Cheated out of $100. It was a terrible experience on the first day of arrival in the city.
I went to exchange dollars for lari in the rain. Approaching the exchanger, the guy who was sitting there saw that I wanted to enter the room, knocked on the glass, saying, "let's go outside." I thought it was weird, but okay, I was carrying an umbrella.
I gave away $520 and received about GEL 1,150 (that's if I had given $420). I counted it 3 times, I was upset, but I didn't argue, because that's what a foreigner can do. Even when he was counting money, it was not possible to see the numbers on the calculating machine through the window, as they are visible only from inside the room. It's the same with a calculator.
As a result, I can advise you to always exchange only from inside the room, so that the display of the calculating machine and calculator are clearly visible, but by no means from the street.
I advise you to change the money at the exchanger on David the Builder Street near the metro on the square, in other areas the exchange rate will be much lower. Verified.
I confirm, the most profitable course.
If you are traveling by car, change 2-3 thousand at the border (there is the most horse-drawn course), this will be enough for you to get to Tbilisi. Car insurance is done for rubles and as of September 2024 it cost 1,900rubles. Change the rest here. This way you will lose the least on the exchange. And yes, at the moment it is more profitable in Georgia to change rubles rather than dollars.