In this article we are going to dive in and have a look on where to go and what to do in the nearest places to the Black Sea that are close to our beautiful Istanbul.
Şile & Ağva:
Şile and Ağva are two towns that have an amazing seashore to the Black Sea, both are relatively close to Istanbul (Şile 78 km and Ağva 110 km) which make them the perfect place to visit in a cruise trip from the morning to the evening while enjoying the nature. On the way of Şile you might pass through the Hidden Lake which is really magical place because it is hidden from the main street away deep in the forest in around 3 kms, it has a charming view according of its place in a small valley and the trees and the skies are all over the place, there is a restaurant that serves the famous fresh Turkish breakfast to eat and enjoy while looking to the relaxing view. Also, one of the most famous and amazing places to visit in Şile is the high Şile Lighthouse, it is a lighthouse that is located above a small hell which makes the place itself really awesome to smell the Black Sea breeze and take some real good quality photos for memories too!
After the journey in Şile ends you might head up the small calm town Ağva, Ağva so far is a small town which does look like a peninsula, because it is surrounded by the water from almost everywhere, north it has the Black Sea shore, east and west it has two small rivers that pour in the Black Sea directly. On these two rivers they have built amazing restaurants, these restaurants serve good food especially when it comes to the Sea food. You might also see the old men in their boats taking the people into a small trip in the river while looking around into the nature.
Kilyos In Kumköy (The Village Of Sand):
Kilyos is a small village located on the seashore of the Black Sea in Istanbul, it is only 30 kms away from Taksim Square and you can get there by a small trip in the car, or using the M2 metro to the last metro station Hacıosman and then head up by the small buses which take you directly to the main square of Kilyos. Kilyos has hotels, guesthouses, and restaurants open in the summer such as Mi Norte also you can try the amazing Park Mandalin. The warm beautiful sandy beach which made the town famous is open from 8 am to 6 pm with a small fee, it gets crowded in the summers especially at the weekends, but not so crowded during the weekdays. You will notice that a lot of Istanbul locals and tourists head up to Kilyos in the morning in summers to get some tan and enjoy the hot nice sun away from the hustle and the bustle of the city.
Karaburun (The Black Nose):
The name might be confusing for a second, they called it black according to the location in the seashore of the Black Sea, and nose well because it looks like a nose in the map. It is a very small and calm village located to the north west side to the new Istanbul Airport. It is around 57 kms away from Taksim Square which will take less than an hour to get there driving. The special thing about that village that I want to mention is that according to its size it is a very clean and lovely village, it has many good restaurants which serve a home cooking quality food, and the sea shore is sandy and nice.