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Car Rental at Kutaisi Airport
Quick answer: Three rental companies keep desks in the Kutaisi Airport arrivals hall — Enterprise, Avis and Europcar Georgia — and the airport's own transport directory lists all three as staffed around the clock, so even a late-night arrival finds a counter open. Booking before you fly is normally cheaper than walking up, and marketplaces like GetRentacar also list independent local operators.
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Which companies have desks at the airport
The airport's own transport directory names three operators in the arrivals hall: Enterprise, Avis and Europcar Georgia. The Enterprise desk also handles Alamo and National reservations — one operator, three brands — so a booking made on any of those sites is collected at the same counter. All three are listed as working 24/7. Other international brands sell Kutaisi pickups through their own websites without appearing in the airport's directory, so if you book one of those, confirm where the handover actually happens before you fly.
Where you collect the car
The counters sit in the arrivals hall, past baggage reclaim, so there is no shuttle ride to an off-airport lot. Kutaisi has a single terminal and a single concourse, which keeps the walk from the aircraft to the rental desk down to a few minutes — a genuine advantage over larger airports where the rental centre is a bus ride away.
Licence, permit and minimum age
A licence from your home country is accepted for up to a year from the date you enter Georgia, provided it is written in Latin or Cyrillic script; anything else needs an International Driving Permit or an official translation. The UK government advises travellers to carry a 1968 International Driving Permit when hiring a car in Georgia, and as a permit costs little and settles any roadside disagreement, it is worth having whatever your licence looks like. Georgian law allows driving from 18, but each rental company sets its own minimum age and its own young-driver surcharge, so read the operator's terms rather than assuming.
Booking ahead vs. walking up
Booking in advance, whether directly with an operator or through a marketplace like GetRentacar, tends to get better rates and guarantees availability — particularly around the Wizz Air arrivals that fill the terminal in bursts rather than steadily through the day. Walking up works outside those peaks, but the choice of car narrows and the price is whatever is left on the lot.
How GetRentacar works
GetRentacar is a peer-to-peer marketplace, not a single company with its own fleet — enter Kutaisi and your travel dates, then filter by vehicle type, brand, or feature. Many listings offer free cancellation, with a small amount paid upfront online and the rest due at pickup.
Security deposit
Most listings collect a refundable security deposit at pickup, returned within a few days afterward if there's no damage or outstanding fines — always check the specific listing's terms before booking. Traffic fines are issued against the vehicle, which means they reach the rental company first and come out of that deposit later.
Taking the car out of Georgia
A Georgian rental car cannot simply be driven across a border. Armenia and Azerbaijan are possible with a notarised power of attorney naming you and that specific vehicle, arranged with the rental company in advance and charged as an extra; the fee and the paperwork differ between operators, and some hand the document over at pickup while others want days of notice. Turkey and Russia are not on offer at all. Raise it when you book, not at the counter.
Driving around Kutaisi and Imereti
The airport sits about 23 km from central Kutaisi, roughly half an hour by road, and the main highway puts Batumi about two hours away and Tbilisi about three and a half to four. Away from those main roads the picture changes: UK government travel advice warns that roads outside city centres are often badly lit and of poor quality, with livestock, faded markings and unpredictable overtaking. The mountain routes that make a rental car worth having in the first place — Gelati, Prometheus Cave, the Okatse and Martvili canyons — are narrow and winding, sometimes unpaved, and some close seasonally.
Weather, winter and what to check
Heavy rain brings landslides and snow closes higher routes, at times making remote areas unreachable rather than merely slow. Winter tyres are expected when conditions call for them, so ask the operator what the car is fitted with before planning anything above the valley floor. A compact car is fine for the city and the highway; if the canyons and the monasteries are the point of the trip, take something with ground clearance.
Rules that catch visitors out
Georgia's blood alcohol limit is far below what most European drivers are used to — low enough that the practical rule is not to drink at all if you are driving — and the penalties are severe. Seatbelts and proper child restraints are compulsory, and speed limits on the main roads are camera-enforced, with posted limits dropping sharply through villages and on bends.
Frequently asked questions
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