Covering the whole city from one base
Our head office, with the hearses parked alongside, occupies 10 Zakaria Paliashvili Street in Vake, a short drive from the centre; from that base every district is less than forty-five minutes away. On top of that come seven funeral halls in five districts: two in Saburtalo, one in Vake, two in Didube, one in Gldani and one on the Isani-Samgori side of the city. That means the nearest hall is under twenty minutes from almost anywhere in Tbilisi, and the crew, the coffin and the refrigerated coffin all arrive in the same vehicle - nobody has to make a separate call.
At night, with the streets empty, arrival time drops to about half an hour almost everywhere. During the day, and especially on weekday mornings and evenings, the main avenues are jammed, so the operator gives you a realistic time rather than an ideal one. If the crew is held up on the way, the team leader will ring you personally with the new time.
Districts side by side
| District | Crew arrival and nearest hall | To Mukhatgverdi and the main local feature |
|---|---|---|
| Saburtalo | up to half an hour; two of our own halls in the district | twenty to thirty-five minutes; the office is a short walk away, tower blocks with cramped lifts, Vashlijvari cemetery close by |
| Vake | half an hour, up to forty minutes at rush hour; a hall with a terrace in the district | thirty to forty minutes; old buildings without lifts, family graves at Vake cemetery, children often living abroad |
| Didube and Dighomi | up to thirty-five minutes; the largest hall in the city, seating two hundred, with a wake room | ten to fifteen minutes from Dighomi, the shortest route in town; relatives arrive at Didube bus station |
| Nadzaladevi | up to forty minutes; a hall in Didube or Gldani ten to fifteen minutes away | twenty to thirty-five minutes; the steep climbs of Temka, the railway station and night trains |
| Gldani | up to forty minutes; our own hall for a hundred and twenty people | twenty-five to forty minutes; numbered micro-districts, funerals held in the courtyard, family graves in villages |
| Isani and Samgori | up to forty-five minutes; a hall and a wake room in the same courtyard | forty-five to sixty minutes; the airport fifteen minutes away, the Kakheti highway |
| Varketili | up to forty-five minutes; the hall towards Isani-Samgori, up to twenty minutes off | fifty to sixty minutes; small flats, the slope of Upper Varketili, the last metro station on the line |
| Mtatsminda | up to thirty-five minutes; the nearest hall is in Vake | half an hour to forty minutes; steep streets, historic houses with no lift |
| Chugureti | within thirty-five minutes; the hall on the Didube side | twenty to thirty minutes; the old Kukia cemetery, courtyards with shared balconies, the central railway station |
| Krtsanisi | up to forty minutes; the hall towards Isani-Samgori | forty to fifty minutes; private houses and yards, farewells under a marquee |
What stays the same in every district
Logistics vary from one district to the next, but our standards are identical across the city. That matters, because agencies in outlying areas sometimes add a surcharge or simply do a poorer job.
- One price for the whole of Tbilisi: the hearse, the refrigerated coffin, the crew and the paperwork cost exactly the same in Vake as in Varketili, with no travel supplement within city limits.
- Floor and lift make no difference to the price: a fourteenth floor without a lift is charged the same as the ground floor, and the extra staff are part of the standard service.
- Day and night: the operator, the crew and the coordinator work in shifts, with no night-time mark-up.
- One coordinator: whichever districts the farewell, the hall and the cemetery happen to be in, the family speaks to one person from the first call to the wake.
- A written estimate: the sum is fixed while you are still on the phone and stays put once the crew is on site.
What depends on the district and how we prepare
Type of building
The city has four main kinds of housing, and the crew prepares differently for each. Old two- and three-storey houses have narrow staircases and wooden floors, so we bring flexible stretchers and boards to lay down. Soviet-era tower blocks have small lifts or lifts that get stuck, so the crew grows to six people. New residential complexes mean arranging access with security and using the service lift. Private houses come with narrow lanes, courtyards and the need for a self-powered refrigerated coffin. The operator finds out the type of building in the first minutes of the call, so the right crew and equipment are sent.
Distance to the cemetery
From the western and northern districts Mukhatgverdi is half an hour away, from the east up to an hour. The longer the journey, the more it matters to have a bus for mourners, a departure time that avoids the traffic, and a wake venue placed to spare everyone a second trip across the city.
Who arrives, and how
Relatives heading for the northern districts often come through Didube bus station or by rail, those heading east come via the airport or along the Kakheti road, while most people reach the centre by metro or in their own car. With that in mind, we offer to meet guests at the station or the terminal and to run a bus from a metro stop.
Local customs
On the big housing estates the farewell is often held in the courtyard, under a marquee, with neighbours closely involved. In the central districts families more often choose a hall or a small gathering at home. In the east, different religious rites sit side by side on the same street. Our coordinators know these differences and never press a single template on a family.
Death in one district, family in another
People quite often die somewhere other than where they lived: in a hospital in Saburtalo or Vake, while visiting their children on another estate, or simply out in the street, far from home. In that moment the family is bewildered - where to go, whom to call, where to hold the farewell. The answer is simple and always the same: the farewell takes place where it suits the family and the people coming to pay their respects, not where the death happened.
- From hospital to home: the crew receives the body at the clinic, collects the medical certificate and takes your loved one to the district where the family lives, from any corner of the city to any other at the same rate.
- From someone else's flat: if the person died at a son's, a daughter's or another relative's home, the family alone decides where the farewell will be - in that flat, in their own home or in a neutral hall.
- Outdoors, or somewhere public: the police and forensic examiners become involved, and we collect the body from the forensic bureau and bring it wherever the family asks.
In all three cases the family needs to make a single call. The fact that the place of death and the place of farewell are in different districts changes neither the price nor the timing, and the coordinator brings both addresses into one plan.
Outlying settlements and neighbouring towns
The ten areas above cover most of the city's residents, but we work everywhere, including the places listed below. The terms and prices are the same; outside the city a mileage charge is added.
- Tskneti and Betania: settlements in the hills above the city, with private houses and mountain roads that are often snowy in winter. We bring a self-powered refrigerated coffin and add one extra person to the crew.
- Mtskheta: north of the city, in the direction of Mukhatgverdi. A crew arrives within the hour, at the Tbilisi rate with no travel charge.
- Rustavi: to the south-east, a crew within the hour, the same rate. Many Rustavi families bury their loved ones in Tbilisi cemeteries, and we work in both directions.
Choosing a hall in another district
If there is no hall of ours in your district, the choice comes down to three questions: where most of the mourners live, which cemetery has been chosen, and whether you will need to find a separate place for the wake. A family from Nadzaladevi burying at Mukhatgverdi and expecting a lot of guests, for example, will be better served by the large hall in Didube: the wake is in the same building and the road to the cemetery is shorter. For a family from Varketili that has chosen a cemetery in the east, the hall in Isani-Samgori makes more sense. Following this logic, the coordinator will suggest two options, and the final decision always rests with the family.
Frequently asked questions
Which districts of Tbilisi do you cover?
All of them, with no difference in price within the city limits. Ten areas have their own detailed pages, and in Tskneti, Betania and other outlying settlements we work on exactly the same terms.
Is it more expensive in a distant district?
No. Inside the city the hearse, the refrigerated coffin and the crew cost the same in every district. A travel charge appears only beyond the city boundary: one and a half lari (GEL) per kilometre, counted both ways.
Where can you get to fastest?
Saburtalo and Vake, within half an hour, because the office and the fleet are based in Vake, on Paliashvili Street. Varketili and Isani-Samgori are furthest, up to forty-five minutes. At night we are quicker everywhere.
There is no hall of yours in my district. What should I do?
From almost anywhere, the nearest hall is less than twenty minutes away. The coordinator will recommend whichever is most convenient for the cemetery and the mourners, and our own hearse will transfer the body.
Do you work in Rustavi and Mtskheta?
Yes, and both towns have their own pages. A crew arrives within the hour, at the Tbilisi price with no charge for the journey. We also arrange funerals in Tbilisi cemeteries for residents of both towns.
Which cemetery gives the best chance of a new plot?
Mukhatgverdi, the city's largest cemetery, allocates new plots most regularly. The old central cemeteries accept burials only in existing family graves. Which plots are free we confirm as soon as you contact us, case by case.
The city is large, but no district is too far for us. All we need from you is an address. Tell the operator who answers +995 568 33 03 18 where you are, and you will hear when the crew will really arrive, which hall is closest and which route leads to the cemetery, with an estimate identical to anywhere else in Tbilisi.