Scholar Özhan Öztürk claims that the town's former and native name comes from the word vis, meaning "town" in the now-extinct Thracian language and other Indo-European languages (Old Persian vith, Avesta visa, Sanskrit vesah, Gothic weihs, etc.).

There is little flat land in Fındıklı and most of the population lives in two large valleys, the Çağlayan (Laz: აბუ Abu) and the Arılı (ფიცხალა Pitsxala).

These conditions are ideal for the crops that drive the local economy, namely tea, hazelnuts, and some other fruits.

Other produce include milk, meat, eggs, honey and fish, and the new development is the planting of kiwi fruit.

The town consists of 8 quarters: Aksu, Merkez, Tatlısu, Yenimahalle, Hürriyet, Ilıca, Liman and Sahil.