Things to do in Rize
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Rize
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
First tea flush, full waterfalls, wildflowers and best rafting, with fewer crowds than high summer.
Only reliable months for high plateaus and Kackar trekking. Busiest, most humid and most expensive.
Warm sea and empty hotels in September, but rainfall climbs and high tracks can close. October is wet and atmospheric.
Very wet on the coast and snowbound on plateaus. Best only for anchovy season, snow, thermal hotels and heliskiing.
What's on
- Rize Tea Festival late spring, dates vary by year
Tea harvest celebrations in Rize city. Check the governorship programme for your year.
- Ayder Snow Festival late January
Snow sculpture, sledging and music on Ayder plateau in deep snow.
- Ayder Yayla Festival July, dates set locally
Highland festival with horon dancing, tulum music and local food on the plateau.
- Kackar by UTMB late September
UTMB World Series trail races based in Camlihemsin and Ayder. Book far ahead or avoid the weekend.
- Anzer Honey Harvest August to September
Certified Anzer honey collected in very limited quantity above Ikizdere.
Best things to do in Rize
Ziraat Tea Garden
Hilltop Caykur garden for fresh Rize tea, subtropical plantings and the best view over the valley to Rize Castle.
Rize Castle
Partly ruined hilltop castle with a cafe and the definitive panorama over city, sea and tea slopes.
Rize Museum
Small museum of Laz and Hemsin dress, weaving and house life that gives the province in miniature.
Ayder Plateau
Famous highland base with meadows, pine forest, hot springs and the Gelin Tulu waterfall above the village.
Zilkale
Medieval fortress on a rock pinnacle in the Firtina Valley, with the whole forested valley below its walls.
Pokut Plateau
Wooden yayla houses on a ridge above a sea of cloud, reached by 4x4, and best with an overnight stay.
Senyuva Bridge
The most photographed Ottoman stone arch bridge on the Firtina, in the village of Senyuva.
Gelintulu Waterfall
The Brides Veil fall streaming down the rock wall above Ayder, spectacular after overnight rain.
Where to stay in Rize
Rize city centre and seafront
first night, transport and value
Walkable centre with lokantas and tea houses, but dense, concrete and cut by the coastal highway.
Iyidere coast
quieter full service hotel night
Directly on the sea west of the city, with space, pool and spa, but you need a car for town.
Ikizdere Valley
thermal soaking and valley calm
Lush valley south of Rize, good for the thermal hotel itself rather than for Ayder touring.
Camlihemsin and Firtina Valley
bungalows and plateau access
Wooden bungalows along the river, quieter and cheaper than Ayder, with rafting on the doorstep.
Ayder Plateau
mountain mornings and hot springs
Highest practical base with real choice, but the central strip is overbuilt and busy in summer.
Pokut Plateau
one unforgettable night
Tiny family pansiyons with home cooking and cloud sea views, reached only by 4x4 or on foot.
Think twice about
- Coastal highway strip on the D010
Hotels directly on the truck corridor with no sea access despite a sea address. Truck noise all night and a car needed for everything.
- Central Ayder hotel row in late July and August
Densest and priciest strip on the plateau. Paying plateau prices for a busy resort experience when quieter properties sit minutes away.
Best restaurants in Rize
Liman Lokantasi
The citys defining lokanta since 1968, with daily stews, doner and rice pudding at lunch.
LALE 1973
The kuru fasulye pilgrimage in Cayeli, white beans in buttery tomato sauce with rice and pickles.
Dayinin Balik Evi
Small fish house in Pazar serving seasonal fish simply cooked, superb in anchovy season.
Sini Yoresel Yemek ve Kahvalti Yeri
Shared tray Black Sea breakfast with muhlama, kaymak, honey and corn bread, plus regional lunch.
Evvel Zaman Yoresel Yemek
Regional dinner in an old Ottoman house that is part restaurant and part ethnographic collection.
Osmanli Sofrasi
Riverside valley restaurant known for muhlama, river trout and kofte after rafting.
Dagmaran Restaurant
Terrace above Rize for muhlama and sarma at sunset, chosen for the view over city and sea.
Bi'Pide Bi'Lahmacun
Stone oven Rize pide and lahmacun in the centre, fast, hot and cheap with ayran.
Best coffee in Rize
Ziraat Tea Garden
Glass after glass of Rize tea with simit and Laz boregi, the cheapest and most local break in town.
Outdoor things to do in Rize
Kackar Mountains National Park
Turkeys best trekking range, with glacial lakes, yayla villages and the 3937 metre Kackar summit route.
Firtina Rafting
White water rafting on the Firtina River through a green gorge under stone bridges, best in snowmelt.
Firtina Valley Zipline
Short zipline and giant swing over the Firtina River, a cheap and photogenic stop after lunch.
Palovit Waterfall
The provinces most powerful waterfall, a broad high flow fall in a forested gorge beyond Zilkale.
Huser Plateau
High plateau reached by 4x4 for sunset above a sea of cloud, with Kackar views on clear evenings.
Gito Plateau
Quiet yayla of wooden houses facing the Kackars, famous for morning cloud seas and slow tea stops.
Elevit Plateau
Accessible high plateau village with river, wooden houses and meadow walks in every direction.
Ayder Thermal Springs
Municipal hot springs at Ayder with pools and private family rooms, the ideal soak after a wet walk.
Best hotels in Rize
Ricosta Hotel
The citys highest rated large hotel, with pool, spa and sea facing rooms near the centre.
Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Rize
Safe international brand choice with indoor pool, spa, hammam and indoor parking on the seafront.
Babillon Hotel Spa & Restaurant
Five star hotel directly on the beach west of Rize, with spa and pools and sea sunsets.
Ridos Thermal Hotel & Spa
Large thermal spa hotel in a green valley south of Rize, built around the Ikizdere hot springs.
Villa de Pelit Hotel
Ayders best loved hotel, a smaller warm property with plateau views and home style hospitality.
Ayder Doga Resort
Reliable mid range Ayder resort with family rooms, restaurant and tour help on site.
Simal Hotel
Clean, well run city hotel near the mall, with family rooms and a good breakfast.
Grand 464 Otel
Central budget hotel with friendly staff and a notably good breakfast for the price.
Is Rize expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | TRY 2,200 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | TRY 4,500 a person |
| Splurge | TRY 9,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Ayder Plateau: a few days ahead
- Pokut Plateau: a few days ahead
- Firtina Valley: a few days ahead
- Kackar Mountains National Park: weeks ahead
- Huser Plateau: a few days ahead
- Gito Plateau: a few days ahead
- Ricosta Hotel: a few days ahead
- Ridos Thermal Hotel & Spa: a few days ahead
- Book Ayder and Pokut beds as soon as dates are fixed for July, August and holidays.
- Book plateau 4x4 transfers at least a day ahead and guided Kackar treks weeks ahead in season.
- Book flights to Rize Artvin before hotels because services are limited compared with Trabzon.
Is Rize safe?
- In Rize the practical risks are rivers, mountain weather, landslides and Black Sea rip currents.
- Swim only at guarded flagged beaches and never swim in the Firtina or mountain streams unguided.
- Emergency number is 112. Carry rain and warm layers even in August above the plateaus.
Rize travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Ayder as a two hour day trip photo stop misses everything the plateau is for.
- Roadside Anzer honey is rarely certified. Buy certified jars in Ikizdere or Rize and expect a high price.
- Check the packing date on viewpoint shop tea, as old stock is sold at premium prices.
Getting around Rize: public transport and more
- Fly to Rize Artvin Airport, about 45 minutes from Rize centre by Havas shuttle or taxi, and about an hour from Ayder.
- Use dolmus minibuses along the coast and up to Camlihemsin, and hire a local 4x4 driver for Pokut, Huser and Gito tracks.
- Download offline maps because signal drops in the upper valleys and on the plateaus.
Who Rize suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Rize your trip
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