On the group tour the pick-up is at stops near your hotel - the manager will send you the exact point and time when confirming; on a private tour we pick you up right at the hotel. Then we head north along the coast: the road is flat, with no serpentines - you can doze or watch the sea.
Trips 2026
Shekvetili Dendrological Park and Magnetic Sands: Tour from Batumi
What to expect
This is a trip to the north of Adjara - the direction tourists from Batumi take less often than the mountains, and they are missing out. In one day you will climb to a church with all of Batumi at your feet, walk the walls of a Byzantine fortress above the sea, spend an hour in a park where lemurs stroll the paths between trees brought from all over the world, test the black sand of Ureki with a magnet, and on the way back have lunch with trout that is netted from a flow-through pool only after you have ordered it. The route runs along the coast, with no serpentines and no long drives, so children and older travelers handle it equally well.
The main point of the day is the dendrological park in Shekvetili, half an hour from Kobuleti and just over an hour from Batumi. Getting there on your own means changing buses; as part of the tour the park is built into a route that fits in four more stops you would hardly reach in a single day by yourselves: the panoramic Sameba church, Petra fortress with its abandoned lemon farm, and the beach of black magnetic sand.
Who this route is for
Families with kids - one day fits lemurs on the paths, magnetic sand to dig in and a spot of fishing before lunch, while the longest stretch of driving is about an hour. Those who have already been to the mountains - this is a different Adjara: not waterfalls and gorges but a coastline with history, from a Byzantine fortress to a Soviet lemon farm. And those who like an easy pace: there are many stops, but not one that calls for stamina or hiking boots.
What to bring
If you plan to swim at Ureki - a swimsuit, a towel and a change of clothes: the beach has changing cabins (paid), but no towels. In summer - sunscreen and a hat: an hour on an open beach at noon is no joke. Money for lunch - cash is safer, the terminal at the riverside restaurant may lose signal. And free space on your phone: between the Sameba panorama, the lemurs and the black sand there will be more shots than you expect.
Excursion plan
- 10:00 - Departure from Batumi
- 10:30 - Church of the Holy Trinity on Mount Sameba (near Batumi) (20 min)The Tsminda Sameba monastery stands on a mountain right above Batumi - it is the very church you see from the promenade when you look up from the sea. From here the city opens up whole: the port, the towers, the boulevard and the shore to the horizon. The best morning photo spot of the route, before the haze rises over the sea.
- 11:35 - Petra Fortress (30 min)Petra fortress was built under Justinian, in the sixth century: the road from Byzantium to Iberia passed through it, and the fortress was besieged more than once over that road. The walls stand on a cliff right above the water, you can walk along them, and the viewpoint opens onto the sea and the shore all the way to Kobuleti - on a clear day one of the best views on the coast.
- 12:05 - The abandoned lemon farm (10 min)A stop you will not find in ordinary guidebooks. In Soviet times a citrus farm worked here, supplying half the country with lemons; what remains are the buildings and the trees gone wild. The lemon farm and the fortress are one complex, and ten minutes among this natural film set say more about Adjara's history than many a museum case.
- 12:45 - Shekvetili Dendrological Park (1 hour)The heart of the route. A park right by the sea where mature trees and plants have been brought from all over the world, and animals live freely among them: lemurs come out onto the paths, parrots call to each other in the crowns, turtles warm themselves by the water, and flamingos stand in their lagoon - you cannot get close, but the pink patch on the water is visible from afar. A special place is the big pond under a net: inside it birds fly, fish swim and turtles crawl along the bank, all together and without cages. Entry is free; the park is closed on Mondays and Thursdays, which is why departures follow a schedule.
- 13:55 - The Magnetic Sands of Ureki (1 hour)Ten minutes from the park and you are on Ureki beach with its black magnetic sand, the only one of its kind on the coast. The sand really is magnetic - test it with any metal object - and it warms up faster than ordinary sand, while the entry into the water is shallow. The hour is yours: on a warm day it is a swim, on a cool one a walk along the black sand, which is photogenic in any weather. The beach has paid changing cabins and toilets.
- 15:40 - Trout farm: tour and lunch (1,5 hours)The tastiest part of the day. The restaurant at the trout farm stands on a river, and the fish live in flow-through pools fed by that same river water. First you are shown the farm, then the trout is netted and cooked in front of you - freshness here is not a promise but a sequence of events. Children, if they want, are usually allowed to catch a fish themselves. Ordering trout is not obligatory: the menu has other dishes; lunch comes to 20-40 GEL per person on average and is paid separately, on the spot.
- 19:10 - Return to BatumiWe drive back along the shore; the group is dropped off at the same stops near the hotels, and on a private tour we take you to the door - just in time for an evening walk on the promenade.
Excursion details
Departure
Batumi
Meeting point
Departure from your address in Batumi or we will ask you to come to the nearest convenient point along the road so as not to delay departure
Departure time
10:00
Return time
19:10
Price includes
- Comfortable car with air conditioning
- National feast at a local farmer's
Price does NOT include
- Ticket to Petra Fortress adult 15 GEL, children from 6 to 16 years old - 1 GEL, under 6 years old - free
- Lunch
Payment
Payment on the day of departure in cash
