Black Sea Turkey Travel Guide

The eastern Black Sea region is the part of Turkey that surprises foreign visitors most. Instead of beaches and ruins, you find steep mountains covered in forest, tea plantations on slopes above the sea, wooden villages and summer pastures high in the clouds. Trabzon is the main city and the usual starting point.

Why visit the Black Sea region

Sumela Monastery, built into a cliff face in the Altindere Valley, is the best-known sight. It was founded in the Byzantine period and its rock church still has frescoes. The monastery reopened after long restoration work; some sections may still be closed at times. Uzungol is a lake village surrounded by mountains, popular with visitors from across Turkey and the Gulf. East of Trabzon, the province of Rize is Turkey's tea country, and above it the Kackar Mountains hold the Ayder plateau and the Firtina Valley with its stone bridges and the hilltop Zilkale castle.

How many days you need

Three to four days is a good length: one day for Trabzon and Sumela, one for Uzungol, one for Rize, the tea gardens and Ayder. Our Trabzon Sumela Monastery tour and private Uzungol day trip from Trabzon cover the first two.

Best time to visit

June to September is the main season. It rains all year here, which is why everything is so green, but summer has the most dry days and the highland roads and guesthouses are open. May and October are quieter and often misty. In winter the mountains get heavy snow and many plateau villages close.

Getting there from Istanbul

Flights from Istanbul to Trabzon take about 1 hour 50 minutes. Rize-Artvin Airport, opened in 2022, is closer to Rize and Ayder. By road the trip is over 1,000 km, so flying is the only practical option for a short visit.

Top experiences

• Sumela Monastery on its cliff, reached by a forest road and a short walk.
• Trabzon's Hagia Sophia, a 13th-century church with frescoes, now a mosque. See our Trabzon city tour.
• The lake and wooden houses of Uzungol.
• Tea gardens around Rize, and a glass of fresh tea with a view of the sea.
• The Ayder plateau and the Firtina Valley. See our Rize, Ayder and Storm Valley tour.
• Rafting on the Firtina river in summer.

Where to stay

Trabzon city for the widest choice of hotels. Uzungol and Ayder for mountain lodges and wooden guesthouses, mostly open in summer.

What to eat

The Black Sea kitchen is its own world. Try hamsi (fried anchovies, best in winter), kuymak or muhlama (cornmeal melted with butter and stringy cheese), Akcaabat kofte, and laz boregi, a custard pastry. Tea comes with everything.

Practical tips

• Bring a rain jacket at any time of year.
• Mountain roads are narrow and winding; allow extra time.
• Sumela has a fixed visiting route and can be busy in summer afternoons.

See all Black Sea Turkey tours.