Best Things to Do in Tbilisi With Kids

Georgia's one zoo is Tbilisi Zoo, founded in 1927 on Kostava Street, and it's the only zoo or aquarium listed anywhere in Georgia. Budget about two hours there, then add a half day up at Mtatsminda Park's funicular and rides if you want a second kid-friendly stop on the same trip.

What not to miss

Featured location Tbilisi Zoo თბილისი, Georgia The zoo occupies part of the Vere River valley in the city centre. Before the 2015 flood it covered about 120 hectares and kept roughly 300 species, both Caucasian and foreign.

Tbilisi Zoo has been open since 10 February 1927, when it grew out of the Caucasian Animal Acclimatization Society, with separate sections at founding for Caucasian animals, other Soviet-territory species, exotics and farm animals. Its animals are grouped today under five headings -- mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish -- and its species pages name a West Caucasian tur conservation programme among them.

Its Exotarium, a small marine aquarium that opened in 2007, was the first of its kind anywhere in the Caucasus. Entry costs a little on top of the zoo ticket (see below).

The grounds you'll actually walk are smaller than that history suggests. A flood on 13 June 2015 destroyed a third of the site and killed three staff, and the original Kostava Street zoo now covers about 5 hectares. A new, 48-hectare zoo has been under construction since 2016 next to the Tbilisi Sea reservoir, but as of the zoo's own site it hasn't opened to visitors yet -- every visit today is still to the smaller, older grounds.

Tickets and getting there

As of September 2026, zoo admission is free for under-3s, 2 lari for ages 3-12, and 4 lari for ages 12 and up. The Exotarium costs extra: free for under-3s, 1 lari for ages 3-12, and 2 lari for ages 12 and up. Socially vulnerable visitors and people with disabilities are admitted free with the relevant documentation.

The zoo is at M. Kostava Street No. 64, in central Tbilisi.

Best time to visit

The zoo opens every day, including weekends and public holidays, though its hours shift through the year: 10am-7pm from November to March, 10am-8pm from March to June, and 10am-9pm at its longest from June to September. The ticket counter stops selling an hour before closing, so don't plan on rushing in right at the end of the day.

With kids and accessibility

Pets aren't allowed inside, so this isn't a stop for the family dog. Disabled visitors are admitted free with the relevant documentation, and questions the site doesn't answer -- such as accessibility for a specific visit -- can go to zoo@zoo.ge.

If two hours at the zoo isn't enough of a day out, Mtatsminda Park -- up on the hill above the city -- makes a natural second stop for kids. It's reached by a funicular built in 1905 that climbs 501 metres to 770 metres elevation, and once you're up there the rides include carousels, water slides, a roller coaster, a dark ride, a 65-metre Ferris wheel and a horror-themed Ghost Castle. It isn't a wildlife venue, but it's the obvious pairing for a family day that starts at the zoo.