Turkey to Georgia by Public Transport

Travelling from Turkey to Georgia by public transport is straightforward, although there is currently no passenger train across the border. Most independent travellers follow the Black Sea coast through Hopa, cross on foot at Sarp/Sarpi, and continue by local bus to Batumi.

The most useful route is:

Turkey → Hopa → Sarp/Sarpi → Batumi → onward into Georgia

Direct international coaches offer an easier alternative, connecting several Turkish cities with Batumi and Tbilisi. This guide compares both options, explains the three border crossings, and shows how rail travel can still be incorporated into the journey.

Can you take a train from Turkey to Georgia?

No. As of August 2026, there is no scheduled passenger train across the border.

The Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway connects Kars in eastern Turkey with Akhalkalaki and Tbilisi in Georgia, but its international traffic is currently freight. Georgian Railway lists the Tbilisi–Yerevan train as an international passenger service but no train to Turkey.^{1 2}

In June 2026, officials announced the railway's entry into full operation after rehabilitation. These announcements focused on freight and transit capacity, which was increased to around 5 million tonnes per year.^{3 4 5} No Kars–Tbilisi passenger timetable was introduced.

Passenger trains have been planned for the route for years. Special passenger coaches were produced and tested in 2019, including equipment designed to handle the different track gauges used in Turkey and Georgia.^{6 7 8} However, there is still no passenger service that can currently be booked.

Which border crossing works with public transport?

Turkey and Georgia have three road border crossings:

For a journey using scheduled public transport throughout, Sarp/Sarpi is the practical choice.

Via Sarp / Sarpi

Sarp/Sarpi lies on the Black Sea coast between Hopa in Turkey and Batumi in Georgia. The border is open 24 hours and can be crossed on foot.^{9 10}

The basic independent public-transport route is:

Hopa → Sarp → walk across the border → Sarpi → Batumi

From Batumi, trains and buses continue towards Kutaisi and Tbilisi.

Direct international coaches

The simplest option is a through coach into Georgia. Current booking systems list services between Istanbul and Tbilisi, Ankara and Tbilisi, as well as connections from other Turkish cities to Batumi and Tbilisi.^{11 12 13}

This avoids arranging separate transport to and from the border, although journeys from Istanbul or Ankara are long.

Using trains for most of the journey

Turkey's rail network can still cover a large part of the journey even though passenger trains do not cross into Georgia. For travellers coming from Istanbul or Ankara, the most efficient train-heavy route is:

1. Istanbul / Ankara → Sivas — high-speed train
2. Sivas → Erzurum — Eastern Express
3. Erzurum → Hopa — bus
4. Hopa → Sarp — dolmuş/minibus
5. Sarp → Sarpi — walk across the border
6. Sarpi → Batumi — city bus

TCDD operates high-speed trains between Ankara and Sivas and direct Istanbul–Sivas services.¹⁴ Rather than taking the much slower Eastern Express all the way from Ankara, it makes more sense to use high-speed rail to Sivas, stay overnight there, and continue east on the Eastern Express the following morning.

The regular Eastern Express runs through Sivas, Erzincan and Erzurum to Kars.¹⁵ From Erzurum, buses to Hopa typically take around 5½–6 hours.¹⁶

Adding Kars: Kars is not necessary for reaching Georgia, but it can be a worthwhile stop in its own right. Instead of leaving the Eastern Express at Erzurum, continue to Kars, spend some time there, and then take a bus to Hopa. Current booking systems list Kars → Hopa services taking roughly 5½–6 hours.¹⁷

This gives a longer but more varied itinerary:

Sivas → Erzurum → Kars by Eastern Express → Hopa by bus → Sarp/Sarpi → Batumi

Despite Kars being geographically close to Georgia, the nearby inland border crossings are less useful for travellers depending entirely on scheduled public transport.

From Turkey's Black Sea coast

Travelling from the Black Sea coast is simpler because the main road corridor runs through:

Samsun → Ordu → Giresun → Trabzon → Rize → Hopa → Sarp

From Trabzon or Rize, international coaches run directly to Batumi. Current listings put the journey at roughly 3¾ hours from Trabzon and 3 hours from Rize, although border queues can increase travel times.^{18 19}

Alternatively, travel to Hopa and cross independently.

Hopa is the main Turkish transport hub near the border, with long-distance buses from cities including Istanbul, Ankara, Trabzon, Erzurum and Kars.²⁰

Local dolmuşes/minibuses run from Hopa towards Sarp. The road journey is around 20–30 minutes.²¹ These services are not always shown accurately on international journey-planning websites.

A taxi is also possible, but is normally unnecessary for a daytime public-transport journey.

Crossing the border and continuing into Georgia

On the Turkish side the checkpoint is called Sarp; on the Georgian side it is Sarpi.

Passengers can walk through the border terminal, completing Turkish exit controls followed by Georgian immigration. The crossing operates 24 hours.^{9 10}

Georgia is one hour ahead of Turkey.

Border queues can vary considerably, especially during summer and holiday periods, so crossing times are difficult to predict.

Sarpi → Batumi: After leaving Georgian immigration, public transport continues directly towards Batumi. Batumi city bus 16 serves Sarpi and runs into the city.²² The trip generally takes around 45–60 minutes, depending on traffic and the stop used in Batumi.

This makes the complete independent crossing:

Hopa → Sarp by minibus → walk across the border → Sarpi → Batumi by Bus 16

Late at night, after city buses have stopped running, a taxi may be necessary.

Sarpi → Tbilisi: Going into Batumi first is not always necessary. CityBus Georgia lists Sarpi → Tbilisi and Tbilisi → Sarpi services, currently priced at 55 GEL.²³ Departures are much less frequent than local transport to Batumi, but the service can be useful when its timetable matches your border crossing.

The route then becomes:

Hopa → Sarp → walk across → Sarpi → Tbilisi by coach

Batumi → Tbilisi by train: Batumi is the easiest place to return to rail travel. Georgian Railway's current timetable lists two daily Batumi → Tbilisi trains.²

A train-heavy journey from Turkey can therefore be made as:

Istanbul / Ankara → Sivas by high-speed train → Erzurum by Eastern Express → Hopa by bus → Sarp/Sarpi → Batumi → Tbilisi by train

Other border crossings

The two inland road crossings can be useful for particular itineraries, but neither offers the same straightforward public-transport connection as Sarp/Sarpi.

Türkgözü / Vale

The Türkgözü/Vale crossing connects the Posof area of Turkey with Akhaltsikhe in Georgia.²⁴

It can be useful when travelling around Ardahan, Posof, Akhaltsikhe or southern Georgia, but scheduled public transport does not conveniently connect to the checkpoint on both sides. Travellers commonly use taxis or shared taxis between the border and nearby towns.^{25 26}

It is therefore possible without a private car, but is better considered a taxi-assisted route than a public-transport alternative to Sarp/Sarpi.

Çıldır-Aktaş / Kartsakhi

The Çıldır-Aktaş/Kartsakhi road crossing connects Turkey's Ardahan/Çıldır area with the Akhalkalaki region of Georgia. It is open to passengers, but transport to and from the checkpoint is very limited.²⁷

Without a car, journeys generally depend on taxis, hitchhiking or other informal arrangements, making this crossing unsuitable for a route based on scheduled public transport.²⁸

The Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway also crosses the Turkey–Georgia border in this general area, but the railway crossing and the Çıldır-Aktaş/Kartsakhi road checkpoint are separate. The railway currently provides no passenger connection.

Sources

1. Georgian Railway — International trains: https://www.railway.ge/en/passenger-traffic/international-trains ↩

2. Georgian Railway — General passenger timetable: https://www.railway.ge/en/traffic-general-schedule ↩ ↩²

3. Georgian Public Broadcaster — Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway enters full operation, June 2026: https://1tv.ge/lang/en/news/baku-tbilisi-kars-railway-line-officially-enters-service-on-june-2 ↩

4. Civil.ge — Baku–Tbilisi–Kars full launch following modernisation: https://civil.ge/archives/736742 ↩

5. Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure — Middle Corridor / Baku–Tbilisi–Kars announcement: https://www.uab.gov.tr/haberler/orta-koridor-a-bakue-tiflis-kars-destegi ↩

6. Railway Gazette — Passenger coaches for the route: https://www.railwaygazette.com/azerbaijan/2016/09/30/gauge-changing-sleeping-car-for-baku-istanbul-route ↩

7. International Railway Journal — Kars–Tbilisi–Baku coaches on test: https://www.railjournal.com/fleet/kars-tbilisi-baku-coaches-on-test-in-switzerland ↩

8. President of Azerbaijan — Presentation of Baku–Tbilisi–Kars passenger train, 2019: https://president.az/en/articles/view/32576 ↩

9. Caravanistan — Georgia border crossings: https://caravanistan.com/border-crossings/georgia/ ↩ ↩²

10. Georgia border-crossing information — Sarpi: https://gurcistan.ge/en/turkiye-gurcistan-sinir-gecisleri ↩ ↩²

11. Obilet — Istanbul → Tbilisi: https://www.obilet.com/en/bus-ticket/istanbul-tbilisi_tbilisi ↩

12. Obilet — Ankara → Tbilisi: https://www.obilet.com/en/bus-ticket/ankara-tbilisi_tbilisi ↩

13. Obilet — Tbilisi bus connections: https://www.obilet.com/en/bus-ticket/tbilisi_tbilisi ↩

14. TCDD Taşımacılık — High-speed trains: https://www.tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr/seferler/yuksek-hizli-tren/ ↩

15. TCDD Taşımacılık — Eastern Express: https://www.tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr/seferler/dogu-ekspresi ↩

16. Obilet — Erzurum → Hopa: https://www.obilet.com/otobus-bileti/erzurum-hopa ↩

17. Obilet — Kars → Hopa: https://www.obilet.com/en/bus-ticket/kars-hopa ↩

18. Obilet — Trabzon → Batumi: https://www.obilet.com/en/bus-ticket/trabzon-batumi ↩

19. Obilet — Rize → Batumi: https://www.obilet.com/en/bus-ticket/rize-batumi ↩

20. Obilet — Hopa bus station and routes: https://www.obilet.com/en/bus-ticket/hopa/hopa-bus-station ↩

21. Caravanistan forum — Hopa/Sarp traveller reports: https://caravanistan.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2310 ↩

22. Moovit — Batumi Bus 16 / Sarpi: https://moovitapp.com/index/en/public_transit-line-16-%E1%83%91%E1%83%90%E1%83%97%E1%83%A3%E1%83%9B%E1%83%98_Batumi-5777-1424948-7284460 ↩

23. CityBus Georgia — Sarpi/Tbilisi services: https://citybus.ge/en ↩

24. GTIAS — Türkgözü Border Gate: https://www.gtias.com.tr/en/projeler/detay/turkgozu-border-gate ↩

25. Hikasus Travel — Vale border crossing: https://www.hikasustravel.com/en/georgia/border-crossings/vale-border-crossing/ ↩

26. Dominik Nitsch — Vale/Türkgözü transport connections: https://dominiknitsch.com/turkey-georgia-border-crossing-vale-turkgözu/ ↩

27. GTIAS — Çıldır-Aktaş Border Gate: https://www.gtias.com.tr/en/projeler/detay/cildir-aktas-border-gate ↩

28. Caravanistan — Kartsakhi/Aktaş traveller reports: https://caravanistan.com/forum/ ↩