The best time to visit Türkiye, place by place

Istanbul

April to June, and September to November. The light is kind, the terraces are open and the water is busy with boats. Winter is a city in its own coat: shorter days, fuller restaurants, museums without the groups, and the Bosphorus grey and beautiful. High summer is hot and the city slows; we move the days earlier and keep the afternoons for shade and water. Istanbul.

Cappadocia

April to June, and September to November, when the valleys are green or gold and the mornings are cool enough to walk. The balloons fly all year when the wind allows, and a winter dawn over snow is the quietest of all. Summer afternoons are for the terrace and the cave; the walks happen early and late. Cappadocia.

Bodrum and the Aegean

May to October. The sea is warmest from July to September; June and late September give the same water with emptier bays. In April and late October the peninsula is for walking and long lunches rather than swimming. Bodrum.

Antalya and the Lycian coast

April to November, the longest season on the coast. The sea is warmest from July to September. Spring and autumn are the months for the ruined cities, walked in the morning; in high summer we keep them for the cooler hours and give the middle of the day to the water. Antalya and the Lycian coast.

The eastern Black Sea

June to September, when the high summer pastures are open and the families are up there. Late summer brings the hazelnut harvest. It rains in every month, which is why everything is green. The Black Sea.

The dates that move

Türkiye's religious holidays follow the lunar calendar and fall about eleven days earlier each year; around them, domestic travel rises, roads and flights fill, and some museums keep shorter hours. We check your dates against them before anything is booked, and say so if a day would be better moved. The journal article When to go, place by place says more about how the places combine.

Asked before booking

What is the single best month for a first visit?

For Istanbul and Cappadocia together, May or October. Add the sea and the answer moves to June or September, when the water is warm and the bays are still quiet.

When is the sea warm enough to swim?

From late May on the Aegean and the Lycian coast, warmest from July to September, still pleasant into October. The Black Sea is cooler and is not a swimming destination.

Do the balloons fly in winter?

They fly in every month when the wind allows, and a clear winter morning over snow is the quietest flight of the year. A flight is never guaranteed on a given day, so we keep one spare morning where we can.

Is Türkiye too hot in July and August?

The coasts are made for it. Istanbul and Cappadocia are hot in the afternoon, so we start the days earlier, keep the middle of the day for shade, water or a long lunch, and do the walking early and late.