Batumi

Batumi is the capital city of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara in the country of Georgia. Batumi's coastal location and sub-tropical climate make it a popular holiday destination. It's the party capital of the region, with a nightlife to match, which increasingly includes big name international DJs on the beachfront clubs.

Understand
Expect to party on the beaches with Russians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Iranians, Turks, Dutch, Germans, and, of course, Georgians.

Also, Batumi has an interesting architecture, mixing modern attempts with old architecture.

Climate
Batumi and its vicinity is one of the important tourism and resort zones on the Georgian Black Sea littoral. The climate is humid subtropical. The low annual range of temperature, with a mild winter and warm summer is a characteristic of the city and of the Georgian coast as well. The average annual temperature is 14.5°C. The average temperature in January, the coldest month, is 7.1°C and in August, the warmest month, 23.2°C. The annual precipitation is 2,560 mm. Showers are frequent. It rarely snows but when it does, the snow melts easily. The average annual temperature of the sea is 16.7°C at the shore.

Talk
The official and majority language is Georgian. Nonetheless, English, Russian, and Turkish are also commonly spoken. Russian is spoken by most older Georgians, while English is spoken by many (though hardly most) younger ones. In addition, because of the large number of Turkish tourists, it's not uncommon for locals to speak Turkish, or at least simple Turkish phrases.

By plane


The following airlines operate service to Batumi International Airport:


 * Air Arabia (Sharjah) (seasonal)
 * Aircompany Armenia (Yerevan)
 * Belavia (Minsk)
 * Buta Airways (Baku)
 * flydubai (Dubai) (seasonal)
 * flynas (Dammam (seasonal), Jeddah (seasonal), Riyadh)
 * Georgian Airways (Tbilisi, Ben Gurion International Airport / Tel Aviv (seasonal), Yerevan (seasonal))
 * Pegasus Airlines (Istanbul-Sabina Gokcen)
 * SCAT Airlines (Aktau (seasonal), Astana)
 * SkyUp (Kyiv-Boryspil, Kharkiv (seasonal), Lviv (seasonal), Odesa (seasonal), Zaporizhzhia (seasonal).
 * Sundor Airlines (Tel Aviv) (seasonal)
 * Turkish Airlines (Istanbul-New Airport)
 * Vanilla Sky Airlines (Tbilisi)
 * Yanair (Kyiv-Zhuliany, Kharkiv (seasonal), Lviv (seasonal), Odesa (seasonal))

By bus
There are three bus/marshrutka stations in Batumi:

From specific destinations:
 * Tbilisi – Buses and marshrutkas operate regularly between Batumi and Tbilisi: 6-7 hr. 40 lari (Sep 2022). The scenery along the way is breathtaking.
 * Akhaltsikhe (via Khashuri) – 08:30, and 11:30. 6 hr. 20 lari.
 * Akhaltsikhe (via Khulo, Jun-Aug) – 10:00. 6 hr. 18 lari.
 * Borjomi – 1-2 early ones. 4½ hr. 17 lari.

From Turkey: Daily buses also operate between Trabzon or Istanbul and Batumi (or Sarpi), with stops in Rize and the border crossing at Sarpi. Some coming from/going to Tbilisi. Check out Metro Turizm and Lüks Karadeniz. (Make sure you meet all visa requirements before crossing the border into Georgia.) Buses will generally wait for you the other side of the border, but marshrutkas are less reliable. From Sarpi you can take a minibus for 2 lari to bring you the short distance to the center of Batumi. The border in Sarpi is open 24/7.

By car
Batumi is on the E70 and S2 roads, which stretch north to Poti, and south into Turkey and along the Turkish coast to Samsun. The E97 road connects Batumi with Abkhazia, Russia and Crimea to the north, and also to Trabzon, Rize and Aşkale in Turkey to the south.

By train


Georgian Railways operates several daily (+one night) fast trains between Batumi and Tbilisi. During the summer, an extra train Batumi-Tbilisi-Yerevan also operates. There are also slow trains to Kutaisi and Ozgureti, one pair each. Daily trains are typical by western standards. For the night trains, there are 3 classes: In first class, there are two people per cabin, the berths are a little short, narrow and hard but rather comfortable, and linen is provided. First class costs 40 lari, second class costs 23 lari, seats cost 13 lari (do not rely on the latter though, a check at the station in March '19 suggests that this option is not always available). Since the schedule changes quite often, you can check before hand on the Georgian Railways website - be careful with the simplified version of the timetable - the Georgian version tends to be updated more often than the foreign ones (check the last update timestamp on both to be sure). However, the ticket booking system always has correct times.

Train tickets can be bought online, which is the easiest as trains tend to fill up fast (except local ones). You can do it at the station or from an office in the old town at 5 General Mazniashvili St (between Melashvili and Abashidze). This office is very plain and nondescript with no signs in English. The door and window frames are green and some metal chairs are visible inside. Hours are 09:00 to 18:00.

Unless taking the slow train to/from Kutaisi or Ozgureti, reserve your seats in advance on the weekends, as many Georgians flock to the seaside.

By boat
Ferries run from Sochi, Russia and from Ilyichevsk, near Odesa, Ukraine (US$145, 42 hours, irregular service). More boats are operated from Poti (5 lari with marshrutka and take one hour). It's a kind of Freighter travel. Probably best to call first to make inquiries, to avoid coming back from Poti empty-handed. The booking office is on Kutaisi 34, but the staff only speaks Russian and are not very helpful.

A boat operates between Sochi, Russia to Batumi, Georgia. It is a high speed hydrofoil which operates three times a week: W 10:30, F 09:30, Su 10:30. In 2010, the cost was ₽3,500 for adults and ₽1,750 for children. The number is +7-8622-609-622 or +7-918-409-12-96. Sochi port schedule

Two ferry lines run from Bulgaria at the farthest rim of the Black Sea: from Burgas (by PB Management) and Varna (by Navibulgar). The target market of these ferries is freight traffic so foot passengers and light vehicles are served on an availability basis. They have infrequent departures, from twice weekly to once every 10 days, and the crossing takes about three days.

By bus
There is the usual choice of marshrutkas crossing the city in all directions. The newer city buses require a Batumi Card to be ridden. Yandex Maps has inner city bus connections for Batumi.

By bicycle
An automatic bike sharing scheme, called BatumVelo is available to rent bicycles and ride along the beaches.

Do
Walk along the 'Bulvar' and watch the beach. During daytime families and youngsters play, during nighttime it is the favourite place for couples and party-goers. There are a number of restaurants and bars both on the beach and a little inland. The area is generally safe, but watch out for pick-pocketing. Batumi also has many casinos, for visitors so inclined. These tend to have an over-21 policy.



Hiking




Buy
The main (open-air) food and clothes market in the city is on the Eastern side, near the sea on the main (Chavchavadze) street. In poor weather the sellers move down side streets under umbrellas and are harder to spot, but still there. Vegetables and grains are much cheaper here than at the smaller indoor 'markets' dotted around the city.

As per usual in Georgia, prices are almost always slightly higher in the supermarkets than in the small family-run shops. This is counter to what most westerners will be used to. The difference is about 5–10%.



Eat
Western Georgia has plenty of local flavours, and a local specialty is a type of khachapuri named acharuli khachapuri (Ajarian khachapuri) that resembles a Viking boat, with the cheese all mixed up with an egg in the centre.

The (vegan) Georgian classic, lobiani (kidney bean paste in bread or pastry) is available at any small bakery around the city. Most are 1 lari but can be up to 1.50. Perhaps the best lobianis in the city are sold just north of the cross section of K. Gamsakhurdia and V. Gorgasali streets, in a nondescript bakery opposite Carpisa and Georgian Kitchen. Unlike other doughy lobianis in the city, they are triangular with flaky pastry. 1.20 lari (Mar 2019).

Budget
All these are in the city center:

Sleep
Batumi increasingly attracts investors and well heeled visitors from Russia, Iran and Central Asia. The emphasis is on casinos and luxury hotels. Prices vary depending on proximity to the beach and level of service provided, but mostly depending on the season. For private accommodation, prices are from 40 lari for a double room including breakfast. But in winter you might get lucky and have one for 20 lari.

Mid-range




Stay safe
Batumi is generally quite safe. Drivers are more careful than in Tbilisi and the police are reliable for the high number of tourists coming through the city. However, more caution should be taken with street beggars than in Tbilisi. Very young children are often used as pickpockets, especially around the area just south of Batumi Piazza, and beggars are generally more aggressive than in the capital.

Laundry
Many hostels and apartments have washing machines, but laundry and dry cleaning services are available.



Go next

 * Khulo — village in the mountains of Ajara, 3 hr drive east of Batumi
 * Kobuleti — sleepy nearby coastal town
 * Sarpi — border village with Turkey, 15 km south of Batumi
 * Tbilisi — the capital of Georgia
 * Kutaisi — historically the capital of western Georgia, Kutaisi is a must visit for its two UNESCO World Heritage sites
 * Zugdidi — stopping off point on the way to Mestia and Svaneti. Marshrutkas run from the bus station.

Armenia

 * Direct trains to Yerevan run daily during summertime. The train leaves at 15:35 and you'll arrive to Yerevan around 07:30. Second class (coupe, 4 people) costs 93 lari.

Turkey

 * Direct buses from the terminal to various cities in Turkey. Coaches to Istanbul 60-80 lari depending on operator.
 * Trabzon, Turkey – From the old bus terminal, near the centre, there is a marshrutka that runs by Rize until Trabzon for 65 TL (June 2021)