Turkish coast and islands off the beaten path.
Less-touristed coastal towns and islands in Turkey, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
Sinop's narrow isthmus puts water on nearly every side of Turkey's northernmost Black Sea town, and that kind of geography — land almost swallowed by sea — repeats itself in different forms across all 110 picks here. Alanya's Seljuk citadel rises above the Mediterranean while Kemer's pine forests press down to the shore, and the marinas at Marmaris fill with sailors bound for Rhodes and Symi.
Alanya
A Mediterranean resort city on Turkey's southern coast where a Seljuk-era citadel dominates a modest peninsula backed by the Taurus Mountains, Alanya combine…
Sinop
Sinop sits on a narrow isthmus at the northernmost point of Turkey's Black Sea coast, giving the town water on nearly every side and a compact centre with a…
Marmaris
This Mediterranean port resort on the Turkish Riviera where mountains meet the sea, Marmaris has a walkable centre dense with restaurants and bars alongside…
Çankırı
City in Central Anatolia, northeast of Ankara, Çankırı sits at elevation on a historic trade route across the Anatolian plateau and retains several old build…
Gemlik
A waterfront town on the Gulf of Gemlik in Bursa Province, this industrial port traces its origins to the ancient Greek settlement of Cius and is widely know…
Şile
A Black Sea resort town on Istanbul's Anatolian side, Şile draws summer crowds from the city for its coastal access and compact centre with cafés and restaur…
Kemer
This Mediterranean resort town on the Turkish Riviera where the western Taurus Mountains meet a long stretch of coastline, Kemer sits a short drive southwest…
Beykoz
A district of Istanbul along the northern Bosphorus on the Anatolian side, Beykoz has a walkable centre with a concentration of cafés, restaurants, and histo…
Seferihisar district
This coastal district on the Aegean Sea southwest of İzmir, Seferihisar is known for its tangerine and satsuma orchards, the seaside resort neighborhood of S…
Çeşme
A beach resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast, Çeşme sits at the western tip of its own peninsula, just a short distance from the Greek island of Chios.
Orhangazi
A town in Bursa Province sitting on the western shore of Lake Iznik, with the Sea of Marmara close to the north and mountain ranges on both sides.
Corycus
Corycus, an ancient city in Cilicia Trachaea on the southern Anatolian coast, now lies beneath the modern town of Kızkalesi in Mersin Province.
Amasra
A Black Sea port town in Turkey's Bartın Province, Amasra sits on a headland flanked by two sheltered harbours and two small islands, with beaches and forest…
Bergama
Bergama, a town in the Northern Aegean region of Türkiye, is best known as the site of Pergamon, a World Heritage-listed ancient city that served as a major…
Karamürsel district
Sitting on the south shore of the Gulf of İzmit with ferry connections to İzmit and Hereke across the water, Karamürsel takes its name from the founder of th…
Assos
Stone-built waterfront buildings line a small, boat-filled harbour beneath a dramatic rocky hillside in this compact Aegean village, where waterside restaura…
Tuzla
A waterfront district on Istanbul's Asian side, Tuzla sits on a headland along the Sea of Marmara at the city's eastern edge, with a café and restaurant scen…
Tokat
This city in Turkey's mid-Black Sea region set at the confluence of the Tokat River and the Yeşilırmak, with hills rising on all sides above a broad fertile…
Burhaniye
This Aegean coastal town in Balıkesir Province known for its olive oil production, Burhaniye sits on the Gulf of Edremit with a port, a compact café and rest…
Espiye
This Black Sea town in Giresun Province sits directly on the coast, with district boundaries that stretch from the shoreline up into mountains and highland p…
Germencik
This compact Aegean town of red-tile rooftops spread across a green valley, with a domed mosque at its centre, forested hills rising on all sides, and easy a…
Demre
Demre, on the Mediterranean coast of Antalya Province, stands over the ruins of ancient Myra and is home to the tomb of Saint Nicholas — the 4th-century bish…
Söke
A sizeable Aegean town spread across a broad plain beneath a dramatic rocky mountain, with terracotta rooftops stretching to the horizon and easy access to n…
Muğla
This walkable city in southwestern Turkey with a well-preserved old town centre and a café-filled core, Muğla sits inland at elevation in the mountains, a sh…
Kaunos
This ancient Carian port city near Dalyan in Muğla Province, Kaunos dates its history to around the 10th century BC and is still under active archaeological…
Osmancık
A Turkish Black Sea region town where tiny river boats moor along a calm waterway at night, a dramatic rocky outcrop rises above a mosque minaret, and an ill…
Gökçeada district
Gökçeada — also known historically as Imbros — is Turkey's largest island, sitting in the northern Aegean at the entrance to the Gulf of Saros, and holds the…
Karaburun district
A small peninsula town at one of Anatolia's westernmost points, Karaburun sits at the northern tip of its namesake peninsula in İzmir Province, with bays and…
Safranbolu
Safranbolu's well-preserved Ottoman old town earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 1994, built around a deep ravine and dense with mosques, caravanserais, T…
Taşköprü
Taşköprü, a town in Kastamonu Province in Turkey's Black Sea region, takes its name from a seven-arched stone bridge built over the Gök River in the 13th cen…
Cide
A compact Black Sea coast town in Turkey's Kastamonu Province, Cide sits where forested mountains meet the shoreline, offering direct access to both the sea…
Ugurlu
This compact Aegean village on Gökçeada island, its white houses with terracotta roofs spread across rocky hillside terrain, with pine-forested slopes above…
Ardeşen
This Black Sea coast town in Turkey's Rize Province sits directly on the water, with mountains rising close behind.
Goeynuek
This small coastal town in Antalya Province, Göynük sits directly on a Blue Flag beach with mountain scenery rising behind it.
Hamamözü
This modest town in Turkey's Amasya Province sits in highland terrain near the Black Sea region's mountains, and the district is home to the Arkut Bey hot sp…
Gölcük
Sprawling Turkish town spread across hilly terrain above the Gulf of İzmit, Gölcük offers waterfront access, upland views over the Sea of Marmara, and a live…
Beylikdüzü
A residential district on Istanbul's European shore, Beylikdüzü offers a walkable waterfront promenade along the Sea of Marmara, with red-roofed houses climb…
Kumluca
This Mediterranean-coast town on the Turkish Riviera, Kumluca sits between the bays of Antalya and Fethiye on the Teke Peninsula, with a walkable centre full…
Arhavi
This Black Sea coast town in Turkey's Artvin Province, Arhavi sits directly on the water with mountains rising behind it.
Anamur district
A Mediterranean coastal town in Mersin Province, Anamur sits at Anatolia's southernmost point, where a beach strip and a seafront castle meet the foothills o…
Boyabat
A town in Sinop Province's Gökırmak valley, Boyabat sits along the "blue river" at the foot of the Isfendiyar Mountains, roughly midway between the Black Sea…
Maltepe
A dense residential district on Istanbul's Asian shore, Maltepe lines the Sea of Marmara with a waterfront promenade, low-rise neighbourhoods climbing toward…
Köyceğiz
Sitting at the northern end of its own lake, which connects to the Mediterranean through the Dalyan Delta, Köyceğiz is a tiny Turkish town in Muğla Province…
Urla
Coastal town on the Aegean shore west of İzmir, Urla has a compact centre with a concentrated café and restaurant scene and easy access to the water.
Edremit
This coastal district in western Balıkesir Province on the Aegean Sea, Edremit is known for olive farming and the Kazdağları (Kaz Mountains), which rise visi…
Gümüşhane
Mountain town in Turkey's Eastern Black Sea region, Gümüşhane sits along the Harşit River at high elevation and serves as a base for trekking in the surround…
Ünye
A Black Sea port city in Turkey's Ordu Province, Ünye sits directly on the coast with mountain views inland and a centre that holds a concentration of histor…
Cizre
Founded in the 9th century by the Emir of Mosul on a manmade island in the Tigris, Cizre is a Kurdish-majority city in southeastern Türkiye sitting on the ri…
Turhal
Turhal is a city in Turkey's Tokat Province, set on a fertile plain along the Yeşil Irmak river in the Black Sea region.
Çamlıhemşin
This modest town in Rize Province on Turkey's eastern Black Sea coast, Çamlıhemşin is known for its mountains and valleys of dense green, with autumn foliage…
Akçaabat
This Black Sea coast town just west of Trabzon, Akçaabat is known for its local kofta dish (Akçaabat köfte), the Akçaabat Horonu folk dance, and an internati…
Çamlıyayla district
High in the Taurus Mountains above Mersin, Çamlıyayla is a summer highland district whose lakes, streams, and pine forests draw crowds escaping coastal heat…
Mopsuestia
An ancient city in Cilicia Campestris on the Ceyhan River (the classical Pyramus), Mopsuestia — now called Yakapınar — sits on what was once a Silk Road rout…
Gelibolu
Gelibolu — the Turkish town whose name English speakers know as Gallipoli — sits on the European shore of the Dardanelles strait, serving as a ferry crossing…
Akşehir
The legendary home of Nasreddin Hoca — the folkloric wise man whose satirical tales spread across the Islamic world — Akşehir is a highland town in Konya Pro…
Erdek
A popular domestic holiday destination on the Kapıdağ Peninsula in Turkey's Sea of Marmara region, Erdek sits directly on the water with clean beaches and a…
Görele
This Black Sea coast town in eastern Turkey's Giresun Province, Görele sits at the water's edge with mountains rising close behind.
Armutlu
A pocket-sized town on the eastern shore of the Sea of Marmara, at the northern edge of Gemlik Bay, Armutlu sits where mountain terrain meets the water, with…
Kartal
This coastal district on Istanbul's Asian shore with a dense café and restaurant scene and an unusual concentration of churches for its size, Kartal sits alo…
Pazar
A compact Black Sea town in Turkey's Rize province where multi-storey apartment blocks climb densely forested green hills, offering a lived-in urban atmosphe…
Derince
This mid-size Turkish city on the Gulf of İzmit, Derince centres on a striking white mosque with a gold dome, its red-tile residential districts rising towar…
Silifke
A city on the Göksu River in Turkey's Mersin province, Silifke sits close to where the river meets the Mediterranean, with the Taurus Mountains rising nearby.
Datça
This modest Turkish town sits at the midpoint of the Datça Peninsula, a forested, mountainous strip of land that divides the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas.
Zonguldak
A Black Sea port city in northwestern Türkiye, Zonguldak was founded in 1849 to serve the coal mines of the surrounding region and remains a working industri…
Selendi
Tiny town in Turkey's Aegean region, Selendi sits alongside the Selendi Stream — a major tributary of the Gediz River that carries more water than the Gediz…
Arnavutköy
A sprawling low-rise district on Istanbul's European side, Arnavutköy spreads across green fields toward forested hills, with a Black Sea coastline, a cluste…
Manavgat
A city on the Mediterranean coast of Türkiye, midway between Antalya and Alanya, with a walkable centre full of cafés and restaurants and the Manavgat River…
Sultanhisar
A low-rise Aegean town spread across a broad valley floor, with a railway line threading past red-tile rooftops and dry mountain ridges rising sharply to the…
Hemşin
Scattered timber houses dot the intensely green forested hillsides of this pocket-sized Rize valley settlement, where lush tea-growing slopes, upland terrain…
Serik
This lively pedestrian shopping street with flower-filled planters, a bronze squirrel sculpture, and a busy mix of boutiques and market stalls defines the ce…
Heraclea at Latmus
Ancient Greek and Roman ruins line the shore of Lake Bafa at Heraclea at Latmus, a site in Mugla province where substantial city walls and other remains surv…
Karadeniz Ereğli
A Black Sea city in Zonguldak Province with a walkable centre full of cafés and restaurants right on the water, Karadeniz Ereğli sits where mountains meet th…
Tenedos
Famous for its grapes and wines since antiquity, Bozcaada — also known by its Greek name Tenedos — is a modest Aegean island off the Turkish coast with viney…
Bozyazı district
Mediterranean coast town in Mersin Province, Türkiye, where the shoreline is clean enough to support a colony of the critically endangered Mediterranean monk…
Kozan
Formerly known as Sis, Kozan was the capital of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, and the fortress built on a long rocky ridge at the centre of the modern cit…
Vize
Designated a Cittaslow (Slow City) in 2012, Vize is a small town in Eastern Thrace with a café and restaurant scene that would suit a town twice its size.
Selçuk
Selçuk, a town on Turkey's Aegean coast in İzmir Province, sits within easy reach of the ancient city of Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis — one of the Seven…
Çarşamba
A Black Sea town in Turkey's Samsun Province, Çarşamba sits on both banks of the Yeşilırmak river as it opens onto the Çarşamba Plain, with mountains visible…
Çay
This town in Turkey's Afyonkarahisar province where a multi-domed Ottoman stone mosque anchors the centre, set amid upland Aegean-Anatolian countryside with…
Marmaraereğlisi
A compact town on the Marmara coast in Eastern Thrace, Marmaraereğlisi sits just west of the Istanbul metropolitan area and draws weekend visitors from the c…
İlkadım
This Black Sea district forms the urban core of Samsun, with a walkable centre dense with cafés, restaurants, and historic churches along the coast.
Oltu
A town in northeastern Türkiye's Erzurum province, Oltu sits in the valley of the Oltu River at the crossroads of the Eastern Anatolia and Eastern Black Sea…
Uşak
Uşak, an inland Aegean city in Türkiye, is best known for its museum housing the Lydian treasures, with canyons and ancient sites scattered through the surro…
Fatsa
This mid-sized Black Sea coast city in Ordu Province, Fatsa offers a tree-lined seafront boulevard, palm-dotted promenades, and a backdrop of green hills rol…
Claros
This ancient Greek sanctuary on the Ionian coast, Claros was home to a temple and oracle of Apollo — rivaling Delphi and Didyma as a center of prophecy — fro…
Yalova
A ferry port on the southern shore of the Sea of Marmara in northwestern Türkiye, Yalova is best known as the gateway to the geothermal spa resort at nearby…
Pendik
A waterfront district on Istanbul's Asian side, Pendik sits along the Marmara Sea with a café and restaurant scene that punches above its weight.
Balıkesir
This regional city in Turkey's Marmara region with a walkable centre and a café and restaurant scene, Balıkesir has roots stretching through Roman, Byzantine…
Eyüp
Eyüp, on Istanbul's European shore at the head of the Golden Horn, draws visitors above all to the tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari — companion and standard-beare…
Nazilli
This sizeable Aegean city in Aydın Province, Nazilli offers a base for exploring the wider region's UNESCO-listed ancient sites, with upland country nearby a…
Menemen
Menemen, a city in İzmir Province on Turkey's Aegean coast, is known across the country for its earthenware pottery, produced here for centuries, as well as…
Lebedus
This small sandy bay curves around an ancient Ionian peninsula on Türkiye's Aegean coast, where the ruins of a once-prominent Greek city-state sit above turq…
Elaea
The ancient port city that once served as Pergamum's gateway to the sea, Elaea stood on the Aegean coast of what is now İzmir Province in western Türkiye.
Abana
Small Black Sea coast town in Kastamonu Province, Abana draws summer visitors to its beach, which stretches for several kilometres along the shore, backed by…
Zeytinli
Stacked stone houses with vine-draped balconies climb a green hillside on Gökçeada island, where this tiny Aegean village pairs upland tranquility with the s…
Karşıyaka district
This waterfront district on the northern shore of the Gulf of İzmir, Karşıyaka has a walkable centre with a dense café and restaurant scene running along the…
Manisa
Spreading across the slopes of Mount Sipylus in Turkey's Aegean region, Manisa is a city known for its old mosques and a five-hundred-year-old Mesir Paste Di…
Enez
A pocket-sized town on the Aegean coast of Eastern Thrace, Enez sits at the point where the Meriç river meets the sea at the Turkish-Greek border.
Bandırma
A port city on the southern shore of the Marmara Sea in Balıkesir Province, Bandırma serves as a major ferry hub with daily connections to Istanbul and Tekir…
Küçükçekmece
This densely populated district on Istanbul's European shore, Küçükçekmece sits alongside the lake that shares its name, with the Sea of Marmara to the south.
Terme
A Black Sea town in Turkey's Samsun Province with a compact centre of cafés and restaurants, Terme sits on the Terme River with mountains visible on the hori…
Tosya
Black Sea region town in Kastamonu's upland country, Tosya sits beside a rushing river with stone-walled weirs and lush waterside vegetation, offering a rela…
Salihli
Salihli, a city in Turkey's Aegean region, sits close to the ancient Lydian capital of Sardis — a site on UNESCO's Tentative World Heritage List and said to…
Çekmeköy
This sprawling residential district on Istanbul's Asian side, Çekmeköy offers tree-lined public squares, a modern civic centre, and easy access to the forest…
Karasu
This Black Sea coast town in Turkey's Sakarya Province with a compact centre of cafés and restaurants, Karasu draws summer visitors to its shoreline and sees…
Of
A Black Sea coast town in the eastern part of Trabzon Province, Of sits where the Solaklı and Baltacı streams meet the sea, with mountains rising to the south.
Yatağan district
This workaday Turkish town in Muğla Province, set among upland country inland from the coast, with a paved central square anchored by a statue and surrounded…
Sultangazi
A large district on Istanbul's European side, Sultangazi is home to the Alibey Reservoir, built between 1975 and 1983, where amateur fishing and water sports…
Gazipaşa
A coastal town on Türkiye's Antalya shore where rugged upland terrain meets the Mediterranean, with a walkable centre packed with cafés and restaurants drawi…
Kınık
A mid-sized Aegean town in Izmir province, Kınık sits close to water amid rolling hills and serves as a practical base for exploring the UNESCO World Heritag…