Exploring Beautiful Bozcaada - Top 10 Things to Do

Surrounded by Turkish grape vines, restored, whitewashed houses and Mediterranean-influenced food, these are just some of the reasons we returned to Bozcaada two years in a row.

To me, Bozcaada, an island off the western coast of Turkey, is one of those rare, magical places where you can relax without hordes of tourists. There are hidden beaches and swimming holes to explore. A short walk down an uneven cobblestone path may lead to a charming café.

Oh, and don’t forget about the wine! This 15-square-mile island is planted with field after field of grapevines – a beautiful site to see in the summer and in the fall. Last year, the New York Times referred to Bozcaada as “one of Turkey’s most promising wine destinations.” 

Autumnal-colored, empty grapevines on the island of Bozcaada, Turkey.

In July 2011, four of us traveled to Bozcaada for the first time because we had fallen in love with drinking Corvus wine here in Istanbul. (Corvus is considered the most prestigious producer on the island.) Our plan was to drink wine and sunbathe on the beach. That was it.

Last October, hubby and I returned to Bozcaada because we just couldn’t resist. The island was more subdued at that time of the year, but was perfect in our quest for a relaxing weekend. With temps between 10-15 C, we didn’t swim in the icy Aegean Sea this time.

Like Turkey, this small island has captured my heart.

Here are my Top 10 Things to Do on Bozcaada:

1. Eat ahtapot! Who knew this steak-lovin’ girl would fall in love with ahtapot (octopus) once she moved to Turkey? I like this tasty Mediterranean morsel best grilled with lots of olive oil and spices. Be sure to save your bread for some dunking. Delicious ahtapot can be had at Şişman, Lodos and Mistik restaurants.

2. Go wine tasting! Bozcaada is known for its Turkish wines, so you can sample the likes of Talay, Corvus and Çamlıbağ in the city center. There’s also a new, hip restaurant called Bakkal that offers a large wine list, locally-sourced dishes and imported Italian pork salami on the menu.

3. Rent a bike. This was my husband’s brilliant idea, just like when we traveled to Bali. I like hiking, but I am no cyclist. However, renting a bike for just 15tl is a good way to see the island (if you don’t have a car), but be prepared for hills. Lots of hills! I didn’t remember Bozcaada being so hilly, and my legs were on fire the next morning.

4. Explore the beaches. The island’s beaches are a bit more fun when the weather is warm and sunny. We pedaled out to Ayazma Plajı, but it was deserted at the end of October. During the summer, the beaches, such as Çayır Plajı and Tuzburnu Plajı, are also good places to rent a chair and take a dip in the crystalline water. We even found several practically-deserted swimming holes when we drove around the island in 2011.

Grab a beach chair on the island of Bozcaada.

Or find a swimming hole like this one.

5. Make friends with the locals at the bar. Our hotel owners recommended the Oda Bar & Café as a fun place for 30+-somethings to hang out near the harbor. On our first night, we had so much that my husband got invited to a margarita competition the second night by owner Yeşim. My husband (just barely) won the competition and proceeded to make his famous nar-garitas for other customers.

Hubby made his famous nar-garitas for Turkish customers at the bar.

6. Stroll the cobblestone streets. The island’s town center is divided into Greek and Turkish sections, referring to the groups who originally built the districts. You’ll see a mosque and Ottoman architecture on one side and an old church with a tall clock tower and white-washed houses like you find in Greece on the other side.

7. Climb on top the Bozcaada Castle. In 1455, Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror rebuilt the castle on ruins that had been used by the Genovese and Venetians. In the following years, the castle, considered the best preserved castle in Turkey, was restored several times due to wars.

A nice view of the Aegean Sea from on top the castle.

A nighttime view of Bozcaada Castle.

8. Shop at the local artisan’s market. Near the harbor, you will find locals selling spices, jewelry, thyme-scented honey and unique jams made from rose petals and tomatoes. Try the tomato jam while you have your Turkish breakfast on the island.

9. Drink wine by the harbor. BYOB. Head down to the opposite side of the harbor from the castle with a bottle of wine in tow. Sit on the rocks and swirl your newly purchased bottle of Turkish wine.

 10. Watch the sunset. A popular activity to do is pack a bag full of wine and snacks and head out to the Polente Feneri (Lighthouse) on the western side of the island. You’ll notice the giant electricity windmills as you approach. Grab a spot by the rocky ledge, spread out your towel and watch one of the best sunsets you’ve ever seen in Turkey.

11. Fly via a seaplane. I couldn’t resist throwing in an extra reason to visit Bozcaada. As mentioned on recent posts, my husband and I flew the new Seabird Airlines from Istanbul for a long weekend in October. At 80 minutes, the seaplane is the fastest way to get here or you can take a bus/your own car and make the trip in 6+ hours. 

Update August 2015: The Seabird Airlines has stopped flying to Bozcaada, according to the Turkish news.

Once you get to Bozcaada, all you may want to do is eat some divine local food, swirl some Turkish wine and relax on the beach or in a white-washed chair.

The harbor area on Bozcaada, Turkey.

How to get there:

By car: take the fast ferry from Istanbul to Bandırma, and then drive 210 km to the port of Geyikli. From there, take a 35-minute car ferry to Bozcaada. Total time is about 6 hours. If you don’t mind driving longer, you can also drive west from Istanbul through Tekirdağ, and then take a ferry boat from Gelibolu or Eceabat, crossing the Dardanelles Strait. You’ll need to drive a bit more before you reach Geyikli.

By bus: Truva Turizm runs frequent buses from Istanbul to Geyikli. Then, hop on the ferry boat. 7 hours.

Where to stay:

Aika, a new boutique hotel in the city center, is ideal for couples or friends traveling together.

Çapraz Resort Hotel, located 3 km. from the city center, is more family-friendly and has its own pool and private beach area.

Previous posts:

Flying to Beautiful Bozcaada – Our Favorite Turkish Trip in 2012

Flying Seabird over Istanbul: Aerial Photos

An aerial view of Bozcaada's town center as we flew over in the Seabird plane.

Bozcaada grape vines during the summer months.

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5 Summer Spots in Turkey I Wish I Were Right Now

This week, temperatures in Warsaw have hovered between 16-20 C (60-68 F), which is not exactly the kind of summer weather I had in mind.

So once again, I find myself dreaming of the summers we spent on our Turkey trips. I long to swim in the warm, turquoise waters of the Aegean Sea or the Mediterranean Sea.

I realize there are so many destinations we never experienced in Turkey, and I’m just torturing myself with my daydreams. We don’t have any beach trips planned this year, but we will be spending four days in Italy next month with my visiting in-laws. I cannot wait!

In the meantime, here are 5 Summer Spots in Turkey I Wish I Were Right Now:

1. Of course, one of our all-time favorite Turkish destinations is the lovely wine island of Bozcaada. I can’t really add much more info than what I already covered in my Top 10 Things to Do in Bozcaada. Just go!

Sunset in Bozcaada at Polente Feneri (Lighthouse) on the western side of the island.

2. One small, Aegean seaside resort town we liked was Foça, located about 1 hour north of Izmir. We stayed here one night during the summer of 2011 as part of our Ramazan road trip. Foça, called Phocaea in ancient times, consists of two parts, Eski Foça (Old Foça) and Yeni Foça (New Foça) and is located along small bays and a fishing harbor.

Nothing but blue when you're at Foça, Turkey.

We liked this area because it was full of locals (not yabancı tourists) and open-air restaurants lining the shore. Considering its history, Foça has few ruins except for the Byzantine-era Beşkapılar Kalesi (Five Door Castle), a bit of aqueduct and a nearby old tomb.  If we ever returned, I’d stay at the charming Bülbül Yuvası Butik Otel, recommended in the Boutique Hotels of Turkey book, which was full when we visited.

Just one of the many Turkish fish restaurants in Foça. 

3. Another atypical beach destination we visited during the summer of 2011 was Phaselis, located an hour south of Antalya. At this ancient Greek and Roman city, you can admire the historical ruins, such as agoras, Roman baths and sarcophagi, and take a dip in the crystalline waters along the nearby beach.

Here you can see the remnants of the Roman baths at Phaselis, Turkey.

4. Another favorite beach destination of ours and of grandpa’s is Ölü Deniz near Fethiye. I’m jealous of my blogger friends at Turkey’s for Life who live nearby because they can visit this amazing beach and watering hole whenever they want!

My favorite photo of Jason with his 90-year-old grandpa at Ölü Deniz last year.

I’m sure we’ll return again to Ölü Deniz someday.

5. Located along the Aegean Sea, the Çeşme Peninsula offers numerous beach destinations near the cities of Çeşme and Alaçatı. I wish I could meet up with a few of our Istanbul friends that have summer homes here.

One of the many popular, beach clubs near Çeşme, Turkey.

Actually, it’s difficult to narrow my list down to five choices because Turkey is spoilt for lovely summer beach destinations.

Where do you wish you could be right now?

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Flying to Beautiful Bozcaada – Our Favorite Turkish Trip in 2012

How a Turk came to our rescue

How can it be the middle of January already?

I feel like I’ve had zilch time to look back on our busy year of 2012 and reflect on anything. There are hundreds of photos still to edit and so many blog posts I’d love to write, but I wonder where does the time go?

Earlier this month over Friday night cocktails, hubby and I talked about our favorite trips in Turkey during 2012. We hit quite a few destinations this year including Safranbolu, Gaziantep, Mount Nemrut and Fethiye.

But out of all the thousands of miles we logged by car and plane, our favorite Turkish trip involved taking a brand new seaplane from Istanbul to the Turkish island of Bozcaada. 

That’s right – you can now FLY from Istanbul to the lovely wine island of Bozcaada in about 80 minutes! 

We watched the Seabird plane land along the Golden Horn.

This sure beats the 6+-hour trek we made here in 2011 via two ferry boat rides and three hours by car. We nearly missed the last ferry from Geyikli to Bozcaada after narrowly running headlong into a herd of sheep crossing the road around midnight.

Last summer, a new company called Seabird Airlines started offering flights via a 19-passenger seaplane to Bozcaada, Bodrum and Alaçatı. This small airline is staffed with Canadian pilots and air technicians whom have flown all over the world, including the North and South Poles. These specialized Canadian captains also are normally accompanied by a Turkish pilot. 

We waited as our Seabird plane was refueled before we took off from Istanbul.

In October, we booked a weekend trip to Bozcaada through Seabird Airlines at the end of the bayram. We left our apartment early because we weren’t exactly sure where to meet the plane along the Golden Horn near the Rahmi M. Koç Muzesi. In typical Turkish style, we didn’t see any other passengers nor a seaplane anywhere.

We panicked. 

Jason called the company’s phone number, trying to find someone who spoke a little English to no avail. We understood the guy told us to wait, but our flight was due to depart in about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, I spied a few Turkish fishermen along the dock and went to ask them for help. One of the fishermen repeatedly told me we were waiting in the wrong location. 

“Burada değil.”

He pointed to the other side of the Golden Horn near the Ayvansaray Park.

Now, panic really set in. 

I thanked him, ran back to Jason to tell him our misfortune and thought ‘how the heck are we going to get over to the other side in time to make our flight?’

Within a few minutes, the lone fisherman pulled up to the dock in his small, puttering fishing boat. He already had a lit cigarette between his lips too.

 “Gel.” 

You didn’t need to tell us twice. Jason and I jumped onto the back of the stranger’s boat with our backpacks.

Once again, we were saved thanks to a Turks’ helpfulness! We thanked our Turkish fisherman profusely and slipped him 20 lira.

The waiting passengers looked at us with curiosity. I bet they were wondering why two yabancılar were pulling up to the dock like this.

Well, we made our first seaplane flight, which ended up being slightly delayed because of the winds.

Shortly after take off, I took this photo out the window as we flew over the Golden Horn.

Flying in this small aircraft was truly amazing – motion sickness be damned! The views of historic Sultanahmet, sprawling Istanbul, the Prince’s Islands and the Çanakkale coast were spectacular! I couldn’t take photos fast enough using the camera’s sports setting.

Saying good-bye to Istanbul as we flew past the Haydarpaşa train station.

Flying by the electricity windmills along the Çanakkale coast.

During the short flight, I marveled at the changing landscape from cosmopolitan Istanbul to small red-tiled rooftops in Turkish villages to open farmland and even lush forests. I couldn't help but think how lucky we are to live in Turkey!

Peeking into the cockpit of the Seabird plane. This is how close we were to the pilot!

Flying over clouds, sea and land in Turkey.

Our Twin Otter aircraft made a perfectly smooth landing on the crystalline waters of the Aegean Sea at Bozcaada.

Surprisingly, one of the boutique hotel owners of Aika Hotel, Claudia, greeted us at the dock and whisked us off to the hotel. The seaplane dock is located about 3 km outside of the city center. Lucky for us, late October was the end of the tourist season so the island was fairly tranquil.

This is shortly after we landed at Bozcaada.

Looking back on 2012, this seaplane ride was the most unique aspect of our Turkey trips!  It's one of our top travel highlights in Turkey and an experience we will always remember!

Note: If you want a quick way to reach Bozcaada, I highly recommend taking this new seaplane service. We snapped up the promotion tickets for 298 tl per person. The cost is a little expensive, but it saves a ton of time, and the fast ferry boat we took with the car to Bandirma in 2011 was over 250 tl.

Stay tuned for more photos about our relaxing weekend on Bozcaada.

Update August 2015: The Seabird Airlines has stopped flying to Bozcaada, according to the Turkish news.

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Favorite Sunsets of 2011

As I searched through last year's photos, I realized how many I had intended to but haven't shared here on the blog.

So even though, I may be a tad late in doing a roundup of 2011, I wanted to share my favorite sunset photos taken mainly in Turkey and on a few other trips. I was surprised I didn't have any sunset photos from Alaçatı or Bodrum, but I think I must have taken a nap before dinner and missed out.

Hope you enjoy this photo essay!

§  In April, we drove to Edirne, about two hours from Istanbul. We paused on the Meriç Köprüsü to take this photo before we found nearby Emirgan Aile Çay Bahçesi and stopped for an Efes beer.

§  In May, while we celebrated my birthday dinner at Club Arma Restoran in Antalya, hubby took some photos here. I can't forget the sublime dinner we feasted on of levrek carpaccio and ahtapot izgara and the excellent service we received - including a special birthday dessert!

Even though the sun set behind us in Antalya, we enjoyed the sea view.

§  In July, we took our American friends on a 6-hour road trip to Bozcaada - a lovely island in the Aegean Sea along Turkey's western coast. Do as the locals do - bring a blanket and a bottle of wine to the far western edge of the island. Soon, you'll be sipping wine along the legendary Polente Feneri and watching the sunset behind the windmill farm here.

Perfect timing as a large ship passed by in the distance.

A view of the wind farm on Bozcaada, Turkey.

§  During Ramazan in the sweltering month of August, Jason and I took another Turkish road trip, which included stops in Cunda Adası, Foça, Bergama, Ephesus and Kusadası.

(Taken with my cell phone.) Day 1 on Cunda Adası.

Day 2: on the outskirts of  Foça - a small town about 130 km south of  Cunda Adası.

§  In September, I traveled with a girlfriend to Patmos and nearly got stranded on the island of Samos because of the Greek strikes. Please read: Strangers, Stranded in Samos for the harrowing tale.

Our boat was just coming into shore as the sun set by Patmos, Greece.

§  In October, we celebrated hubby's birthday in Fethiye where we had a fun, but short weekend jaunt. We walked down to the marina with a brown bag of Efes beer bottles and our camera. Drinking a beer in public while sitting on the boardwalk and watching the sunset is probably easier to do in off-peak season.

Seems like there are hundreds of sailboats in the Fethiye Marina.

§  For the Kurban Bayramı in November, we enjoyed watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean in Bali for the first time. This was an amazing trip!

Relaxing at the Nammos Beach club in Bali.

§  After I taught my baking classes in Bodrum at the Erenler Sofrasi, we stopped in the quaint, fishing village of Güvercinlik before heading back to Istanbul. Per Asli's recommendation, we ordered a levrek and çupra dinner with our Efes beer and then watched the fishing boats head to shore as the sun set.

The water was so clear and calm here in  Güvercinlik, Turkey.

Which sunset photo is your favorite? 

If you want to see more sunsets in Turkey, please check out Turkish Travel Blog and Turkey's For Life.

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Swimming Nooks in Bozcaada

Along the winding coast of Bozcaada, you encounter many koy (coves) like this one pictured. We found these nooks perfect for a swim, climbing along the rocks to explore or just dipping our toes in the slightly crisp Aegean Sea.

Here, the water is amazingly crystal clear along the shallow shores. At one point, Jason and my friend's husband walked out about 150 feet before they couldn't touch the sea floor anymore.

We were happy we had our car so we could just drive and stop wherever we wanted. However, we did see several dolmus stop near the beaches.

Bozcaada definitely is a way to completely get away from the daily hustle and bustle of the big city.

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