Istanbul Beaches

 

Istanbul is surrounded by the sea all around it but because of the pollution caused by its population around 16 million people there are very few beach areas left in Istanbul suitable for swimming. Most of these cleaner beaches are not very close to city center. As a matter of fact the people living in Istanbul themselves go to the cities and towns in Southern Turkey such as Bodrum, Antalya, Marmaris, Fethiye  etc for their summer holidays. There are no beaches in Istanbul visibly frequented by gay people, but there are some swimming areas where it's more likely to come across other gay people.

 

Cruising Beach Areas in Istanbul

---

Prince Islands
Beaches and rocky parts along the isolated back sides of the Istanbul's Prince Islands can be kind of cruisy, the most popular one being the one in Kinaliada, which is the first stop of the ferryboats coming from the mainland. After getting off from ferryboat in Kinaliada, walk to right hand side along the street by the beach for about 15-20 minutes until you reach a hard-to-notice pathway going down the hill to the shore. The pathway is somewhere across from the building number 47-49 on Fazıl Ahmet Aytaç street. After walking down to the shore, walk another 10 minutes to your left had side to reach the crusing part.  Occasional nude swimming is possible if you walk further but observe other people first. Stay away from groups of young boys. You will need special slippers while walking along and swimming around this shore, with many small rocks and mussels that may hurt your feet. Rubber sea-slippers are sold in the shops near the ferry station for this purpose.

Sarayburnu
Sarayburnu (Seraglio Point) is coastal area behind Topkapi Palace with respect to Sultanahmet. It is actually not a beach but a waterfront by the coastal road, covered with big rocks and concrete waterfront. There is no visible gay scene here also. It is not a place recommended for swimming especially. There are singles or groups of guys drinking and young ghetto boys swimming and lying on the rocks in summer time. Some local gay men hang out here frequently in Summer. If your hotel is in Sultanahmet, you can try this place for a couple of hours in early evenings, at least to get a little sun tan. Do not stay long after dark. When you come from Sultanahmet walk into Gulhane Park's main gate from the tramcar street, and get out from the gate at the other end of the park. You will be right there.

Kadikoy Mendirek (Breakwater)
The breakwater & light house in Kadikoy (major district of Istanbul on the Asian side) is already a gay cruising place in the evenings. This would be the last place to be recommended for swimming activity, actually. It is a thick concrete wall on the sea with big rocks on one side, and the water is really polluted. So, do not go there with your creams, towels and sac de plage. In day time, you may see some people lying on the rocks or sun bathing, and some others fishing or drinking. If you are visiting Istanbul just for a couple of days, this is not a place to be visited particularly. But if you happen to go to Kadikoy for some reason, you can try it once. It is located right near the ferryboat pier. If you are staying in Sultanahmet you need to take the ferryboat from Eminonu port, which will be there in 20 minutes. If you are staying in Taksim, take the funicular from Metro station to Kabatas pier for ferryboats to Kadikoy. You can also go to Kadikoy from Karakoy ferryboat pier which is next to the northern foot of Galata bridge.

Yesilkoy Beaches
There are several beaches around Yesilkoy district on the European side of Istanbul. Ciroz Public Beach in Yesilkoy and public beaches around Menekşe are where some queers hang out to meet young horny ghetto boys, which may also be problematic, especially when you are not familiar with the local heteroflexible gay culture. You'd better stay away from crowded groups of teenagers. Its may be more prolific on weekends, especially on Sundays. Again you need to walk to less busy parts of the beaches, to the rocky areas. The beaches are about 15-20 minutes away from Yesilkoy station of Marmaray subway system . There are also IETT public buses from Taksim and Eminonu going closer into Yesilkoy or passing near these beaches.



Other Regular Beaches in Istanbul

---

Adalar (Prince's Islands)
Adalar is the plural for "ada" which means island in Turkish. This a group of small islands in Marmara sea close to the main land on the Asian side. The beaches on these islands seem to be the only swimming option left close to the down town Istanbul. They consist of 9 islands, 4 of which are considerably popular and inhabited. Private cars and motor vehicles are not allowed on any of the islands. So you need to walk, hire a bicycles or Fayton (a traditional horse-drawn carriage) to get around.

Majority of the native inhabitants of these islands used to be non-Muslim citizens of Ottoman Empire (Jews, Greeks, Armenians) until the end of 19th century. Now there are mansions and summer houses of rich men of Istanbul. Buyuk Ada (Grand Island) is the biggest one as the name suggests, and it is the most vibrant one. There are public ferryboats to Adalar from Kabatas pier on the European side (closer to Taksim, easily accessible from Sultanahmet by tramcar) and from Kadikoy and Bostanci districts on the Asian side. The journey takes 30-45 minutes by boat from Kabatas. The ferryboat from Kabatas stops on each inhabited island one after the other, in order of Kinaliada, Burgaz, Heybeliada and Buyukada. You can do hop-on hop off in this order between the islands by taking the next arriving ferryboat. On return way, the ferryboat does not stop on other islands after departing Buyukada. If you are staying around Taksim, you need to take the funicular line (Finukuler) from Taksim subway station to Kabatas first, which takes no more than 5 minutes.

Click here for sea bus (fast ferry) schedules from Kabatas to Prince's Islands.
Click here Conventional Ferryboat Lines to Prince's Islands (recommended option)
Click here for Google map locating Prince's Islands of Istanbul
Click here for Prince's Islands tours by gay local gay travel agency

Marmara Beaches on Asian Side
Several beaches along the Marmara Sea, on the Asian side of Istanbul have been reorganized and vitalized by the local municipalities in 2010's and opened to public service. Caddebostan and Erenköy public beaches are the ones worth visiting, if your expectation is not very high. They will be very busy with families during weekend days.

Kilyos Beaches
Kilyos is a small fishing village by the Black Sea shore of Istanbul on the European side, which is surrounded by green forests all around it. It has sandy beaches, hotels, pensions, cafe and restaurants. Roughly forty five minutes drive from down town Istanbul, the village is a good option for an escape from big-city life at least for an afternoon. Especially preferred by the local people living on the European part of Istanbul, it is a perfect place for nature lovers who would go there for swimming and picnic. The sea of Kilyos is rather chilly and wavy and there is flow in some parts. It not advised to swim very far from the shore especially in isolated parts of the beaches for this reason. To get to Kilyos by car, you need to pass Buyukdere and Sariyer districts driving through the Belgrade Forest. The road from Buyukdere passes through one of the arches of Egrikemer, the "Bent Aqueduct" built in 1732. If you have time to visit outskirts of Istanbul during your holiday, you can take a public bus to Sariyer first, departing from Taksim and Kabatas. You can find dolmus cabs, public bus or taxi to Kilyos from there. But the most enjoyable journey would be taking the morning Bosphorus cruise (Bogaz turu) of IDO with public ferryboats from Eminonu to Sariyer before getting to Kilyos, some 15 km away. Bogaz turu takes a little over an hour and stops in Besiktas (not far from Taksim, if you want to get on the ferry here) and several other small towns and villages along the Bosphorus. You can use public buses + M2 Metro Line on return. This would be a good and cheaper combination of a Bosphorus cruise and a daily beach adventure. On the way back you can also stop in Sariyer district for a a cup of Turkish tea in a sea-side cafe or eat fish in a small restaurant, to end your day as a life-time memorable one.

Sile Beaches
This is a lovely resort town on the Black Sea coast on the Asian side, 50 km from Uskudar (a district by the Asian shore of Bosphorus, across from Besiktas). The famous, extensive beaches of Sile are reached partly by a motorway, and partly by a narrow road winding through the forest. The ruins of a Genoese fortress and the lighthouse are also worth seeing in Sile. To the west of the town the beaches extend uninterrupted, and to the east there are a series of small, sandy bays. The summer months are quite crowded and lively. The breakwater of Sile can be cruisy for gay men in the evenings, whereas it is advised to be cautious and make good observation before meeting anyone. It may take more than an hour to get to Sile from European side of Istanbul, so it is recommended only if you have plenty of time to spent in Istanbul. A daily visit is possible in practice, but accommodation is readily available in the numerous hotels and pensions if you have time for an overnight stay or longer. There are public buses (Bus line 139) to Sile from Harem Otogar (intercity bus terminal) on the Asian side. You can go to Harem by ferryboats from Sirkeci ferry pier near Sultanahmet.

Comments:
"There is an unofficial nudist beach in Sile (Istanbul) Uzunkum vicinity: Uzunkum is long beach. At the beginning there are some clubs. Take sea your left and walk along the beach. Pass small island and keep walking until rocky section. Pass this rocky part. another beach start. at the end of this beach nudity is possible especially weekdays. At weekend you have to keep walk along another rocky section. after rocky section small sandy beach accessing only shore. Its little bit difficult so sea shoes must be worn. At 2014 summer weekend and 2015 summer weekends skinny dipping was possible. You can go there by public transportation departing from Uskudar district."

For public bus and ferryboat schedules please see: Conventional Ferryboat Lines  and IETT Public Buses
Click here for a more comprehensive travel guide to the beaches in Istanbul