Goderdzi ski resort, Adjara (Georgia): 2026-27 guide to passes, prices, getting there and where to stay

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Updated 9 October 2026·19 min read·Prices and facts checked: September 2026

Goderdzi is Adjara's ski resort, 109 km from Batumi, with two lifts from 1,724 m to about 2,366 m and an adult day pass of 30 GEL in 2025-26. The Mountain Trails Agency plans to open the 2026-27 season on 20 December 2026; here is how to get there in winter, what a day costs and where to stay.

Goderdzi is the ski resort of mountainous Adjara in Georgia (the country), on the Batumi to Akhaltsikhe road about 109 km from Batumi. Its lifts run from 1,724 m to about 2,366 m, the adult day pass cost 30 GEL in 2025-26, the cheapest of Georgia's four state-run resorts, and it is the only one within a morning's drive of the Black Sea coast.

The lifts belong to the Mountain Trails Agency (MTA), the state company that also runs Gudauri, Bakuriani and Mestia and took over Goderdzi in 2015. Around the gondola base stand nine hotel complexes, with about 20 more planned, according to the Adjara government's investment conference in September 2026.

It suits skiers who want deep snow, forest runs and short lift queues more than a big ski area: beginners, families and intermediate skiers on the pistes, and freeriders among the fir trees. It does not suit a week of hard piste skiing, anyone who wants night skiing or a snow park, or a group where half the people do not ski, because there is little else to do in winter.

The Mountain Trails Agency plans to open the 2026-27 season at all four of its resorts, Goderdzi included, on 20 December 2026 (Travel News), and on 27 September 2026 the resort's Instagram counted three months to opening. The lifts start only once there is enough snow: last season the opening was also set for 20 December and then moved to 27 December (goderdzi.ski).

Recent seasons show how much the start moves: the lifts opened on 9 December 2023, on 14 December 2024 and on 27 December 2025. Last season the Zanka gondola and the Chanchakhi chairlift were announced together for 27 December 2025, and Goderdzi closed on 29 March 2026.

• First snow: November. The season runs December to April and the snow is most reliable in January and February, according to Visit Ajara, the Adjara tourism portal.
• Snow depth: the national tourism administration puts the average at 3 to 4 m in winter and up to 6 to 7 m in the heaviest years.
• Lift hours: 10:00 to 16:00, and to 17:00 at weekends under the 2025-26 opening notice. The ticket office stops selling passes 30 minutes before the lifts close (MTA FAQ).
• Early season: the gondola opens first. The upper chairlift needs more snow, and in 2025-26 it started on 1 January, four days after the gondola; it also stops in strong wind or fog.
• End of season: Goderdzi Fest, the closing music festival, runs 19-21 March 2027, with ticket sales from 1 December and packages with two hotel nights and the transfer from Batumi from 790 GEL.

Goderdzi is small: two main lifts, a beginner carpet and about 8 km of marked runs. The longest descent is 4.5 km from the top station at about 2,366 m down to the base at 1,724 m, a vertical of 642 m.

The lift data is from Skiresort. The ride up takes about 15 minutes (Travel Batumi), and a top-to-bottom run needs both lifts.

• Zanka: about 2,000 m, intermediate, under the gondola.
• Chanchakhi: 2,300 m, graded advanced, from the top station.
• Chanchakhi 2: 2,400 m, intermediate.
• Beginners: a 200 m practice run and the 80 m carpet by the base.

The run names and lengths are from the national tourism administration. Skiresort counts 7.2 km in total, 4.9 km easy and 2.3 km intermediate, with no black runs. There is no night skiing, no snow park, no halfpipe and no cross-country track. The resort has a rescue service and a medical station, and the runs are checked every morning.

A ski day at Goderdzi costs 30 GEL for the adult lift pass plus 30 to 100 GEL for rental. MTA publishes the 2026-27 prices in December; the table shows the 2025-26 prices, which did not change from the season before and are the best guide until then.

2026 prices (last season's rates, 2025-26)

Pass prices are from goderdzi.ski and The Georgian Guide; rental, lessons, snowcat and food from goderdzi.ski; snowmobiles and sleds from Sputnik8 and Travel Batumi.

How the pass works. The pass is loaded onto a reusable plastic Multicard; the lift gates do not take a QR code on your phone. You can buy passes at the ticket office or online through SKIPASS.GE, TKT.GE, the Super App and Biletebi. MTA does not refund a pass once it is bought, and the MTA FAQ sets the age bands: free under 6, child 6-12, junior 13-18. MTA also runs sales during the season: in December 2025 the four-resort season pass was 30% off, 455 GEL instead of 650 GEL, and in January 2026 the 7- and 10-day Multiski passes were 30% off (MTA news, goderdzi.ski).

Drive the Sh1 from Batumi through Keda, Shuakhevi and Khulo: about 109 km, 2.5 to 3 hours in good weather and 3.5 to 4 hours in snowfall. Winter tyres are compulsory on this road from 1 December to 1 March, and a 4x4 is the sensible car for the climb above Khulo.

The first 85 km to Khulo is asphalt all the way (our road guide). Above Khulo the road climbs about 26 km and more than 800 m to the gondola base, through Danisparauli. The hardest part in winter is the last 15 km after Khulo, and the climb after the old bridge, about 4 km before the resort, is often icy (goderdzi.ski). MyDrive describes patchy stretches between Dioknisi and Danisparauli. After heavy snow cars get stuck on the single-lane sections, which stretches the trip to 4.5 to 6 hours. Leave Batumi at 07:00 to be on the slopes when the lifts open.

By car

• Tyres: under Georgian law, winter tyres (snowflake symbol, at least 3 mm tread, under 10 years old) are compulsory from 1 December to 1 March on listed mountain roads, and the government resolution lists the Batumi to Akhaltsikhe road from Keda. Police check tyres near Khulo and can require chains. The season runs to April, so keep winter tyres on after 1 March too.
• Rental cars: many Georgian rental companies exclude the Batumi to Akhaltsikhe road over the Goderdzi Pass in their contracts, and their insurance does not cover damage on its rough sections. Ask for written permission for Goderdzi before you pay.
• Fuel and food: Khulo is the last town on the way up. There are no real shops at the resort (Travel Batumi), so bring what you need.

By marshrutka and local 4x4

Two options work without a car:

1. Batumi to Khulo, then a 4x4: minibuses leave the old bus station at 1 Mayakovsky St every 30 minutes from 08:00 to 20:00, about 2.5 hours, 10 GEL (our transport page). In Khulo, 4x4 drivers wait in the centre: 70 to 100 GEL a car to the resort, the same range the national tourism administration gives.
2. The seasonal bus to the resort: in 2025-26 a bus left the old bus station in Batumi in the late morning, around 11:00, for about 25 GEL, and its last stop was in front of Ambassadori (goderdzi.ski). It does not run every day and is cancelled in heavy snow, so ask at the bus station the day before. It arrives in the afternoon, too late for a ski day.

The Khulo Tourist Information Centre, near the cable car station in the centre of Khulo, knows the day's transport and the state of the road above the town.

By private transfer or day tour

A private 4x4 or minivan from Batumi costs from 350 GEL a car one way, 750 GEL for a same-day return and 840 GEL for a return on another day (goderdzi.ski, 2025-26 prices). BatumiLife runs a shared 4x4 transfer that leaves Batumi at 07:00-07:30 and is back at about 20:30: 190 GEL per person for two, 120 GEL each for five or more, paid in cash to the driver. Travel Batumi sells a group day tour at 150 GEL per person, leaving at 06:30 and back at 21:00, with a 40 GEL deposit.

From Kutaisi and Tbilisi

• Kutaisi airport: about 234 km by car via Batumi. The shorter mountain road over Bakhmaro is not a winter route. Without a car, take the airport bus or train to Batumi (about 2 hours, our transport page) and continue from there.
• Tbilisi: in summer the road over the Goderdzi Pass from Akhaltsikhe is 250 to 260 km (MTA). From about mid-December to late April that road is not cleared, so in winter you drive via Kutaisi and Batumi: about 480 km and 8 to 9 hours (goderdzi.ski). Navigation apps still suggest the pass road in winter; ignore them. For the state of the pass in spring and autumn, call the road department on +995 32 2 31 30 76 (our road guide).
• Snowcat from the east: in February and early March 2026 a free snowcat carried passengers and luggage between Utkisubani on the Adigeni side and the resort, twice a day (from Utkisubani at 10:00 and 18:00, from Goderdzi at 09:00 and 17:00), booked by phone. The ride takes about an hour (goderdzi.ski).
• Airport transfer: PVD Club drives Tbilisi airport to Goderdzi for USD 280 and Kutaisi to Goderdzi for USD 300 per vehicle (a 4WD Starex for 10 or a Delica for 7).

Bring cash, your own ski clothes and anything you need from a pharmacy. There is no ATM or exchange office at the resort, and only some places take cards.

• Cash: take out lari in Batumi. Cards work at Ambassadori, Ire Palace and the lift ticket office, but not everywhere else (goderdzi.ski, Nikolai Levshits). Shared transfers and many drivers want cash.
• Clothes: the rental shops rent skis, boards, boots, poles and helmets, not jackets, trousers or gloves (goderdzi.ski).
• Phone signal: a storm in January 2026 cut phone and internet at Alliance Villa for two days. Tell someone your plans and keep an offline map.
• Bad weather: strong wind or fog can stop the upper chairlift. MTA posts the day's lift status in its Instagram stories (MTA FAQ); check it before you drive up.

Stay at the lift base for a ski trip: Ambassadori for a full-service hotel, Ire Palace or Twins for the middle price range, the resort chalets or Alliance Villa for your own kitchen, and a Danisparauli guesthouse for the lowest price. Khulo, 26 km down the road, works for a mixed trip, and in summer Glamping Tago is the base for the whole Goderdzi area.

Glamping Tago (our place): the summer base, April to October

Glamping Tago is on the hill above Village Tago near Khulo, 34 km by road below the Goderdzi lifts, about an hour's drive. We are closed in winter, from November to March, so we are no use for a ski trip. From April to October we are the base for the summer side of Goderdzi: the gondola rides, Green Lake, the Alpine Garden and Beshumi (see the summer section below).

Hotel Ambassadori Goderdzi: five stars, ski-in/ski-out

The biggest hotel at the resort, with 211 rooms and suites right by the gondola, free ski storage, rental and instructors in the building, children's play areas with a nanny service, and the Garden Spa with indoor pools. It runs 2-night Ski and Spa packages, carries its guests up in a snow vehicle for free when the road is snowed in, and in March 2026 let under-18s stay free in their parents' room (Ambassadori).

Hotel Ire Palace Goderdzi: 100 m from the lift

More than 100 rooms on seven floors, 30 to 55 m2, about 100 m from the gondola, with breakfast in every rate and a rental shop in the building (Ire Palace). A double with breakfast starts at 300 GEL a night (Take and Hike's hotel guide). The restaurant is open 12:00 to 23:00 and the bar to midnight.

Goderdzi Twins Hotel: pool, apartments and dorm beds

A four-star building a few minutes' walk from the lift, with an indoor pool, a sauna and a shared kitchen, and a mix of studios, apartments and a 6-bed dorm (Twins Hotel), which makes it the one hotel at the base with dorm beds for a solo skier.

Goderdzi resort chalets and Alliance Villa: your own kitchen

The resort's own wooden chalets at the lift base have double and 4-bed rooms and kitchens but no meals, from 150 GEL a double, and one house takes a group of 20 (Take and Hike). Alliance Villa has 22 studio and duplex apartments with kitchens, 5 to 10 minutes' walk from the lift: Visit Ajara lists 200 GEL for a double, 250 for a triple, 350 for a duplex for four and 400 GEL for a premium duplex for six.

Hotel Arsiani: beyond the lifts, toward the pass

Arsiani stands 5.5 km past the gondola base on the road up to the Goderdzi Pass, on the way to Beshumi. It is quieter than the base and a good summer stop. In winter the hotel takes its guests to the lift by snowcat; confirm it when you book.

Danisparauli guesthouses: the cheapest beds

Danisparauli is the last village below the resort, 5.8 km by road from the gondola and on the way up from Batumi. Its family guesthouses charge from about 40 GEL per person without meals and 60 to 80 GEL with home-cooked meals (Batumelebi, BatumiLife). Hosts often drive guests to the gondola and back, for about 25 GEL; a local 4x4 charges 25 to 30 GEL one way.

Khulo: a town base for a mixed trip

Khulo is 26 km and more than 800 m below the lifts, with shops, cafes and fuel. It suits a group that mixes a ski day with village life, but you drive the hardest part of the road twice a day. Visit Ajara also lists Khikhadziri, Danisparauli, Elelidzeebi and Tago as villages with overnight stays and local food.

In the hotels and a handful of cafes around the gondola base; there is no village of restaurants. The hotel restaurants and cafes are open to everyone.

A bowl of kharcho cost 12 GEL at Family Kitchen by the lift in 2025-26 and 35 GEL in the Ambassadori restaurant, and the snack bars next to the rental shops are the cheapest places to eat (goderdzi.ski). Breakfast at Ire Palace, 09:00 to 11:00, costs 35 GEL per person (Take and Hike). If you have a kitchen, shop in Khulo or Batumi on the way up.

Yes for all three, with limits. Beginners and families get a short practice run, a carpet, instructors and cheap passes; freeriders get deep snow in the trees; piste skiers who want mileage run out of new runs in a day or two.

• Beginners: the 200 m practice run and the 80 m carpet are at the base, and most of the ski area is graded easy. There are few instructors, so book a lesson ahead for a weekend.
• Families: children under 6 ride free and a child day pass costs 15 GEL. Ambassadori has children's play areas with a nanny service. The one drawback is the drive: 3 hours or more each way makes day trips from Batumi long for small children.
• Intermediate skiers: 8 km of runs is enough for a long weekend, not for a week. The snow and the short lift queues make up for the size.
• Freeriders: the fir forest along the runs is the draw, and Journal of Nomads rates the tree skiing for intermediate freeriders. The resort does no avalanche control off the marked runs, so go off-piste only with a guide, beacon, probe and shovel (goderdzi.ski). PVD Club runs a 3-day freeride tour here with avalanche training on the first day and a snowcat or skinning day at the end, and longer ski-touring trips.
• Non-skiers: there is little to do besides snowmobiles, sledging and the hotel spas; Localrent warns about the same.

Gudauri is the big resort, Bakuriani the family resort with a real town, and Goderdzi the small, cheap, snowy one close to Batumi. If you start on the Black Sea coast, Goderdzi is the only one you can ski on a day trip.

The figures are from The Georgian Guide's overview, its Gudauri guide and its Bakuriani guide. Mestia, the fourth MTA resort in Svaneti, charged 50 GEL for a day pass in 2025-26. One season pass at 650 GEL covers all four.

Green and quiet: in summer the gondola and the chairlift carry walkers from 11:00 to 17:00 every day, and the resort is the start for Green Lake, the Alpine Garden and Beshumi. The pass road over to Akhaltsikhe is open, so you can cross to the east of Georgia by car.

• Lifts: the 2026 summer season started on 21 July, with both lifts running daily from 11:00 to 17:00 and tickets at the resort ticket offices (MTA, Ambassadori). The summer lifts ran into early September (goderdzi.ski).
• Flowers: rhododendrons bloom on the Goderdzi slopes in June and July.
• Walking, riding and cycling: Visit Ajara lists hiking, horse riding and cycling around the resort, and the Goderdzi fossil forest of petrified trees.

Green Lake: 8.2 km from the resort, a separate trip

Green Lake lies at 2,058 m, 8.2 km by road from the gondola base: up to the pass, then onto the Goderdzi to Bakhmaro road. It is not on the way from Batumi: as a stop on the Batumi to Goderdzi drive it adds 14 km and about half an hour. From June to October a normal car gets there; in winter the road is under snow. Our Green Lake guide has the details.

Goderdzi Alpine Garden and Beshumi: past the resort

The Goderdzi Alpine Botanical Garden, part of the Batumi Botanical Garden, covers about 9.6 hectares between 1,859 and 1,960 m and is at its best from 15 May to 15 October, open 09:00 to 20:00. It lies 8.9 km beyond the gondola base on the Beshumi road, so it is a separate trip, not a stop on the way up from Batumi. Beshumi, the summer cottage resort, is 12.5 km from the gondola base, past Hotel Arsiani on the Goderdzi Pass to Beshumi road.

Goderdzi from Glamping Tago

From Glamping Tago the resort is 34 km, about an hour by car. Our Green Lake and Beshumi jeep tour crosses the Goderdzi Pass with our own drivers, from spring to autumn, and takes half a day.

• Driving over the pass from Tbilisi in winter. The Akhaltsikhe side is not cleared from about mid-December to late April. Come via Batumi.
• Trusting the rental car. Many rental contracts exclude the Goderdzi Pass road. Get written permission.
• Summer tyres after 1 March. The law stops on 1 March, the snow does not.
• Planning a day trip from Batumi on a snowy day. After a storm the drive can take 4.5 to 6 hours each way. Stay at least one night.
• Booking the opening weekend. The season has started anywhere from 9 to 27 December in the last three years, and at first only the gondola runs.
• Showing up with a QR code. The lift gates need the plastic Multicard (5 GEL deposit).
• Coming without cash. There is no ATM at the resort. Take out lari in Batumi.
• Expecting a ski town. There are hotels and a few cafes, no real shops and no nightlife beyond the hotels.
• Going off-piste alone. There is no avalanche control outside the marked runs.

Two outdoor shops in Batumi rent skis and snowboards, so you can collect them the evening before and skip the queue at the resort. Batumi rental starts at about 60 GEL a day (goderdzi.ski).

Glamping Tago for this

Glamping Tago: your summer base for Goderdzi

We are on the hill above Village Tago near Khulo, 34 km below the Goderdzi lifts. We close for the winter, so we are not a ski base, but from April to October we are the place to stay for the summer side of Goderdzi: the gondola rides, Green Lake, the Alpine Garden and Beshumi.

Our Green Lake and Beshumi jeep tour crosses the Goderdzi Pass with our own drivers, and we arrange the 4x4 up from Khulo (how to get here). Meals are in Yurtalicious, our vegetarian yurt restaurant.

Season

1 April to the end of October; closed in the ski season

Distance to the Goderdzi lifts

34 km, about an hour by car

Drive from Batumi

About 2.5 hours: 85 km of asphalt to Khulo, then 30-35 minutes by 4x4 up to Tago

Beds on site

12 Lotus Belle tents for two plus a nine-bed dorm dome, up to 33 guests

Prices

They change with the date: see today's prices on glampingtago.ge/glamping

Tours

Green Lake and Beshumi jeep tour over the Goderdzi Pass, half a day; today's price on the tours page

See summer datesContact us