Sun-drenched cobblestone alleys, squares framed by colorful bougainvillea flowers, laughter mingling with the sweet scent of mastic ice cream, and the gentle lull of the Aegean Sea as a backdrop… No, you’re not dreaming. This is Çeşme. 🙂
If you’ve already started reading Çeşme travel guides, you might have noticed that it’s typically lumped with Alaçatı. While Alaçatı’s charm and Instagram-worthy scenes often steals the spotlight, Çeşme is a destination in its own right — which is why we decided to write this blog post!
There are a few reasons why you should visit Çeşme — it’s more budget-friendly than its neighbor (*cough* Alaçatı), calmer, and has fewer crowds. In fact, Çeşme has been able to retain its charm because most international tourists typically skip it and head straight to Bodrum, Fethiye, or Kalan. It also makes for an excellent base if you want to explore the Çeşme Peninsula and visit places like Ilıca, Dalyan, and so on.
If you’re planning a trip to Çeşme, this mini travel guide has everything you need to know, including the best things to do in Çeşme, how to get here, where to stay, where to eat, and much more!

ÇEŞME: The Basics
Why visit Çeșme? What is Çeșme known for?
Çeşme is a charming coastal town that’s also famous for being one of the most western points of Türkiye — and within a short ferry trip to Greece! Its laid-back atmosphere, long seafront, and boutique hotels are just some of the reasons why tourists prefer it as a travel destination.
🏰 Çeşme Castle — Çeşme’s most iconic tourist attraction is Çeşme Castle, which traces its history more than 500 years back.
⚪️ Mastic — Thanks to Çeşme’s close proximity to the Greek island of Chios, the biggest cultivator of mastic (known as damla sakız), you’ll find an abundance of mastic-flavored products around the city. Try the mastic ice cream!
💨 Windsurfing — Fun fact: The Çeşme Peninsula is one of the windiest areas in Türkiye, with an average of more than 300 windy days per year! If you prefer a bit of adventure, there are special windsurfing clubs just a short drive away.
🥪 Kumru sandwich — Çeşme’s local delicacy is the kumru sandwich — you’ll find this slightly unhealthy but super delicious dish in many kiosks around the city. 🤤
How many days do you need in Çeșme?
If you’re visiting Çeşme as part of a bigger road trip, then two full days is a good start. You can explore Çeşme on the first day, see the main sights (Çeşme Castle, the bazaar, walking along the marina, going to the museum), and eat some local dishes (kumru!!). On the second day, you can visit Alaçatı.
Of course, if you want to relax and spend your whole vacation around the Çeşme peninsula, using Çeşme as your base is also a great idea. 🙂
Don’t leave Çeşme without…
🍦 Trying mastic ice cream (damla sakız dondurma)
🍦 Climbing up Çeşme Castle
🍦 Visiting the Çeşme City Memory Museum
🍦 Eating Kumru

How To Get To Çeșme
By Airplane — Çeșme doesn’t have its own airport (probably because it’s too windy 😜). The closest airport is in Izmir, which is İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport (symbol ADB).
Izmir is a major hub for international and domestic flights, so it’ll be quite easy to fly here — in fact, Pegasus and Turkish Airlines are continually adding direct flights from countries in Europe and the Middle East!
There are regular shuttles that go between Izmir Airport and Çeșme — you can click here, scroll to the bottom, select ‘Izmir – Çeșme’ and the date, and you’ll be shown the timetables, route, and price. As of January 2025, the price is 360 TL per person.
The Havaş shuttle was simple and convenient — the employees were nice and friendly, it was possible to pay with credit card, and the seats were spacious. The only minus was no WiFi, but since the trip from Izmir to Çeşme was only 2 hours, it wasn’t that bad. 🙂
By Bus — Türkiye has an excellent bus network, and Çeșme is no different. There are dozens of bus connections to nearby cities like Urla, Izmir, Selçuk (Ephesus), Kuşadası, Milas, Bodrum, and so on. If you’re traveling to Çeșme from further afield, there are also direct routes from Istanbul, Bursa, Denizli (Pamukkale), Antalya, Ankara, and so on.
Çeşme Bus Station (Çeşme Otogar) is small and just a short 10-minute walk from the city center.
Click here to see bus routes and buy your ticket →
By Car — Çeşme is an excellent stop on an Aegean Road Trip — in fact, you could do something like Izmir – Urla – Alaçatı – Çeşme, or go big and extend that trip to Ephesus, Ayvalık, Bodrum, and beyond. 🙂
Click here to see availability and book your rental car →
By Ferry — Finally, you can reach Çeşme by ferry from Chios! There are daily departures, and the trip only takes 30 minutes to hop between Greece and Türkiye. If you’re planning this route, we also have a Two Day Chios Itinerary!
Click here to see ferry timetables buy your ticket →

Getting Around Çeșme
Çeşme’s town center is relatively compact and easily walkable — so this section will be really short. 😅
You can get to practically anywhere in the city by foot, although there are taxi kiosks near the center if you prefer not to walk.
There are also dolmuş (minibusses) that stop throughout the city, but their departure times are infrequent and not worth the hassle (unless you’re going to Alaçatı, which we outlined below).
What To Do In Çeșme
Çeșme Castle
The crown jewel of Çeşme is none other than the historical Çeşme Castle (Çeşme Kalesi).
Like many tourist attractions in Türkiye, the castle has a very interesting backstory — the sultan was so tired of Venetians attacking Çeşme in the late 1400s that he had enough and built the castle. 😅
The Çeşme Castle was built in 1508 by Beyazid II (the guy who consolidated the Ottoman Empire) and has a rectangular plan. Although the castle isn’t used to protect against maritime attacks anymore, its strategic location now makes it a popular place for events like the Çeşme Music Festival. 🙂
When you walk toward the entrance, you’ll notice an interesting statue of a man and his lion. That’s Gazi Hasan Pasha, a famous admiral and grand vizier in the Ottoman Empire, and his pet lion, who Hasan adopted while in Africa and accompanied him on his trips. 🙂
The castle reminded us of a small version of Bodrum Castle — it also allowed tourists to walk along the walls and bastions, and there were a few small exhibits (about the Battle of Çeşme, an amphora exhibit, ancient marble statues, etc). Of course, the ticket price was also much more budget-friendly. 😉
We recommend setting aside about an hour to go through the castle, climb the walls, see the exhibits, and take photos. The Çeşme Castle entrance fee is 6 EUR per person. Çeşme Castle is open from 8:30 in the morning until 21:00 in the evening (the ticket desk closes at 20:30).

Kanuni Kervansaray
Right next to Çeşme Castle is another historical tourist attraction — the Kanuni Caravansaray.
This is an excellent example of a Kervansaray, a roadside inn where travelers (and their horses) could stop for the evening before continuing their journey. This particular one was built in 1528 to house foreign traveling merchants as they finished their journey along the Silk Road (Çeşme was one of the final stops). In fact, it’s still fulfilling its duty to this day — although with tourists instead of merchants. 😉
The Caravanserai was restored sometime in the late 1970s and turned into a hotel with 45 rooms, a pool, and a restaurant (you can even reserve a room – click here!)
If you’re not staying as a guest, they also offer tours around the caravanserai for 200 TL. Although we didn’t take them up on the offer, we’re curious if anyone did — let us know in the comments what it’s like!

Çeșme City Memory Museum
This was one of our favorite attractions in Çeşme! The Çeşme City Memory Museum is located opposite Çeşme Castle and is such a well-curated and well-designed museum.
This unique museum tells the story of Çeşme’s historical periods and cultural heritage through stories, unique artifacts, and photographs. In fact, all of the items on exhibit were generously donated by the people of Çeşme, who also share the fascinating backstories behind these objects.
It takes between 30 minutes to 1 hour to go through the entire museum, and all of the exhibits are in English and Turkish… and the best part is that entrance is free! 🙂
The museum is open every day (except Mondays) from 10:00 in the morning until 18:30.
📍 Click here for location →

Ayios Haralambos Church
If you’ve already read some of our Aegean posts (like Ayvalık), you know that there was a large Greek community in the region — Çeşme included!
This Greek Orthodox church is one of the most unique tourist attractions in Çeşme, as it was built in 1832 and is well-known for its beautiful frescoes. Although it doesn’t function as a church anymore, it is used as an event center and exhibition hall. The last time we were there, the building held a local handmade market with local artists. 🙂

Go Shopping at Çeşme Çarşısı
If you visit Ayios Haralambos Church (mentioned above), then you’ve already arrived at our next location!
The Çeşme Çarşısı (Çeşme Bazaar) might sound like a covered bazaar with hundreds of stalls à la Grand Bazaar, but it’s actually a long street with dozens of storefronts on both sides. Many of the storefronts still retain their traditional two-story architecture, with wood detailing, retro canopies, and original logos.
This is a nice area to do some souvenir shopping and try local products. Speaking of which…

Try Mastic Products
You’ll also find many mastic products sold around Çeşme Bazaar because Chios, also known as Mastic Island (it’s the #1 producer of mastic in the world!), is just a short ferry away. You can easily identify mastic by its Turkish name, Damla Sakızı.
While you’re in Çeşme, don’t miss Rumeli Patisserie, a historical ice cream and sweets shop that was established in 1945 (they also have mastic ice cream!)

Visit Alaçatı
No matter how you put it, Çeşme and Alaçatı are like çay and simit, like rakı and balık, like ayran and kõfte… Okay, you get it. They perfectly complement each other. 🙂
Which means, no trip to Çeşme is complete without visiting Alaçatı too! Thankfully, they’re very close to each other. You can get from Çeşme to Alaçatı in 15 minutes by car or taxi, or 35 minutes by dolmuş.
Alaçatı is an excellent place to spend a day exploring the maze of charming alleyways, admiring the restored stone houses, going shopping at boutique stores (or antique markets!), and, of course, trying delicious local food at the streetside cafes.
We have a travel guide to Alaçatı — click here to read it!

Eat the Famous Kumru Sandwich
Every region in Türkiye has its own local product, and the Çeşme Peninsula is no different — it has kumru!
Kumru is a type of sandwich that’s made with a soft yet crunchy bread (similar to simit) and stuffed with tomatoes, pickles, peppers, cheese, meat, and sauce. Although it might look small at first, it’s very filling!
Just like the Ayvalık tost wars in Ayvalık, where to find the best kumru in Çeşme is also a heated debate, as there are dozens of kumru sellers all around the city.
Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to try every kumru kiosk in the city (yet 😛), but we liked the family-run Kumrucu Bahattin — they have a few different varieties of kumru and the workers are so friendly. 🙂
Stroll Around Çeşme Marina
Like any port-centered city, Çeşme also has a sizable marina. While it’s not as big as, for example, Marmaris or Bodrum, the Çeşme Marina is a nice spot to stroll around, go window-shopping at cute boutiques, and stop at a cafe.

Other Places to Visit Near Çeşme
🩵 Boyalık Bay — One of the beaches closest to Çeşme, Boyalık Beach is 4 km (2.5 mi) long and features beautiful blue waters and soft sand.
🩵 Ilıca Beach — Ah, Ilıca Beach.. The best way to describe this area is ‘the Santa Barbara of Izmir.’ This glorious stretch of beach has warm waters, long stretches of beach, and a pleasant atmosphere. That’s not the only similarity with Santa Barbara — this area is one of the most luxurious in the region, and villas start at a million USD and up. 🙂
🩵 Delikli Bay — One of the most otherworldly and unique places near Çeşme is this beach, which looks like a mix of Pamukkale’s white travertine rocks and Datça’s crystal clear waters.
🩵 Erythrai Ancient City — Located some 25 kilometers (15.5 mi) from Çeşme is the ancient city of Erythai, one of the first civilizations to live in the area. The views of the surrounding bay are gorgeous (especially during sunset!)
🩵 Chios — Of course, how could we leave out Chios? We wrote an entire itinerary about this cute island! 😉 Chios is just a short 30-minute ferry ride from Çeşme and an excellent weekend trip — especially if you want to see traditional medieval villages, try fresh citrus juice, wander through fragrant mastic groves, or simply soak up the sun on one of the island’s pristine beaches.



Tours from Çeşme
Prefer the convenience of a tour? No worries, we have just the thing!
Alaçatı And Çeşme Private Tour — If you’re short on time but still want to see Çeşme and Alaçatı, this top-rated tour (it has all 5 star-reviews!) includes transportation from Izmir and photos at Çeşme Castle, the marina, Alaçatı, the windmills, and more.
Çeşme Islands and Bays Boat Trip with BBQ Lunch — Prefer to relax on your vacation? This tour includes four swimming stops, a BBQ lunch (fish or chicken), and a reserved sun lounger, all on a four-deck boat (with DJ!)
Çeşme Scuba Diving Experience — Did you know that Çeşme has plenty of underwater attractions as well? You’ll get to explore shipwrecks, underwater statues, and reefs — all in the company of cute fish and English-speaking divemasters. 🙂
Where to Stay in Çeşme



Venzi Ayayorgi — Is this not one of the most beautiful boutique hotels in Çeşme? It’s giving us a major Palm Springs meets Çeşme vibe. 🙂
Recently opened, the hotel features spacious rooms with a tropical boho theme, a large pool with cabanas and sun loungers, and very friendly personnel.
EFLIN HAUS Historical Place & Monument — If you’re looking for a boutique experience, look no further — Eflin Haus is a beautifully-restored traditional stone house from 1838! There are only 5 rooms in the hotel, so you’re definitely getting bespoke service. The breakfast deserves a special mention, as well as the cute dog that helps ‘manage’ the property. 🙂
AEGEAN Apartments Çeşme — A great all-arounder option, Aegean Apartments has a very comfortable location (within walking distance to the bus station and Çeşme center!), a large variety of rooms (many with balconies overlooking the sea 😍), and apartment-style studios with kitchens (perfect if you want to stay longer). There’s also an outdoor pool!



Motif Hotel Çeşme — A short 10-minute walk from Çeşme center is this peaceful hotel, which has rooms in a chic black and white design, friendly employees, an outdoor pool (do you see a pattern in these hotels? 😄), and an on-site restaurant.
Eski Tas Hotel — Translated to ‘Old Stone Hotel,’ this property is set in a restored stone building in the heart of Çeşme and has cute vintage-style rooms.
Horasan Boutique Hotel — Located practically on the promenade, the rooms have amazing views of the surrounding sea.

Where To Eat in Çeşme
Kumrucu Bahattin — An excellent place if you want to try Çeşme’s famous kumru sandwich. The menu has half a dozen different kumru options (we liked the Süper kumru) and everything is fresh and delicious. We had a nice chat with the owner, who mentioned it was a family business (and even gave us some local recommendations). 🙂 Location →
Tokmak Hasan’nin Yeri — Practically a local institution, this restaurant has been a mainstaple in Çeşme for more than 30 years and is especially famous for its döner (and home-style meals). It’s best to get here very early, because the döner is usually sold out by lunch. Location →
Rumeli Pastanesi — Another Çeşme icon, Rumeli Patisserie has been in business since 1945 and is famous for its mastic products, ice cream, and almond kazandibi dessert. The interior is equally charming. 🙂 Location →
Seher Teyze’nin Gözleme ve Kahvaltı Bahçesi — Although it’s located near the center of Çeşme, this cozy little nook feels as if you’re dining at your aunt’s house. The breakfast is especially fantastic (and made with local products!) Location →
Asucan Cafe — If you want to try something a little different, we recommend Asucan Cafe. This place specializes in burgers and boxes (i.e. meat with different sauces) and is run by a humorous lady at the cash register. Note: Cash only. Location →
Çeşme Gözlemeci Emirin Yeri — This is arguably the best gözleme (thin pancakes) in all of Çeşme — and that’s coming from someone who loves this dish! Location →
Photo credits: Kervansaray via hotel | tour photos via respective tour companies | breakfast via Seher Teyze
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