Yalova: Hot Springs Across the Water from Istanbul

On this page

1. What is Yalova?
2. How do you get to Yalova?
3. Where should you stay in Yalova?
4. What type of climate does Yalova have?
5. When is the best time to visit Yalova?
6. What is the history of Yalova?
7. What is Yalova famous for?
8. What are the historical places of Yalova?
9. What are the best things to do in Yalova?
10. What are the best places to visit in Yalova?
11. What is the traditional food of Yalova?
12. What should you buy in Yalova?
13. Frequently asked questions about Yalova
14. What do the official records say about Yalova?

What is Yalova?

Yalova is a small province on the south side of the Sea of Marmara, facing Istanbul across the water at the mouth of the Gulf of İzmit. Its capital, also called Yalova, is a port town with frequent ferries to Istanbul, and behind it the wooded Samanlı Mountains rise towards Bursa and the Iznik lake basin.

For most visitors Yalova means one thing: Termal, the hot-spring resort in a forested valley 12 km south of the town, where Roman and Byzantine emperors, Ottoman sultans and Atatürk all came to take the waters. The province also has the Karaca Arboretum, Atatürk’s “walking mansion” (Yürüyen Köşk), waterfalls and plateaus in the hills, and a string of beach towns, Çınarcık, Esenköy and Armutlu, that fill with Istanbul families in summer.

The 2002 inventory describes Yalova as an important port city where tourism can be practised in every season, with thermal, coastal, hunting and nature-sport tourism, and adds that the world-famous Termal and Armutlu springs have become a centre of health, healing and rest for Türkiye and the Middle East.

Places to visit in Yalova

Termal

Termal hot springs near Yalova: Byzantine-origin Kurşunlu and Valide baths, the open-air…

Karaca Arboretum

Karaca Arboretum in Yalova: 13.5 hectares and about 7,000 plants, autumn maples,…

Yürüyen Köşk

Yürüyen Köşk in Yalova: the house Atatürk had moved 4.80 m on…

Sudüşen Waterfall

Sudüşen Waterfall above Termal, Yalova: the forest trail from Üvezpınar village past…

How do you get to Yalova?

By sea: İDO runs regular ferries between Istanbul and Yalova across the Marmara, the most relaxing way to arrive. Car ferries also cross the Gulf of İzmit between Eskihisar, near Gebze, and Topçular, just east of Yalova town.

By road: Since 2016 the Osmangazi Bridge has carried the Istanbul–İzmir motorway across the Gulf of İzmit from Gebze into Yalova province, so you can drive from Istanbul’s Asian side without a ferry. Buses connect Yalova with Bursa and İznik to the south and with Istanbul via the bridge.

By air: Yalova has no airport. The nearest is Sabiha Gökçen Airport, on Istanbul’s Asian side, reached by road via the Osmangazi Bridge. Istanbul Airport is further, on the European side.

Getting around: Minibuses run from Yalova town to Termal, Çınarcık and Armutlu. For the arboretum, the waterfalls and the plateaus, a car or taxi is easiest.

Where should you stay in Yalova?

Termal is the obvious choice if you are coming for the springs: the historic thermal hotels and baths are in the valley itself, and hotels and guesthouses in neighbouring Gökçedere are supplied with thermal water piped down from the springs. Armutlu, on the peninsula’s west side, has its own spa hotels around the Armutlu spring.

For a beach holiday, Çınarcık and Esenköy have the most hotels and holiday flats. Yalova town has business hotels close to the ferry port and is convenient for the Yürüyen Köşk and a quick visit.

Book a Yalova tour

−5% Istambul readers save 5% on every tour below — applied at checkout.

See all tours

Partner listings via GetYourGuide · free cancellation on most

What type of climate does Yalova have?

The 2002 inventory describes Yalova’s climate as a transition between the Mediterranean and Black Sea climates. Summers are warm and humid, winters mild and wet, and rain falls in every season, which is why the hills are green all year and the area is so well suited to growing plants. Snow is occasional and rarely lies for long on the coast.

When is the best time to visit Yalova?

Spring, from April to early June, and autumn, from September to November, are the best times. In spring the arboretum and the hydrangeas and gardens of Termal are in flower; in autumn the forests turn colour and the thermal pools feel their best. Summer is beach season in Çınarcık and Armutlu, with heavy weekend traffic from Istanbul. Termal works all year, and a winter weekend in the hot pools is a long-standing Istanbul tradition.

What is the history of Yalova?

In antiquity and for most of the Middle Ages the town was known as Pylai, Greek for “gates”, because it stood at the start of a main route into Bithynia. A few kilometres east, at today’s village of Hersek in Altınova district, stood Drepanon. According to the Byzantine historian Procopius, Constantine the Great renamed it Helenopolis in honour of his mother, Helena. Justinian later gave it an aqueduct, baths and other buildings.

The springs of Termal have an even longer story. The Yalova Culture and Tourism Directorate records that from the 6th century the site was known as Pythia Therma, that steam and hot water rising from fissures made people believe it belonged to an underground god, and that the first baths were built under Constantine and restored under Justinian. Excavations ordered by Atatürk in 1932 uncovered votive stelae, tombstones, a church and columns bearing the monogram of Justin II (565–578) (Yalova Culture and Tourism Directorate).

Under the Ottomans the town was called Yalakabad and later Yalıova, part of the sanjak of Kocaeli. Sultan Abdülhamid II revived the springs: in 1892 the Ottoman medical society examined the waters, found them comparable to those of Aix-les-Bains in France, and a hotel and baths followed.

The modern town owes much to Atatürk, who came often to rest in Termal in his later years, had a residence built there in the late 1920s, and is remembered as saying “Yalova is my city”. Yalova was part of Istanbul province from 1930 until 1995, when it became a province in its own right. On 17 August 1999 the Marmara earthquake devastated the region, Yalova included; the Earthquake Monument in 17 August Park remembers the victims.

What is Yalova famous for?

Thermal springs. The provincial directorate calls Yalova-Termal and Armutlu first-degree, priority thermal sites, and Termal the most orderly developed thermal area in Türkiye. Its historic baths include the Kurşunlu (lead-roofed) bath and the Valide bath.

Atatürk. Two of Yalova’s best-known sights are linked to him: the Atatürk Mansion at Termal and the Yürüyen Köşk in town, the house he had moved on rails in 1930 rather than cut back a plane tree.

Plants and flowers. The 2002 inventory notes that growing ornamental plants is widespread in Yalova and that in 2002 the province supplied more than 20 percent of the cut flowers produced in Türkiye.

What are the historical places of Yalova?

Termal baths. The Kurşunlu Hamam, named for its lead-covered roof, is attributed to Justinian and was restored under Abdülhamid II. The Valide Hamamı, built with six domes under Constantine (three now lost), was restored under Sultan Abdülmecid and takes its name from his mother, who was treated there. See our Termal guide.

Atatürk Mansion (Termal). Built in 1928 by the State Maritime Lines as a presidential residence at the foot of a hill beside the springs. Atatürk stayed here many times. The two-storey house has a large hall and study rooms below and bedrooms, rest rooms and baths above, and his bedroom and bathroom are kept with their original furniture. It is now a museum.

Yürüyen Köşk. Atatürk’s seaside house in Yalova town, moved 4.80 m on tram rails over 8–10 August 1930 to save a plane tree. See our Yürüyen Köşk guide.

Helenopolis (Hersek). Little survives above ground of Constantine’s Helenopolis at Hersek, but it is the province’s most important ancient site. Evliya Çelebi saw the remains of its pier and lighthouse in the 17th century.

What are the best things to do in Yalova?

• Bathe at Termal in the historic baths or the open-air thermal pool, then walk the gardens and the cascade known as Yedi Havuzlar (Seven Pools) at the entrance.
• Walk to Sudüşen Waterfall on a forest trail above Termal, past a dam lake with views of the Marmara.
• Visit the Karaca Arboretum in spring for blossom or in autumn for colour.
• Go up to Delmece Yaylası, a plateau reached from Teşvikiye village in Çınarcık district, which the inventory describes as outstandingly beautiful.
• Picnic in the valleys. The inventory singles out Kurtköy, beside a stream and known for trout restaurants and picnic grounds, Burhaniye, an authentic picnic spot 25 km from Yalova among mountains and a cool stream, and the Hasan Baba woods on the road to Çınarcık. The provincial directorate also lists the Erikli double waterfall and Dipsiz Göl.
• Swim at Çınarcık, Esenköy or Armutlu. The inventory calls Çınarcık, 17 km from Yalova, one of the region’s main holiday centres for its beaches and nightlife.
• Catch a festival. The 2002 inventory lists oil wrestling in Fevziye village in early June, an international folk dance festival and the Altın Çınar festival in July and August, and the Liberation and Spa Festival on 18–20 July. Check current dates locally.

What are the best places to visit in Yalova?

Termal is the hot-spring resort in a wooded valley 12 km south of Yalova, with Byzantine-origin baths, Ottoman hotels, Atatürk’s mansion and gardens famous for hydrangeas.

Karaca Arboretum is Türkiye’s first private arboretum, a 13.5-hectare collection of about 7,000 plant taxa founded in 1980 by Hayrettin Karaca.

Yürüyen Köşk, the “walking mansion”, is Atatürk’s seaside house in Yalova town, slid along rails in 1930 to spare a plane tree.

Sudüşen Waterfall is a forest waterfall above Termal reached on a walking trail from Üvezpınar village.

Also worth your time: the beaches of Çınarcık and Armutlu, the Armutlu spa 4 km north of the town, Delmece Yaylası, and Hersek. Further afield, İznik and Bursa with Uludağ are easy to reach by road, and Sapanca lies beyond the Gulf of İzmit.

What is the traditional food of Yalova?

The Yalova Culture and Tourism Directorate lists the province’s dishes as milföylü Yalova kebabı (a kebab baked in puff pastry), Termal sarma, Termal tatlısı and Termal çorbası, ıspanaklı Yalova böreği (spinach börek), böğür (stuffed lamb ribs), yumurta dolması, tavuklu mantı (mantı with chicken), cennet küngü (also called çatal tatlısı), okra with sour meatballs, and kaçamak, a cornmeal porridge (Yalova Culture and Tourism Directorate). Trout from the stream valleys around Kurtköy is the classic picnic-day meal.

What should you buy in Yalova?

Plants. Ornamental-plant growing is one of Yalova’s trades, and its nurseries sell shrubs, trees, bulbs and cut flowers. The Karaca Arboretum’s nursery, according to the provincial directorate, is open every day.

Frequently asked questions about Yalova

What do the official records say about Yalova?

Yalova is an important port city where tourism can be practised in every season, with thermal tourism, coastal tourism, hunting tourism and nature tourism for sport. In particular, the world-famous Termal springs and the Armutlu springs have become the health, healing and rest centre of Türkiye and the Middle East. One of Yalova’s important characteristics is that the growing of ornamental plants is widespread. Yalova supplies more than 20 percent of the cut flowers produced in the country.

The Termal springs are the most orderly and developed springs in Türkiye. They are 13 km from the provincial centre, in the centre of Termal district. Inside the Termal complex there are various baths; the Valide Bath and the Kurşunlu Bath are historic baths, and there is also an open-air healing pool. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Yalova Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)