There were no problems with the car itself. The day before the booking we contacted each other and agreed everything. The car was also returned at the airport. The car fully corresponds to the description.
Chevrolet Cruze in Georgia
Irakli is very kind person. He rented us a car without any problems. When we were returning car back, he check the car and didn’t do any problems. I highly recomend this rental company!!!
Toyota Prius in Georgia
We received another Prius, which was no problem for us. The owner was always in touch and kindly offered to bring the car under the address and also agreed to let us give the car back 2 hours later. For what he thanked us very much. They wanted to charge us for the car wash. Initially it was about 20$, then about 10$ and in the end we paid additional 15 GEL as it was the only cash we had. The car was clean inside, the only thing was sand on the body. I don't understand why the company can't include such things as payment for washing in the total amount for rent. The 2nd thing that was very embarrassing was the absolutely bald tires. According to the contract, if something happened to it, I would have to pay them for new tires. Maybe in Georgia it is customary to drive with such tread, but it made me worry whether we would reach our destination.
Volkswagen Jetta in Georgia
The rental was for one day only. Everything went well, the car was in good condition, pick-up and delivery went without problems, according to the reservation.
Volkswagen Jetta in Georgia
very cool Perfect car
Chevrolet Cruze in Georgia
The guy was nice and helpful, but the car was a bit of a disaster, to be honest. It had 250.000 km, the exaust pipe was not fixed underneath the car and was rattling around constantly and exhaust gas was coming into the car (we all smelled like it by the end). The remote locking via the buttons on the key was not working and you had to open the car by sticking the key in the lock on the door, which would only open the driver door but not the rest. Also, the ABS and airbag systems were not working and had warnings about defects on the dashboard. Overall, it was too expensive for the disaster of a car that it was. Also, the spare tire was missing and we had a flat. We had to drive on the totally flat tire all the way to next tire shop. We could have ruined the tire if the shop did not happen to be near by.
Ford Fusion Sedan in Georgia
1. I don't remember any problems on the technical side of the site, everything was ok 2. There were problems on arrival. - We were given the wrong car at first. The guy gave us a Chevrolet Cruze, which we did not like - then a few days later the car broke down right on the road when we urgently needed to go somewhere else. The guy came a few hours later and only then did he give us the Ford Fusuion we asked for - The speedometer on the Ford itself was a bit faulty and showed the speed a bit lower than it really was - because of that we got a speeding ticket (I checked the speed that the car showed and compared it with the speed that the navigator showed me). The owner of the car refused to listen to me and demanded that I pay the fine - The original agreement was that we would return a clean car that we would wash at the car wash. We were given the first Chevrolet car and it was clean initially, but then when the car broke down and we were given another car, it was already dirty initially, because of the waiting time we could not finish our plans in time and did not wash the car. The owner of the car took a fine for this This I am not talking about the gas money we spent because of the change of car, the cost of cab while the car was not working and the condition of the cars (all in mint condition). So my impressions were only negative
Subaru Forester in Georgia
that was good. Thank you.
Ford Escape in Georgia
everything was great, the guy who delivered and took the car was friendly :)
Suzuki SX4 in Georgia
1. Pepople from Local Hires told me that This Suzuki will be fine to drive between Mestia and Ushguli. That was not right. I need propoer 4x4 car for this road. 2. The person responsible for collecting a car (Zaili)....He is unprofessional. We supposed to meet 100 minutes before my departure time(on Airport) to collect a car (we made appoinment 1 day before by WhatsApp). I called him at that time. He said he will be in 4 minutes! Finally he arrived 40 minutes before my schedule departure time. It was a bit stressful for me since there was a huge que to safety check. When he arrived , he charged us 5Euro for washing a car. 30 minutes earlier the car was washed by me, and i paid only 1Euro. Car was cleaned in my opinion. I did not have a time to "fight" about 5 Euro. My complain is nothing about a money, it is about to be fair: be on time - it is recommended when we have schedule flights.
Kia Morning in Georgia
Everything went good, maybe car’s battery was a little bit dead, since we head to use cables to start, but i got help from man who delivered car, so i had no issues in my trip. So in general, i could recommend someone to rent cars from these people.
Pickup at Kutaisi airport (KUT)
KUT is compact and runs 24/7. Cars aren't kept on-site in large numbers — your host meets you in the arrivals hall by flight number and hands over the car right at the exit. The handover takes about five minutes, which matters most on overnight Wizz and Ryanair arrivals: you drive off straight to Kutaisi or directly to Borjomi or Svaneti without waiting for daylight.
Night arrivals and flight tracking
If your flight is delayed, the host watches the airport's flight board and adjusts. There's no night-pickup surcharge at KUT, unlike at some global chains. Late drop-off for early-morning departures works the same way: park at an agreed spot, keys go in a safe or office.
A family on a 03:30 Wizz from Budapest dropped the keys back at KUT five days later at 05:10 for an early Ryanair to Krakow — agreed parking spot, keys in the safe, no morning queue.
Canyons and caves — the main day trip from Kutaisi
Kutaisi is the base for four signature natural sites of Imereti: Prometheus Cave, Sataplia, Okatse canyon and Martvili canyon. All four sit within an hour's drive and combine into one long day on the road.
Distances
Prometheus and Sataplia are around 20 km from Kutaisi — 30 minutes to Sataplia, 35 to Prometheus. Okatse is 40 km / 50 minutes, with a 2.5 km walk from the visitor centre to the canyon bridge or a 15 GEL jeep shuttle instead. Martvili is 45 km / about an hour to the north-west, with boat tours along the canyon running April to October.
A couple did Prometheus and Sataplia in one morning, left Kutaisi at 9 a.m., and were back for Imeretian khachapuri on Tamar Mepe by 13:30. No SUV needed — tarmac the whole way.
Roads and parking
The Okatse and Martvili roads are sealed tarmac and signposted from the E60 turn-off. Parking at the visitor centres is free; tickets sell at the gate or online. Prometheus is a large illuminated cave — go in the morning before tour-bus queues form. For Okatse, the canyon bridge sits 2.5 km past the visitor centre: walk it in roughly an hour through forest, or pay 15 GEL for the jeep shuttle. None of these four sites needs ground clearance — a saloon copes everywhere.
Rates in Kutaisi vary throughout the year depending on the season and the rental length.
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How expensive is renting a car in Kutaisi: average daily rates for a one-week car rental, across all car classes.
Why book in Kutaisi with us
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Round-the-clock pickup with no night surcharge
Wizz and Ryanair often land at 03:00–04:00 — we meet by flight number and skip the night fee that some chains add.
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Free car delivery from Tbilisi on hires of 7 days or more
The same Tbilisi fleet, no inflated "KUT-only" pricing in the listing.
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One-way to Tbilisi or Batumi with transparent fee
Pick up in Kutaisi, drive across Georgia, fly out from a different airport — the fee is shown on the car card.
Long-distance routes from Kutaisi
Kutaisi is the best starting point for Svaneti and a strong one for cross-country road trips. Mestia is around 220 km and 5 hours via Zugdidi. Since 2024 the route via Lentekhi and the Zagaro Pass to Ushguli has been sealed — and the drive from Kutaisi is now shorter and more scenic than from Tbilisi.
Svaneti — no 4×4 needed
After the 2024–25 resurfacing, Mestia–Ushguli is fine in a saloon, and so is the Lentekhi–Zagaro Pass route. AWD helps in winter and beyond Ushguli but isn't mandatory. Tusheti is reached only via Tbilisi and rentals are explicitly banned on those tracks by most hosts.
One-way road trip
The classic Wizz scenario: arrive at KUT, road-trip across Georgia, fly out from TBS or BUS. Kutaisi → Tbilisi one-way is around $80–100, Kutaisi → Batumi around $70–90. Flag this at booking.
A traveller arrived on a Wizz flight at KUT, drove Lentekhi–Ushguli–Mestia over three days, then dropped at TBS for the flight home. One-way fee was $85; the car went back with a host driver.
Frequent Questions
In low season, from $25 for an economy car and $32 for a crossover. In high season (June–September), the same cars run $40–55, with short spikes on big Wizz arrival days. Kutaisi sits slightly above Tbilisi for delivery reasons but stays below Batumi in summer.
Yes — KUT runs 24/7, and most hosts meet by flight number even at 02:00–04:00 without a night surcharge. If your flight is delayed, the host tracks it and adjusts. This matters most for global chains Wizz and Ryanair routes that almost always arrive overnight.
24 km / 25–30 minutes along the E60 motorway. Alternatives are the Georgian Bus shuttle at 25 GEL (~$9) or a Bolt taxi for 30–40 GEL (~$11–15). If you're a solo passenger heading on to Tbilisi without luggage, the shuttle can beat a rental on price.
Yes — that's a typical scenario. To Mestia: 220 km / 5 hours via Zugdidi. To Tbilisi: 230 km / 3.5 hours along the E60. Many guests take the car at KUT and drive past Kutaisi without stopping — quicker than checking in for the night.
Kutaisi → Tbilisi is $80–100 (220–280 GEL), Kutaisi → Batumi is $70–90 (200–250 GEL). The car returns with a host driver. Flag the option at booking so the host can prepare the logistics.
Sataplia is 12 km and 25 minutes north of Kutaisi; Prometheus is 20 km and 35 minutes. Both fit a half-day. Parking is free at the entrance; tickets sell online or at the gate. Prometheus is a large illuminated cave — best done in the morning before queues.
Okatse is 40 km / 50 minutes, Martvili is 45 km / about an hour. Inside the Okatse park, the canyon bridge sits 2.5 km from the visitor centre — walk in 1 hour or take a 15 GEL jeep shuttle. Martvili offers boat tours along the canyon from April to October.
For Prometheus, Sataplia, Okatse and Martvili — no, all tarmac. For Svaneti (Mestia–Ushguli) after the 2024–25 resurfacing a saloon is fine. An SUV only makes sense in winter or for tracks beyond Ushguli.
For a single passenger without luggage, the Georgian Bus at 25 GEL to Tbilisi can be cheaper than a rental. With two passengers and luggage, a car pays off in two days. If you're transiting KUT with no plans for Imereti, book the rental straight to your final airport.
May to October is the sweet spot. December to March, Mestia stays open as a ski resort, but winter tyres and sometimes chains are needed; tyres are mandatory on mountain roads from 1 December to 1 March. Summer is peak for both scenery and crowds.
Borjomi is 130 km / 2 hours east on the E60 — realistic in a day with a park walk. Bakuriani is 155 km / 2.5 hours, and as a ski resort it works better as an overnight stay. Winter tyres are mandatory on the mountain stretch.
Central Kutaisi has zoned paid parking via an app, but enforcement is lighter than in Tbilisi. Free alternatives sit near Kolkhida Park and behind the bazaar. Most central hotels offer their own car park.
Yes — KUT operates year-round. Wizz typically flies 4–6 winter routes versus 12–14 in summer. Rental prices drop 30–40% and the fleet has plenty of capacity. Ryanair runs a thinner winter schedule but keeps London and Dublin flying.
Yes — long-term hire is a separate segment, with monthly rates of $400–650 depending on car class. Kutaisi attracts remote workers who find Tbilisi's summer too hot or its rents too high. Most hosts add discounts beyond a month.
Yes — there are ATMs in the arrivals hall accepting most international Visa and Mastercard cards. Lari and US dollars are dispensed. Hosts in KUT typically accept cash in either currency for the balance after the prepayment.