When we visited Turkey last summer (July 2023), I really wanted to visit the proper Turkish Riviera. We seriously looked at the towns Bodrum, Kos, Alaçati, Çesme, and Izmir, and choose  Izmir, even though its not the real Turkish Riviera, due to its proximity to the airport and Ephesus historical site and reasonable price. We also needed Marriott nights, and Izmir has a lovely Marriott. I was fine with our decision but wanted to experience the Turkish Rivera, at least for a day. Enter a boat tour from Çesme and an afternoon strolling the town. This article details our experience. In brief, Çesme is a cute tourist town and the boat showed us gorgeous coast, but I am not sure I would squeeze a Çesme day into an Izmir itinerary again – it deserves its own couple days!

ÇESME, TURKEY

Çesme, apparently meaning “fountain”, is a small Turkish town on the Aegean sea at the tip of the Çesme peninsula. The name Çesme also refers to the greater Çesme area and includes the popular destination town of Alaçati.  Çesme is a favored holiday destination with Turks, is slowly becoming more well-known with the international crowd, and can get quite crowded in the summer. Numerous tourist lodging options crowd the area, with a modern highway connecting the town of Çesme to Izmir, the closest big city and international airport.  In terms of a destination, Çesme is a very cute little town and enjoys gorgeous views of the Aegean. One could easily waste away a few days enjoying the sun and sea.

For tourist purposes, Çesme is most famous for its Ottoman old town and its ruined castle, of which the walls are fairly well preserved. Tourists can visit both on foot in a couple hours. The real point of Çesme is to relax and enjoy the day.

We got to Çesme by taking an Uber (yes, the American app) from our hotel in Izmir. The ride took about 45 minutes. We took a taxi coming back, as we could not find an Uber. Alternatively, a bus runs regularly between Çesme and Izmir (we probably should have taken this but were lazy).

Çesme is also only 10 kilometers from the Greek island of Chios and ferries run daily between the two destinations (at least during high season). The ferry lasts 20 minutes. There apparently used to be a ferry from the Athens, Greece area to Çesme, but that closed during COVID and has not yet reopened.

A BOAT TOUR FROM ÇESME AROUND THE COAST

One of the most popular things to do in Çesme is to take a day cruise from Çesme harbor into the Aegean and back. These tours last all day, and were very reasonably priced (at least in July 2023)! On a morning arrival in Çesme harbor, tourists will see numerous boats (and possibly some yachts!) moored on the waterfront. Most all of these boats take tourists out for day tours last about 7 hours, most providing swimming and sightseeing of the surrounding area and lunch. I could not find too much about these tours or boats online in advance, and it seemed that many people booked same day.  All of the boat tours departed around 10:30 or 11:00 AM, so I recommend arriving early to secure a spot or book a day or two prior, or doing what I did, and emailing one of the companies far in advance to book spots for two, LOL. Side note – this was totally unecessary. I would also point out that our boat for 7 hours, including lunch, was only $38 USD per person, and I imagine our boat was one of the pricer options. Given the price, a boat ride around the Aegean from Çesme is a fantastic deal, and much cheaper than something similar in one of the more popular tourist areas in the Aegean (for example, a similar trip in Milos, Greece cost over $100 USD per person).

As I emailed far in advance to book a tour, I expected some sort of communication shortly before departure, but I received nothing! The evening prior I messaged the captain and emailed the company, and did receive a prompt response via What’s App confirming the departure time and the GPS coordinates of the meeting point. Phew! We arrived in Çesme early (just in case) and walked around a little before boarding our boat.

We checked in (i.e. paying the fare in cash) and boarded just before 11:00 AM, the listed departure time, and were shown to our “spot” on the boat – basically two yellow padded mats for us to lounge on during the voyage. Every passenger had their own “spot”, and I believe the spots are assigned at the time of booking. As we booked super early, we had one of the absolute best spots on the front of the boat. Once we took our spot, the boat quickly filled up and we departed just after 11:00 AM. The boat was largely open air, reminiscent of an old pirate ship (like ours from Corfu!). There was also a small interior area, which was cooler than the outdoor area and included a toilet and the ship’s bar, was was cash only.

The first portion of the tour consisted of sailing along the Çesme coastline. We saw beautiful scenery, partially built homes that are so prevalent in this area, and lots of Turkish flags proudly flying. After riding for a bit, we made our first stop for an optional swim while the crew prepared lunch, which was really tasty! LIt consisted of grilled fish or chicken, pasta, a green salad, and an absolutely amazing potato salad. Water, soda, beer and wine were also complimentary for lunch. I really enjoyed the lunch and was pleasantly surprised with the quality (I was fully prepared to not eat….). We stayed at the lunch/first swim stop a little over an hour. There was plenty of food for everyone and many people went back for seconds.

After lunch, we sailed a little more and came to a location called Turtle Cave, which is actually a small cave that you can swim inside that kind of resembles a turtle from afar…. It is also surrounded by the bluest water. We skipped this swim and instead drank at the bar while overlooking the scenery. Most got out to swim.

The final stop on our boat tour was on Donkey Island, which is an island with a pretty, yet rocky, stretch of beach and a farm that is home to donkeys, rabbits, and goats. We did depart the boat here and swam in the sea for a bit. We skipped walking to the donkey farm, but many people from our trip made the venture to see the animals. The water was warm, but a bit rough at this point in the trip.

We arrived back to Çesme around 6:00 PM, and we finished our Çesme day with hookah at a local cafe across from where the boats moor before taking a taxi back to Izmir. The hookah was quite good and inexpensive, and some of our Turkish friends from the boat even joined us.

We also stopped in one of these cafes before boarding the boat for a coffee and Coke Zero. Prices were reasonable despite this being a touristy area, with my Coke Zero only costing 1 euro, FYI.

WHAT TO BRING ON A ÇESME BOAT TRIP

For a boat trip from Çesme, or even a day trip to Çesme, I recommend bringing the following:

• Sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses. The sun is brutal and there is nowhere to get this stuff once you are on a boat.
• Your own towel. No towels on the boat.
• Cash. The bar is cash, and you pay for the boat fare in cash.
• A portable phone charger for all of the photos you will take.
• A bathing suit (I suggest wearing this, as there is not a good place to change).
• A coverup for when the sun gets too hot.
• Anything you need to assist in swimming (life jacket, googles, etc.).
• Water shoes. Some of the water is quite rocky, and I always bring water shoes in this part of the world.

STEAL OUR TRIP

Çesme Saint Mary: This is the company we used for our tour. I booked online but I think its more common to just walk up and book whichever boat suits your fancy. While I reserved online, all guests paid in cash (Turkish Lira, Euro and USD accepted the day we visited). No credit card payment option. Drinks extra on boat – cash bar only. Lunch included with 1 drink. No towels on board. The fare for the entire day, including lunch, was only $38 USD, which was a steal. I would also note that there were a lot of families on our trip, but the children were well behaved.

ON A BUDGET

Çesme is a great place for those traveling on a budget. Think Bodrum or Greek islands, but without a large price tag.

The one caveat here is that Çesme is not exactly easy to access for the average traveler on a short timeframe – its an hour from the Izmir airport.  We took an Uber and I think there is a bus, but that will not necessarily be quick.  Keep that in mind when planning a trip to Çesme. I would probably rent a car if spending a few days in the area.