Transporting the deceased to the regions of Georgia - from Tbilisi to the village and back, 24/7

Situations in which families need regional transport

• Burial in the home village: the person died in Tbilisi, but the family is burying them in Imereti, Kakheti, Samegrelo or Racha, in the family grave.
• From a region to the capital: the death happened in a clinic in Kutaisi, Batumi or Gori, while the funeral is planned at a Tbilisi cemetery.
• A farewell in two stages: first a flat or a funeral hall in Tbilisi, so that colleagues and city friends have a chance to come, and then, from the second day, the family house where the whole village gathers.
• Between two regions: for example, someone was on holiday in Borjomi while their family lives in Zugdidi.

Each of these journeys has its own rhythm. A two-stage farewell, for instance, means the hearse waits in Tbilisi for the first part of the mourning and then sets off on a timetable agreed with the family, so that relatives in the village know exactly when to expect the coffin. A journey from a regional hospital usually starts with paperwork at the clinic. We plan each of these with you rather than applying one fixed routine.

Destinations and approximate prices

The price is based on mileage: the distance from Tbilisi to the destination, multiplied by two because the vehicle has to return to base, and then by 1.5 GEL. Rustavi and Mtskheta, which sit right next to Tbilisi, are charged at the city rate. Below are the most common destinations; for your particular village we work out the exact figure over the phone.

The rate covers the driver, two members of staff, fuel, the refrigerated compartment running throughout, and the crew will wait at the destination for as long as two hours. Night journeys, weekends and public holidays do not push the price up. If a refrigerated coffin, a funeral tent or chairs need to go to the village as well, they travel in the same hearse or at the same per-kilometre rate, so you are not paying for a separate delivery.

Preparing for a long journey

Preparing the body

For a trip of up to two hours, say to Gori or Telavi, the hearse's refrigerated compartment and standard sanitary preparation are enough. If the road takes longer than three hours, or the farewell in the village will go on for another two or three days, we recommend embalming. It keeps the body in good condition throughout the time the coffin travels from Tbilisi to the family house and while the memorial services (panikhida, the Orthodox prayers for the departed) are held there. In summer heat, especially on the way to western Georgia, embalming is practically essential.

Route and mountain passes

The driver talks the route through with the family the evening before departure. Heading west, the road runs over the Rikoti section, which in winter is often foggy and snowy, so at that time of year we plan an early-morning start. Towards Stepantsminda in winter the hearse crosses the Jvari (Cross) Pass on snow chains, and if the road is closed we warn the family ahead of time and settle on a new departure. In Kakheti during winter we often skip the Gombori pass and go round via Sagarejo and Gurjaani instead.

Travelling with the family

The hearse cabin seats two to four relatives, and our extended vehicle takes up to six. For everyone else we provide a bus that follows the hearse the whole way. We stop wherever the family wishes, and if they want to pause at a church or at the edge of the village before driving in, we build that into the plan in advance.

From the first phone call to the village cemetery

1. Call and estimate: the operator asks where the journey starts, which village it ends in, on which day, and how many relatives will travel. From the village name we calculate the distance and give you the total immediately.
2. Documents: before departure our representative visits the registry office known as the Public Service Hall (in everyday Georgian speech, the House of Justice) to collect the death certificate, so that there are no questions at the village cemetery or the church. Both certificates, medical and civil, travel in the hearse with the driver.
3. Preparation: sanitary preparation or embalming, dressing and placing in the coffin are all done in Tbilisi, so your loved one arrives in the village ready for the farewell.
4. The journey: the hearse leaves at the agreed time with the family following. The driver phones ahead to the village to say when he will arrive, so that people are waiting in the yard.
5. In the village: the team sets up the coffin in the house or the courtyard, installs a cooling unit if needed, and checks together with the family that everything is ready for the day of the funeral.
6. Funeral day: should the family want it, the same hearse carries the coffin from the village to the church and the cemetery, and we either find gravediggers locally or bring a crew from Tbilisi.

Arrangements on the village side

Village funerals follow their own rules, and families often know them better than we do. Even so, a few matters are worth settling in advance so that nothing catches the family off guard at the graveside:

• A place in the cemetery: in a village this tends to be settled by the local community, someone from the municipality or the parish church. Our coordinator contacts them on the family's behalf.
• Gravediggers: in many villages it is a tradition that neighbours dig the grave. Where that is not possible, our grave-digging crew arrives the day before and prepares it.
• The priest: families usually arrange things with the village priest themselves; if there is no resident priest, we ring the nearest church.
• Electricity: power cuts are common in high mountain villages, so there we bring a self-contained cooling unit that runs for eight hours without mains power.

If you are not sure who to speak to in the village, tell us the name of a relative or neighbour who lives there, and the coordinator will take it from there. We also keep the family in the loop about every agreement made, so nobody has to repeat the same conversation twice.

Bringing a loved one from a region to Tbilisi

When a death occurs in a regional hospital, the family is quite often in Tbilisi, and getting there takes the whole day. In that case our team drives out from Tbilisi, collects the medical certificate from the clinic administration, takes charge of the body and brings it back to the capital - to the family home, a funeral hall or a cold storage chamber. A family member only needs to sign the papers at the clinic or, if they cannot get there, issue a power of attorney that allows our staff member to act in their place. The rate is the same: mileage in both directions.

Reasons not to use your own or a hired vehicle

Some families think about saving money by taking their loved one in a relative's minibus or four-by-four. We advise against it, and not only because it is our line of work. An ordinary vehicle has no refrigerated compartment, so even a two-hour summer drive affects the condition of the body and can rule out an open-coffin farewell in the village. In an ordinary cabin the coffin cannot be secured and slides on bends, a sight that is hard on grieving relatives. At a roadside police check the driver must have the death certificate and a document from the transport organisation; without them a delay can stretch to hours. And finally, on that day a family member behind the wheel is not a driver but a mourner, and a long, sometimes mountainous road is dangerous for them.

Sample costs: a village funeral in Imereti

For a funeral in a village near Kutaisi, where the body travels from Tbilisi and the farewell in the village lasts two days, typical costs look like this: the hearse there and back at about 690 GEL, embalming from 350 GEL, a self-contained cooling unit for two days at 260 GEL, and delivery to the village in the same hearse with no separate trip. The coffin and accessories depend on your choice. Families usually do not have to pay for a plot in village ground, and the kelekhi - the memorial feast that follows a Georgian burial - is laid on by the family and neighbours in the village way.

If you prefer, we can put all of this into a written estimate before the hearse leaves Tbilisi, so the relatives sharing the costs can see each line. Anything the village provides itself, such as tables or a tent from the community hall, simply drops out of the estimate.

Frequently asked questions