Hi there,I don't know this eastern part well enough to offer advice- I'm at the western end of the Black Sea.Other Celebi and also Dudismimo have both been in this area and both only quite recently posted on other threads with quite detailed information.

If you go onto their profiles you'll be able to find details of all they wrote,including some wonderful photographs on both profiles too.

Hi!

I have done a part of your travel, I used rental cars and also flights to cover long distrances. The areas are huge, roads are narrow, public transport is definitely less than on the Med coast. Otherwise it is paradise on Earth.

We did not encounter any difficulties finding accommodation all the circle way from Akcakokca to Bolu and back to Sapanca. It was midAugust, my Turkish is almost nil but there always were some of the multilingual holiday Turks around to help us.. An excellent tourist info place is in Safranbolu.

We spent some time also in Rize and Trabzon and the nearby mountains. Plenty of small pensions there. However, hiking trails are not well marked.

You will have a wonderful trip for sure!

Hello Bende.

Thanks for your reply.

If I understood you correctly, you ask where I get the best information. I'm sorry to tell you that Lonely Plant is not really effective on Trekking in Turkey. The useful information I always got from internet forums.

In the recent 10 years, my wife and I visited in Turkey nearly five months.

We learned to love the country and especially the residents. For communication with the local we learned to speak Turkish and it help us a lot.

We made a lot of hiking and always used public transportation. We had been in central and south-eastern Anatolia (two months), along the Aegean and Mediterranean coast (two months), and Aladağlar and Nemrut milli parks (3 weeks). But we avoid Kaçkar (apart from Yusufeli) because it became very touristy.

I believe that in the western part of the Black Sea, even the landscape is not dramatic, the authentic Turkey exist.

Uri

I may be mistaken but i think, Devrek, Bartin, Ulus, Pinarbasi, Azdavay, Kastamonu, Kure. inebolu, Sinop, Samsun, Trabzon, Macka/Sumela, Uzun Gol, Rize, Ovid, Ispir, Bayburt, Gumushane, Tosya, Ilgaz, and back to Istanbul is a good route, bypassing Safranbolu.

You will find Erzurum, Bayburt and Gumushane rather backward with alcohol free city areas. i do not recommend that you do these parts solo.

If you prefer something different and start in Trabzon, flying there from istanbul, then you have the more lush vegetation above Hopa to Borcka, Macahel, Artvin, Savsat, then down to Yusufeli and Barhal. We found Barhal to be very popular with young Israelis. following the Kackars down towards Rize or West to Ispir. These areas have more hikers and you can find people you can join more easily, and I do recommend it. There is bear and wild boar as well as slippery and dangerous canyons and rocks.

Also check with Bukla tours for reasonably priced hiking-trekking-rafting tours. It is owned by some people from the area, who were very helpful to us giving us lodging and driving ideas and information which we could not have found anywhere else for no charge, two yeas ago.

Your last post came on after i wrote mine. O.K. you will be with your wife, which makes it better.

Regarding the Eastern black Sea, the Borcka, Macahel, Ardanuc, Savsat areas are not crowded with tourists at all, and we found them to be very exciting. my wife still dreams about our trip there.

for a short blog check this:

eserahmetcelebilerblackseatrip1.blogspot.com (also parts 2,3,4)

Safranbolu is much too touristic (foreign and Turkish) and blown out of proportion. Kastamonu is a real town with many more old Turkish wooden houses than in Safranbolu. (I am not saying this because my mother's grandfather served twice as governor of Kastamonu in the 19th century)

The Devrek ( pick your terrific cherry canes here), Bartin, Ulus, Pinarbasi, Azdavay, route is very much like you want. very Turkish, with some beautiful canyons, caves, waterfalls, and interesting people.

We stayed in a somewhat restored village mansion called Pasakonagi at Pinarbasi and will never forget it.

If you go to the Georgian border, there is the Tema foundation guest house at Macahel village but also some decent B&Bs. Laset hotel in Savsat is good.

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