Alaçatı and Istanbul, Turkey

• More about your oliver guide: Beth Sheffner Scheer
• Trip type: Beach, City
• Activity level: moderate
• Ideal length of trip: 10 days

to & from

Turkish Air has nonstop flights to Istanbul from SFO and other major cities. Great airline. Istanbul Airport is HUGE but very modern and efficient. From Istanbul, you can catch a domestic flight to Izmir which is the closet airport to Alaçatı. Drive to the coast about 45-hour.

Where to Stay

ISTANBUL
https://www.thebankhotelistanbul.com/en (hotel that used to be a bank). Great service. Prime location.
https://www.peninsula.com/en/istanbul/5-star-luxury-hotel-bosphorus – right on the Bosphorus river. Stunning.
https://www.fourseasons.com/bosphorus/ *Great rooftop deck for a drink.

• ALACATI Alaçatı Hotel: https://alavya.com One of my favorite boutique hotels ever. Great setting, beautiful garden, pool and the food is incredible. They have yoga classes in the am that are wonderful.

Where to Eat and Drink

Food in Turkey is incredible. Breakfast has everything (incredible bread, fruit, yogurt, cheese, olives, and eggs). Most hotels will have a full breakfast.

• Grab a cocktail on the roof deck of the Four Seasons or The Peninsula hotel. Great views.
• Do the Two Continents Food tour (Asia and Europe). Take the ferry back to your hotel. https://yummyistanbul.com/taste-of-two-continents-tour/
• https://cuma.cc - Great for lunch. Casual.

What to Do

https://www.hurremsultanhamami.com/en/ Go here for an incredible Turkish Hammam. Beautiful, marble, meticulous. What is a Hammam? A relaxing ritual that involves a series of rooms with different temperatures, soaps, and scrubs to cleanse and regenerate the skin

• Sailing on a Gulet (traditional Turkish yacht). https://luxuryyachtcharters.com/cesme-gulet-boat-charter/ https://www.medsailholidays.com/alacati/ *Pack your bathing suit and sunscreen
• Shopping - https://www.jennifershamam.com - the most beautiful towels and linens.
• Alacati - e-bike trip. https://bikehousealacati.com https://likecesme.com/bicycle-hire-tours/ https://cycling.goturkiye.com/cesme-alacati So much fun. Great way to see the region.
• Take an evening cruise on the Bosphorus -- you can have cocktails and or dinner. Great way to see the city. https://bosporuscruise.com
• https://www.istanbulmodern.org - incredible modern art museum.
• Cukurcuma neighborhood for antiques/shopping.
• Rowing on the Bosphorus -- one of the highlights. https://istanbultourstudio.com/tours/i-m-rowing-in-istanbul

inside scoop

Traffic can be really bad in Istanbul so if you can walk vs. drive.. do it. If you go to the market at night, you can take the ferry back to central Istanbul.
Many stores take US dollars so don’t exchange too much money.

• Cultivatetravels.com planned this trip for me. Incredible attention to detail and so flexible. Highly recommend checking it out.

What to Pack

Istanbul is not a formal city but people do look chic when they go out. When in doubt, cover your legs and shoulders given that it is a Muslim centric country. Summer is very hot. Fall is a great time to go.

• Comfortable shoes, long skirts and long dresses. You must cover your shoulders and head in all the mosques so bring a scarf or buy one there.