Things to do in Van
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Van
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months overall, with snowmelt falls, the fish run in late spring and harvest light in early autumn.
Lake swimming season and domestic holiday peak, hot at altitude sun, book ahead and start sights early.
Worst general sightseeing window, bitter and snowy, but Abali skiing runs roughly January to March.
Shopping Fest and the Nowruz influx fill hotels and flights in mid March.
What's on
- Pearl Mullet Migration, Ercis late May to early June, inside 15 April to 15 July ban
Thousands of pearl mullet leap the Balik Bendi weir at Ercis, with festival activity around the run.
- Akdamar Church Annual Liturgy usually an early September Sunday, announced late
The one Armenian liturgy a year at the Church of the Holy Cross, permission dependent.
- Van Shopping Fest and Nowruz mid March around Iranian New Year
The city fills with Iranian visitors, shops run promotions and hotels and flights spike.
Best things to do in Van
Akdamar Kilisesi
A 10th century Armenian church covered in stone reliefs on an island in Lake Van, reached by a 20 minute boat ride.
Van Kalesi
The Urartian citadel rock of ancient Tushpa, best climbed in the last two hours of light for views over lake and city.
Van Müzesi
The best Urartu collection in Turkey told as one story, and the decoder for every castle and inscription around Van.
Van Kedisi Evi
The university conservation home of the odd eyed white Van cat, the only place where the protected breed is the day job.
Hüsrev Paşa Camii
A 1567 Ottoman mosque complex anchoring the ruined old city below the castle rock, atmospheric and almost always empty.
Yedi Kilise
The ruined Seven Churches monastery above a village, once the royal necropolis and archbishop seat of Armenian Van.
Peynirciler Çarşısı
The cheese bazaar for otlu peynir, Van herbed cheese, sold by age and salt level with tastings and vacuum packing.
Kahvaltıcılar Sokağı
Breakfast Street, where the classic Van breakfast salons line up and the two hour morning ritual is the itinerary.
Where to stay in Van
City centre, Ipekyolu
first trip, sights first, no car
Breakfast salons, cheese bazaar, malls and dolmus for every sight, in a busy, lit and orderly rebuilt centre.
Edremit lakeshore
summer lake stay, sunsets and swimming
Resort hotels face west over the water on Sahil Caddesi, but the town fabric is scruffy and city sights need a ride.
Think twice about
- Old Van and the castle plain
No accommodation and an unlit ruin field at night. Visit by day and sleep in the centre.
- Otogar and highway strip east of centre
Noisy, car dependent and pavement poor with no evening life. The centre is minutes away and costs little more.
- Iskele and station far west edge
Isolated at night and far from restaurants. Fine as an arrival point, not a base.
- Beyond Edremit toward Gevas as a Van base
Adds about 45 minutes to every city sight to save very little, unless you want a quiet lake village on purpose.
Best restaurants in Van
Urartu Han Van Kahvaltısı ve Yöresel Yemekler
The best reviewed table in Van, serving the full Van breakfast and regional dishes in a Urartu themed garden setting.
Bak Hele Bak Yusuf Konak Kahvaltı ve Kültür Sarayı
The heritage breakfast palace, part salon and part folk culture museum, serving the classic 20 item Van spread.
Sütçü Fevzi
A founding name of Breakfast Street, a no frills salon where the full Van breakfast arrives fast and tea never stops.
Kervansaray Restaurant
Van dependable full service dinner house, generous kebabs and complimentary starters at prices reviewers call a bargain.
Erkoç Çağ Kebap
Van evidenced cag kebab specialist, wood fired lamb shaved onto skewers that keep coming until you call a halt.
Tamara Ocakbaşı
Van best known grill counter evening, meat from the fire with live music on its nights by the Tamara Hotel.
Ahtamara Restaurant
The Gevas shore fish lunch by the Akdamar boats, pearl mullet from the lake cooked simply within sight of the water.
Süvari Hacıoğlu Kebap
A Maras style kebab house in the centre for beyti, eggplant kebab, lahmacun and kunefe to finish.
Outdoor things to do in Van
Muradiye Şelalesi
A broad 50 metre waterfall on the Bendimahi river with a suspension bridge in the spray, strongest on spring snowmelt.
Hoşap Kalesi
A dramatic 17th century Kurdish fortress on a rock pinnacle above the old Silk Road route toward Iran.
Çavuştepe Kalesi
An excavated Urartian royal fortress palace where the world of the Van Museum becomes a real place on twin hills.
Ahlat Selçuklu Mezarlığı
Thousands of carved Seljuk gravestones in an open field under Mount Suphan, unlike anything else in Turkey.
Nemrut Krater Gölü
A vast volcanic caldera with hot and cold crater lakes and obsidian flows, reached by a seasonal road from Tatvan.
Süphan Dağı
Turkey third highest mountain, a guided camp based climb or ski tour rising straight off the north shore of Lake Van.
Mollakasım Plajı
Van designated public swimming beach on the soda lake, where local families swim in season from June to September.
Abalı Kayak Merkezi
A small, cheap, uncrowded local ski hill above Gevas with lake views, ideal for learners and families in winter.
Best hotels in Van
Elite World Van
The centre grand five star in neoclassical palace style, with pool, spa and the strongest central breakfast.
Tamara Otel
The long standing central four star for business and tour travellers, efficient and restful in the middle of town.
Grand Hotel Van
A central value hotel minutes from the cheese bazaar, with buffet breakfast, rooftop terrace and 24 hour service.
Toprak Hotel
A budget central base with breakfast, parking and tour help, consistently listed among Van lowest priced sound hotels.
DoubleTree by Hilton Van
The lakefront five star in Edremit with spa, pool and lake view rooms, the resort choice south of the centre.
Dedeman Van Resort & Aqua
A resort hotel on the Edremit strip with aqua facilities and lake frontage at below DoubleTree prices.
Ramada by Wyndham Van
An international flag resort neighbour on Sahil Caddesi, the other mid range heart of the Edremit lake strip.
Is Van expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | TRY 2,500 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | TRY 6,000 a person |
| Splurge | TRY 15,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Çarpanak Adası: a few days ahead
- Süphan Dağı: weeks ahead
- İshak Paşa Sarayı: a few days ahead
- Book Van flights and five star hotels early for Nowruz, religious holiday weeks and late May to June.
- Book a Suphan guide months ahead in season and a driver early for summer Ahlat circuit weekends.
- If an Akdamar September liturgy is announced for your dates, fix transport and hotel at once.
Is Van safe?
- Conditions in the southeast can change at short notice, so confirm flights and road access before long days out and keep bookings flexible.
- Never photograph soldiers, police, checkpoints, gendarmerie posts or border infrastructure.
- Avoid unapproved protests and crowds, and note criticism of the government on social media can lead to arrest.
- Emergency number in Turkey is 112.
Van travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Van Castle at noon in July instead of at sunset or early morning.
- Street kittens sold as registered Van cats, which are a protected conservation breed.
- Fresh pearl mullet offered during the 15 April to 15 July spawning ban.
- Prepaying generic online Van tours at multiples of the local driver day rate.
Getting around Van: public transport and more
- Fly into Van Ferit Melen Airport, about 15 minutes from the centre, with frequent Istanbul and Ankara flights.
- Walk the centre and use dolmus or taxis for the castle, museum, Cat House and Edremit.
- Hire a hotel arranged car and driver for Akdamar, Hosap, Muradiye and the Ahlat circuit days.
- Keep your passport on your person on every intercity bus and excursion day for checkpoint checks.
Who Van suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Van your trip
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