The road from Tbilisi to Kazbegi — the Georgian Military Highway — is one of the region’s great drives: hilltop fortresses, the turquoise Zhinvali reservoir, and finally the Gergeti Trinity Church hanging beneath Mount Kazbek. But a beautiful road comes with a practical question: how do you stay connected in the mountains? This guide answers it step by step.
Before you go: sort your connectivity at home
Install your Simply eSIM for Georgia on your home Wi-Fi and activate it in seconds when you land at Tbilisi airport. You skip the SIM kiosks entirely and walk out ready to order a ride. Georgia plans run at speeds up to 5G where available, all managed inside the app.
The apps you will actually use
- Bolt — the default way around Tbilisi and Batumi, cheaper and easier than negotiating taxis
- Google Maps + offline maps — download the whole Tbilisi-Kazbegi region before leaving the hotel
- GG (local taxi app) — a useful local alternative outside the big cities
- A translation app — English is limited outside Tbilisi, and live translation needs data
The two-day route
Day one: leave Tbilisi in the morning, stop at Ananuri fortress overlooking the Zhinvali reservoir (an hour from the capital), lunch in Pasanauri, and reach Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) by late afternoon. Go up to the Gergeti Trinity Church by local 4×4 — or on foot if you like a challenge.
Day two: an unforgettable sunrise on Mount Kazbek from your hotel terrace, then head back via the Gudauri resort to stop at the Georgia-Russia Friendship Monument — the most famous viewpoint on the entire road.
Where does coverage drop?
Coverage is excellent in Tbilisi and good along most of the Military Highway, but it cuts out in the deep mountain stretches between Gudauri and Kazbegi and inside some side valleys. The golden rule: anything that needs downloading — maps, bookings, playlists — download it in Tbilisi. When the signal returns, everything resumes automatically.
One last tip
Check your usage in the Simply app at the end of day one; if you are a live-video person, top up with one tap — much easier than hunting for Wi-Fi in a mountain village. Safe travels!
Written by
Simply Team
