Things to do in Artvin
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Artvin
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months, full waterfalls in June, famous autumn colour at the Karagols in October.
Peak season, warmest water and the honey festival, with highest prices and afternoon storms.
Pensions close and first snows fall, the valleys go quiet.
Hard months, lake and Macahel roads can be snow cut and many places close.
What's on
- Kafkasor Culture, Tourism and Art Festival Late June, typically the last week
The province's biggest event, three days centred on bloodless bull wrestling above Artvin city.
- Camili Pure Caucasian Bee and Honey Festival August
The beekeepers' festival for the protected Caucasian bee and Macahel honey in the Camili valley.
- Arhavi Culture and Art Festival Late summer, usually August, confirm locally
The coast's main festival, built around Mencuna Waterfall and the Kamilet valley.
- Sahara Pancar Festival Summer, locally announced, confirm in Savsat
A yayla gathering around the pancar tradition on the Kocabey plateau above Savsat.
Best things to do in Artvin
Borçka Karagöl Tabiat Parkı
A landslide lake in spruce forest whose still mornings give the famous mirror reflection photograph.
Şavşat Karagöl
The quieter of the two black lakes, a dark forest lake for a slow walk, trout and tea.
Maçahel
Six villages in Turkey's only UNESCO biosphere reserve, with old growth forest and protected Caucasian bee honey.
Maral Şelalesi
A single tall waterfall of about 65 metres reached by a steep path down into a forested gorge.
İremit Camii
A working village mosque whose carved and painted wooden interior is the finest in the valley.
İşhan Kilisesi
The great 10th century Georgian church of the Coruh, with a lion and dragon relief on its south wall.
Çifte Köprü
Two 18th century stone arch bridges crossing at right angles over a green gorge on the Kamilet road.
Kafkasör Yaylası
The city plateau whose late June festival stages bloodless bull wrestling in a mountain arena.
Where to stay in Artvin
Savsat town and the Sahara road
best all round base, lake and plateau loop
The deepest cluster of good small hotels, minutes from Savsat Karagol, Balik Golu and the plateau villages.
Borcka and the Karagol-Macahel road
Borcka Karagol at dawn and a Macahel overnight
Pensions on the lake road and in the biosphere valley villages put the forest sights at your door.
Artvin city, Kafkasor slope
transport, first or last night, Kafkasor and Hatila
Buses and the best city hotels, at the cost of steep streets and less charm than the small towns.
Hopa and the coast
Sarp and Batumi, Arhavi waterfalls, fish dinners
A working port town on the Georgia truck route, useful at either end of the trip, not a mountain base.
Barhal and Yaylalar, Yusufeli side
Kackar trekkers only
Full board village pensions under the Altiparmak peaks, hours of mountain road from the lakes.
Think twice about
- Artvin city centre as a scenic base
Not unsafe, just steep and dowdy, leaving you an hour from the lakes and plateaus. Sleep in Savsat or Borcka.
- Sarp border strip
A freight queue and border installations, not a town. Pass through for Batumi, sleep in Hopa or inland.
- New Yusufeli town as a holiday base
A purpose built relocation centre above the reservoir. Supply up there and sleep in Barhal village instead.
Best restaurants in Artvin
Meroli
The city centre's most interesting table, regional dishes with a rare vegetarian friendly listing.
Karahan Pansiyon
Full board mountain feasts at a family pension under the Altiparmak peaks, praised by trekkers for years.
Ersin Dede Kebap
The city centre kebab house ranked near the top of Artvin restaurants, at local prices.
Sönmez Ocak Cağ-Kebap - Artvin
A specialist for cag kebab, lamb shaved from a horizontal wood fired spit in its home country.
NEBA Lokantası
Borcka's value star, a family lokanta with an exceptional score at a large review volume.
Çardak Restaurant
A sit down city dinner alternative to the kebab counters, steadily rated in the mid 4s.
Kristal Pide
Hopa's pide institution since 1993, the place for Hopa pidesi on the Black Sea coast.
Best coffee in Artvin
No1KahveEvi
The city coffee stop on Inonu Caddesi, world coffees and a full local menu until midnight.
Outdoor things to do in Artvin
Kaçkar Dağı
Turkey's great alpine summit trek, from Barhal village pensions to a 3937 metre summit via base camp.
Barhal Çayı
The surviving rafting river of the Coruh system, a technical tributary run booked through local bases.
Hatila Vadisi Millî Parkı
A steep forested gorge of waterfalls behind the city, with a glass terrace over the valley.
Mençuna Şelalesi
A 50 metre waterfall and cold plunge basin in a green valley of tea gardens and hazelnut groves.
Balık Gölü
A small trout lake on the open Sahara plateau, the centre of a day of high yayla walking.
Sarp Sınır Kapısı
The Georgian border crossing for a Batumi day trip, a complete contrast 15 kilometres beyond the line.
Best hotels in Artvin
Koliva Hotel
The city's top mountain hotel, large apartment style rooms and panoramic views above Artvin.
Hotel Green Valley Savsat
Savsat's top rated hotel, a comfortable and well hosted base for the lake and plateau loop.
Laset Motel & Restoran
Motel rooms and bungalows in a flower filled valley, with a beloved trout and honey kitchen.
Black Forest Hotel
Savsat's full service option, suites and a restaurant window over mountain and valley.
Koru Butik Otel
The best reviewed small hotel in Artvin city, quiet, modern and strong on breakfast.
Macahel İremit Pansiyon
A family pension in the biosphere valley, famous for home food, views and a warm welcome.
Şavşat Karagöl Otel & Restorant
The only hotel on Savsat Karagol itself, unbeatable at dawn, though reviews are mixed.
Is Artvin expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | TRY 1,800 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | TRY 4,500 a person |
| Splurge | TRY 12,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Maçahel: weeks ahead
- Kafkasör Yaylası: weeks ahead
- Kaçkar Dağı: weeks ahead
- Barhal Çayı: a few days ahead
- Koliva Hotel: weeks ahead
- Hotel Green Valley Savsat: weeks ahead
- Laset Motel & Restoran: weeks ahead
- Black Forest Hotel: weeks ahead
- Book Savsat, Borcka and Macahel stays weeks ahead for late June to September and Eid holidays.
- Book pension dinners with the room and arrange Kackar guides and rafting days ahead.
- Ask a Macahel pension when booking what currently applies for foreign guests in the border valley.
Is Artvin safe?
- Carry your passport for checkpoints and never photograph military or border installations.
- The real risks are mountain roads, winter closures, fast rivers and altitude, plan for those.
Artvin travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Confirm Borcka Karagol or Savsat Karagol in full every time, they are different lakes.
- Old Coruh rafting brochures describe a run that is now dammed, check which kilometres an operator runs.
- The Grand Artvin Hotel is listed permanently closed, check bookings against current listings.
- Very cheap Macahel honey is almost certainly not Macahel honey, buy from a named producer.
Getting around Artvin: public transport and more
- Fly to Rize-Artvin Airport and allow about two hours by road to Artvin city.
- Rent a high clearance car, ideally 4x4, for Macahel, Maral and the Karagol roads.
- Download offline maps, fuel up in district towns and never drive high roads after dark in fog.
- Double every drive time a map suggests, and never build a tight connection on a dolmus.
Who Artvin suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Artvin your trip
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