So, are you thinking of visiting one of the most hospitable countries in the world - Georgia? This small gem of a country in Caucasus region is well worth a visit. Perhaps even a longer stay.
How to travel around Georgia?
Getting around Georgia is easy, safe and will not punch a hole through the budget.
Traveling between major cities and tourist areas is very easy with knowing only English.
The most flexible and also expensive option is to hire a private taxi which should cost 30-60USD per day. In this case some knowledge of Russian will help a lot. Knowing numbers 1-100 and yes/no in Russian will certainly come handy.
Travel by marshrutkas
Marshrutkas are frequent in Georgia. In majority of areas these are main mode of transportation. Inter city marhsrutkas have TVs to entertain passengers with loud Georgian comedies. True, it's amusing in a way. For a while.
Tip: Marshrutkas depart when full. Last one of the day will depart on time.
Are you first one to pick your seat? You can probably count on waiting for a bit.
Buses connect major cities with Kutaisi Airport
Getting around Georgia by buses (coaches) is not really a thing. Locals prefer to drive and marhsrutkas are main way to travel between cities. Buses are most useful when it comes to getting to Kutaisi Airport or getting from Kutaisi Airport to city you need to go. Bus fares are very affordable.
Domestic flights
Flights depend on weather and may get cancelled. Upside is that flying can save you a lot of time.
PS, views from the air are spectacular!
Trains
Trains will be most handy when traveling between Tbilisi and Batumi - this takes about 6 hours.
Tickets can be bought from Georgian Railways website which requires creating an account.
https://tickets.railway.ge/Home/Instructions
When this seems like too much work, another option is to get ticket in advance from train station when in Georgia.
Seat61 has good article regarding train travel in Caucasus. https://www.seat61.com/Caucasus.htm
Use taxi apps in major cities
My go-to app was Bolt. Taxi rides within Kutaisi were fast and taxis were plentiful.
Hire a taxi for longer journeys
Finding taxi is easy and hiring a taxi for entire day to travel around one area should not cost more than 60USD.
Taxi fares are negotiable within reason.
A combination between marshrutka and taxi, some taxi drivers are hired for longer journeys and then they have to get back home. Finding traveler for another long journey who would hire taxi alone may be tricky. So what's the next best thing?
Waiting until a group of travelers want to go where driver is going - or finding travelers one by one. And how do drivers find single travelers? They approach to anyone who even remotely looks like a possible traveler.
This might not be the best experience when five taxi drivers hurry to you and ask where you want to go. When this is your first time in crowded bus station like Didube in Tbilisi for example, like it was for me, then being approached by several loud men at once is... something to get used to and I held on to my wallet tight. Drivers are not aggressive but can be loud.
Knowing some Russian will come handy with talking to them.
Like with marshrutkas, shared taxis depart when full. This may mean waiting for an hour or longer. In 2013 during my first visit to Georgia I was the first person to a car with 6 passenger seats and found it out the hard way :).