Keda Voyage Tips and guide

Keda is a town and municipal center of Keda Municipality, located at the confluence of the Acharistsqali and Akavreta rivers in the Autonomous Republic of Adjara in Southwestern Georgia.

About an hour east of Batumi, Keda sits in a mountain valley carved by the Acharistqali River, straddling both sides of its banks. Known for its wine production (particularly of the chkhaveri and tsolikouri variety of grapes), apiaries, and its location relative to many historical and ecological sites, thousands of tourists visit Keda each year.

Despite being located in the mountains, Keda boasts a humid and subtropical climate, with hot summers and cold, wet winters. Sitting underneath the shadow of Mtirala National Park, Keda is one of the rainiest municipalities in Georgia, receiving on average 84 inches of precipitation yearly.

Minibuses (marshutka in Georgian) service the Batumi-Keda route daily, running between the Batumi Intercity Bus Station and downtown Keda every 30 minutes at the 15 and 45 minute marks of the hour. Passengers can easily hail the Keda marshutka, which typically displays a placard reading "Keda 77" in Latin letters. The price of the full route is 3 lari, and the last marshutka from Batumi to Keda can be boarded from the bus station at 8pm. However, this bus often fills up quickly; it's recommended to take an earlier marshutka to avoid running the risk of being on an overcrowded one or turned away.

Rideshare services like Maxim Taxi and Bolt will take fares from Batumi to Keda, though the latter service does not work for passengers requesting transportation from Keda to Batumi. The minimum fare of a taxi from Keda to Batumi, and vice versa, is 50 lari, but prices are often higher for tourists.

Although the area surrounding the town is incredibly mountainous, Keda itself is easily walkable, though the southern portion of the town is considerably more hilly than the side on the northern bank of the river. A municipal-funded marshutka (a grey van with a sign on the sliding door reading "From the people of Japan" above a Japanese flag) provides free transportation within the town itself.

Private taxis can be found near the traffic circle downtown or by the bridge for transportation to surrounding areas.

Keda is generally quite safe: however, care should be avoided when walking near the traffic circle, as the curvature of the road makes it difficult at times to see oncoming traffic. While it's common to see locals fishing near the banks of the two rivers, caution should be taken as the Acharistqali can flow rapidly, particularly after heavy rainstorms and in the springtime.