- The fast train is the best way from Tbilisi to Batumi for most people: about 4 hours on the quickest trains since August 2026, with 2nd-class seats at about 35 GEL (about $13).
- In late October 2026 the timetable had two trains each way, leaving Tbilisi Central at 08:05 and 17:10. Tickets go on sale 20 days ahead, and summer weekends sell out.
- Trains end at Batumi Central, ~4-5 km north of the old town, so plan a short Bolt or bus 10 ride into the centre.
- Metro Georgia coaches leave Ortachala and Didube about nine times a day for about 30-45 GEL and take 5.5 to 6 hours. Georgian Airways flies in 45 minutes on some days.
- By car the trip is ~370 km and 5 to 6 hours, with four lanes all the way to Samtredia since the Rikoti motorway opened in full. A private driver lets you stop at Uplistsikhe, Kutaisi or Martvili.
The quickest and easiest way from Tbilisi to Batumi is the fast train. It runs from Tbilisi Central to Batumi Central in about 4 hours and costs about 35 GEL in 2nd class. Coaches cost about the same but take 5.5 to 6 hours. The flight is short, yet it saves little time once you add both airports. Driving takes 5 to 6 hours over ~370 km, and a private car makes sense when you want stops on the way.
This guide starts with the train, which most of our guests take to the coast: departures, journey time, classes and 2026 fares, tickets, both stations, the best seats and what to do when summer trains sell out. Then come the coaches, the flight, the drive and our private transfer from Tbilisi to Batumi. For the city, see the Batumi travel guide and Batumi weather. All figures were checked in October 2026.
Tbilisi to Batumi: all the options compared
Six ways cover almost every trip. The table shows door-to-door reality, not only the time on the move, with prices for one adult in 2026.
| Option | Time | Approximate cost (2026) | Leaves from | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast train | About 4 h on the quickest trains | About 35 GEL ($13) in 2nd class, about 75 GEL ($29) in 1st | Tbilisi Central, Station Square | Most travellers; book early in summer |
| Coach (Metro Georgia) | 5.5 to 6 h | About 30-45 GEL ($12-17) | Ortachala bus station, then Didube | Night travel and days when the train is full |
| Marshrutka (minibus) | About 6 to 7 h | Roughly 30-40 GEL ($12-15), cash | Didube bus station | Leaving right now on a budget |
| Flight (Georgian Airways) | 45 min in the air, about 3.5 h door to door | Roughly 300 GEL ($115) one way | Tbilisi airport | Travellers already at the airport |
| Private transfer with stops | 5 to 6 h of driving, 9 to 11 h with sights | One price per car, see our route page | Your hotel, any hour | Families, groups, big bags, sightseeing |
| Self-drive | 5 to 6 h for ~370 km | Rental plus roughly 80-100 GEL ($31-38) of fuel | Anywhere | Drivers who want a car in Adjara |
For one or two people the train wins on price, comfort and time. The coach is the fallback when the train is full and the main way to travel overnight. From three people up, a car with a driver costs less per head than you might expect, and only a car turns the journey into a day of sightseeing. For a whole-trip budget, see our guide to trip costs in Georgia.
Tbilisi to Batumi train: times and journey time
Georgian Railway runs the line with Stadler double-deck electric trains, bought from Switzerland in 2016 and 2017. In August 2026 the company said the trip now takes about four hours, down from five and a half, thanks to new track and a faster mountain section. Its booking system showed 4 hours and 1 minute for every fast train in late October 2026.
Departures in autumn 2026
| Train | Leaves | Arrives | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 802 Tbilisi to Batumi | 08:05 | about 12:06 | Daily |
| 804 Tbilisi to Batumi | 17:10 | about 21:11 | Daily |
| 803 Batumi to Tbilisi | 08:00 | about 12:00 | Daily |
| 801 Batumi to Tbilisi | 16:50 | about 20:50 | Daily |
Only these four trains were in the booking system for late October. Some timetable sites also list a 06:30 and a 10:15 from Tbilisi, and a 14:10 and an 18:30 from Batumi. Extra trains like these are added in the busy months, so treat them as a bonus. The railway's own timetable page still showed the old 5.5-hour times when we looked, so search your date on the ticket site.
The fast trains stop only three times on the way: at Kutaisi Airport station, about 2 hours 35 minutes out of Tbilisi, then at Ureki and Kobuleti on the coast. For other lines and the night train to Yerevan, see our guide to trains in Georgia.
Tbilisi Batumi train classes and fares in 2026
The fast trains have three classes, and every seat is reserved. Georgian Railway publishes a small fare band for each class, which moves by a lari or two with distance and where you buy. These are the figures for the full Tbilisi to Batumi run.
| Class | Adult fare (2026) | Child aged 5 to 9 | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd class | About 32-34 GEL (about $13) | About 16-17 GEL (about $6) | Four seats across, in pairs; most of the train |
| 1st class | About 70-74 GEL (about $28) | About 35-37 GEL (about $14) | Three seats across, more legroom, a calmer car |
| Business | About 120-124 GEL (about $47) | About 60-62 GEL (about $23) | A small section with the widest seats |
Those are station prices, with a 0.50 GEL commission already inside. The railway's own website adds 1 GEL, and agents add their own fee. For late October 2026 trips the railway's site charged 35 GEL (about $13) in 2nd class and 75 GEL (about $29) in 1st, and offered no business seats online. A child under 5 rides free on your lap. If the child needs a seat of their own, or you bring two under-5s, buy a child ticket.
Is 1st class worth double? On a four-hour day trip, 2nd class is perfectly comfortable. Pay more if 2nd class is sold out or you want a quieter car.
How to buy Tbilisi to Batumi train tickets
Sales open 20 days before departure and close 10 minutes before the train leaves. Tickets are issued in the traveller's name with an ID number, so have every passport number ready. Bring the same passports to the train door.
- Choose where to buy
Online, use Georgian Railway's own ticket site or tkt.ge, the platform the railway names for online sales. Both have English pages and take foreign cards. Any railway ticket office sells any train, and so do some pay box machines. - Pick the train and seat
Search your date, then choose a train, a class and a seat on the car plan. Some seats face backwards, so choose with care if that makes you queasy. - Enter the passport details
Type each name and passport number exactly as printed. For a child under 14, the railway asks for a passport or a birth certificate. - Keep the ticket on your phone
The e-ticket comes by email. No printout is needed: staff at the door check it on your screen, with your passport. - If your plans change
A refund needs the passenger named on the ticket, with ID. Hand it back 15 or more hours ahead and you get everything; between 15 and 4 hours you get 85%, and later than that 70%. The commission is kept.
Sold-out summer weekends
From late June to early September, and over long weekends and holidays, the fast trains sell out. The hardest days are Friday and Saturday going west and Sunday coming back, so buy on the day your date goes on sale. If your train is already full, try these in order.
- Look at 1st class, which often keeps seats after 2nd class has gone, or ask a station desk about business.
- Search again the evening before and early on the day, when returned tickets come back on sale.
- Book a Metro Georgia coach online, with a reserved seat.
- Ask us for a private car, which runs on any date at any hour.
Tbilisi Central and Batumi Central: the two stations
Tbilisi Central
Trains leave from Tbilisi Central on Station Square, where the two metro lines meet. The building doubles as a shopping centre, with the ticket offices upstairs and the platforms on the top level. Give yourself 30 minutes from the metro exit to your seat.
Batumi Central
In Batumi the train does not stop in the old town. It ends at Batumi Central, a modern station on the northern edge of the city, beside the main road in from Kobuleti. Europe Square and the seafront are ~4-5 km away, about 15 minutes by car. Some guides name Makhinjauri as the arrival point, but the 2026 fast trains end here.
- Bolt is the easiest choice with bags: about 10 GEL (about $4) in 2026 to the seafront or Europe Square, a little more at night. Our Bolt in Georgia guide explains the app.
- City bus 10 starts at the station and runs south along Rustaveli Avenue, past the old town, to the airport. Tap a contactless card on the validator; on a foreign card a ride costs about 1 GEL (under $1) in 2026.
- The station has a left-luggage room, handy if you arrive before check-in or leave after checkout.
On board the Batumi train: where to sit, luggage and food
Seats with a view
The first half follows the Mtkvari through the dry farmland of Kartli. After Khashuri the line climbs through forest and tunnels over the Surami Pass, then drops into the green west. The Black Sea only shows up in the last 30 to 40 minutes, mostly between Kobuleti and Batumi. Going west it is on the right, so book a right-hand window; coming back, take the left. The upper deck gives the higher view.
Luggage
Bags are not weighed. Small cases fit on the racks above the seats, and big suitcases go in the stands by the doors. On full summer trains those stands fill early, so board soon after the doors open and keep valuables with you.
Food, power and Wi-Fi
Reports on catering differ. Some travellers find a small snack counter, others a train with nothing on sale, so bring water and something to eat. Each seat row has sockets, and the cars have air conditioning and toilets. Wi-Fi is weak and mobile data drops in the mountain tunnels, so download films or music before you go.
Tbilisi to Batumi bus and marshrutka
The main coach company on this route is Metro Georgia. Its booking system showed nine departures each way for a midweek day in late October 2026. Coaches start at Ortachala bus station on Gulia Street. They call at the Okriba bus station at Didube 20 to 35 minutes later and end at the company's own terminal on Gogol Street in Batumi.
| Leaves Ortachala | Leaves Didube | Arrives Batumi | Fare online (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01:00 | 01:20 | 07:00 | about 30 GEL ($12) |
| 05:00 | 05:20 | 10:45 | about 45 GEL ($17) |
| 09:00 | 09:30 | 15:00 | about 40 GEL ($15) |
| 10:30 | 11:00 | 16:30 | about 30 GEL ($12) |
| 12:00 | 12:35 | 17:45 | about 45 GEL ($17) |
| 15:00 | 15:35 | 21:00 | about 45 GEL ($17) |
| 18:00 | 18:30 | 00:01 | about 45 GEL ($17) |
| 20:00 | 20:30 | 01:30 | about 45 GEL ($17) |
| 23:00 | 23:30 | 04:30 | about 45 GEL ($17) |
So in 2026 a seat costs about 30-45 GEL (about $12-17), depending on the departure. You pick a seat online or in the Metro Georgia app and pay by card. The coaches list sockets and on-board internet, and the hold takes big suitcases. Going back, the nine Batumi departures run from 02:00 to 23:59.
Marshrutkas from Didube
Minibuses for Batumi also wait in the yard at Didube. They leave when the seats are full, you pay the driver in cash, and the ride takes 6 hours or more with one short break. Expect roughly 30-40 GEL (about $12-15) in 2026. A minibus only beats the coach when the next one is hours away and you want to go now.
Flying from Tbilisi to Batumi
Georgian Airways began flying from Tbilisi to Batumi on 25 June 2026 with a Boeing 737. In summer it flew on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, leaving Tbilisi at 09:00 and landing at 09:45; the return left Batumi at 19:30. It was still on the Batumi board on 24 and 25 October 2026, but no winter timetable had been published.
The flight is short, but the trip is not. Add the ride to Tbilisi airport, about 1.5 hours there before a domestic flight and the ride into Batumi, and you are close to the train's four hours. One report put a one-way fare at around 300 GEL (about $115). Flying in from abroad? Our guide to flights to Tbilisi compares the three airports, and Kutaisi airport has its own station on the Batumi line.
Driving from Tbilisi to Batumi: the motorway and the Rikoti tunnels
The drive is ~370 km and takes 5 to 6 hours with a short break. On 30 December 2025 the government opened the last part of the new Rikoti motorway: 52 km of four-lane road with 51 tunnels and 97 bridges, in place of the old climb over the Likhi range. Since then you have four lanes from Tbilisi all the way to Samtredia.
- Through the Rikoti section
The motorway runs through tunnel after tunnel in the Likhi range, then drops toward Zestaponi. Here the dry east turns green and wet. - Kutaisi to Samtredia
The road passes Kutaisi, ~230 km from Tbilisi, and reaches Samtredia. There you leave the Poti road and head south-west via Lanchkhuti to the coast at Grigoleti. - Along the coast
From Grigoleti, the Kobuleti bypass and a chain of tunnels keep you behind the resorts until you reach Batumi.
Road works in autumn 2026
- Grigoleti to Kobuleti: 11 km of the new 14 km four-lane bypass were open on 8 October 2026, and the last 3 km were still being built.
- Kobuleti bypass: funding for two extra lanes reached its next stage in October 2026, with no build dates yet.
- Old coast road through Shekvetili, Kobuleti and Chakvi: resurfacing on 3.5 km of it.
Expect a narrowed lane or a short diversion near the coast, nothing more. Before you set off, check the road status, since snow can slow the Rikoti section in deep winter.
- Georgian motorways have no tolls, and fuel stations come often all the way.
- On summer Fridays the coast-bound lanes fill up, and on Sundays the queue runs the other way. Leave Tbilisi before 08:00.
- A rental that ends in Batumi usually carries a one-way fee, and street parking in Batumi is paid.
Private transfer from Tbilisi to Batumi with stops
With a car and driver, the journey becomes a day out across the whole country. Our private transfer from Tbilisi to Batumi page lists the stops with distances and the price for each vehicle. Two or three stops make a good day. Leave by 08:00 and plan on 9 to 11 hours door to door.
- Uplistsikhe
Halls, wine presses and a rock-hewn street in a sandstone cliff over the Mtkvari, a short detour east of Gori. Allow about 1.5 hours. - Kutaisi
Gelati Monastery, founded by King David IV in 1106, and Bagrati Cathedral above the Rioni make a good lunch stop roughly two thirds of the way. - Martvili Canyon
A boat ride and a cliff path in a limestone gorge ~45 to 50 km north of Kutaisi. It adds about 2.5 to 3 hours, so it suits an early start or a night in Kutaisi. - The coast
Black magnetic sand at Ureki, Petra Fortress at Tsikhisdziri or a last coffee in Kobuleti, all within an hour of Batumi.
A car also solves the practical problems: pick-up at any hour, no limit on bags and child seats on request. The price is per vehicle, not per person.
If Batumi is the end of a longer trip, From the Mountains to the Sea runs from Kazbegi through Borjomi, Vardzia and Kutaisi to the coast in eight days. East to West links Tbilisi and Kakheti with Batumi in six. Both are private, with any date and any group size.
Night travel, children and lots of luggage
Travelling overnight
Overnight, the coach is the dependable choice. Metro Georgia leaves Tbilisi at 20:00, 23:00 and 01:00 and reaches Batumi between about 01:30 and 07:00. In some seasons Georgian Railway adds a late train with seats, not berths. In winter 2025/26 it left Tbilisi at 01:40, but it was not on sale in October 2026. In summer 2026 the Yerevan sleeper ran on to Batumi on alternate days. Book your room from the night before, so you can sleep on arrival.
With children
The train is the easiest option with kids: toilets, room to stretch and fixed seats. One child under 5 rides free on an adult's lap, children from 5 to 9 pay about half, and from 10 they pay as adults. Bring a passport or birth certificate for each child. In a private car we fit child seats and plan stops around naps and meals.
With heavy luggage
Two big suitcases each is no problem on the coach, which has a proper hold, or in a private car. On summer trains, space by the doors goes early, and bicycles or surfboards are easier by road.
Tbilisi to Batumi: frequently asked questions
How long is the train from Tbilisi to Batumi?
About 4 hours on the fastest trains since August 2026. Older guides still say 5 to 5.5 hours, the time before the track works.
How much is the Tbilisi to Batumi train ticket?
At a station desk in 2026, about 32-34 GEL (about $13) in 2nd class, about 70-74 GEL (about $28) in 1st and about 120-124 GEL (about $47) in business. Buying online adds about 1 GEL.
Where do I buy Tbilisi Batumi train tickets?
On Georgian Railway's ticket website or tkt.ge, or at any railway ticket office. Sales open 20 days ahead, and you need each traveller's passport number.
Which Tbilisi station do Batumi trains use?
Tbilisi Central on Station Square, above the metro. The platforms are on the top floor of a shopping centre, so arrive 30 minutes early.
Is there a bus from Tbilisi to Batumi?
Yes. Metro Georgia coaches leave Ortachala bus station about nine times a day, around the clock, and pick up at Didube. They take 5.5 to 6 hours and cost about 30-45 GEL (about $12-17) in 2026.
How far is Batumi Central station from the centre?
It sits on the city's northern edge, ~4-5 km from Europe Square. A Bolt costs about 10 GEL (about $4) in 2026, while bus 10 runs from the station through the centre.
Can you fly from Tbilisi to Batumi?
Yes. Georgian Airways flies it in about 45 minutes. It ran four days a week in summer 2026 and at weekends in late October. Door to door, it is barely faster than the train.
How can I see sights on the way from Tbilisi to Batumi?
Hire a private car with a driver. Uplistsikhe, Gelati in Kutaisi, Martvili Canyon and the Guria coast all fit on the way, though two or three stops already fill a 9 to 11 hour day.
