Batumi beaches by zone: water quality, erosion and facilities

What the beaches mean for a buyer

Most people who buy in Batumi buy, in part, for the sea. Yet the beach in front of a flat is rarely examined as carefully as the flat itself. Is the water clean? Is the shore wide and stable, or is it being washed away? Are there showers, lifeguards and access for a wheelchair? And what is the beach like in Gonio or Chakvi compared with the city?

This page answers those questions zone by zone, using official sources where they exist and saying clearly where they do not. The short version: every beach on this coast is pebble, every beach is public by law, the city's wastewater has been treated since 2012, and the shore near the Chorokhi river mouth is where erosion is worst. For the legal side of beachfront living, see our comparison of the first line and second line.

Pebbles, not sand

The beaches of Batumi and its neighbours are made of pebbles and shingle carried down by the Chorokhi river. Travel guides describe fairly large pebbles on the city beach, large shingle with a steep entry in Gonio and Kvariati, where water shoes help, and smaller pebbles in Chakvi. We found no sandy public beach confirmed in Batumi; even the coast-protection works completed around 2021 refilled the beach with a mix of sand and gravel.

For owners renting to holidaymakers, this matters for expectations. Guests who imagine a sandy beach can be disappointed, and good listings say "pebble beach" plainly. For families with small children, the gentler entry of some stretches is worth checking in person.

Is the water clean?

We found no official, published results of bathing-water tests for individual Batumi beaches, so no one can honestly show a buyer a list of beaches that "passed" or "failed". What is documented is the city's wastewater system. According to a 2021 presentation by an associate professor at the Batumi State Maritime Academy, the treatment plant's mechanical stage has run since March 2012 and its biological stage since August 2012, and treated water is discharged through a sea outfall of about 1,097 m at a depth of about 40 m, with treatment efficiency of about 80%.

The German development bank KfW has financed much of this work. The German embassy said in 2022 that EUR 138 million had been spent on Batumi's water and wastewater over more than 16 years, and KfW committed a further EUR 55 million that year for a new phase, including expansion of the treatment plant. A tender published in 2025 describes the existing plant at Adlia as sized for 167,000 population equivalents and plans its extension to 359,000 for the summer load, with optional removal of nutrients. In other words, the plant is being enlarged because the summer population is far higher than the winter one.

Researchers at Batumi State University, studying samples from 2013 to 2020, reported that the bacteriological quality of sea water on the Adjara coast had improved over those years, crediting the new sewer networks and treatment plants. That is encouraging, but it is not a substitute for public, beach-by-beach testing, which we would welcome.

Blue Flag

The Blue Flag is an international award for clean, safe and well-managed beaches. In October 2019 the city's boulevard administration became an associate member of the foundation that runs it, with the task of introducing the programme in Georgia. We found no record of any Georgian beach being awarded a Blue Flag since. Some sales adverts claim otherwise for particular beaches; we found nothing to support those claims, so treat them with caution.

The beach zone by zone

Official portals disagree on some distances, and we found no official measurements of beach widths by stretch, so the table gives character rather than exact sizes. Our comparison of Batumi areas sets these beaches against prices and distances.

Facilities on the city beach

The city beach along the boulevard is run by the boulevard administration, a public body. Before the 2024 season it planned 32 changing rooms, 30 showers, 830 m of wooden paths down to the sea and 20 drinking fountains, and renovated access for people with disabilities at three points; in June 2026 it reported new changing rooms, showers and paths being installed. Showers and changing rooms on the boulevard beach are free.

An adapted beach for people with disabilities reopened for the season on 23 June 2026 near Griboedov Street, with an accessible walkway, showers, a changing area, beach wheelchairs and free help from staff. The administration has also run a free beach section with loungers and umbrellas. Lifeguard towers along the coast are an Interior Ministry responsibility; we could not confirm the current number of posts or the official dates of the lifeguard season.

Season, water temperature and jellyfish

Adjara's official tourism guide says the swimming season in Batumi usually opens at the end of May, with the water at about 18°C, and peaks at about 27°C. A local information site citing the National Environmental Agency gives typical sea temperatures of about 21 to 22°C in June, 25 to 26°C in August and 19 to 20°C in October. In practice, most visitors find the water comfortable from late June.

The same site describes two jellyfish species in the area, moon jellyfish and barrel jellyfish, seen mostly in the second half of summer. Neither is dangerous: the first barely stings and the second can cause a mild burn, and blooms are usually smaller at Batumi than in the northern Black Sea.

Erosion: where the shore is shrinking

The beaches depend on gravel from the Chorokhi, and dams upstream have reduced that supply. A Turkish study using satellite images found that the shoreline of the Chorokhi delta retreated by up to 238 m between 1984 and 2019, with a net loss of 63 ha. The Dutch institute Deltares reported in 2015 that in some places near Batumi more than a metre a year was being lost, threatening houses, roads and part of the airport.

Protection has followed. The coast at Adlia (1 km) and Sarpi (1.5 km) was reinforced in 2013 and 2014, and a project financed by the Asian Development Bank restored about 2 km of the Batumi shore with a protective structure about 1.8 km long, mostly under water and armoured with rocks of 3 to 7 tonnes, completed around 2021. The project's design relied on moving sediment from the gaining northern shore to the eroding south; we could not confirm whether that is now done every year.

For a buyer, the practical lesson is that the southern end near the river mouth depends on continued public protection works, while the northern shore by the old town has been gaining material rather than losing it.

Beach rules

All beaches are open to the public by law; they cannot be privately owned or fenced off, so a hotel's "private beach" is only a serviced section. We found no municipal act in the national legal database setting rules for dogs, alcohol or lounger prices on Batumi beaches, so these depend on signs at each beach and on general rules such as keeping dogs on a lead in public places. Loungers and umbrellas are usually paid for on many stretches.

Pros and cons of the Batumi coast

Checking the beach before you buy step by step

1. Walk to the water

   Time it and note the crossings.

2. Look at the shore

   Width, pebble size and the entry slope.

3. Ask about erosion

   Especially near the Chorokhi mouth.

4. Check the facilities

   Showers, lifeguard tower, access.

5. Visit after a storm

   See how the beach and promenade cope.

6. Describe it honestly

   Say "pebble beach" in any rental listing.

Frequently asked questions

Are Batumi beaches sandy?

No. They are pebble and shingle along the whole coast.

Is the sea clean?

Wastewater has been treated since 2012 and researchers found water quality improved from 2013 to 2020, but no beach-by-beach test results are published.

Does any Batumi beach have a Blue Flag?

We found no Georgian beach with a Blue Flag; the programme was introduced to Georgia in 2019.

When can you swim?

The season officially opens at the end of May at about 18°C; the water reaches about 25 to 26°C in August.

Are there dangerous jellyfish?

No. Moon and barrel jellyfish appear in late summer and sting mildly at most.

Which part of the coast is eroding?

The south near the Chorokhi mouth, where the delta shore retreated up to 238 m between 1984 and 2019.

Is there an accessible beach?

Yes, an adapted beach near Griboedov Street with walkways, showers and beach wheelchairs.

Can a hotel have its own beach?

No. Beaches are public; a "private beach" is only a serviced section.

Sources

1. Ecological condition of the port of Batumi, Batumi State Maritime Academy, webinar of 23 March 2021
2. KfW funding for Batumi water and wastewater, Trend, 7 December 2022, and upgrading of the Adlia wastewater treatment plant, Germany Trade & Invest, 2025
3. Results of a bacteriological study of the Black Sea coast of Adjara, 2013-2020, Batumi State University, 4 December 2022
4. Batumi Boulevard joins the Foundation for Environmental Education, 29 October 2019
5. Preparing for the 2024 season, preparing for the 2026 season and the adapted beach reopens, Batumi Boulevard, 2024-2026
6. Batumi seaside, Makhinjauri and Green Cape and Gonio, Visit Ajara (accessed 27 October 2026)
7. Sea temperature in Batumi and swimming season and jellyfish, Madloba (3 October 2026)
8. Shoreline change of the Chorokhi delta, 1984-2019, TR Dizin, 2020, and Deltares on coastal erosion in Batumi, Dutch Water Sector, 16 January 2015
9. Coastal reinforcement works in Batumi, FactCheck.ge, 20 July 2016, and coast protection works completed, CBW
10. Beaches of the Georgian Black Sea, Georgia.to (travel guide), and rescue towers on the Adjara coast, Ministry of Internal Affairs

Change log

• 28 October 2026 - Data page published from the Batumi State Maritime Academy, Trend, Germany Trade & Invest, Batumi State University, Batumi Boulevard, Visit Ajara, Madloba, TR Dizin, Dutch Water Sector, FactCheck.ge, CBW, Georgia.to and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.