Çeşme and Alaçatı: The 100 Out of 10 Nobody Told Us About
I rated Çeşme and Alaçatı 100 out of 10, which is not a real score, and I meant it anyway.
It was the surprise of our eighteen nights in Türkiye. A Turkish friend at home in Australia told us to go, we drove up from Bodrum with no expectations, and it turned out to be the place I have thought about most since.
Is Çeşme Worth Visiting? My Quick Answer
Yes, and it is the part of the Turkish coast I would send people to before Bodrum.
Çeşme is the quiet, beautiful bit. Alaçatı, which sits inside it, is the pretty one with the cobbled streets and boutique hotels. You want to be in or near Alaçatı, and we were not, which is my one regret.
Alaçatı Is the Bit You Have Seen in Photos
Cobbled streets, blue shutters, bougainvillea over everything, and restaurant terraces that spill into the lanes. It is genuinely as pretty as it looks, and it is busy in the evenings because of it.
It is a bit pricey by Turkish standards, and it is still less than Bodrum. Dinner in Alaçatı ran us about A$77, which was our most expensive meal outside Bodrum and would be an ordinary night out at home.
Palacaki is the one I would send you to specifically, for the strawberry matcha and the cheesecake. The owner is lovely, which in Alaçatı is saying something because most of them are.
Delikli Koy Is the Best Beach We Found in Türkiye
Not the prettiest sand, because there is no sand. White rock ledges dropping into water so clear it looks fake, with steps down into it.
It cost nothing, and it beat every beach club we paid for on the rest of the coast.
That is the running theme here. People kept asking which Greek island we were on. You might think I am in Milos, and I am not, I am in Türkiye, at a fraction of the price.
Stop at Ephesus on the Way
We drove Bodrum to Çeşme and broke the journey at Ephesus, and I would tell anyone doing the same drive to do it.
It is an entire Roman city and the scale only lands once you are standing in it. The Library of Celsus is the photograph everyone takes, and the Great Theatre is the one that actually got me.
Entry was A$72 when we went, which made it the single most expensive activity of our whole trip. It is not cheap and it is worth it.
One practical thing: there is almost no shade. Go for the first entry of the morning, especially in summer.
Where to Stay: In Alaçatı, Not Where We Stayed
We paid A$104 a night for a lovely casual homestay in Çeşme, with the kindest owners, daily parking and home-cooked meals. Nothing wrong with it.
But we were twenty minutes out of Alaçatı, and Alaçatı is where you want to be in the evening. We had a hire car so it worked. Without one it would have been a real problem.
If we did it again we would stay in or near Alaçatı itself. GAIA ALAÇATI is the one we would compare, central and boutique, though we have not stayed there ourselves.
Stay in Alaçatı, not twenty minutes out like we did. This is the option we would book if we came back.
GAIA ALAÇATI
Alaçatı. Central and boutique, and where we would stay instead of 20 minutes out in Çeşme.
Our Çeşme homestay and every other base is on our Türkiye stays page.
You Want a Car Here
This is the one stop on our Türkiye route where a car genuinely changes what is possible. Delikli Koy, Ephesus on the way in, and the ability to stay slightly outside Alaçatı without it ruining your evenings.
We picked ours up in Bodrum and drove up. A small car runs about €38 to €48 a day depending on season, so compare car rental prices before you plan this leg by bus.
What It Cost
A$95.41 per person per day on the ground, plus A$104 a night for the room. That makes it cheaper than Bodrum by a wide margin and roughly the same as Antalya, for a place I rated far higher than either.
Full breakdown across all seven bases in what Türkiye cost us.
How Long to Stay
We had three nights and it was about right, though a fourth would not have been wasted.
Three gives you a day for Alaçatı, a day for the beaches, and the Ephesus stop on the way in or out. Two would mean choosing.
So, Is Çeşme Worth It?
It is the highest real rating I gave anywhere in Türkiye, and the only reason it is not the most famous stop on the coast is that Bodrum got there first.
Go before everyone else works it out.
Still planning? Here is where we slept and where we should have and the drive that gets you here.
FAQs About Çeşme and Alaçatı
Is Çeşme or Alaçatı better?
Alaçatı to stay and eat, Çeşme for the quiet and the beaches. Alaçatı is inside Çeşme, so it is less either-or than it sounds. Stay in Alaçatı.
Is Çeşme better than Bodrum?
I rated Çeşme and Alaçatı far higher, and it cost us a lot less per day. Bodrum wins for beach clubs and designer shopping; Çeşme wins on everything else.
What is the best beach in Çeşme?
Delikli Koy. White rock ledges into very clear water, free to get into, and the best beach we found anywhere in Türkiye.
Is Ephesus worth visiting?
Yes. Entry was about A$72 when we went, the most we paid for anything on the trip, and it is the one activity I would not cut. Go early, there is no shade.
Do you need a car in Çeşme?
It makes a real difference. Delikli Koy, Ephesus and staying outside Alaçatı all depend on it. Without one, stay in Alaçatı itself.
Want your Türkiye itinerary planned in a couple of clicks?
Tell it how long you have got, and it lays the days out from everywhere we actually went.
- Two lengths, one week or the full fortnight
- Only places we actually went, never a generic list
- Both flights inland worked out for you
- Share it to your notes or send it to whoever you are travelling with
