Batumi Airport (BUS): frequently asked questions

Use Bolt (8–15 GEL to the centre) or a pre-booked transfer. Bus timetables for the airport routes are incomplete and evening service is not dependable, so do not plan a late arrival around the bus.

Usually 8–15 GEL to central Batumi, depending on time and demand (checked July 2026). Order the car in the app once you have your luggage; pickup is at the parking area outside arrivals.

BUS is the IATA code of Batumi International Airport (ICAO: UGSB), named after aircraft designer Aleksandre Kartveli — it is not a bus station.

City buses 10, 10a and 9 run between the airport road and Batumi (reported fares vary from 0.30 to 1 GEL), and bus 16 or a marshrutka runs the other way, to the Sarpi border crossing (≈1.5–2 GEL). Board at the stop on the main road outside the terminal.

Two ways. Pegasus sells tickets "to Hopa" and a free shuttle runs across the Sarp border — confirm it for your flight when booking. Independently: bus 16 to Sarpi (≈1.5–2 GEL), walk across the border (about 15 minutes), then a dolmuş on the Turkish side to Hopa or Rize; change in Hopa for Artvin.

We cannot confirm it from an official source. Neither the Georgian Revenue Service nor Turkish customs publishes opening hours for the Sarp crossing, and the Georgia–Turkey border agreement leaves them to be fixed by exchange of notes. Treat a night crossing as likely but unconfirmed, and keep a fallback. Queues build in summer daytime; nights and early mornings are usually quicker.

Georgian operators sell tourist SIM and eSIM packages in their city shops in Batumi, and an eSIM can be set up before you fly. The airport does not list any mobile-operator desk among its published terminal services, so do not plan on buying a SIM the moment you land — terminal Wi-Fi is free and enough to order a Bolt.

Official rates: 5 GEL up to 3 hours, 10 GEL up to 6, 15 GEL up to 12 and 20 GEL per day (source: the airport's official website, verified August 2026).

Check the Bolt price first — 8–15 GEL to the centre. Street quotes of 50–60 GEL at the stand are an opening bid, not a tariff. Agree the total in GEL before getting in, or simply order through the app.

About 2 km from the southern edge of Batumi; the central seafront is roughly a 10–15 minute drive. It is one of the shortest airport-to-city rides in the region.

Yes, but the network is strongly seasonal: around 23 airlines and 37 destinations at the summer peak, shrinking to a winter core such as Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Dubai and Tbilisi. Check the schedule for your travel month before planning connections.