Ureki: a travel guide
Ureki: the black sand, the shallow sea, and the short season.
Ureki is a summer resort in Guria, about 60 km north of Batumi, known for its black, magnetic sand and a very shallow sea. It is where Georgian families bring small children, and in July and August it is full. Most of the rooms are in family guesthouses, though there are some larger hotels.
When to go
- ·July and August are the peak. Crowded and at their most expensive; book ahead.
- ·Late June and early September: the sea is warm, the crowds are smaller and prices lower.
- ·From mid September to June almost everything is closed and the place is empty.
Getting there
- ·By marshrutka from Didube in Tbilisi: in summer direct minibuses to Ureki usually leave about every hour. It takes four and a half to five hours and costs about 30 GEL.
- ·By train from Tbilisi to Kobuleti and a taxi from there, about twenty minutes. Some trains also stop at Ureki station, about a kilometre and a half from the beach.
- ·By car, just off the Batumi to Poti road. About an hour and a half from Kutaisi airport.
What it costs
A night in a guesthouse, in season60 to 150 GEL
A night in a hotel, in season150 to 350 GEL
A meal out20 to 40 GEL
Rough figures. They move with the season and the place.
Worth doing
- ·The beach: the sea stays shallow a long way out, which makes it one of the safest on the coast for small children.
- ·Shekvetili, a few kilometres south: the pine forest, the miniature park and the Black Sea Arena.
- ·A day in Batumi, about an hour away.
One thing worth knowing
The healing powers of the sand are local belief rather than established fact. What is genuinely worth it is the warm, shallow water, which makes this the easiest beach in Georgia to bring small children to.