Çeşme, Izmir (English)

Çeşme is a small town close to the Greek Islands and around 90km from Izmir, Tchechmè. (Çeşme means fountain, or water source).

It's easy to get there from Izmir on the bus, which costs around 15 Turkish Lira from Izmir bus station; or also from the airport with the havatas bus company for around 20TL.

I remember the first time I was in Çeşme as if it were yesterday. It was love at first sight and I knew I would have to come back.

Since seaside towns really catch my eye, I fell in love straight away with the beaches - this town knew how to draw me in. It was as if I were on the beaches in the Maldives, despite definitely having arrived in Turkey.

lllca plaj: I remember getting to this beach by dolmus (the local minibus), from the town centre - for 3TL for those who want to know the price - Çeşme is known for being associated with the Jetset high society, so it can be a fairly expensive place to be, especially in peak season.

Coming back to the subject of the beaches, with such clear water and white sand, there is only one hotel (Sheraton) that's very close to the beaches; the others are a little further, with supermarkets and markets where you can buy everything you need (suncream, clothes, towels, drinks, ice creams etc).

Altinkum Plaj: another beach, a little more natural with golden sand which gives the beach its name, but this year it's been inundated with private entrepreneurs wanting to turn it into private beaches that you have to pay to use, with one section left open for public access. To get there you have to take the minibus (dolmus) again from the marina. The journey costs 3. 5TL and lasts around 25 minutes.

As for finding somewhere to stay, I would advise anyone on a budget to go to a guest house, although they can still be quite expensive in peak season: around 90TL per night per person, or 25 euros or £22 per night.

I stayed at the Ayhan hotel at the edge of the pedestrian area of the town centre, which generally only takes families but sometimes accepts students.

The pedestrian areas have everything you could possibly need: restaurants, shops, bars, pharmacies etc.

I would recommend that you eat a Kurmu (a regional sandwich with Turkish meat and cheese) or a Kumpir (a baked potato with butter and gruyère cheese with vegetables and celery, amongst many other toppings you can add).

If you walk through the town centre, you will find yourself face to face with the town's harbour and marina, where you can sit outside for a coffee and a lovely Italian or Turkish ice cream (Maraş dondurma), all with a view of the sea; or you could buy a boat ticket to visit the town's islands - there are around ten of them and it costs roughly 30TL.

Once you've enjoyed the view of the sea, you have to turn back around to see the town's castle, which I would advise you to visit - it's less than 5 minutes from the marina.

Or you could go to Alacati, a district of Çeşme that has a lovely beach but also a town centre that's very well-known all over Turkey for its architecture, resembling that of Greek villages, with white and blue stone houses and lots of shops, boutiques, cafes and restaurants that you can enjoy.

I have uploaded some of my own photos here to share with you all, and to give you a little glimpse of this incredible little seaside town that is Çeşme.

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