Where to stay
Hotels in Tbilisi
The Tbilisi–Batumi sleeper: the one most travellers should book
The overnight service from Tbilisi to Batumi leaves from Tbilisi Central Station on Station Square in the evening and reaches the Black Sea coast early the next morning, covering roughly 360 kilometres in around eight to nine hours. Couchettes in four-berth compartments are the standard choice; two-berth kupe compartments cost noticeably more but give you a door that shuts. Book through Georgian Railways' official site or at the station counter a few days ahead, especially between June and September, when Batumi hotels along the seafront fill and the train sells out. Take the lower bunk if you can choose — the upper berths get warm under the roof.
If your goal is Batumi's Old Boulevard and the Adjara coast, this is the route I would book without hesitation: you save a hotel night and arrive in time for breakfast near Piazza Square. Skip it if you are only staying two nights in Batumi, because a morning arrival and an early departure give you very little beach time. In that case the daytime express, roughly five hours, is the better use of a short trip, and it leaves you rested enough to walk the promenade the same afternoon.
Batumi's station sits a short taxi ride from the old town and the hotel strip along Ninoshvili Street, so plan your arrival address before you board rather than hunting for rooms at dawn.
Zugdidi and the Samegrelo line: practical, not romantic
The Tbilisi–Zugdidi overnight train serves travellers heading toward Svaneti and the Upper Enguri valley. It departs Tbilisi Central in the evening and arrives in Zugdidi early morning, from where marshrutkas climb to Mestia in roughly three to four hours on a winding road. The train itself is functional rather than scenic: you pass through the Samegrelo lowlands in darkness, so there is nothing to see out of the window. Couchette berths are inexpensive and the bedding is provided, but the carriages are older and air conditioning is inconsistent in July and August.
Book this if your priority is reaching Svaneti's trekking without losing a day to the long drive, and plan to be tired on arrival. If you are travelling with children or in winter, when the Mestia road can close, I would skip the night train and take a morning flight to Mestia's Queen Tamar Airport instead, weather permitting. The Zugdidi station is a short walk from the town centre, but very little is open at 6am, so arrange your onward transport the day before you leave Tbilisi.
The Yerevan service: the international option
The overnight train between Tbilisi and Yerevan, Armenia's capital, runs on a limited schedule — often every second day rather than nightly — and takes around ten to eleven hours including the border formalities at Sadakhlo. The route passes through the green Debed valley in darkness, so the scenery is lost either way. Compartments come in two and four berths, and the border crossing is handled on board, which makes it far easier than the road crossing at Sadakhlo, where queues can stretch for over an hour in summer.
Check the current timetable on Georgian Railways before you commit, because the service does not run every day and the schedule shifts between seasons. Book this if you are combining Georgia with Armenia and want to avoid a separate border journey; skip it if your trip is purely Georgian, since the long crossing eats a night you could spend in Tbilisi's Vera or Sololaki neighbourhoods. I would only recommend it to travellers who have already seen Tbilisi and want a second country without paying for a flight.
Whichever route you choose, reserve your first night's accommodation near your arrival station rather than in a distant district, and confirm that reception is staffed for an early check-in.
What to expect on board, and what not to expect
Georgian sleeper trains are basic and generally clean. Four-berth couchettes include a mattress, pillow and sheet; bring earplugs, a refillable water bottle and a light blanket in the shoulder months, when the heating is either full on or off. There is usually a samovar with hot water in the corridor, and a small kiosk on the Batumi service, but no proper dining car, so eat before boarding near Station Square. Power sockets exist but are shared, and mobile coverage drops in the tunnels and the Surami pass.
The main thing to manage is arrival time. Most overnight trains reach their destination between 5am and 7am, when stations are quiet and taxis are few, so pre-book a transfer or choose a hotel with 24-hour reception and ask about early check-in when you reserve. Do not plan a full day of sightseeing for your arrival date. Best months for the coast are May, June and September, when Batumi is warm but not packed and hotel rates along the seafront sit well below their August peak.
To keep the journey simple, book a hotel within walking distance of your arrival station and leave the rest of the day free.