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For somebody wanting to travel from Baku to Western Europe, flying out of Kutaisi Airport seems to be the cheapest option in the South Caucasus region. However, the borders of Azerbaijan remain closed to incoming human traffic. For that reason, there is no direct bus from Baku to Tbilisi (from which city there is an excellent bus service connecting you to any flights from Kutaisi Airport).

So I am under the impression that you could get the bus from Baku to the Red Bridge, walk across into Georgia at the Red Bridge, and catch a bus or Marschrutka from the border to Tbilisi.

Say my bus from Tbilisi to Kutaisi Airport leaves at 22:30. (This late bus maximizes the time available to get from Baku to Tbilisi.) How does the journey from Baku to Tbilisi look in practice? (Perhaps you need to have made the trip yourself to answer this question: I need information which isn't readily available on the internet such as What is the latest connection from Red Bridge to Tbilisi? Can you pre-book tickets for it, or is it a Marshrutka? Can you make the trip later in the evening by first taking a Marshrutka from Red Bridge to Rustavi, and then some kind of public transport from Rustavi to Tbilisi?)

Edit: I phoned Baku International Bus Station and they said there is a bus going to Red Bridge every hour, that the bus takes 8 hours, and that I could therefore leave on the 08:00 bus from Baku and arrive in Red Bridge at 16:00. I am therefore mainly interested in the section of the route from Red Bridge to Mtisdziri (which is connected to Tbilisi by bus even in the evening) or Tbilisi, or from Rustavi to Tbilisi (which I would imagine has a Marshrutka running in the evening)+Red Bridge-Rustavi (which I think might not have a bus/Marshrutka connection). I am also interested whether it is possible to hitchhike with a rucksack at night in that area.

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  • I messaged a restaurant in close to Red Bridge & they seem to be saying that the Red Bridge-Rustavi Marshrutka is not in operation. Taxi to Mtisdziri and then bus to Tbilisi (€15) might be affordable, or an extra €5 for taxi all the way to Tbilisi might save me 50 minutes of time. I am always wary of taking a taxi however because in various Balkan countries and Azerbaijan is that they try to overcharge me. (Although my experience of Georgian taxis has always been positive). Is there a taxi rank at Red Bridge? Do you think these taxis would more likely than average to overcharge foreigners?
    – novice
    Commented Dec 18, 2023 at 6:29
  • In my experience you can hitchhike at night around Dedoplistskaro but in certain other parts of Georgia hitchhiking at night with a rucksack does not seem to be the done thing and can result in you getting picked up by police. I would be interested whether anybody has experience of hitchhiking at night from Red Bridge to Mtisdziri or to Tbilisi.
    – novice
    Commented Dec 18, 2023 at 6:30

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