Sulfur Baths in Tbilisi: Which to Choose, Prices, Booking and Rules

Almost all of Tbilisi's sulfur baths are in Abanotubani, the old bathhouse district at the foot of Narikala Fortress. Most visitors book a private room for their group. A room costs between 120 and 600 lari an hour, and that price covers the whole room rather than each person.

At the moment the only shared hall known to be open, with separate sections for men and women, is at Bathhouse No. 5, where an hour costs 10 lari for men and 6 lari for women. The water in the pools is hot, around 38-40°C, so the baths are not suitable for pregnant women or for people with heart conditions or high blood pressure.

How the sulfur baths in Tbilisi work

The bathhouses sit directly on top of hot sulfur springs, and most of them are built underground. From the street you see only their brick domes, and you can walk between them across the roofs. The one building that stands out is Chreli Abano, also known as the Orbeliani Bath, with its colorful tiled facade.

Abanotubani is often called a sulfur bath complex, but it is a historic neighborhood rather than a single venue. About a dozen separate bathhouses operate there, each with its own entrance, its own prices and its own booking system.

Georgia's National Tourism Administration lists five of them as the best known: Chreli Abano, King Erekle's Bath, Royal Bath, Gulo's Thermal Spa and Bathhouse No. 5.

A private room usually has a lounge, a changing area and a hot sulfur pool. The more expensive rooms also have a cold plunge pool and a sauna. The shared halls have showers with sulfur water, and the men's hall at Bathhouse No. 5 has a pool as well.

The water smells of rotten eggs because of the hydrogen sulfide it contains. It also carries dissolved calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium.

Which bathhouse to choose and what it costs

The prices for Chreli Abano, King Erekle's and Royal Bath come from the official price lists published on the bathhouses' websites as of October 2026. Gulo's and Bathhouse No. 5 have no websites of their own, so their prices are based on recent visitor reports and may be different by the time you arrive.

The minimum booking is 1 hour. The price stays the same no matter how many people come, but you cannot bring more guests than the room is designed for. That makes a group of 4-6 people the best value, since a 200 lari room works out at about 35-50 lari per person.

If you want to try the baths cheaply and without booking, go to the shared hall at Bathhouse No. 5. Keep in mind that the women's hall there has no pool and offers only showers with sulfur water.

What costs extra

The signature treatment is called kisi. An attendant scrubs your body with a coarse mitt and then washes the dead skin away with soap foam. At Chreli Abano and King Erekle's a kisi scrub lasts 30 minutes and costs 20 lari, and you can only pay for it in cash. At Bathhouse No. 5 the scrub is cheaper and costs about 10 lari.

A massage at Chreli Abano costs from 100 lari for 30 minutes, while at King Erekle's it starts at 85 lari. Towels, sheets and slippers are not included in the room price. They are sold on site, but it is cheaper to bring your own.

Tipping the attendant is optional, but people usually leave an extra 5-10 lari after a kisi scrub.

How to book a bathhouse

Rooms for evenings and weekends get booked up in advance, so reserve at least a day ahead for a weekday visit and 2-3 days ahead for a weekend. The baths are at their quietest on weekday mornings.

Chreli Abano and King Erekle's belong to the same company and share a booking line. Both take bookings on their websites, by phone on +995 32 293 00 93 and in person. Same-day bookings cannot be made online, so if you want a room today you need to call or walk in.

These two bathhouses refund 80% of the price if you cancel an online booking 1-2 working days in advance, but later cancellations are not refunded. Royal Bath takes bookings on its website and on WhatsApp at +995 555 50 22 00, and Gulo's takes bookings through WhatsApp as well.

Arrive 15-20 minutes before your booking starts. Your time slot will not be extended, because the room is cleaned and prepared for the next guests as soon as you leave.

Who should avoid the baths

The water in the pools is heated to about 38-40°C. The bathhouses themselves advise pregnant women and people with heart disease or blood pressure problems not to bathe. The UK's National Health Service (NHS) also advises pregnant women to avoid hot baths of around 40°C, especially during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Drinking alcohol before or during a visit is dangerous, because in hot water it makes you drowsy and can cause you to faint. If you have a chronic illness, check with your doctor before you go.

People usually stay in the hot pool for 10-15 minutes at a time, cooling off in cold water or under the shower between sessions and drinking plenty of water. If you feel dizzy, get out of the pool straight away.

Silver jewelry tarnishes in sulfur water, so it is best to take it off before you go in.

Rules and etiquette

In the shared halls men and women bathe separately. Locals usually bathe naked, but nobody will stop you from wearing a swimsuit. Taking photos of other visitors in the shared halls is not allowed.

Children are only allowed in private rooms, and they should spend less time in the hot water than adults do. The bathhouses do not publish any official age limits.

At Chreli Abano you can bring your own food and drinks into the room, except for fish and seafood. Smoking inside the bathhouses is prohibited, just as it is in any other building.

How to get to the baths

The nearest metro station is Avlabari. From there it is about 1 km to Abanotubani, roughly a 15-minute walk downhill across the Metekhi Bridge, though the way back is uphill. From Freedom Square station the walk through the Old Town takes about 20 minutes. A metro ride, like any trip on public transport in Tbilisi, costs 1 lari with a Metromoney card.

The easiest way to get a taxi in Georgia is through an app, and a ride from the city center to the baths costs 4-7 lari.

Behind Chreli Abano a gorge leads to the 22 m Leghvtakhevi Waterfall, and the cable car up to Narikala Fortress leaves from close by.

Street crime in Georgia is low, but pickpockets do operate in the Old Town, so it is best to leave your passport and large sums of money at your accommodation.

A little history

Legend has it that the city owes its existence to the hot springs. In the 5th century King Vakhtang Gorgasali was out hunting when his falcon chased a pheasant, and the pheasant fell into a hot spring. The king ordered a city to be built around it, and the name Tbilisi comes from the Georgian word "tbili", which means "warm".

In the Middle Ages the city had about 65 bathhouses. Alexander Pushkin visited them in 1829 and wrote: "Never in my life, neither in Russia nor in Turkey, have I come across anything more luxurious than the baths of Tiflis."

Alexandre Dumas went to the baths every other day during his stay in 1858 and wondered why Paris had nothing like them. Neither writer named a specific bathhouse, so the claims that they bathed at Chreli Abano or Royal Bath remain no more than legend.

Key takeaways

• Tbilisi's sulfur baths are in the Abanotubani district, and almost all of them rent out private rooms.
• A room costs 120-600 lari an hour for the whole group, and the only shared hall is at Bathhouse No. 5, where an hour costs 10 lari for men and 6 lari for women.
• A kisi scrub costs 10-20 lari and is paid in cash, and it is cheaper to bring your own towels and slippers.
• For a weekend, book a room 2-3 days ahead and arrive 15-20 minutes before your slot starts.
• The water is heated to 38-40°C, so the baths are not suitable for pregnant women or people with heart or blood pressure problems.