Guide to Georgia Beaches: Batumi, Ureki's Black Sand, and Coves

Georgia's Coast at a Glance

Best Georgia Beaches You Must Visit

Batumi: The Main Strip

• Chairs and umbrellas: Sunbed-and-umbrella sets are rented by the day along the central stretch. In September 2026 the going rate was roughly 10 to 20 GEL per set, climbing opposite the large hotels (verify on the day). Free pebble space is never more than a few metres away.
• Water sports: Jet skis, banana boats and parasailing operate from the central beach from June. Agree both the price and the duration before boarding. A ten-minute jet ski run was being quoted at 50 to 100 GEL in high season this year (verify), and the operators near the Alphabetic Tower charge the most.
• Rain: Batumi is the wettest city in Georgia, with around 2,500 mm of rain a year. Summer showers arrive warm and short, and they clear the beach for exactly as long as it takes to finish a coffee.
• Evening: The beach empties around 7 pm and the Boulevard fills. Sunset is best from the Alphabetic Tower end, the dancing fountains at Ardagani Lake follow at dusk, and dinner comes after that. The bar and club side of the city, which runs on a different rhythm from Tbilisi's, is covered in our Georgia nightlife guide, including where Batumi's casino strip does and does not belong on a family evening.

Ureki: The Black Magnetic Sand

Why Ureki magnetic sand beach draws Georgian families every summer?

• The health tradition: Ureki has been a sanatorium resort since Soviet times, and locals hold that lying in the warm magnetic sand eases joint and circulatory complaints. We report this as a firmly held belief rather than as medicine. The pleasure of a warm black-sand nap needs no clinical backing.
• Shallow, calm water: The sea here rarely gets rough compared with Batumi, and children can float in waist-deep water within sight of a beach cafe. This is the one beach on the coast we recommend without qualification to families with children under ten.
• Shekvetili next door: Five kilometres north, Shekvetili's Black Sea Arena and its Dendrological Park of barge-transplanted trees fill a half-day when the sand gets too hot.
• Timing: June and early September give you the sand almost to yourself. July and August deliver the full Georgian summer scene, loud in the best way and booked out weeks ahead.

The Quiet South: Gonio, Kvariati, Sarpi

• Gonio Beach (12 km): Larger pebbles, a short strip of guesthouses, and the Gonio-Apsaros Fortress a fifteen-minute walk inland. The walls are Roman, dating from the first century AD, and the site is one of the oldest fortifications in Georgia. Entry was in the region of 15 to 20 GEL in September 2026 (verify). Gonio suits the traveller who wants history before the swim.
• Kvariati Beach (15 km): The cleanest water on the Adjara coast, a compact pebble cove set in a green amphitheater of hills, and the only diving center on Georgia's Black Sea shore. Couples and snorkellers stay here for the quiet. Beach shoes are non-negotiable; the pebbles at the waterline are sharp.
• Sarpi Border Beach (17 km): A small beach beneath a cliff with the Turkish border post at its end. You swim with Turkey in view, and locals cross on foot to shop in Hopa. It is the quietest of the three and the strangest, in a way that stays with you.

The 4 beaches to skip and why

• Anaklia: Three hours north of Batumi, this was meant to be Georgia's new resort town and the deep-sea port works have left it half built. Out of season it is close to empty, and the drive eats a day that Ureki fills better.
• Poti: A working port city where the Rioni river carries silt into the sea, so the water runs brown for much of the summer. It is a place to change trains, not to swim.
• Chakvi: A narrow pebble strip between Batumi and Kobuleti with the railway line running directly behind it. The sea is fine; the setting is not, and Kobuleti sits ten minutes further on.
• The port end of Batumi Beach: The northern kilometre nearest the ferry terminal collects oil sheen and harbour debris after rough weather. Walk south of the Ali and Nino statue before you swim.

Sea Conditions, Swimming Safety, and Best Time to Visit 

Is Black Sea good for swimming?

• Jellyfish: Moon jellyfish and barrel jellyfish drift in from late July. Both are common and largely harmless, with mild irritation the worst outcome for most swimmers. Rinse with seawater, not fresh water, if stung.
• Currents and flags: After a storm the Batumi shore break can be strong, and lifeguard posts on the central stretch fly red flags. Respect them. The steep drop-off means a wave that knocks you down at the waterline is already in deep water.
• Beach shoes: Every kiosk on the Boulevard sells them for 10 to 20 GEL because everyone needs them. Buy a pair on the first morning and the pebbles stop being a complaint.

How to Add a Beach Stay to Your Itinerary?