Batumi is reasonably described as 'Dubai on the Black Sea'. That apt description immediately indicates that it is not for everyone! Engorged with a rapidly rising skyline, its focus seems more on high-end hotels & shopping than anything else. And despite its seaside location, being from a place with magnificent coast and beaches, the Batumi shoreline seems manufactured and quite dreadful. At least the sunsets to the over the sea are occasionally spectacular.

Access in winter is best overland as flights into Batumi are quite limited and often delayed or cancelled. We came via the land border with Türkiye which was quite the experience! Unfortunately the rest of our crew were to be flying in. They never made it. Cancelled flights meant they went to Tbilisi instead and missed out on cat skiing. Better to fly into Kutaisi if going cat skiing. The couple of hours of extra driving are worth it to avoid flight delays or cancellations at Batumi.

Can you tell we weren't overly impressed with Batumi? Maybe it’s nice in summer, but even on that score we would rather be somewhere else. As a place to stay for a night during a winter tour around Georgia, Batumi makes some sense. Its 5-star hotels are quite cheap in the quiet winter season and there is plenty of shopping & restaurant choice. Otherwise, we are tipping that Batumi is NOT the reason you came to Georgia. Get up into the mountains......pronto!