Çeşme or Alaçatı: Which Turkish Holiday Town Should You Choose?

Imagine that you’re planning a vacation to the Aegean coast and excited to stroll the cobblestone streets, sip a delicious drink at a cute streetside cafe, and enjoy the Turkish Riviera atmosphere.

You’ve even narrowed down your destination to the Urla Peninsula, but one final question still stands: which is better, Çeşme or Alaçatı?

At first glance, it’s a little hard to tell these two picturesque towns apart — after all, they’re located just 10 km (6.2 mi) from each other!

(and to be honest, even we mixed them up after our first trip 🫢)

However, the more we traveled around Izmir (including weekend trips to places like Alaçatı, Çeşme, Urla, etc.), the more we started to see the subtle differences between Çeşme and Alaçatı.

If you’re still weighing your options and can’t decide on Alaçatı vs Çeşme, then this guide was written just for you!

To help you make a better and more informed decision, we’ll compare and contrast Alaçatı and Çeşme across eight categories, including location, price, atmosphere, what to do, accommodations, etc. Hopefully, by the end of the article you’ll have a better idea of which destination you want to travel to. 🙂

Alaçatı door

Çeşme Castle

Location & Transportation

First things first! Both Alaçatı and Çeşme are located on the Izmir Peninsula (sometimes called the Urla Peninsula). This is one of the most westernmost points of Türkiye (if you don’t count Gökçeada) and famous for its natural beauty, cute little towns, and windsurfing. The peninsula also has a rich history dating back to ancient times.

We’ve marked Çeşme and Alaçatı on the Google Maps below to help you get a better idea:

The greater Çeşme area is in light blue, and Çeşme center is in dark blue. Meanwhile, the greater Alaçatı area is yellow, and the center is red.

To get to Alaçatı or Çeşme, you have three options: either rent a car in Izmir and drive the 75 ~ 80 km route; take a private transfer (like this top-rated transfer); or take the Havaş shuttle from Izmir Airport or Izmir Otogar.

In terms of inter-ciy transportation, you can easily visit Alaçatı from Çeşme (or vice versa) since they’re only a few kilometers apart! Just hop on a dolmuş or hail a taxi. 🙂

Price

Another big consideration is price. In a nutshell, Alaçatı is typically more expensive than Çeşme, especially when it comes to accommodations and food.

To illustrate our point, we decided to take a random weekday in September and find the average price of a hotel room in Çeşme and Alaçatı.

In Çeşme, the average price per night came out to $70 USD. In In Alaçatı, the average price per night came out to $95 USD.

Of course, this also depends on a number of factors, including the season, the type of hotel (budget, mid-range, luxury), the location, the amenities offered (breakfast included, pool, spa, etc.). This is just a starting point for you to get an idea. 🙂

Alaçatı center

Çeşme center

Atmosphere

On one of our trips to Izmir, we decided to visit both Çeşme and Alaçatı on the same day to get a feel for the atmosphere — and report our findings here, of course. 😉

We found that Alaçatı feels more touristy, while Çeşme is more local. During the summer, the streets of Alaçatı are filled with both local and foreign tourists — although we don’t blame them, Alaçatı is gorgeous. 🙂

On the other hand, Çeşme is quieter and feels like it caters more towards locals. When we spent two days in Çeşme, we only encountered foreign tourists maybe two or three times.

However, it’s worth mentioning that both towns are relaxed and laid back. Çeşme is very quiet and doesn’t have nightclubs or bars, and seems like it would be better suited for travelers looking to relax and/or families.

Meanwhile, Alaçatı is peaceful during the day, but come nighttime, the streets are bustling with people and music coming from restaurants, bars, and lounges. In terms of atmosphere, Alaçatı is better if you’re looking to have fun, go out, and enjoy a lively vacation. It’s also a better choice for couples and/or groups of friends who want to experience the local social scene.

Alaçatı Windmill

Çeşme Castle

Attractions & Things To Do

We’ll start this section off by saying that neither town is particularly full of tourist attractions — especially when you compare them to places like Istanbul (The Blue Mosque! Galata Tower! Kadıköy! Balat! And so on…) 😅

However, each has their own charm. 🙂

Alaçatı is famous for its cute cobblestone streets, restored stone houses, and boutique cafes/hotels/stores. Most people come here to enjoy the enchanting atmosphere, go shopping, and eat well in the local tavernas, cafes, and restaurants. Dare we say that Alaçatı is perfect for hedonists? 😜

Çeşme doesn’t have the latter, but its charming in its own way — it has the historic Çeşme Castle, as well as a marina and a cute street with traditional storefronts.

Here’s a quick cheat-sheet of what to do in Alaçatı and Çeşme:

🩵 Çeşme: Çeşme Castle, Çeşme City Memory Museum, take a day trip to Chios (Greece), walk along the Çeşme Çarşısı

🩵 Alaçatı: Alaçatı windmills, check out the street art, walk around the center and look at the pretty stone houses 🙂

We should also mention that Çeşme and Alaçatı don’t have beaches in the center. However, you can easily take a taxi, dolmuş, or walk to nearby beaches. Some of the most popular include Boyalık Beach, Kocakarı Beach, and Altınkum Beach.

Hotels & Accommodations

We’ve gone over the location, prices, and what to do — now it’s time to talk about our favorite topic: accommodations!

Both towns offer a variety of accommodations, including budget-friendly guesthouses, mid-range hotels, and luxurious resorts.

… And the boutique hotels, ah, the boutique hotels! Those deserve a special mention. 😍

In fact, Alaçatı is famous for its beautifully-restored stone houses that were turned into boutique hotels. These offer a cozy and relaxing atmosphere, and many of these boutique hotels have gorgeous courtyards, swimming pools, and personalized service that make you feel right at home.

Meanwhile, Çeşme has quiet, local-style pansiyon and guest houses. However, this is changing as more and more designer- and boutique-style hotels are also starting to open in Çeşme.

In terms of quantity, Çeşme has fewer accommodation options compared to Alaçatı. When we did a search on Booking.com for both locations and set the filter to <1 km from the center, Çeşme had a total of 60 results, while Alaçatı had a whopping 250 results!

This makes sense, since, as we mentioned above (under Atmosphere), Alaçatı is geared towards tourism, while Çeşme is more local/residential.

Finally, keep in mind that many mid-range and boutique hotels typically have breakfast included in the price — usually this is a Turkish breakfast that includes a variety of meats and cheeses, jams, and pastries. Some hotels go all out and make it an experience. 🙂

Breakfast at Seher Teyze’nin Gözleme ve Kahvaltı Bahçesi

Food

Speaking of food…

During our trips, we noticed that Çeşme’s restaurants typically had local food on their menus, such as köfte (meatballs), döner (meat wrap), kumru sandwiches, gözleme, tavuk șiș, etc. If we had to guesstimate, about 90% of everything we ate and drank was Turkish.

Meanwhile, Alaçatı caters to international crowd, and the restaurant menus had a variety of Turkish and European dishes. It’s also worth noting that Alaçatı, much like its boutique hotels, tries to make their restaurants as aesthetic as possible — think beautiful lighting, colorful seats, flowers framing the restaurant… you get the point.

Bashaques (Alaçatı)

Çeşme Marina

Shopping

If you want to do a little souvenir shopping (or bring back a few new things for yourself 😉), both towns have stores and shops.

Most of Çeşme’s stores are found around the Çeşme Çarşısı (a long street with small storefronts) or the Çeşme Marina. Çeşme Çarşısı has local goods and shops, while the Marina has more boutique and designer shops like Vakkorama, Mudo, Ipekyol, and so on. Just imagine that it’s a much smaller version of Istanbul’s Galataport. 🙂

Meanwhile, Alaçatı is famous for its boutique shops and stores. You’ll find cute Aegean-style flowy dresses and colorful clothes, unique pieces, jewelry, and even home goods like pottery and textiles.

Boop in Alaçatı

Nightlife

Without a doubt, you’ll find better nightlife in Alaçatı. 😅

Alaçatı has a handful of clubs and lounges, as well as plenty of bars and restaurants that come alive and stay buzzing with energy until 2 or 3 am.

Çeşme, on the other hand, is quieter and more relaxed at night. If you prefer a peaceful evening stroll or a cozy dinner, Çeşme is the perfect choice.

Final Thoughts

If it’s your first time: Alaçatı — You’ll really get that vibrant atmosphere and charm. Çeşme is better for a second visit.

More budget-friendly: Çeşme has lower prices
More Hotels & Accommodations: Alaçatı has more options for hotels
More things to do: Çeşme slightly wins because of its tourist attractions
Better Aesthetics: Alaçatı, no doubt 🙂
Atmosphere: Tie!

Overall, the Alaçatı vs Çeşme debate is fierce — we asked some Turkish friends who have been to both, and we’ve received a mix of replies. Some prefer Alaçatı because of its atmosphere, others prefer Çeşme for its down-to-earthiness, and some like both!

We hope this blog post helped you make a decision, whether that’s Alaçatı, Çeşme, or both. 🙂