A Russian travel blogger has warned that the Georgian Black Sea resort of Batumi is not for everyone after encountering chaotic traffic and dripping laundry.
Writing on the Russian blogging platform Dzen in her personal channel named See With Your Own Eyes, the traveller said her trip to the popular coastal city left her deeply unimpressed by its urban disorder.
The author explained that a clash of construction styles produced a bizarre visual environment. She noted that while certain quarters reminded her of Turkey or Italy, other parts of the resort resembled an incomplete Dubai, dominated by towering skyscrapers and ostentatious buildings fitted with classical columns.
Street laundry and dangerous driving
The blogger was particularly astonished by the sight of residents hanging clotheslines across public spaces. Lines carrying wet laundry were stretched between residential apartment blocks, tied to utility poles, and fastened to street trees across the resort.
She remarked that while strings of drying clothes looked charming and homely in small countryside villages, the practice was unacceptable in a major city. She said that pedestrians walking down the street regularly had water dripping directly onto their heads from people's underpants.
The traveller also expressed frustration with street cleanliness and chaotic road traffic. She reported seeing rubbish strewn across city pavements and claimed that Georgian drivers routinely abandoned their vehicles wherever they pleased, leaving cars parked in the middle of active roads and across marked pedestrian crossings.
Pedestrian safety was equally disregarded, according to the post. The blogger complained that drivers in Batumi never yielded to people attempting to cross, describing painted zebra crossings as simple street art that offered no actual protection. She added that motorists were more likely to hit a pedestrian with their bonnet than stop to let them walk.
Black Sea resort development
Batumi is the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, situated on the subtropical coast of the Black Sea in southwestern Georgia, approximately 15 miles north of the Turkish border. The historic port has long served as the country's primary seaside getaway, known for its palm-lined promenade, pebbled beaches, and thriving nightlife.
In recent decades, regional authorities have promoted extensive urban reconstruction, transforming the skyline with casino resorts, international luxury hotels, and modern residential high-rises. Georgia has also remained a key holiday destination for Russian tourists, who benefit from visa-free travel regulations and frequent transport links between the two countries.
The criticism follows similar complaints from other visitors. Earlier, another Russian tourist described Batumi as a beach nightmare, complaining that raw sewage from newly developed neighbourhoods was being pumped directly into the Black Sea, causing a foul stench along the city waterfront.
