Batumi Best Markets: A Shopper’s Guide to Georgia’s Coastal Gem

Almost no trip is complete without a little shopping. You want to bring home a keepsake from the places you visit, especially from a colorful Black Sea city like Batumi. You probably won’t plan a whole trip around shopping, but you’ll still want to pick up souvenirs and some of the unique goods Georgia is known for. Batumi’s bazaars are the best place to do it, and there are several good ones.

Keep in mind that prices in Batumi, as across Georgia, are quoted in Georgian lari (GEL), so it’s easiest to exchange your money for the local currency.

Hopa clothing market: clothes, household goods and souvenirs

Hopa is probably the most famous market in town. It grew up in the early 1990s and is mainly a clothing market.

Hopa is the largest clothing market in Batumi, but it also sells vegetables, fruit, sweets and Georgian tea by weight. The selection is small and prices are about the same as in city stores, so don’t make a trip just for these.

Most of the clothes, shoes and textiles at Hopa are imported from China and Turkey, and the quality is modest. The prices match: sneakers cost 50-60 GEL, jeans 60-80 GEL and jackets start at 60 GEL. Finding something really good for adults takes time. If you like to try clothes on properly and check yourself in a mirror, you’ll be disappointed, because the market has no real facilities for it. Children’s clothes, bed linen and towels from Turkey, however, are good value and quite cheap.

The best reason to visit Hopa is the souvenirs. You’ll find fridge magnets, Caucasian wine horns, gift cups and much more. The selection is huge (it’s essentially Batumi’s flea market), and prices are much lower than in other shops.

How do I get there?

The Hopa market is easy to find. On the city map, look for Agmashenebeli Street (No. 21).

To get to Hopa:

Many city buses and minibuses pass the market. Routes change often, so check the Batumi bus app or Google Maps. A taxi from the center costs about 5 GEL.

Hopa is usually open from about 10:00 to 19:00 and closed on Mondays (some sources say only the first Monday of the month). Many vendors open a little later.

Good to know: For a look at Batumi’s beaches and what makes each one different, see our Batumi beach guide.

Where to buy fresh fish in Batumi

Batumi has a fish market all its own. It’s small and compact: just a little platform with 10 counters under awnings, set out in 2 rows. Fresh fish is sold here in every season and in all weather. For a small extra fee, the vendors will clean and cut your fish.

If you like, a nearby cafe will fry or grill your catch right away. It costs about 6 GEL per kg (confirm before ordering), and cleaning is about 3–5 GEL per kg. The fish cafe by the market entrance is colorful and very popular, and it’s often hard to find an empty seat. The smell of frying fish carries for several meters around the market. The menu is short: seasonal fish, vegetables, mchadi (Georgian corn bread), lemonade and beer.

What’s on offer changes with the season. Come to the fish market for flounder, mullet, red mullet, salmon, sturgeon, horse mackerel and Black Sea anchovy. You’ll also find trout from mountain streams, smoked mackerel, crayfish and mussels, and sometimes prized beluga sturgeon, bluefish or phosphorus-rich sardines.

All the stalls sell roughly the same products, so walk around and see what’s on offer before you start haggling. Below are prices per kg, in dollars for easy comparison. They are approximate (checked October 2026), vary by season and stall, and most vendors accept cash in lari only, so bring small bills:

• Rainbow trout: $6–8
• Large shrimp: $12–15
• Salmon: $7–12
• Mullet: $6–8
• Sturgeon: $13
• Flounder: $21
• Red mullet: $6–9
• Gobies: $2.5
• Horse mackerel: $2–4
• Dorado: $13–14
• Garfish: $13
• Sea bass: $10–13
• Crayfish: $13

You don’t even need the address to find the fish market. It’s behind the port, almost at the edge of the city, near the stop known as “Melkoye More” (Shallow Sea).

How to get there

From central Batumi, take any public transport heading toward the botanical garden and the village of Makhinjauri:

Take bus No. 10 or 10a toward Makhinjauri and the Botanical Garden, or minibus No. 31 or 40. Ask the driver for the fish market (Melkoye More).

Get off before the bridge and turn onto Noneshvili Street, near the “Melkoye More” (Shallow Sea) stop. The fish market’s address is 27 Baku Street. Tell the driver in advance that you want to stop at the fish market.

The fish market is usually open daily from about 10:00 to 20:00.

Tip: To plan what to see in Batumi on your own, read our guide to Batumi’s top highlights.

The central food market has the biggest selection

Batumi’s central food bazaar goes by several names: Parekhi, Boni or simply the Central Market. People come here to soak up the flavor of Georgian hospitality and to buy local treats, either for themselves or as gifts.

How the market is laid out

The market has two parts: an open-air area and a covered hall. The open area is mostly stalls with fruit, vegetables and herbs, plus cereals, tobacco and other small items. Right at the entrance, flower vendors sell a wide variety of bouquets.

The open area also has a small fish pavilion in an annex near the bridge over the railway yard. You can find it by the smell. The selection isn’t as varied as at the dedicated fish market, but you can still pick up good fish here.

The indoor pavilion is a spacious two-story building. On the left side of the ground floor are the vegetable and meat departments (mostly pork and beef). On the right, vendors sell fresh herbs, pickles and various kinds of beans. In the middle you’ll find counters with coffee, spices and homemade sauces.

Upstairs you’ll find all kinds of dried fruit, raisins, tklapi (fruit leather), nuts, honey and wine. This is also the place for churchkhela, a candy made of walnuts strung on a thread and dipped in grape must. It comes with different fillings and in different sizes and shapes. The dairy department offers an incredible range of homemade cheeses. You can also buy basturma (air-dried cured beef), sausages, homemade chicken and large yellow eggs.

One more thing: the central market (“Boni” or “Parekhi”) has several currency exchange offices on site, with a very good exchange rate.

Georgian dishes you should try

Prices at Boni market

Meat and fish here aren’t always cheaper than in supermarkets. Prices range from cheap to expensive, but if you pay more, you can pick the best produce, while the same money in a store buys average quality. Here are some sample prices, again in dollars:

• Whole chicken: $2.5 per kg
• Pork: about $7–8 per kg
• Beef: $7–8 per kg
• Suluguni (a mild, salty Georgian cheese): $5–8 per kg
• Smoked fish: $1.2–$1.7 per piece
• Potatoes: $0.4 per kg
• Cucumbers: $0.35–0.7 per kg
• Tomatoes: $0.5–1.5 per kg
• Apples: $0.5–1 per kg
• Grapes: $0.7–2 per kg
• Tangerines: $0.4 per kg
• Lettuce: $1.5–2 per kg
• Eggplant: $0.7 per kg
• Sweet cherries: $2–3 per kg
• Strawberries: $1–3 per kg
• Walnuts: $9 per kg
• Hazelnuts: $5.5 per kg
• Coffee: $1–3.20 per 100 g, depending on the variety

To save money, shop here after 15:00, when many merchants are open to bargaining and may give you a discount. Don’t be shy about haggling, especially if you’re buying a lot.

Where to find it and how to get there

The central market, marked “Boni” or “Parekhi” on the map, is near the old bus station. The main entrance is on Mayakovsky Street (now Saint Severian Achareli Street), and on maps the market may appear under Kikava Street 4B. It’s easy to get here from almost anywhere in the city, since many public transport routes pass by.

Many city buses and minibuses pass the market. Routes change often, so check the Batumi bus app or Google Maps. A taxi from the center costs about 5 GEL.

Instead of using the main entrance, you can also head to the railway yard and cross the pedestrian bridge over the tracks.

The central market is usually open Tuesday–Sunday, roughly 8:00 to 16:00–17:00 (until about 19:00 in summer), and closed on Mondays. It’s liveliest in the morning, and hours vary by season.