What are Kvariati and Sarpi?
Kvariati and Sarpi are the last stretch of Georgian coast before Turkey. Kvariati is a small resort south of Gonio, known for a pebble beach with unusually clear water and hotels within a short walk of the sea. Sarpi, a little further on, is the village at the main land border crossing with Turkey, where the mountains drop almost straight into the sea.
The two places have different legal homes. Kvariati became part of the city of Batumi in 2011 and belongs to its Gonio-Kvariati administrative unit; the 2002 census, the last to count it separately, found only 98 residents. Sarpi is not in Batumi. It is a village of Khelvachauri municipality and the centre of its own community, with 826 residents at the 2014 census. So permits and local rules in Kvariati come from Batumi, and in Sarpi from Khelvachauri.
For a buyer the market here is very small. On 27 October 2026 the listing site ss.ge showed 20 flats for sale in Kvariati and none in Sarpi, where land and a few houses make up the offer. This guide explains what there is, what it costs, and how the border and a new motorway shape life on this coast. Our Gonio guide covers the larger resort to the north.
Map and boundaries
Kvariati lies on the coast between Gonio to the north and Sarpi to the south; a rocky headland separates the Kvariati and Sarpi beaches, and the Tobashi stream at Sarpi marks the border with Turkey.
Open the mapThe official tourism portal of Adjara puts Kvariati beach about 17 km from Batumi, and the national tourism administration gives about 35 minutes by road to Sarpi. The beach at Kvariati runs for about 1 km and joins Gonio's beach to the north. The coastal road that carries the address of most buildings here is named after Saint Andrew the First-Called, the same road that runs through Gonio.
Who the area suits
- Buyers who want clear water and a smaller resort: Kvariati's beach is known for divers and snorkellers.
- Buyers who travel to Turkey often: the border is minutes away.
- Buyers who prefer low and mid-rise buildings: most blocks here have 4 to 16 floors.
- Less suited to buyers who need an easy resale: with 20 flats for sale, buyers and sellers are few.
- Less suited to buyers who dislike traffic: border traffic uses the coastal road until the new motorway opens.
Sarpi: a village divided by a border
The Treaty of Kars of 1921 split the village of Sarpi in two along the small Tobashi stream; the Turkish half is called Sarp. For decades contact was almost impossible: from 1936 even close relatives needed rare permits to meet. The border gate opened in 1988, and a Turkish newspaper reported in 2025 that about 80% of the residents of Sarp have relatives on the Georgian side.
Sarpi and its neighbours are home to most of Georgia's Laz community, estimated at about 2,000 people, who also live in Kvariati, Gonio and Batumi. A Laz folk festival, Kolkhoba, is held on the Sarpi coast at the end of August or early September. The village has a public school, an ethnographic museum, a church and a waterfall linked to the tradition that Saint Andrew entered Georgia here. From the beach you can see a minaret on the Turkish side and hear the call to prayer.
The border crossing
The Sarpi checkpoint is open around the clock. Its building, by the German architect Jürgen Mayer H., opened in November 2011 and has a tower with terraces over the sea. An Asian Development Bank project document describes Sarpi as the busiest border crossing point and notes that arriving traffic is congested in the middle of the village square.
| Year | Passengers | Vehicles |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 6,261,289 | 808,794, of which 388,496 lorries |
| 2024 | about 5.56 million | about 792,000 |
| 2025 | about 5.04 million | about 740,000 |
We found no annual figure from the Georgian side. Even so, the numbers explain why living beside the checkpoint is not like living in a quiet village: queues of people waiting for hours were reported in July 2026, and long lorry queues build up on the Turkish side at busy times. A house next to the border road can earn money from parking or shops, but it will not be peaceful.
What flats cost in Kvariati
Galt & Taggart, the research arm of the Bank of Georgia, reports Kvariati together with Gonio. In the second quarter of 2026 the Gonio-Kvariati zone had an average of USD 2,228 per m² for new finished flats on 83 sales, the second highest in Batumi after Old Batumi, with no published rent. The zone figure leans on Gonio, which has far more flats.
| Flat | Asking price | Per m² |
|---|---|---|
| Studio, 33 m², new building, 50 m from the sea | GEL 104,000 | about GEL 3,152 |
| 2 rooms, 44.66 m², sea view | GEL 209,000 | about GEL 4,750 |
| 3 rooms, 93 m², first line, some finishing left | GEL 435,000 | about GEL 4,678 |
| 1 room, 36 m², floor 3 of 12, complex near the sea | GEL 208,000 | about GEL 5,778 |
| Most of the 12 adverts with a price | - | GEL 3,150 to 5,800 |
The middle of those asks was about GEL 4,700 per m². With so few adverts, a single new project or one motivated seller can move the picture, so compare any flat with the building's own recent sales rather than with the area. Agency adverts for the NEXT Gardens project, two buildings of 14 and 16 floors about 30 m from the sea, quote studios from about USD 43,300 with instalments over 48 months; we could not confirm its completion date.
Rents
Only 7 flats were offered for rent in Kvariati on the same day. Flats of one and two rooms asked about GEL 960 to 1,820 a month, and two penthouses on the top floor of a 12-storey building asked GEL 1,820 and GEL 2,860. Several adverts asked for a lease of 6 or 12 months, and one wanted the first and last month in advance plus a USD 500 deposit.
That is a thin market, and as a beach resort Kvariati depends on the summer season. Before you count on rent, ask for a full year of bookings from the building, and test the numbers in our rental yield calculator with a quiet winter.
Houses and land
Much of what is for sale here is land. On 27 October 2026 ss.ge listed 25 plots in Kvariati, mostly asking GEL 160 to 700 per m², and 42 plots in Sarpi at about GEL 110 to 340 per m², along with 16 house adverts in Kvariati (11 of them apparently the same house) and 4 in Sarpi. Several of the plots are classed as agricultural.
The land category matters. Georgia's Constitution reserves agricultural land for citizens, so a foreign buyer can only buy plots classed as non-agricultural; our guide to agricultural land and foreigners explains the rules. Ask the seller for the registry extract showing the category, check access and utilities at the boundary, and on a slope have an engineer look at the ground.
The new motorway
On 9 September 2026 Georgia's roads department signed a contract worth GEL 809,009,547 with China Railway Tunnel Group. The 11.3 km route will link the end of the Batumi bypass with the Sarpi crossing and includes a 7.6 km tunnel under the villages of Charnali and Akhalsopeli, which will be the second longest road tunnel in Georgia, three bridges including one of 1.47 km over the Chorokhi, 500 m of coastal protection and slope stabilisation. The contract allows 48 months from the start of construction, and the infrastructure minister said heavy works would begin before the end of 2026.
The minister said the bottlenecks on the Gonio-Kvariati section would be completely relieved once the road opens, because through traffic will run in the tunnel instead of along the coast. Sarpi itself will still see works where the new road joins the existing one near the border. The project's resettlement category means significant land acquisition along the route, so before buying a plot ask whether it lies in the road's right of way.
The beach and the shore
Adjara's tourism department describes Kvariati's water as clear enough to explore the underwater world, with dives to 10 to 20 m with an instructor, and the national tourism administration mentions colourful pebbles and a diving centre. Most hotels stand within 100 m of the beach. Sarpi has a smaller pebble beach between green slopes and rocks. We found no measured water-quality data and no Blue Flag award for either beach.
In spring 2026 the city cleared the shore: a report published on 4 May 2026 said 35 owners of cafes, bars, kiosks and small beach buildings on the Gonio-Kvariati coast were warned, 12 cafes and bars were dismantled and 15 structures were set for forced removal. If a flat's view or income depends on a beach bar, check that it is lawful.
Getting around and daily life
City bus No. 16 runs between Batumi and Sarpi through Gonio and Kvariati, and the operator accepts the transport card. Sarpi has its own public school; we could not confirm a school in Kvariati or a clinic in either place, so expect to use Gonio and Batumi for most shopping and medical care. Visit in winter as well as in summer before deciding to live here, to see which hotels, cafes and shops stay open.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Clear water and a beach popular with divers | Very few flats for sale or rent |
| Low and mid-rise buildings close to the sea | Zone prices among the highest in Batumi |
| Next to the Turkish border | Border queues and traffic on the coastal road |
| New motorway will take through traffic away | Four years of road works, and land needed for the route |
| Laz culture and a festival in Sarpi | Sarpi is outside Batumi, with its own rules and few services |
To be added by the team: photos for the team to take: Kvariati beach and its hotels, the headland between Kvariati and Sarpi, the Sarpi checkpoint building, the Saint Andrew waterfall, and the coastal road at a busy hour.
Checking a property in Kvariati or Sarpi step by step
Confirm the municipality
Batumi for Kvariati, Khelvachauri for Sarpi.
Check the land category
Agricultural plots are for citizens only.
Ask about the motorway route
Is the plot in the right of way?
Visit at a border rush hour
See the traffic and the noise.
Get a year of booking records
Summer income must cover winter.
Plan the resale
Few buyers means a longer wait.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kvariati part of Batumi?
Yes, since 2011, in the Gonio-Kvariati administrative unit.
Is Sarpi part of Batumi?
No. Sarpi is a village of Khelvachauri municipality with 826 residents in 2014.
How much does a flat in Kvariati cost?
Most of the 20 adverts on ss.ge in October 2026 asked GEL 3,150 to 5,800 per m², with a middle of about GEL 4,700.
Can I buy a flat in Sarpi?
On 27 October 2026 ss.ge listed no flats in Sarpi, only houses and land.
Can a foreigner buy land here?
Only land classed as non-agricultural; check the category in the registry extract.
Is the border busy?
Yes: about 5 million passengers and 740,000 vehicles crossed in 2025, according to Turkish figures.
When will the new road open?
The contract signed in September 2026 allows 48 months from the start of construction.
Is the water really clear?
Tourism sources say so and divers use the beach, but we found no measured water-quality data.
Sources
- Kvariati, Sarpi and Laz people in Georgia, Wikipedia, and Sarpi, Georgian Wikipedia (accessed 27 October 2026)
- Flats for sale and for rent in Kvariati, and land for sale in Sarpi, ss.ge (accessed 27 October 2026)
- Batumi Residential Real Estate, 2Q26 Overview, Galt & Taggart, 14 August 2026
- Village divided by border maintains kinship ties, Hürriyet Daily News, 6 June 2025
- More than 6 million passengers through the Sarp gate, TGRT Haber, 24 January 2024, and Sarp gate figures for 2025, Bengütürk, January 2026
- Batumi-Sarpi bypass project data sheet, Asian Development Bank
- Long queues at the Sarpi checkpoint, SOVA, 26 July 2026, and Border checkpoint Sarpi, Divisare
- Construction begins on new Batumi-Sarpi road and infrastructure minister on the project, First Channel, 9 September 2026
- Kvariati beach, Visit Batumi, and Sarpi, Georgian National Tourism Administration (accessed 27 October 2026)
- Batumi redraws its coastline in Gonio-Kvariati, Georgia Today, 4 May 2026
- NEXT Gardens Kvariati, Neginski (agency listing)
- Kolkhoba festival, GoBatumi, and report of the Sarpi public school, Legislative Herald of Georgia
Change log
- - Area guide published from Wikipedia, Georgian Wikipedia, ss.ge, Galt & Taggart, Hürriyet Daily News, TGRT Haber, Bengütürk, the Asian Development Bank, SOVA, Divisare, First Channel, Visit Batumi, the Georgian National Tourism Administration, Georgia Today, Neginski, GoBatumi and a Sarpi school report.