Uzungol Tour from Trabzon: Day-Trip Route, Timings and Prices

An Uzungol tour from Trabzon covers about 99 km each way and takes 7 to 8 hours door to door, with roughly 1 hour 45 minutes of driving in each direction and three to four hours at the lake and the highland viewpoints above it. Our private Uzungol tour starts from $80 with hotel pickup, a local guide and a private van; shared minibus tours sold on booking sites in October 2026 started at around $45 to $57 per person.

That is the short answer. The longer one depends on when you go, who you travel with and how much of the Black Sea coast you want to see, because Uzungöl in late July and Uzungöl on a wet Tuesday in October are two very different places.

How far is Uzungöl from Trabzon?

Uzungöl lies in the Çaykara district, about 99 km south-east of Trabzon city centre and 19 km above the town of Çaykara. The road follows the Black Sea coast east through Yomra, Arsin, Araklı and Sürmene, then turns inland at Of and climbs the Solaklı river valley. The coastal section is a fast dual carriageway. The last 20 km are narrower and wind up through tea gardens and spruce forest, which is where most of the time goes.

In normal traffic the drive takes 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours. On summer weekends, when the car park by the lake fills and coaches queue at the village entrance, allow more. From Trabzon Airport (TZX) the distance is almost the same, as the airport sits on the coast east of the centre, so many visitors from the Gulf go straight from arrivals to the lake and spend their first night there.

Ways to get from Trabzon to Uzungöl

There are five realistic options. Prices below were checked in October 2026; lira prices move fast, so treat them as a guide.

Shared tours are cheap because they include long shopping stops: a knife workshop in Sürmene, a tea factory outlet, sometimes a honey shop. You spend less time at the lake than the listing suggests. Private transfers make sense if you plan to sleep at Uzungöl, which we recommend in summer, when day visitors arrive around 11:00 and leave by 16:00.

The public minibus works, but it is not simple. There is no direct bus from the airport. You travel into Trabzon, take a minibus east along the coast towards Of and Çaykara, and change for the last stretch. We could not confirm a 2026 timetable or fare from the municipality, so ask at the minibus stops near Çarşı in Trabzon on the day and check the time of the last minibus back.

What happens on a private Uzungöl day tour

Here is how our guides usually run the Uzungöl day trip from Trabzon for a family or small group. Times shift with the season and with how long you linger at each stop.

1. 08:30 to 09:00 pickup from your hotel in Trabzon, or from the airport if you land early.
2. 09:30 short stop on the coast road at Sürmene, known across Turkey for its handmade knives. Look, do not feel obliged to buy.
3. 10:15 the road turns inland at Of. Tea terraces cover the slopes on both sides of the Solaklı valley; in late spring you see the pickers at work.
4. 10:45 arrival at Uzungöl. A walk around the lake on the flat path, the mosque on the shore and the wooden bridges over the stream.
5. 12:30 lunch at a lakeside restaurant (not included in the price): fresh trout, kuymak (the region's cornmeal and cheese dish), black cabbage soup and Black Sea pide.
6. 14:00 drive up to the highland viewpoints of Karester and Lustra, with timber houses, summer pastures and, on a clear day, a view down the whole valley.
7. 15:30 tea break, then the drive back to the coast.
8. 17:00 to 17:30 drop-off at your hotel.

Our tour includes the private van, a local guide and any entrance fees. Meals, drinks, tips and personal shopping are not included. You can change the order, skip the shopping stop or add time at the viewpoint; that is the point of a private tour. You can see the full details and book on the private Uzungol tour from Trabzon page. Prices change with the season and group size, so message us for the exact price for your dates.

Uzungöl lake: what you actually see

Uzungöl means "long lake" in Turkish. It formed when a landslide brought rocks down the slopes and blocked the stream in the valley floor; most local sources name it as the Haldizen stream. The lake is about 1 km long and 500 m wide, with an average depth of around 15 m, and it sits at roughly 1,090 m above sea level.

The lake walk is the main event. A flat, paved path runs around the shore and takes most people 45 minutes to an hour at a relaxed pace, longer with children and photo stops. The mosque by the water, with its slim minaret against the forest, is the picture everyone knows. It looks best in the evening, when its lights reflect on the water, which is one reason to stay the night.

Above the village there is a viewing terrace reached by road or by a stepped path through the trees. It gives the classic view down the length of the lake with the village at its head. For walkers, a four-hour trail leads from the area to small glacial lakes near Mount Haldizen, on open grassland at around 2,800 m. That is a full day in itself and not part of a standard tour.

Best time to visit Uzungöl

The best time to visit Uzungöl is late May to June and September to mid-October. The valley is green, the hotels are not full and the roads are quiet on weekdays.

Two things surprise first-time visitors. The eastern Black Sea is the wettest part of Turkey, and even in summer the valley can fill with cloud by early afternoon, so the best light is usually in the morning. And in winter the village and the slopes turn white, which is popular with travellers from the Gulf who want to see snow. Roads are cleared, but a 4x4 or a driver with winter tyres is the safer choice from December to March, and highland viewpoints may be closed by snow.

Is Uzungöl worth visiting? An honest view

Yes, if you go at the right time and with the right expectations. The setting is beautiful: a dark green lake under steep forested slopes, tea gardens on the way, timber houses higher up.

The village itself is another story. It has grown fast, with more than 2,000 hotel rooms aimed mainly at visitors from the Gulf, and concrete hotels now crowd the lakeshore. A retaining wall along the water makes the edge feel more like a park than a wild lake. Some visitors find the souvenir stalls and the summer crowds disappointing, and say so in reviews.

Our advice from running this trip every summer:

• Arrive before 10:30 or stay after 16:00, when the day coaches have gone.
• Go on a weekday in July and August; Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest days.
• Spend more time in the highlands than at the lakeshore. The views from Karester and the higher pastures are the part most of our guests talk about afterwards.
• If you want wilder nature, add the Ayder plateau and Storm Valley in Rize, which are less developed.

Combine Uzungöl with Sumela, Ayder and Trabzon city

Most people who fly to Trabzon stay three to five nights and do one big trip a day. Our four private tours from Trabzon fit together like this:

Sumela Monastery is the strongest cultural sight in the region: a Greek Orthodox monastery built into a cliff face in Altındere National Park, with frescoes inside the rock church. Expect a walk uphill from the car park and some steps. Ayder is a high plateau with wooden houses, hot springs and waterfalls; the drive up the Fırtına valley past the stone bridges and Zilkale is half the experience.

If you are coming from Istanbul first, our Istanbul and Trabzon package puts both cities in one trip, with domestic flights, hotels and transfers arranged together. The flight from Istanbul to Trabzon takes about 1 hour 50 minutes.

Travelling to Uzungöl from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the Gulf

Visitors from the Gulf have made Uzungöl what it is today, and most of the practical questions we get come from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dubai, Kuwait and Doha.

Visa. Citizens of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Oman do not need a visa for Turkey for tourist stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, under a presidential decree published in Turkey's Official Gazette on 23 December 2023. Qatari citizens have had the same 90-day exemption since 28 May 2016, according to the Turkish Embassy in Doha, which also asks for a passport valid for at least six months. Kuwaiti citizens are also visa-exempt for 90 days. Rules can change, so check with the Turkish embassy before you fly.

Flights. In the summer season there are direct flights from Riyadh to Trabzon with flynas, flyadeal and Pegasus, with a flight time of about three hours and 15 minutes, and schedule sites also list seasonal direct flights from Kuwait and Dammam. From Dubai, Jeddah and Doha most travellers connect in Istanbul, then take the 1 hour 50 minute domestic flight with Turkish Airlines, AJet or Pegasus. Charter flights from the Gulf to Trabzon also run in peak summer.

Money. Our prices are in US dollars. Because the Saudi riyal and the UAE dirham are pegged to the dollar, the conversion is fixed: $80 is about SAR 300 or AED 294. Most hotels and restaurants in Uzungöl accept cards, but small shops and minibuses want cash in Turkish lira. Our guide to exchanging money in Istanbul explains how to get a fair rate.

Food and prayer. Food in the region is halal by default, and alcohol is hard to find in Uzungöl itself. The mosque on the lakeshore is open for prayer, and there are smaller mosques in every village on the route. Many restaurants and shops in the village have menus and signs in Arabic.

Families. Most Gulf visitors come as families in July and August. A private van means one vehicle for the whole group, with stops whenever the children need one. Larger families can book a bigger vehicle; tell us the number of adults and children when you write. We can also arrange an Arabic-speaking guide on request, as we do for our Arabic-speaking guide in Istanbul service.

For a longer holiday that starts in Istanbul, see our Istanbul tours for Gulf travellers and Turkey tour packages from Saudi Arabia.

Where to stay: Trabzon or Uzungöl?

Stay in Trabzon if you want to do several day trips, eat in the city and have the airport close by. Stay at Uzungöl for at least one night if you want the lake in the early morning and the evening, without the day visitors. A good pattern is three nights in Trabzon and one in Uzungöl, with the Uzungöl tour turned into a one-way transfer and the next day's tour picking you up at the lake.

Lakeside hotel prices rise sharply in July and August and around Eid holidays. Book rooms early for those dates, and ask for a room facing the lake rather than the road.

How to book the Uzungöl tour

Send us your date, hotel name in Trabzon and number of travellers on WhatsApp or by email. For next-day tours we can usually confirm the same evening, depending on the season; in July and August, write two or three days ahead. You pay the guide or our office in cash or by card, and the tour runs privately for your group only.

From Istanbul, our team can also handle the flight to Trabzon and the transfers. If you are still choosing between regions, our private Istanbul tours and Black Sea tours pages show the other trips we run.

Frequently Asked Questions