Tbilisi

Is Tbilisi safe?

Yes. Georgia's capital has little violent crime, its residents mostly feel safe walking at night, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary calls crime levels low. UNODC's latest figure for Georgia is 2.0 homicides per 100,000Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary people, and Canada describes violent crime against foreigners as occasional.

The catches are specific. Protests have filled Rustaveli Avenue every day since late 2024 and sometimes turn violent. Bars that drug drinks or inflate bills target visitors met in the street or online. Georgia's road death rate is almost three times the EU average, and the city sits in an earthquake zone. We score Tbilisi 73 out of 100, a little below Yerevan (75) and above Baku (69). Our Georgia page covers the mountains, the occupied regions and the rest of the country.

The protests on Rustaveli Avenue

On 9 September 2026 the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary marked the 650th consecutive day of protests in Georgia. In Tbilisi they now centre on the Parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue, but they can spread to other areas, especially on Saturday evenings and on the anniversaries of political events. Some have ended in violent clashes between police and protesters. Canada advises a high degree of caution in Tbilisi because of the risk of clashes between security forces and protesters.

For a visitor, the risk is easy to manage, because most of the city is away from Parliament. Check local news before an evening on Rustaveli, and if you see crowds gathering, walk the other way. Do not join in or film close up: the FCDO says foreigners who take part may face extra questioning when they leave Georgia or be refused re-entry.

Bar scams, spiked drinks and pickpockets

Petty crime is the risk most visitors meet, and the main trick happens indoors. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary warns of strangers who approach visitors to take them to a restaurant or nightclub, where food and drinks may contain drugs. Canada describes the same scheme starting on dating sites, with tourists forced to pay huge bills for food and drink they did not expect. Choose bars yourself, ask the price before you order, and do not hand your card to staff.

Pickpockets work crowded places, including the metro and buses, according to Canada. Keep your phone in a front pocket and your bag closed. The FCDO says taxi safety has improved a lot, but advises against flagging cars in the street: pre-book one through an app, which shows the fare and the route, and check that it has working seatbelts. Canada advises against the marshrutka minibuses, which are often poorly kept and lack seatbelts.

Violent crime is rarer. Canada says muggings and sexual assaults on foreigners occur occasionally, and the FCDO reports harassment and assaults against ethnic minorities and LGBT+ people. Gallup's 2025 report found that 82% of people in Georgia feel safe walking alone at night, more than in Spain or Sweden. The streets of the centre are well used in the evening. Away from the main roads, the FCDO notes that lighting can be poor and pavements uneven, so a torch on your phone helps.

Traffic is the bigger daily risk

Georgia's roads are the main threat to life for most visitors. The Interior Ministry counted 469 road deaths in 2025, the most since 2019, and 164 of the dead were pedestrians. In Tbilisi, 50 people died in 1,369 crashes in the first half of 2025, according to Interior Ministry figures reported by Frontnews, which also give the period as January to July. At that pace the city loses roughly 6 to 7.5 people per 100,000 a year on its roads, close to Bishkek and almost double Almaty.

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary describes driving as erratic, road markings and right of way as confusing, and many cars as poorly maintained. Cross at lights or underpasses, and do not assume a car will stop at a zebra crossing. The metro avoids the traffic altogether. For day trips to Kazbegi or Kakheti, hire an experienced driver and avoid driving at night.

Air, water and medical care

IQAir measured an average of 15.1 µg/m³ of fine particulate matterPM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary (PM2.5) in Tbilisi in 2024, about three times the WHO guideline, similar to Astana and better than Yerevan or Baku. Canada notes that pollution can rise quickly. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says water quality varies and bottled water is widely available.

Medical care in Tbilisi is available but can be expensive, according to the FCDO, and outside the capital it is limited. Rabies treatment is available in Tbilisi if a street dog bites or scratches you; get treatment immediately, as the FCDO advises. Travel insurance that covers evacuation is worth having for trips into the mountains.

Earthquakes and landslides

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says small earthquakes are frequent in Georgia. Tbilisi has felt the big ones: the USGS catalogue lists a magnitude 7.0 quake in northern Georgia, 126 km away, in 1991, and a magnitude 6.8 quake in northern Armenia in 1988, 97 km to the south. The deadliest recent event was small but close. On 25 April 2002 a magnitude 4.8 quake at the edge of the city killed at least 5 people, injured 52 and damaged or destroyed 2,400 buildings, according to the USGS.

Choose a modern or recently renovated hotel if you can, and learn the basics: drop, cover and hold on, then leave the building when the shaking stops. Landslides and floods can close mountain roads, and wildfires are a summer risk in the hills.

How we scored it

Violent crime (85) is Tbilisi's strongest factor, on Georgia's low homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's description of low crime. Walking at night (78) follows the FCDO advice and Gallup's 82%, a little lower because of Canada's advice and the protests. Traffic safety (60) is the weakest factor, on the Interior Ministry's count for the first half of 2025, projected to a full year, followed by natural hazards (62). Confidence is medium because Tbilisi publishes no crime rate of its own.