Spa resorts in Georgia: what international patients should know

What is a balneological resort, and why do we quote only official sources?

The word "balneology" comes from the Latin balneum, meaning "bath". A balneological resort is a place where natural mineral or thermal water is used for bathing, drinking or other procedures, often in a sanatorium with its own doctor. In Georgia, such places are mainly in the western and southern regions, a few hours' drive from Tbilisi.

The natural resources of these places are protected in Georgia by a separate law: Law No. 1296 of 20 March 1998 on Sanitary Protection Zones of Resorts and Resort Areas. The law lists mineral water deposits, therapeutic mud, therapeutic karst caves, forests and parks as natural healing resources and sets up three zones around them: a strict regime zone, a restriction zone and a monitoring zone. Its purpose is to protect the springs from pollution and to set rules for land use. The law does not say which conditions a particular water acts on, and neither do we.

That is why, whenever we talk about a resort's properties, we always say who is making the claim. We have used two sources: the official website of Tskaltubo Municipality and georgia.travel, the portal of the Georgian National Tourism Administration. The National Tourism Administration is the state agency that presents the country to foreign visitors; its texts are promotional in nature, not the results of clinical research.

Six resorts: what do the resorts themselves and the tourism authority say about them?

The travel times below are those given by the National Tourism Administration, by car and in normal conditions. After surgery, when you need to stop along the way, the journey will take longer.

Tskaltubo

Tskaltubo Municipality writes of its resort that the local thermal gaseous water contains radon, nitrogen and helium and is naturally close to body temperature, so it needs neither heating nor cooling. The municipality's list includes rheumatism and problems of the peripheral nervous system, the heart, the skin and gynaecological problems, while the karst caves discovered in the 1970s are, according to the same source, used for bronchial asthma, hypertension and neuroses. The municipality gives the length of a course as 20-24 days, with a twenty-minute bath every day and additional procedures such as underwater massage and electrotherapy. This figure matters for planning: a three-week course adds considerably to your length of stay.

Borjomi

According to the National Tourism Administration, Borjomi mineral water is of volcanic origin and rises from a depth of 9-10 kilometres. The Administration's text links this water with diseases of the stomach, liver, gall bladder, kidneys and endocrine system and with obesity, and names pearl baths and mineral showers for the bones, joints, circulation and respiratory system. The same page says that Borjomi is about two hours by car from Tbilisi, that winters are cold and that summers are long and hot.

Sairme

Sairme lies in the forests of Baghdati Municipality, at about 950 metres above sea level, an hour and twenty minutes from Kutaisi. The National Tourism Administration mentions thermal water for bathing here and four different drinking mineral waters which, as it describes them, are used for kidney, gall bladder and digestive disorders. The Administration's page also states that the resort has a round-the-clock polyclinic where doctors prescribe a course of water treatment individually. This is a description, and before you arrive we still check who your doctor will be and what language they will speak.

Nunisi

Nunisi is in the south-eastern part of Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park. The National Tourism Administration presents it as a place with naturally warm sulphurous water used for drinking and bathing, and writes that the resort has received patients since 1856 and is still operating today. The Administration's text mentions skin and nervous system diseases and considers the mountain air especially beneficial for the lungs in spring. According to the same source, the journey from Tbilisi takes three hours and 25 minutes, and from Kutaisi about two hours.

Abastumani

Abastumani lies in pine forest at about 1300 metres above sea level. The National Tourism Administration writes that the local mountain air was historically valued by tuberculosis specialists and is considered beneficial for bronchitis and bronchial asthma. As the Administration describes them, the local hot springs are used for rheumatic, gynaecological, skin and nervous diseases, metabolic disorders and chronic ulcers. The journey from Tbilisi takes about four hours. Altitude is a factor you should ask your doctor about separately.

Menji

Menji is in Samegrelo, in Senaki Municipality, an hour and 15 minutes from Kutaisi. The National Tourism Administration describes methane, sulphide and sodium chloride mineral water here at about 27 degrees which, it says, is used for problems of the joints, the peripheral nervous system, gynaecological problems and problems of the circulatory system. The same page states that, in the opinion of specialists, the resort has not yet realised its full potential. We have not confirmed whether Menji currently operates as a treatment facility, so before offering it we check on site who accepts patients and on what terms.

Who decides whether a resort stay is right for you?

The decision is made by two doctors, at two different stages. The first is your treating doctor, who knows your diagnosis, the treatment you have had and your medicines: they say whether a resort stay is possible at all, when and with what restrictions. The second is the resort or sanatorium doctor, who examines you on site and either prescribes specific procedures or does not. Mineral and thermal procedures have their own contraindications, so a resort's description, however convincing it sounds, cannot replace either of these assessments.

If you have a doctor at home who has known your history for years, their opinion is valuable too. The Law of Georgia on Patient Rights also applies to international patients, and a patient may consult another doctor for a second opinion at any time. In that case, our role is to have the treating clinic's report translated into a language your doctor understands.

What to ask your treating doctor before a resort

• Whether a resort is acceptable for me at all and, if so, what type: drinking water, baths, mountain air or none of these.
• When I can go after treatment or surgery, and what must happen first, such as removal of stitches or a follow-up test.
• What is not allowed: whether I may be in hot water, bath or only shower, and how much physical exertion is allowed.
• Whether altitude and climate matter, if the chosen place is in the mountains, like Abastumani or Sairme.
• Which medicines continue at the resort, and at what symptoms the procedures should stop and you should contact the clinic.
• Whether they can put all of this in writing, in the discharge summary or a separate recommendation, so that the resort doctor receives the same information.

How do you combine treatment at a clinic with rehabilitation at a resort?

A resort is not a substitute for clinical rehabilitation. After surgery, physiotherapy is carried out by a doctor and a physiotherapist, while a resort stay, if the doctor allows it, is often a later, separate stage. We compare the two formats from an organisational point of view in a table on our rehabilitation and spa resorts service page. Here we show how information and responsibility pass from the clinic to the resort, so that nothing gets lost.

1. The resort in the plan from the start

   If you are considering a resort stay from the outset, ask the clinic about it at your first consultation, so that the doctor can take it into account in the treatment timeline and you do not buy your ticket too early.

2. Discharge summary and written clearance

   At discharge, ask for a discharge summary in which the treating doctor writes what was done, which medicines you are taking and whether a resort stay is possible, with what restrictions.

3. Documents to the resort doctor, with your consent

   By law, you decide who receives information about your health. We send the discharge summary to the resort doctor only with your consent, translated if necessary.

4. A link with the treating clinic

   Before you leave, we confirm whom the resort doctor will call if they have a question, and how you will get back to the clinic if your condition changes.

5. A report to take home

   At the end of the course, we ask the resort doctor for a written report: which procedures were carried out and what they advise. It goes to your doctor together with the clinic's discharge summary.

One practical tip: do not fill every day up to your flight with the resort stay. If the doctor wants a follow-up visit before you fly, you will need a day or two to get back to Tbilisi. Clearance to fly, that is, a doctor's statement that you are fit to fly, is issued by the treating doctor, not by a coordinator.

What should you ask the resort facility before booking?

Resorts have both hotels and sanatoriums that provide medical services. For a patient, the difference matters: in the first case you have your procedures separately, at another facility, while in the second the doctor is in the same building. Before booking, we ask for written answers to these questions:

• Whether the facility has a doctor, at what hours, and who is on duty at night and at weekends.
• Who prescribes the procedures, and whether this happens after an examination on arrival or as a pre-arranged package.
• What permit it operates under: a sanatorium that admits patients as inpatients needs a permit under Georgian rules. We could not find a public list of such permits available to patients, so we ask for a copy of the document and check for ourselves which services it covers.
• What language the doctor will speak, and the rest of the staff; if there is no common language, when you will need an interpreter.
• Where the nearest hospital is and how transfer works if your condition worsens. The single emergency number in Georgia is 112.
• How accessible the room and the treatment building are for someone using a wheelchair or crutches, and whether a companion can stay with you.

The general approach to checking a medical facility, from its permit to the doctor's qualifications, is described in our guide to choosing a clinic; the same questions apply to a resort sanatorium.

Length of stay, visa and insurance when a resort follows treatment

Two or three weeks at a resort are added to your total time in Georgia, so your visa and insurance must be planned for the combined period of treatment and resort stay, not just for the days at the clinic.

Citizens of countries on the government's list, including citizens of the European Union, Israel, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia, may stay in Georgia visa-free for a year, so a resort stay rarely causes them a problem with dates. Citizens of India and Egypt receive a single-entry e-visa for 30 days within a 120-day period, while citizens of Iraq apply for a visa at an embassy or consulate. A short-term visa cannot be extended while you are in Georgia, so fitting a clinic stay and a 20-24-day course into a 30-day visa is difficult, and in such cases we work out the dates with the doctor before you arrive. The details are explained on our visa and entry service page.

Since 1 January 2026, foreign visitors have needed health and accident insurance for their entire stay, including the days of arrival and departure; the minimum sum insured is GEL 30,000, and the policy must be issued in Georgian or English. If a resort stay delays your return, the policy must also be extended to the new date. Remember that a travel policy meets the entry requirement but, as a rule, does not pay for planned treatment or a resort course; there is more on this in our insurance guide.

What do the costs consist of, and whom do you pay?

We do not quote a specific price here, because it depends on the facility, the season and the procedures the doctor prescribes. Instead, we use the same structure every time we compare offers, so that two options really can be compared:

• Accommodation and meals for you and your companion, with the option of a special diet if the doctor has prescribed one.
• Consultation with the resort doctor on arrival and at the end of the course, including the written report.
• Procedures: whether they are included in the price or charged separately once the doctor has prescribed them.
• Transfer from the clinic to the resort and back, in a vehicle suited to your mobility.
• An interpreter for the visits at which the doctor talks with you.
• Our coordination fee, which is a separate line and is agreed in writing before work begins.

You pay the facility directly, at its own prices. If the facility also pays us a commission, you will be told before you make your decision. We confirm the payment method in advance and do not guarantee any of them: for example, according to the National Bank of Georgia, no bank in Georgia services Mir payment system cards. Other payment questions are covered in our guide to costs and payment.

How do we help you organise it?

Solidaroba.ge coordinates the journey of international patients: we help you choose a clinic and arrange transfers, accommodation, an interpreter and the exchange of documents. At the resort stage, this means that we obtain the doctor's written recommendation, find facilities that match it, send you their replies in a single comparison and show the chosen option to the doctor again before booking. The whole process, from your first message to your return home, is described on our personal coordinator page.

You can communicate with us in English and Russian, and in other languages through a medical interpreter. When you go home, the clinic's discharge summary and the resort doctor's report are translated into the language your doctor needs through our medical translation service, so that your doctor can continue treatment from where it ended in Georgia.

Frequently asked questions about spa resorts in Georgia