Makhinjauri, Batumi: apartments, prices and life on the northern coast

What is Makhinjauri?

Makhinjauri is a small resort on the Black Sea coast about 5 to 6 km north of central Batumi, set between two headlands: Kara-Dare to the south and the Green Cape to the north. Green hills run down almost to a narrow pebble shore, and its railway station once served as Batumi's main stop. For a buyer it is the first stretch of coast outside the dense city, with new apartment blocks climbing the slopes and the Batumi Botanical Garden next door.

Since 2011 the coastal part of Makhinjauri has belonged to the city of Batumi. A resolution of the Parliament of Georgia dated 14 June 2011 moved 831.76 ha of land between the settlement of Chakvi and Batumi from Khelvachauri municipality into the city, and the boundary description uses the Makhinjauri school and the road to the Green Cape as landmarks. Before that, Makhinjauri had been a settlement of Khelvachauri district since 1959.

The name is shared, which can confuse a search. Up the hill, a village also called Makhinjauri, together with Shua Makhinjauri and Gantiadi, still belongs to Khelvachauri municipality, and the 2014 census counted 735 people there. That figure describes the upland village, not the coast in Batumi, and we found no separate population count for the coastal district. Some sales listings even say "Makhinjauri, Khelvachauri municipality", so the first question about any flat is which of the two places it is in.

Map and boundaries

The Georgian National Tourism Administration puts the resort at about 15 m above sea level and around 20 minutes by road from Batumi. Behind the shore the land rises steeply; Wikipedia gives an elevation range from 15 m to 1,300 m for the wider area, which explains the terraced plots and the sea views that developers advertise. The cadastral code in the Public Registry extract shows whether a plot lies inside Batumi or in Khelvachauri municipality, and that decides which authority issues building permits.

Who Makhinjauri suits

• Buyers who want the sea without the city crowds: it sits outside the tower belt but inside Batumi's boundary.
• Buyers who like green surroundings: the hills, the pines and the Botanical Garden are close by.
• Buyers who plan to drive: the bypass and the coastal road connect it to the city and the border.
• Less suited to buyers who need a full set of services on foot: we could not confirm the range of shops, clinics and kindergartens, so check them for the exact address.
• Less suited to buyers who rely on published rent data: no research firm reports rents for this zone.

A resort with sulphur springs

Makhinjauri grew as a resort in the early 20th century, valued for its mild subtropical climate and its sulphur springs. The tourism administration says the mineral water was first studied scientifically in 1912, and the area was later run as a health resort offering climate treatment and baths. A mansion built for the gold magnate Alexander Sibiryakov survives as the rest house "Narinji". In 1906 a British-American diplomat, William Horwood Stuart, was murdered here, an episode that Wikipedia records among the resort's early events.

The Batumi Botanical Garden, founded by the botanist Andrey Krasnov and opened in 1912, lies just to the north on the Green Cape. It covers more than 100 ha, with lower, upper and seaside parts. The Green Cape and Chakvi will have their own guide; for Makhinjauri the garden matters as a neighbour that will not be built over.

What flats cost: the research figures

Unlike the airport side of the city, Makhinjauri is tracked as a zone of its own by Galt & Taggart, the research arm of the Bank of Georgia. Its report for the second quarter of 2026, published on 14 August 2026, gives the following figures for new finished flats.

So Makhinjauri is not a bargain zone. Its average of USD 1,983 per m² was only USD 23 above the city-wide average for new finished flats, USD 1,960 in June 2026, and above the New Boulevard area, though about 39% below Old Batumi. Its 311 sales were roughly 7.5% of the 4,168 recorded across Batumi in the quarter. In the first quarter of 2026, sales in the zone jumped by 68.6% to 317, according to a summary of the same research series published on 1 June 2026.

The report leaves the rent column for Makhinjauri empty, so it offers no yield for the zone. For the city as a whole it estimated a gross yield of 7.1% in June 2026 and an average daily rate for short stays of USD 34.6. Our comparison of Batumi zones puts these figures side by side.

What sellers ask

The main Georgian listing site, ss.ge, files Makhinjauri as a location of its own rather than under Batumi. On 27 October 2026 it showed 54 flats for sale there, asking from about GEL 1,700 to 6,800 per m², with the top of the range in finished flats near the Botanical Garden. Agency listings on international portals in 2026 add detail, mostly for new flats in unfinished condition.

Most of these ads describe a "green frame" flat: walls, windows and screed are done, but the buyer still has to install wiring outlets, floors, kitchen and bathroom. That is why green-frame asks of USD 1,100 to 1,600 per m² look cheap next to the research average of USD 1,983, which counts finished flats. Add the cost and months of fitting out before comparing; our guide to white frame and green frame flats explains the stages.

Rents: what we could and could not find

We found no reliable rent data for Makhinjauri. The research report leaves the zone's rent blank, and short-stay platforms show prices only for chosen dates. Any figure an agent quotes for monthly rent or nightly income here is therefore an estimate, and it should be backed by booking records or a signed lease from the building concerned.

The city-wide numbers give a frame but not an answer: a gross yield of 7.1% and a daily rate of about USD 35 across Batumi. A sea-view flat in a new complex with a pool may beat that average in July and August and fall well below it in winter. Run your own scenario, with a cautious occupancy, in our rental yield calculator.

Large projects on the slopes

Two projects are described in business media rather than only in sales ads. Mziuri Gardens is being built on the grounds of the former "Mziuri" sanatorium beside the Botanical Garden: a site of about 15,000 m², three sections of 15, 17 and 15 floors, and 581 units from 43 to 200 m², with pools, a spa and a beach reached by a bridge and a lift. One section was announced in 2022 as a five-star Crowne Plaza hotel, with a total investment of GEL 85 million. A 2026 listing still described the complex as under construction, and we could not confirm that the hotel has opened.

Sea Hills, by Arsi Group, was reported in January 2024 as a 12-storey development in Makhinjauri with two residential blocks, financed in part by a USD 1 million loan from Basisbank and due for completion in December 2024. We could not confirm whether it was finished on time. Other names, such as Tekto Franco, Sea Residence and Friends House, appear only in agency ads, so treat their floor counts and dates as claims to be checked.

Planning decisions for coastal Makhinjauri are taken by Batumi's city council. In March 2025 it approved a detailed development plan for a group of plots in the "Makhinjauri settlement, city of Batumi", for the state company Adjara Resorts, with a compensatory measure tied to building density. For any off-plan purchase, ask for the construction permit and the approved plan; our guide to checking a construction permit lists the documents.

Building on hills: what to check

Much of Makhinjauri is built on slopes, and that brings questions that flat ground does not. We found no published map naming landslide zones in coastal Makhinjauri, so we do not claim there are any. Adjara as a whole does have landslide-prone settlements, and heavy rain in September 2021 set off landslides in Khelvachauri and Kobuleti municipalities while streets in Batumi flooded.

For a flat in a new tower on a slope, ask the developer for the geological survey done for the permit and for the design of the retaining walls and drainage. For a house or a plot, have an engineer look at the ground before you sign, and check how rainwater leaves the site and the access road. Walk the route from the building to the sea as well: steps and steep lanes can turn "200 m to the beach" into a climb.

The beach and the sea

The tourism administration describes a small pebble shore, with the sea and beach noted for their cleanliness, and says the resort is visited all year. Expect grey pebbles, as along the rest of the Batumi coast. Batumi's documented erosion problem is on the south-western coast near the airport, where in 2015 the Asian Development Bank lent USD 20 million for protection works; the same studies describe the northern part of the city's shore as gaining material rather than losing it. We found no erosion or storm record specific to Makhinjauri, and we could not confirm which stream reaches the sea here.

Before you buy, check whether the railway or the main road lies between the building and the beach, where the nearest safe crossing or underpass is, and whether trains pass close enough to be heard from the flat with the windows open.

Roads, trains and buses

For about a decade Makhinjauri was Batumi's railway gateway. The city's old terminus closed in the 1990s, and when services resumed they ended at Makhinjauri station, more than 6 km from the centre, until the new Batumi Central station opened in 2015 about 4 km from the old town. Georgian Railway cut the journey between Tbilisi and Batumi to four hours in 2026; we could not confirm which trains still stop at Makhinjauri itself.

The biggest change in recent years is the Batumi bypass, a 14 km road with 20 bridges and 5 tunnels that opened in October 2024 at a cost of GEL 330 million. Its route runs through Makhinjauri, Gantiadi, Kapreshumi, Salibauri, Peria, Guchtauri and Khelvachauri, taking transit traffic towards the Turkish border away from the coastal streets of the city. To the north, the twin-tube Chakvi-Makhinjauri road tunnel carries the main road on towards Chakvi and Kobuleti.

City buses in Batumi cost GEL 0.70 a trip with a transport card under fares set in January 2026, and a contactless bank card costs more. We could not confirm the current route numbers serving Makhinjauri, so check them with the municipal operator, Batumi Autotransport, before you rely on the bus. Our guide to the city centre covers the area most buses lead to.

Daily life

A public school has served the settlement for years; in 2016 it still carried the name "Public School of Daba Makhinjauri, Khelvachauri Municipality" in official reports. We could not confirm the clinics, kindergartens and supermarkets near any given building, or how many cafes stay open in winter, so ask the seller and walk the street on a weekday out of season. Batumi's population has grown fast, from about 155,000 to about 235,000 in ten years according to the head of the national statistics office in 2025, and the city's services are only a short drive away.

Pros and cons

Checking a flat in Makhinjauri step by step

1. Confirm the municipality

   Batumi or Khelvachauri, from the cadastral code.

2. Get the registry extract

   Owner, area, mortgages and bans.

3. See the permit and plan

   Plus the geological survey for slope sites.

4. Price the finish

   Green frame needs months and money.

5. Walk to the sea

   Count the steps and the crossings.

6. Ask for real rent records

   No zone data exists to fall back on.

Frequently asked questions

Is Makhinjauri part of Batumi?

The coastal part is, since a parliamentary resolution of June 2011; an upland village of the same name remains in Khelvachauri municipality.

How much do new flats cost in Makhinjauri?

Galt & Taggart's average for new finished flats was USD 1,983 per m² in the 2nd quarter of 2026.

Is it cheaper than central Batumi?

Much cheaper than Old Batumi, but close to the city average and above the New Boulevard area.

What does a flat in Makhinjauri rent for?

No reliable figure is published for the zone; ask for booking records or leases from the building.

Why are some listings so cheap?

Many are green frame flats that still need floors, kitchen and bathroom.

Is the Crowne Plaza in Makhinjauri open?

A hotel was announced in the Mziuri Gardens complex in 2022, but we could not confirm that it has opened.

How do I get to the city?

By the coastal road or the bypass, by taxi, or by city bus at GEL 0.70 a trip with a transport card.

Is the beach sandy?

No, it is a small pebble shore, like the rest of the Batumi coast.

Sources

1. Parliament Resolution No 4757 of 14 June 2011 on the boundaries of Batumi, Legislative Herald of Georgia
2. Batumi Residential Real Estate, 2Q26 Overview, Galt & Taggart, 14 August 2026
3. Batumi housing market: sales growth and risks of oversupply, International Investment, 1 June 2026
4. Makhinjauri, Georgian National Tourism Administration (accessed 27 October 2026)
5. Makhinjauri and Batumi railway station, Wikipedia (accessed 27 October 2026)
6. Flats for sale in Makhinjauri, ss.ge (accessed 27 October 2026)
7. Sea Residence listing, green frame flat listing and Mziuri Gardens, HomesOverseas (2026)
8. Five-star Crowne Plaza hotel will soon open in Adjara, Property Georgia, 16 June 2022
9. Arsi Group is building Sea Hills in Batumi, GBC, 26 January 2024
10. Batumi City Council Resolution No 22 of 31 March 2025 on a development plan in Makhinjauri, Legislative Herald of Georgia
11. Batumi bypass highway officially opens, First Channel, 11 October 2024, and bypass route, CBW
12. Batumi City Council Resolution No 9 of 30 January 2026 on bus fares, Legislative Herald of Georgia, and Batumi public transport fares, Madloba (updated 2 October 2026)
13. Newslines, 24 August 2026, European Rail Timetable
14. Deltares tackles coastal erosion in Batumi, Dredging Today, 14 January 2015
15. Batumi Botanical Garden, Wikipedia, and population of Batumi, First Channel, 4 November 2025

Change log

• 27 October 2026 - Area guide published from a 2011 Parliament resolution, Galt & Taggart, International Investment, the Georgian National Tourism Administration, Wikipedia, HomesOverseas, Property Georgia, GBC, Batumi City Council resolutions, First Channel, CBW, European Rail Timetable, Madloba and Dredging Today.