Touring Turkey with Kids in a Camper Van

We are an English-Turkish family and we travel around in an old Mercedes bus that we converted ourselves to a camper van. A year ago we travelled the UK, Morocco, Portugal, Spain Italy, and the Balkans. Last summer myself, my partner and our four-year-old son spent three months travelling the vast, beautiful and ancient lands of Türkiye.

Our vehicle is a 1991, 609d which weighs 6 tonne, has a 4L engine, and does about 20 miles to the gallon, with a top speed of around 60mph. So anywhere we go, it is slowly.

As the map shows we drove first from Istanbul via Sapanca to Cappadocia. The furthest east we managed to go in the heat of summer was Şanlıurfa and Harran. From Şanlıurfa we then headed through Mersin, Alanya to Antalya and made our way around the southern coast through Kabak Valley, Olüdeniz, Fethiye, and we spent some time in Dalyan and Lake Köyceğiz before visiting the famous Pamukkale. After visiting the Datça peninsula we spent some time in Bodrum and Muğla area with family and then spent the last month making our way back through Selçuk, Izmir, Çanakkale and Bursa. We have seen the most amazing landscapes: huge canyons, lush valleys, beautiful beaches, and epic caves. We have also seen mind-blowing historical sights, from underground cities and cave dwellings, to prehistoric settlements and over ten Antik Kenti (ancient cities) on the Lycian Way.

Camping with kids in Turkey
If you have ever dreamed of taking a road trip with the kids in Turkey, but you are overwhelmed with where to go, below are eight recommendations. You can hire a camper van, take a car and tents, or you can even just drive and stay in one of the many campsite bungalows or ready-pitched tents. One of the things that is difficult when travelling with kids is to find a camping spot that keeps the kids entertained (beach-side or swimming pools are always a bonus), but one that is also easily accessible for sightseeing. It is also quite tiring with kids to keep packing up camp and moving every few days, so here I have summarized some of the best places we visited, where you can easily stay for a while and go on many day trips to explore the surrounding areas. Here are a few of the places to go and where to stay.

1. Explore Kappadokia from Camping Aqua Park Göreme
Cappadocia is a must. You can easily spend a week here or more. It is an absolutely magical landscape with amazing layers of history and much fun to be had for kids. They will be entertained by chasing the air balloons (fun enough if, like us, you could not afford to go in them), quad bike sunset drives, and pony trekking. We stayed at Camping Aqua Park Göreme. The selling point is definitely the swimming pool with two great slides, and it is walking distance to Göreme Open Air Museum. Staff are friendly, the views are great, and there is an outdoor cooking area. Be sure to visit the Fairy Chimneys, the Open Air Museum, and the Rose Valley sunset viewpoint. We spent the night parked at the view point and watched the air balloons take off at dawn over the valley, it was marvelous. Neighboring Ürgüp has supermarkets, shops and restaurants, and quite a buzz. From here you can also visit one of the many underground cities (read about them, it is mind-blowing). I also recommend visiting the cathedral at Selime and the Ihlara and Soğanlı valleys. Soğanlı valley is a beautiful quiet valley with lots of ancient cave dwellings and churches dotted about, which makes for really great few days wandering and exploring. You can park or pitch a tent for the night in one of the lovely family run garden restaurants with riverside seating, giant ancient olive trees lining the banks, and real hobbit houses at the end of the garden.

2. Mersin and the caves of heaven and hell
The caves of heaven and hell (‘Cennet ve Cehennem’) in Mersin, were one of the highlights of our trip. Heaven and Hell are two ginormous sink holes that lead into caves at the bottom. Visitors can descend into the larger sink hole, ‘Heaven’, some 250m wide and 130m deep, via huge stone steps carved out of the rock. At the bottom there is a 5th century church which sits eerily at the mouth of the cave, and an underground stream flows into the darkness. As you walk deeper and deeper down into the cave the darkness eventually engulfs you until you can see nothing and can only hear the sound of a waterfall as the stream cascades seemingly into the centre of the earth. It looks like a lift is being built, but at the moment access to the cave is a real challenge and not for the faint-hearted. We all, including our son aged four, really felt a sense of achievement climbing the steps back out of the sink hole, and the promise of ice cream at the top spurred us all on to achieve it, without having to be carried by someone. Tarsus is a great day out too. Wandering the streets of Old Tarsus is fascinating, where arty cafes and trendy bars are popping up among the ruins of Ottoman houses, some slowly being restored to their former splendour. And you can visit the remains of Saint Paul’s house, as he was reputedly born in Tarsus. We recommend you can free camp on the beach just past Sebaste Antik Kenti at Ayas, or stay at Camping Akçakıl, a small, clean, tidy, but popular, campsite and beach restaurant just past Tasucu. They also have Bungalows to rent.

3. Explore Antalya from Camping Andriake
Camping Andriake is a great little family run campsite at the quiet and peaceful Harbour of Demre in Antalya province. The campsite is at the end of the peninsula, past the ancient city, and nestled in the shade of a craggy cliff. It has a relaxed vibe, great restaurant, a communal meeting area with table tennis and books to borrow, communal BBQ area and campfire, friendly dogs, and kids playing in the sand. Across the water inlet is a vast sandy beach with river flowing out to the sea, which the ancient Lycian Way crosses with a rickety bridge. Turtles nest on the beach and conservation groups look after the nests until they hatch. Andriake was an important port town dating back to the 3rd century BC and you can explore the ruins here. Lots of boat tours go from just outside the campsite: we took a five-hour tour visiting the ancient sunken ruins off Kekova Island and Simena castle. The tour included lunch and many opportunities to swim off the boat in the beautiful turquoise waters. Our son absolutely loved it. You can also take organised hikes along the Lycian Way from Camping Andriake, visit popular town of Kaş by car, explore both Myra and Limyra ancient ruins, or drive to the famous Kaputaş beach.

4. Explore Bodrum Peninsula from Volo Camping
Volo Camping is a rustic, quirky campsite with small swimming pool, sunsets over the Bodrum peninsula, one shower between everyone, lovely staff, and easy dolmuş to Gümüsluk and Bodrum. All this for 70TL per person per night which includes breakfast and delicious home-cooked dinner. Amazing. Volo camping is ten minutes from Bodrum Aqua Park at Ortakent which the kids were overjoyed to spend the day at. From Volo you can also visit the quaint fishing village of Gümüsluk which has loads of picturesque fish restaurants on the water front, a quiet sandy beach at the far end and when the tide is out you can also wade across and climb the island with ancient ruins of Myndos. Take your water shoes! Not to mention all the sights that Bodrum has to offer are a dolmuş ride away.

5. Explore Selçuk from Camping Dereli
Camping Dereli on Pamucak beach is a great location for lots of sightseeing in the Selçuk region. While the campsite has seen better days, it has everything you need: staff are friendly, it has a great beach restaurant with home cooked Turkish food, it is a great sandy beach for kids, it has huge Eucalyptus trees for shade, hot water- even to wash your dishes, and regular dolmuş to various locations. Great things to do from here are: visit the ancient ruins of Ephesus, Selçuk town where you can visit mosque, St. John’s Basilica, the temple of Artemis, the cave of the seven sleepers, and the Virgin Mary’s house. There is a pleasant shaded cycle path between Ephesus and Selçuk. You can also visit the resort town of Kuşadası for the day. Also nearby is the picturesque, historically-Greek-settled hilltop town of Şirince, where you can climb the cobbled streets, have a drink in one of the many wine bars, and peruse the handicraft shops. Most of all though, the kids will love the beach with golden sand and shallow waters.

6. Şanlıurfa and Göbeklitepe
Urfa was a bright, bustling, modern city that we wish we had more time to explore. We definitely plan to visit again, perhaps not at the height of summer, with daytime temperatures reaching 50 degrees in the camper van. We had spicy breakfast in the old bazaar, visited the historic sights of the city including Ulu Cami, Prophet Ibrahim’s cave, and the ‘sacred fishponds:’ Balıklıgöl. The air-conditioned archaeology museum was great and catered well for all ages. But the highlight of this region was, by far, Göbeklitepe. Hailed to be the world’s oldest temple, predating Britain’s Stonehenge by 6000 years, this archaeological discovery upturns conventional views about the beginnings of civilization, as it reveals evidence of advanced civilization constructed by prehistoric peoples who had supposedly not developed metal tools or pottery at this time. We drove slowly to the top of the mound at sunset and the landscape, was absolutely magical. You can truly understand why an ancient civilization was built there. Last year was branded the year of Göbekli Tepe and we were greeted by a new shiny visitors’ centre, cafe, and car park. A shuttle bus takes you on the last kilometre to the site. Your navigation of the dig site is crafted by a well-sculpted, shaded, wooden walkway which allows you to view the three main temples from a high vantage point. We did not stay on any campsites in this region but we had no problem camping wild. In the city we spent the night in the car park of the Archaeology Museum, which was next door to a large shopping mall with kids play area and restaurants. On route we visited the sunken town of Halfeti, and camped one night at Erikçe Piknik Alanı, Gaziantep. It is worth investigating Harran, which has an immense and ancient history, but when we visited in 2019, much of the sights were closed. It is thoroughly recommended to visit Mount Nemrut from this region also.

7. Dalyan and Lake Köyceğiz
Kamp Lotus is a wonderful small campsite with a hippy vibe, located a few kilometres outside of Dalyan. The camp site is located at the foot of a huge craggy rock formation, next to a fresh spring which bubbles out of the base of the rocks and flows into a small crystal-clear stream that runs through the campsite. It is a site of blue freshwater crabs, frogs and newts hiding in the reeds and lilies. You can park your camper, pitch a tent, or rent a lotus tent or yurt. They have a small swimming pool, a large trampoline and a poolside bar with good vegetarian food which keeps the adults and children entertained. With your own vehicle you can take day trips to the shops and bazaars of Dalyan centre, the famous Iztuzu (or turtle) Beach, the ancient ruins of Kaunos, or a boat trip to Sultaniye hot springs and mud baths. If you want to explore Lake Köyceğiz more, Cemil’in Yeri Akdeniz Camping is a great family-run campsite set in beautiful, quiet, natural surroundings on the lakeside.

8. Köprülü Canyon
Köprülü kanyon Milli Parkı in Antalya Province, is a beautiful national park location to camp and explore. It features a deep, wide and fast flowing river in the forest covered mountains, that runs through a gorge which is 400 metres high at some points. The river is famous for water sports. I can personally recommend white water rafting from Dallas Rafting where experienced, friendly staff speak various languages, and will curate a wonderful day out for you involving rafting down the river, zip-wire rides over the canyon, a delicious meal and team videos. You can choose a route on the river according to your needs and swimming abilities. We took a gentle route that was fun and had some white water, but felt perfectly safe for our four-year-old, with life-jacket. You can pitch a camp in the Milli Parkı alongside the river, a popular picnic spot for Turkish families. Be sure to visit the Roman Oluklu Bridge, and the Bugrum Bridge, both feats of engineering of their time. From this area you can visit the ancient city of Selge in the mountains, and nearer the coast, Aspendos ruins, with the best-preserved Amphitheatre of antiquity.

I have so many more places to recommend, but I hope these suggestions have sparked the adventurer in you, and inspired you to explore this magnificent country on a budget, with your family in tow. The Black Sea region and much of the East were very regrettably not covered on this trip, but do watch this space.

Images courtesy of Sumi Hollingworth and Kağan Turan.