Must-Visit Batumi Attractions — Day Trips by Car Batumi City Highlights — Boulevard, Piazza & Skyline Gonio Fortress & Southern Coast (15 km Drive) Batumi Botanical Garden & Hidden Beaches (9 km North) Mountain Escapes — Mtirala & Machakhela (25–30 km Inland) Highland Adjara — Khulo & Beyond (80 km, 2 hrs) Practical Info — Parking, Fuel & Driving Tips More Guides Must-Visit Batumi Attractions — Day Trips by Car Whether you've just picked up your rental car at Batumi Airport (BUS) or arranged car hire in the city, you're ready to explore the best things to do in Batumi and the surrounding Adjara region. From the 7 km Black Sea boulevard to ancient Roman fortresses and UNESCO rainforests — everything is within easy driving distance. Batumi City Highlights — Boulevard, Piazza & Skyline Start at Batumi Boulevard, a 7-kilometre seaside park dating back to 1881. Park near Miracle Park to visit the iconic Ali and Nino kinetic sculpture — two 8-metre steel figures that merge and separate every 10 minutes. The Alphabet Tower (130 m) offers a revolving restaurant at the top (20 GEL, ~€7, open 11:00–24:00). Argo Cable Car (Doppelmayr-built, 2,586 m) climbs to Mount Anuria at 256 m above sea level — round-trip 32.90 GEL (~€11), open 11:00–20:00. In the Old Town, Piazza Square features Venetian architecture and Europe's largest figurative marble mosaic (106 m², 88 million+ pieces). Don't miss the Dancing Fountains (free, 9 PM–2 AM in summer). 1 GEL/hr or 10 GEL/day via PayBox terminals or TBC Pay app. Illegal parking fine: 100 GEL. Best For Gonio Fortress & Southern Coast (15 km Drive) A 15-minute drive south on a paved coastal road leads to Gonio-Apsaros Fortress (1st century AD, 228×195 m, 18 towers). Linked to the Argonaut myth and revered as Saint Matthias' burial site. Entry: 10 GEL (~€3.30), open 10:00–18:00, free parking at the gate. Continue to Kvariati Beach (18 km) — the cleanest water on Georgia's coast, with scuba diving available. The road ends at (20 km), where the St. Andrew waterfall cascades beside the highway and the beach stretches to the Turkish border. Rental cars cannot cross into Turkey. Georgian rental agencies prohibit it and insurance won't cover you. The practical alternative: drop your car at Sarpi, walk across the border, and arrange separate car hire in Hopa or Trabzon. Entry Fee Batumi Botanical Garden & Hidden Beaches (9 km North) Just 9 km north of the city, Batumi Botanical Garden (founded 1912, 108 hectares) spans nine phytogeographic zones with 5,000+ plant species from the Himalayas to Mexico. Entry: 25 GEL (~€8.50), open 9:00–18:30, plan 3–4 hours. Any compact rental car reaches it easily on a paved road. Below the garden, Green Cape Beach offers pebbly shores with rocky grottoes and excellent snorkeling. Further north, Petra Fortress (17 km, Byzantine 535 AD) costs just 8 GEL (~€2.70) — closed Mondays. Free parking at both sites. Mountain Escapes — Mtirala & Machakhela (25–30 km Inland) Mtirala National Park — UNESCO World Heritage (Colchic Rainforests), 25 km from Batumi. Annual rainfall of 4,520 mm earned it the name "weeping mountain." The 7 km Tsablnari trail leads to a 28-metre waterfall and a zipline (15 GEL). Free entry. The paved serpentine from Chakvi village works for a compact car in dry conditions. No cell service in the park — download GPS maps before you go. Machakhela National Park (30 km) protects ancient Colchic forests with medieval "Tamara Bridges" — the Tskhemlara Bridge (25 m stone arch, 11th–13th century) is just 2 km from the visitor centre. Regular car OK to main villages; 4WD needed for deep forest trails. Highland Adjara — Khulo & Beyond (80 km, 2 hrs) Khulo-Tago Cable Car spans 1,919 metres across the Chorokhi River gorge with no intermediate pillars — the second-longest free-span cable car in Europe. The 8–10 minute ride hangs 280–350 m above the valley (3–5 GEL). The road to Khulo is paved and fine for any rental car. En route, stop at Adjarian Wine House (20 km from Batumi, Keda road) for Chkhaveri rosé made in traditional qvevri clay vessels. In the highlands, try borano (cheese melted in butter), sinori, and kaimagi — 95% of highland Adjarian dishes involve butter. The Goderdzi Pass (110 km, 2,027 m) is accessible June–October only in a regular car; winter requires SUV + snowcat. Practical Info — Parking, Fuel & Driving Tips Drive Time Car Type Premium 95 costs ~3.38 GEL/L (~€1.13). Fill up in Batumi before mountain trips — no fuel at Goderdzi Pass.