Trabzon to Batumi - Day 29 - Thursday 25th September 2025 - Balkan-Georgia Trip - Day 29/34 - City 21/22 - country 11/11
- eusts6
- Nov 19, 2025
- 2 min read
We were well-rested the next morning, as much as you can be at 06:30 in the morning. As we were just opposite the bus station, we left with 30 minutes to spare. The bus was late, and seats 2 and 3 were occupied when we got on; we had actually reserved the seats. The journey to the border took 2 hours, passing lots of soulless towns, but also past lots of tea plantations.
At the border, we had to take our bags off the bus, go upstairs to a kind of bridge, have our bags x-rayed, then stamped on the Turkish side only to have to repeat the process all over at the Georgian side straight after. Passports stamped and bags x-rayed now 3 separate times, we boarded the bus in Sarpi.
Georgia was a welcome sight. It looked more run-down than Turkey, but I felt welcomed. We did, however, reclaim our seats 2 and 3 with a bit of commotion from the Georgian lady who was sitting there.
In Batumi, we were set down at the railway station. We had no Georgian money, so our taxi driver stopped on the way to the hotel to exchange money. When we got close to the hotel, we saw that a large crane was blocking the street, so we had to do the last few 100 meters on foot. Once inside the building, which was also being renovated, we saw a family in what was their living room but acted as the reception. The hotel was tastefully decorated with marble floors and luxury decorations.
After a shower, we explored the area, stopping for a khachapuri and some lovely sulguni cheese.
I remembered everything from the first time, Batumi is beautifully done. We took a horse and carriage trip around the city and then a walk by the sea, accidentally witnessing a wonderful sunset.
We walked back again to "our restaurant" for a wonderful veggie soup and cheese-filled mushrooms with chacha and wine too.
The Irish bar that we remembered from the first visit, Mary's, had closed down, and the previous owner disappeared. In its place, it was called "Sláinte."
I ordered a homemade Saperavi, which was poured from a plastic bottle, and two people sat at the bar; we started chatting. It turned out they were from Saudi Arabia, and they invited us to their apartment the next night. He had a pint, and his wife was drinking cocktails.
He ended up ordering 3 Connemara whiskeys for us and paid the entire bill.
In a word #newfriends
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