Seaside apartments in Batumi: the walk to the beach, the season and letting
In Batumi “by the sea” is used for anything from a building on the boulevard to a tower ten minutes from the beach. This selection covers apartments no more than 300 metres from the shore, which means the first, second and third rows. We shortlist such apartments to your brief, walk the route to the beach ourselves instead of trusting the listing, check how the building copes with salt and wind, and work out seasonal letting month by month.
What to know about the district
On the old Batumi Boulevard by the Old Town you have parks, cafés and the centre close by, and the buildings along it are of different ages. Along the New Boulevard and Khimshiashvili Street stand new towers, many apartments in them are let, and you reach the beach across the boulevard.
To the north, in Makhinjauri and by Green Cape, the railway and the main road often run between the buildings and the sea. The way down to the water there is worth walking before you buy: the crossing may be a long way from the building.
To the south, in Gonio and Kvariati, seaside homes are more often in complexes on the hillside. The sea is visible from the windows, but you sometimes reach it by stairs or a road, the season is shorter than in the city, and the centre is 20–30 minutes away by car.
We’ll find options to match your request
There are no properties matching these criteria in our public catalog right now. Some offers reach us before they’re published: leave a request, and we’ll message you a selection.
A seaside apartment in Batumi is the most common request from buyers abroad and the vaguest phrase in listings. “Five minutes to the sea” is written about a building on the boulevard and about a tower behind a wide avenue, from which you cross two junctions to reach the water. This selection covers apartments no more than 300 metres from the shore, and we walk the route to the beach ourselves and write in the report how long it took.
What “by the sea” means in a listing
Distances in listings are usually measured in a straight line on the map. In reality, between the building and the beach there may be a busy avenue, a construction fence or the gated grounds of a neighbouring complex, and the walk turns out twice as long. With a child, a beach bag or in the heat the difference is noticeable, and short-stay guests mention it in their reviews.
So we look at the route: how many minutes on foot, whether there are traffic lights or an underpass, where the nearest convenient way down to the water is. Batumi's beaches are pebbly, and a good entry into the sea is not always opposite the building but a couple of hundred metres away. If a beach with sunbeds and cafés matters to you, we take that into account too.
Seaside apartments in Batumi: the second row instead of the first
The first row is separated from the sea only by the boulevard or the beach. The second and third rows stand behind it, a few minutes' walk away. For many buyers this is a sensible compromise: the sea is close, there is less salt, wind and late-night noise from the promenade, and the price per square metre is usually lower. What life on the very first row is like is explained on our page about beachfront apartments.
The drawback of the second row is the view. At best you see the sea between buildings, and that gap can be closed by new construction. If the view matters to you, narrow the selection to sea view apartments, where we check what stands and what may appear in front of the building.
The season: a lively waterfront in summer, quiet in winter
Batumi has the most tourists from July to September. In those months the seaside streets stay busy until late at night: cafés, music, walks along the boulevard, queues in the shops. From October life moves to the centre, some beach cafés close until spring, and in buildings where apartments are mostly let to guests, few windows are lit in the evening.
If you plan to live by the sea all year round, we check what stays open nearby in winter: a grocery shop, a pharmacy, transport to the centre. If you need the apartment for the summer, what matters more is how the building is run in the season: security, parking, waste collection. How life and letting by the sea differ from the city is explained in our comparison of beachfront and the city centre.
A seaside building: what we check
Salt and humidity by the sea work at any height. The engineer looks at the metal on the balconies and the brackets of outdoor air conditioning units, the window seals and reveals, and signs of water on the ceiling by the balcony door. Inside the apartment they check the ventilation: damp in Batumi comes more often from stagnant air than from being close to the sea.
We look at the building as a whole. How many lifts it has and how they cope in summer, when the building is full of guests. Whether there is parking, because in the season you cannot leave a car near the beach. Who maintains the building, how much it costs and what the house rules are for short-term letting. If the outdoor air conditioning units are already rusty, anti-corrosion treatment costs from 300 ₾ per unit, which is cheaper than replacing them.
Price: what you pay for by the sea
The price per square metre rises as you get closer to the water, and the difference between the first and third rows is usually bigger than the difference in comfort. So we compare similar apartments in different rows by the same floor area and total price, and look at what the extra money buys you: a view, quiet, a closer beach or just an address.
If the building has a pool, security, parking and a reception, you pay for them twice: in the price of the apartment and every month in the maintenance fee. For your own summer visits this is often worth it. For letting we work out how much more guests pay per night in a building with a pool and compare it with what you spend on its upkeep.
Letting a seaside apartment
A seaside apartment lets well short-term in the season, and in winter it makes more sense to let it by the month than to keep it empty. We work this scheme out month by month, with platform commission, cleaning, utility bills, building maintenance and tax, and without promising occupancy.
If you come yourself in summer, decide which weeks to keep for yourself before the listing goes live: in July and August every night counts. You can manage the letting yourself or hand it to a management company; how we do it is described on our page about managed short-term letting.
What a seaside apartment search costs
A seaside apartment search costs from 5 400 ₾ as a flat fee, or you pay a buyer's agent commission of 2–3% of the price. A technical inspection of the apartment before purchase costs from 480 ₾, and legal due diligence from 960 ₾. The engineer's report also covers the walk to the beach: how many minutes, which crossings, where to get down to the water.
The final price is set after we look at your brief and agree the scope of work. The registry fee and notary charges are paid at their own rates.
Questions and answers
How much does a seaside apartment search in Batumi cost?
As a flat fee the search costs from 5 400 ₾, or 2–3% of the apartment price as a buyer's agent commission. It includes shortlisting options no more than 300 metres from the shore, viewings in person or by video, and a comparison by the walk to the beach, the view, the building and the running costs.
A technical inspection of the apartment costs from 480 ₾, and legal due diligence from 960 ₾. The final price is set after we look at your brief and agree the scope of work.
How close to the sea does an apartment have to be to count as seaside?
There is no single rule; every seller interprets it in their own way. In our selection these are apartments no more than 300 metres from the shore, while the first row, where only the boulevard or the beach lies ahead, has a selection of its own.
The route matters more than the metres. Three hundred metres along a quiet street and the same distance across an avenue with one set of traffic lights feel very different, especially with children. That is why our report gives the walking time and describes the route.
Isn't a seaside apartment too damp?
Humidity in Batumi is high everywhere, rarely below 70%, and by the sea it is not much higher than in the centre. Damp in an apartment depends mainly on the ventilation, the windows and whether the apartment is aired in winter when nobody is living there.
At the inspection the engineer measures wall moisture with a meter, looks for stains in corners and behind wardrobes, and checks the draw in the extractor vents. If the apartment will be empty in winter, we recommend a dehumidifier or an air conditioner in drying mode and scheduled visits.
Can you live in a seaside apartment all year round?
You can, but in winter the seaside neighbourhood looks different from summer. Some cafés are closed, buildings that are mostly let to guests have few lights on in the evening, and life moves to the centre. Some people like this, others find it empty.
If you plan to live here permanently, choose a building where many owners live all year and a district with shops and transport that keep working. Come and view the apartment in November or February: that way you see what you will be living with.
Where do you park in summer if the apartment is by the sea?
In the season there are few free spaces near the beaches and on the streets along the boulevard, and visitors from other cities arrive by car. So we look at parking together with the apartment: whether the building has an underground car park or a courtyard, whether spaces are sold separately and how much they cost.
If you are buying to let, a parking space for guests makes summer nights noticeably easier to sell. It is worth mentioning in the listing and including its cost in the calculation alongside the apartment.