Akçakoca

Akçakoca is a beach resort in the Western Karadeniz or Black Sea Region of Turkey, with a population of 27,878 in 2022.

Understand

The town in antiquity was called Diapolis and was one of a string of small ports along the Black Sea coast, fortified in the 13th century by the Genoese. The Ottomans captured the region in the 14th century, without any battle here, whereupon it was called Akçaşehir. In 1934 it was renamed Akçakoca for the fellow who'd captured it. The town has industry and fishing but is nowadays mainly a tourist resort.

Get in

Akçakoca is at the junction of Highway D010 along the coast and D655 which winds through the mountains from Düzce the provincial capital. Düzce is astride the main route between Istanbul and Ankara, and the drive from either is about 3 hours to Düzce then another 30 min to Akçakoca. This makes the place a weekend getaway from the big cities but too far for a day trip.

Buses from Istanbul run every couple of hours and take 4-5 hours via Gebze and Düzce, for a fare in 2024 of 600 TL; they continue along the coast to Zonguldak. Four buses per day from Ankara take 3 hr 30 min via Bolu and Düzce. Bus lines include Metro Turizm, Pamukkale and Flixbus.

1 Otogar the bus station is at the highway junction 2 km east of town centre. Its facilities are seldom open. Dolmuşes run downtown and your ride should be included in your inter-city bus ticket, enquire when booking.

Get around

• Buses and dolmuşes shuttle between downtown (çarşı), the bus station (otogar) and outlying districts.

See

• 1 Central Mosque (Merkez Camii), Plaj Sk. Striking modern mosque built in 2004, with a rooftop resembling a nomad's tent and tentpole-like minarets. It's similar to Faisal Mosque in Islamabad but modern styles are rare in Turkey, where religious conservatives insist that new mosques are retro-Ottoman. (updated Mar 2024)
• 2 Deniz Feneri or "lighthouse" is just a harbour light at the end of the breakwater, with views back over town.
• Old Town is no more. Here and there you might find traditional Ottoman houses on the slopes above the beachfront, but they're either tumbledown, or caught in the crosshairs of the developers' sights, or modern retro creations.
• Mehmet Arif Bey Köşkü in the east of town is shown on some maps as a museum, but it's a private mansion, and you can't really see the exterior behind the high walls.
• 3 Genoese Castle (Ceneviz Kalesi), Kale Yolu (2 km west of town centre). 24 hours. This was built some time between 1204 and 1261 after the Genoese captured Istanbul and fortified all along the Black Sea coast. It's just a small crumbling bastion, but you come for the clifftop location and nearby beach. Free. (updated Mar 2024)
• 4 Fakıllı Cave, Fakıllı Köyü (off D655 to Düzce), ☏ +90 542 839 0122. Daily 08:30-22:00. Decorated karstic show-cave, you see about a third of its 1 km extent. Wear stout footwear. (updated Mar 2024)

Do

Central Mosque

• Beaches are narrow and suffer from erosion; island breakwaters stand east of the Marina breakwater to limit this. Değirmenağzı Plajı (Windmill Beach) 1 km west of town centre is larger, at the outlet of a stream. Kale Plajı (Castle Beach) just below the Genoese castle is a further km west.
• Watch films about Lenin though you'll probably have to find them on an art-movie TV channel. In 1991 a wooden bust of Lenin was washed up hereabouts, presumably chucked away in some Soviet dominion after the fall of communism and the USSR in 1989. It lay for some years in a warehouse while the citizens debated what to do with it, but it's now a movie prop. Hoşgeldiniz Lenin was a short documentary of 2016, and in 2021 a full-length film You Me Lenin fictionalised the event, though its release coincided with covid and few got to see it. This film portrays the repressive 1990s, when Turkey's leaders detested communism yet showed themselves its successors by murdering or "disappearing" their political opponents.

Buy

• Lots of convenience stores along Istanbul Cd a block back from the shore.

Eat

Genoese Castle

• East from the Marina are Kamelya, Çapa, Bahce Cafe Lounge and Kuzin.
• Balik Evi is at the Marina, then west are Kordon Cafe, Seyir Cafe and Gurme.

Drink

• Cafes may serve alcohol, there's no free-standing bar.

Sleep

• 1 Otel Vadi Akçakoca, Düzce Cd 21, ☏ +90 380 618 8484. Small pansiyon 200 m south of the bus station, and most visitors are only here because they've got stuck for transport, but it's clean and friendly. B&B double 1500 TL. (updated Mar 2024)
• 2 Turkuaz Beach Otel, Atatürk Cd 75, ☏ +90 380 611 5000. Clean beach hotel, value for money. B&B double 1800 TL. (updated Mar 2024)
• 3 Bayraktar Otel, Atatürk Cd 2, ☏ +90 380 611 6677. Central beachfront hotel, small rooms. B&B double 2000 TL. (updated Mar 2024)
• 4 Kocan Otel, İşgören Cd 22, ☏ +90 380 611 2122. Central clean hotel. B&B double 1800 TL. (updated Mar 2024)
• 5 Diapolis Otel, İnönü Cd 34, ☏ +90 380 611 3741. Decent enough for a short stay. (updated Mar 2024)
• 6 Ayazlı is an outlying resort district east of the bus station. Eftelya is the main hotel here, and campsites are further along the coast.

Connect

Akçakoca and its approach roads have 4G from all Turkish carriers. As of March 2024, 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.

Go next

• Zonguldak east is a grubby former mining port. Continue east for more attractive Amasra.
• Bolu inland is on the Ankara-Istanbul trading route, with a museum and several historic mosques.

Routes through Akçakoca

Ends at (S) ← Karasu ←

W  E

→ Zonguldak → Samsun