Batumi and the Black Sea: a three-day tour from Tbilisi
Batumi is the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, with around 170,000 residents, and the only Georgian city where a subtropical climate, the sea and the mountains sit half an hour apart. Below is the three-day schedule hour by hour, the exact distances, the accommodation and what is and is not in the price - so you know the whole tour before you book it.
- 2-3 daysDuration
- ~370 km from TbilisiDistance
- June-SeptemberSwimming season
- 1-7 peopleGroup
The schedule, day by day
Read the pair as day then hour. What follows is the three-day plan; shorten it to two and Gonio has to share a day with the mountains, which turns a relaxed trip into a chase. Rain or traffic on the motorway can shift an hour either way; the sequence stays as written.
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1 · 08:00
Departure from Tbilisi
Batumi is about 370 km away and the drive takes 5 to 6 hours. The route runs through Gori and Kutaisi, mostly on motorway, so the pace stays even. We leave early so that your first evening is spent on the boulevard rather than in the car.
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1 · 12:30
Break in Kutaisi
We stop halfway, in Georgia's second city, for lunch. On request we spend 40 minutes at Gelati monastery, founded by David the Builder in 1106. That adds about an hour to the first day, so we agree on it beforehand.
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1 · 16:30
Arrival in Batumi
You check into a hotel in the centre or close to the boulevard. Once the suitcase is down, the day is yours: central Batumi is compact and everything is walkable. In summer the sea is still warm at this hour - there is an hour left for a swim.
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1 · 19:00
The boulevard at sunset
The boulevard runs for seven kilometres and was laid out in 1881 - it is older than the Batumi you see today. On it stand the Alphabet Tower at 130 m, carrying the 33 letters of the Georgian alphabet on a spiral, and Tamar Kvesitadze's moving sculpture 'Ali and Nino' - eight metres tall, passing slowly through itself every evening.
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2 · 10:00
Old Batumi and Piazza
The old town on foot: houses built at the end of the 19th century, where a single block carries Georgian, Armenian, Greek and Turkish traces. Piazza, the astronomical clock, Europe Square and the back streets of Batumi - three hours at an unhurried pace.
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2 · 14:30
The botanical garden on Green Cape
The garden is nine kilometres from the city, was founded in 1912 by Andrey Krasnov and covers more than 100 hectares. It is divided into nine floristic sections - Japanese, Australian, North American and so on. A full circuit takes three hours, and from the lower gate you walk straight down to the sea.
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3 · 09:30
The fortress of Gonio-Apsaros
A Roman fortress 12 kilometres south of Batumi, built in the first century. The walls run 900 metres around and 18 of the towers partly survive. By tradition the apostle Matthias is buried here. The Turkish border is eight kilometres further on.
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3 · 13:00
The Adjara mountains: Makhuntseti
Half an hour from the coast you are in the mountains. The Makhuntseti waterfall is around 30 metres, and beside it stands the arched stone bridge named after Queen Tamar - 12th century, laid without mortar and still walkable. Tea plantations and small wineries sit in the same valley.
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3 · 18:00
The return
Here you choose. By road it is 5 to 6 hours back, by train from Batumi to Tbilisi five hours, by air one. The train is the most comfortable: you board at the end of the day and are in Tbilisi by evening. We book the ticket for you, though it is not included in the price.
The cost, itemised
Two lists, so there is nothing left to discover later. You receive them by message together with the quote, and the figure we name at that point is the figure you pay.
Covered by the quote
- Door-to-door transport: we collect you at your Tbilisi address and bring you back
- Everything the vehicle consumes - fuel, tolls, parking at all three days' stops
- Your guide, licensed, working in Georgian, English or Russian
- Two nights in Batumi, breakfast served at the hotel
- The runs out to Gonio and up the Adjaristsqali valley
- Bottled water, kept cold in the car
Paid on the spot
- Meals beyond breakfast, at the restaurant's price
- Entry to the botanical garden and to Gonio, paid at the ticket office
- A rail or air ticket home, should you prefer not to drive back
- Anything on the water: boat hire, jet skis, parasailing
- Cover for travel and health, which we arrange as a separate policy
- Whatever you decide to give the guide and the driver at the end
Why Batumi does not fit into a single day
Tbilisi to Batumi is 370 kilometres, 5 to 6 hours by road. On a single-day version that means 11 to 12 hours of driving and two or three hours left for the city - enough for one walk along the boulevard and nothing else.
Batumi's sights are spread out. The botanical garden is nine kilometres north, Gonio twelve kilometres south, and Makhuntseti thirty kilometres inland. Those are three different directions and each one takes half a day.
Two days is the minimum and it works, but the second day becomes overloaded. Three days is comfortable and it is what we recommend - then the city, the garden and the mountains each get their own space and nothing is rushed.
The boulevard: seven kilometres and what stands on it
Batumi's boulevard was laid out in 1881, when the city was declared a free port and European architects arrived. Today it runs for seven kilometres and splits into two parts: the old stretch under plane trees and the newer one, which now reaches the Alphabet Tower. A separate cycle path runs the full length, and bicycles can be hired at several points along it.
The Alphabet Tower is 130 metres tall and opened in 2011. Its spiral repeats the double helix of DNA, and the 33 letters of the Georgian alphabet are cut into the ribbons - the idea being that an alphabet is passed on like a genetic code. There is an observation deck at the top.
Tamar Kvesitadze's 'Ali and Nino' is an eight-metre moving sculpture: two figures that edge towards each other every evening, pass through one another and then separate again. The full cycle takes about ten minutes and is best seen against the setting sun.
Old Batumi: layers of architecture
The old part of Batumi is a product of the late 19th and early 20th centuries - the oil boom years, when the pipeline from Baku reached Batumi and money poured into the city. That is when the two- and three-storey houses tourists photograph today were built.
A single block carries traces of several cultures: Georgian, Armenian, Greek, Turkish and Russian. That is not accidental - the port drew in different communities and each left its own church, school and façade style.
Piazza was built in 2009 and, although it is new, it has become the centre of the old town: mosaics, stained glass and live music in the evenings. The astronomical clock stands nearby, and a few steps away is Europe Square with the statue of Medea holding the golden fleece.
The botanical garden on Green Cape
The garden was founded in 1912 by Andrey Krasnov and today covers more than 100 hectares. It sits on Green Cape, directly above the sea, and that position is what makes it exceptional: the humid subtropical climate lets plants grow here that would not survive anywhere else in Georgia.
It is divided into nine floristic sections: East Asian, North American, Australian, Mediterranean, Mexican, Himalayan, Transcaucasian, New Zealand and local Colchian. In practice you cross several of the world's climate zones in the space of two hours.
A full circuit takes three hours and the paths run over hilly ground - comfortable shoes are essential. Walking down from the upper gate is far easier than climbing up from the lower one, so the driver drops you at the top and waits below.
Gonio-Apsaros: a Roman fortress on the Black Sea
Gonio lies twelve kilometres south of Batumi, at the mouth of the river Chorokhi. The fortress was built by the Romans in the first century and was called Apsaros - one of the anchor points of the empire's eastern frontier. It was later used by the Byzantines and then by the Ottomans.
The walls run 900 metres around, and of the original 22 towers 18 partly survive. Excavation inside continues to this day - the remains of baths, a water supply and barracks have already come to light. The ground is flat and walking is easy.
By tradition the apostle Matthias is buried here, and a grave in the courtyard is marked accordingly. Archaeologically that is not confirmed, but the site matters to pilgrims. The Turkish border is eight kilometres further on.
The Adjara mountains: Makhuntseti and the stone bridges
Batumi to Makhuntseti is about 30 kilometres and half an hour. The road follows the Adjaristsqali valley and the climate shifts visibly: hot and humid on the coast, cool in the mountains.
The Makhuntseti waterfall is around 30 metres and the path to it takes five minutes - one of those rare cases where a waterfall requires no hike at all. There is a natural pool below where people swim in summer, though the water comes off the mountain and is cold.
Beside it stands the arched stone bridge named after Queen Tamar - 12th century, laid without mortar and still walkable. Adjara has dozens of such medieval bridges left; the one at Makhuntseti is the easiest to reach.
The sea, the beach and the swimming season
Batumi's beach is pebble, not sand - worth knowing on the first day. Pebble has its advantages: the water is clearer and the wind does not lift sand into your face. On the other hand, water shoes are genuinely useful.
The swimming season runs from June to September. The sea reaches 24 to 26 degrees between July and September, and September is often the best month: the water is still warm and there are far fewer people.
If you want sand, Ureki is fifty kilometres away - black magnetic sand, to which medicinal properties are attributed. Kobuleti is twenty-five kilometres away and quieter. We add either as a day trip if you want one.
The weather and when to come
Batumi is the wettest city in Georgia - around 2,500 millimetres of rain a year, twice what Tbilisi gets. That means rain is possible even in summer, though it is usually short and heavy.
June and September are the most balanced months: 24 to 28 degrees, a warm sea and fewer people than in August. July and August are the peak - prices are high and the boulevard is crowded in the evenings. In August a hotel needs booking three or four weeks ahead, or almost nothing is left in the centre.
Batumi does not close in winter. The restaurants, the botanical garden, the old town and the casinos work all year, and the temperature rarely drops below 8 degrees. Swimming is out, but winter Batumi costs about half.
Adjaran cooking: what to try
Adjaran khachapuri is boat-shaped, with an egg and butter in the middle - and this is where to try it, because in the original the dough is thinner and the cheese saltier than in the Tbilisi versions. One portion feeds two people.
Borano and sinori are two butter-heavy dishes you rarely meet on the coast and have to look for in the mountains. Adjaran chirbuli - eggs with walnut - is a breakfast classic. Of the seafood, anchovy and mullet are the most local.
Adjara is tea country: in the Soviet period most of the country's tea was grown here, and small plantations have now been revived. On the way to Makhuntseti we stop at a tea garden for a tasting - it is free and takes twenty minutes. For wine, look for the local Chkhaveri: light, rosé, and far better with coastal food than a Kakhetian red.
Who this tour suits
The route is physically light. The heaviest part is the travel - 5 to 6 hours in the car on the first day - and the rest is city walking and short paths. The botanical garden means three hours on your feet, though the pace is yours.
Who it suits particularly well: families with children. The sea, the dolphinarium, the cycle path on the boulevard and the cable car are all in one place and the distances are short. The Argo cable car runs 2.6 kilometres up Anuria mountain - from the top the whole bay and the port fit into one frame.
Who it suits less: anyone looking for quiet in August - that is the peak and the boulevard fills up in the evenings. In that case we suggest staying in Kobuleti or on Green Cape, 15 to 25 minutes from the centre.
Frequently asked questions about the Batumi tour
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Is two days enough or do I need three?
Two days is the minimum and it works, but the second day becomes very heavy: the city, the botanical garden and Gonio together. On the three-day version those are separate days and the pace is calm. If it is your first visit, we recommend three.
What is the best way to reach Batumi - car, train or plane?
By car it is 5 to 6 hours and you can stop on the way. By train it is five hours, comfortable and cheap. By air it is one hour, but the airport transfers eat into that. On a three-day tour we often drive one way and take the train back.
Is the beach in Batumi sandy?
No, it is pebble. The water is clearer because of it, but water shoes will serve you well. Sand is at Ureki, fifty kilometres away - black magnetic sand - and we add it as a day trip.
When is the swimming season?
June to September. The water reaches 24 to 26 degrees between July and September. September is often the best: the sea is still warm and there are about half as many people as in August, with hotel prices already down.
Is it worth coming in winter?
Yes, if you do not need to swim. The botanical garden, the old town, the restaurants and the casinos work all year and prices are close to half. The temperature rarely drops below 8 degrees, though rain is frequent.
How long does the botanical garden take?
Three hours for the full circuit. If time is short, two will do - then we start at the upper gate and walk down. The paths run over hilly ground, so comfortable shoes are essential.
Does it work with children?
Yes, this is one of our most family-friendly routes. The cycle path on the boulevard, the dolphinarium, the cable car and the sea are all in one place. The five-hour drive on the first day is the only hard stretch - we simply add more breaks. Child seats are included in the price.
Is there much walking at Gonio?
No. The ground is flat and a circuit takes an hour. Climbing the towers is restricted for safety, so the whole visit is from ground level. Excavation is active, so some areas may be temporarily closed. There is little shade, so in summer a hat and water are essential.
What changes if it rains?
Rain is possible in Batumi even in summer, but it is usually short. We swap Makhuntseti and the botanical garden around within the day and use the old town, the museums and Piazza while it passes. The route does not collapse.
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